Digimon Adventure 02: The Story We Never Told
by ker-plop
Summary: Five years after 8 kids saved the Digital World, the gateway opens again... but it is a far darker story than we have been led to believe. Comments always welcome. Last chapter added: 48.
1. Courage Rekindled

_June 24, 2027 A.D. Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan._

On the corner of one of the quieter streets in town was a large apartment complex. On the third floor of that complex was a sparse residency. In that residency was a kitchen, a television, a small bedroom, and one other smaller room.

In this room was almost nothing; there sat only a hard, wooden chair beneath a flat desk with a pile of papers on its top and three drawers on its right side. Across from it was a brown easy chair. The setting sun's gentle, orange rays shone through the one large, glass window on the far side, lengthening the three shadows enough to make them stand on the bare, whitewashed wall.

In the easy chair sat a man of about thirty-six years old with short, mussed, straw-colored hair. He nervously fidgeted with his hands and leaned forward in the seat, his bright, gray eyes staring intently towards the wooden chair, waiting for something and, to an extent, dreading it.

In the wooden chair sat a woman, also of thirty-six, but with short, smooth, chocolate-brown hair. Her elbows made a precise angle on the desk as she pored over one of the paper stacks. Her eyes- as brown as her hair- slowly moved across what was written on it, absorbing the words carefully. The only sound that she made was the rustle of the paper when she turned a page.

She read each page slowly, then moved on to the next, taking care not to miss anything. The man watched her as hard as she watched the papers; this had been going on for what seemed like an eternity to him.

Finally, she put down one last page and, with a little sigh, looked up at him. The man sat even more rigidly than before, looking at her hopefully. "...Well?" he asked, breaking the silence. "What do you think?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head. "Sorry, TK," she apologized, "but I don't like it. Not at all."

His heart stopped for a moment, and he stared at her in terror. "You... didn't?" he asked in almost a whisper.

"No..." she answered. "I didn't... and I don't think others will, either."

Flabbergasted, TK stood up, staring off into space. This was a first for him; someone did not like his writing, and it was someone whose opinion he valued greatly. He stiffly walked to the window and stared out at the darkening sky. "...Why?" he asked quietly.

The woman rubbed her forehead and sighed wearily. "You really have to ask? You changed it..." she mumbled. "You changed everything... It's a different story. Not only that, but you had tons of plot holes, you completely reworked their personalities, and the ending made no sense."

TK sighed. "My publisher said that if I was going to write a sequel to the first one, I had to make it more dynamic," he explained. "He said I should find a way to surprise the readers... keep them glued to the story..."

"This is NOT the way to do that," she retorted. "Nobody likes sudden changes like this!" She accentuated her point by slamming the papers back on the desk. "I know how your fans think; I work with them all the time! You have too many freak changes to be taken seriously... They'll hate it."

TK remained silent. She hung her head. "Not only that, but if you publish this, you're going to hurt your friends' feelings... You rearranged what they went through... toyed with their feelings..." She looked up at him again. "And most of all, you kept..."

TK winced. "...Some things are too painful to write about, Kari," he interrupted, still not looking at her. "I can't do it."

Kari frowned. "You can't... or you won't?" she asked.

"Does that really make a difference?" TK scoffed.

"TK, you wrote the first book to tell about our adventures and the lessons we all learned," she pointed out. "You were absolutely honest and fearless about what you put in... and they loved you for that! You did us proud."

"That was our first adventure... It was different..." he said, staring out the window again. "Back then, nobody..." He drifted off into silence.

Kari gave him a sad look. "You don't want to go through it again by writing about it..." she concluded.

He nodded slowly.

"I can understand that..." she replied, standing up, taking the spot next to him and putting her hand gently on his shoulder, "but isn't pretending that nothing bad happened hurtful to his memory?"

The words made TK pause. He looked at her thoughtfully.

"Think about it," she pressed. "Everything you changed... You've made it total fiction... a lie... You're running from what happened... from us... from me."

The golden ring on her finger shimmered in the sunlight, almost making him feeling heat from its twin on his own hand. He gave her a sad look. "I don't want to run..." he admitted, "but how can I write something like this?..."

Kari's frown eased and she smiled quietly. "We're a team, right?" she asked, moving closer to him. "When one of us has trouble, we all pitch in..."

He turned around as she returned to the easy chair. "...What're you suggesting?" he asked.

She stretched her arms and sighed contentedly at the chair's comfort. "I might not be an expert in storytelling," she said, "but my memory's pretty good. Why don't you put all of that away and try again?"

He glanced at the desk and all of its papers, then at her. "Right now?" he asked. "But it's almost night..."

"The kids are off at camp for the next two weeks, and I'm not working summer session this year," she rationalized. "We've got all the time in the world."

She was right, as usual; the kids were gone, and even with such a daunting task before him, he had the perfect atmosphere to write in. He stared at the papers again and bit his lip; he had known that what he had written was garbage, and he had hoped she would not care... but now that he looked at it, everything she said made perfect sense. He had to write it again, and with truth. Maybe getting it down would finally ease his troubled mind.

He sighed and plopped himself down on the stool, pushing the old papers aside. He reached into the bottom drawer and got out a notebook and a box of pencils, then reached into the middle drawer for a pencil sharpener and an eraser. Finally, he reached into the top drawer and pulled out a half-empty bottle of clear-colored liquor and two shot glasses.

Kari could not help but chuckle. "Gotta have your supplies, eh?" she joked.

"All right, then," he declared, jamming a pencil in the sharpener, "let's do it."

"That's the spirit!" she declared. "We'll help you write a new one... and it'll be exactly what we all need!"

**DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02**

**The Story We Never Told**

**Written by Lou Smith (AKA ker-plop)**

**Chapter 1**

**Courage Rekindled**

_The year was 2004, five years after our first journey..._

_The world had changed almost overnight, and was not the friendly one I had grown up with... but such things were beyond my comprehension._

_For us children, five years was forever, and we all grew and changed..._

_Tai became the captain of our high school's boys' soccer team..._

_Sora became the captain of the girls' team..._

_Matt traded his harmonica in for a saxophone, and joined the jazz band..._

_Izzy mastered dozens more computer languages and headed the computer club..._

_Mimi finally did learn how to cheerlead, and was a prime member of that clique..._

_Joe, the oldest, started medical college across town..._

_Kari began her first year in the junior high connected to the high school..._

_My mother decided to move back into town so Matt and I could be closer together._

_At first, I saw it all as a grand reunion..._

_...But little did I know what fate had in store for us._

* * *

"AHH! Run! It's the Emperor!"

Up on the rocky cliff on which he stood, the scream reached his ears and brought a smile to his lips. The lone boy, clad in a midnight-blue uniform with a matching midnight-blue cape triumphantly stared down at the darkened forest through his dark-purple sunglasses. He stood before a tall, black obelisk and paused for a moment to let the wind ruffle his wild, midnight-blue hair. Today was a perfect day... for conquest.

With that, he yanked out a long, leather whip and cracked it on the stone, the snap echoing through the tense air. Instantly a barrage of small, black rings rose up from behind him and shot into the forest like tiny UFOs.

The forest's population descended into chaos, every being fleeing this way and that, every one hoping that those rings would miss them. Their hopes were for naught, however; there were enough rings for every one. The first ring caught its victim: a small, gray rabbit. The next one latched onto a fleeing rock creature. A third wrapped itself around the neck of a helmeted, flying unicorn, sending it plummeting to the ground in shock. The throng of black rings mercilessly rained down upon the forest, each one finding a host to attach itself to.

The worst was yet to come, however; a mysterious language appeared in red on each ring, and their victims rose, their eyes glowing with a wicked, blood-red light. Though they still breathed and moved, their lives were over; they were now only the soulless servants of the Emperor.

Though most of the forest's inhabitants were now enslaved, one creature still fled: a small, white cat with purple frills on her ear tips, a glittering gold ring on her tail, and a weathered old whistle hanging around her neck. She was a traveler, but every place she visited met the same cruel fate; it was almost as if the Emperor were pursuing her personally. Still, she kept on running, never looking back.

She zipped around a tree and yelped as a ring shot down from above, but her tail's ring sparkled, and the onyx menace crumbled into dust. She sighed wearily; her own ring was the only thing she knew could destroy those things, but there was no way that she could take on the Emperor on her own; with more than half of the world at his feet, he had plenty more firepower.

She looked at the dark-gray sky, her eyes filled with longing. She knew of an intrepid group of adventurers just like her who had all the power they needed to stop this madman... but they had long since left her world. If only she knew how to call them, if only she could reach out to them, then maybe...

A nearby crash snapped her from her thoughts, and she turned in terror to see the unicorn that had fallen earlier, its visor glowing evilly. She frantically looked around, but saw only thick trees; she was cornered.

The unicorn gave a cruel, gurgling chortle as it advanced on her and opened its mouth, a powerful sphere of energy building. Her hair stood on end; it was about to use its devastating Horn Buster attack.

Not knowing what else to do, the white kitten snarled and threw herself at the beast, screeching only one word into the darkness:

"KARIIIII!"

* * *

"TK!" came a sharp call from outside of the small room. "Hurry up! You don't want to be late your first day!"

TK grunted as he jammed his new schoolbooks into his backpack and threw it on. His mother was certainly right about that; it wouldn't do to start off at a new school tardy. He had been delayed at breakfast, when he had been presented with a bowl of his mother's infamous oatmeal, which was so thick that it could choke a horse.

"New apartment, new school... but the same old lumpy oatmeal," he chuckled to himself, turning and grabbing his hat off of the desk. It was a white sailor's cap that he had been given when he had outgrown his old, green cap. TK loved hats; he was always seen with one. Without something over his straw-blonde hair, he felt naked and incomplete.

"OK, I'm going now, Mom," he announced as he stepped out of his room and jammed on his shoes in the doorway.

"All right, dear," his mom replied from the den, where she furiously typed away at a computer. "I'd see you off, but I've got a tight deadline on this article about the historical significance of toilet paper."

"No problem, Mom," he replied as he opened the door. "See you later."

TK shut the door and started towards the stairs. Being on the twelfth floor of an Odaiba apartment gave a nice view, but it took a lot of time to get out of the building. He could have taken one of the elevators, but he was faster zipping down the stairs, and time was of the essence.

Bounding down the steps- going two at a time in some places- he reached the ground floor in record time. Glancing at his watch, he grinned; he had been so quick, he could afford to walk instead of run. Everything would turn out just fine.

Just as he left the stairwell, though, something knocked him on his side. "Owww!" he groaned, trying to move. "What the?..."

"Arrgh!" someone huffed. Whatever had hit him was on top of him now, struggling and growling crossly.

He was presented with a short pair of legs, and he looked up. The short legs belonged to a short boy, who now stared down at him. The boy had small, sharp eyes and dark bowl cut of hair. He looked cross.

"Um... hi," TK greeted him.

"Hello," the boy replied, then turned his attention to whatever was crushing TK. "Honestly," he muttered.

TK felt something roll off of his back, and he gratefully righted himself. He was looking at a tall, gawky, skinny girl with thick glasses and an embarrassed smile. Her hair was a strange lavender hue, which loudly clashed with the blue kerchief in it, as well as her salmon vest and red undershirt. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, bowing quickly. "I was in such a hurry I just shot outta the elevator! First day jitters, y'know..."

"No, it's fine; don't worry about it," TK replied. "It's my first day, too."

The girl looked at him for a moment, then gasped with excitement. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" she exclaimed. "You must be the new kid!"

A strange scent wafted from the girl; it was the smell of someone who hadn't bathed in a few days mixed with cheap strawberry perfume. "Well, um, yes," he replied. "I just moved in a few days ago. My name's Takeru Takaishi, but everyone just calls me TK."

"TK? Sweet!" the girl replied, grabbing his hand and shaking it excitedly. "Mine's Miyako Inoue, but you can call me Yolei!" She paused, then looked at the smaller boy. "Oh, and that's Cody."

The boy turned a harsh eye on her. "I am Iori Hida," he corrected her. "Nice to meet you, Takeru. Welcome."

"Yeeeeah," Yolei replied, turning back to TK with a bright grin; he could not help but notice the slight yellow hue of her teeth. "So, are you going to the school right up the street? So are we! Let's all go together!"

TK agreed with a smile, and they started walking. He could not believe his good fortune; he had just gone out the door, and he already had met two of his schoolmates, and they even lived in the same building!

"You probably don't know the neighborhood yet," Yolei chattered as they walked. "Relax! I know this place like the back of my hand. We'll be at school before you know it!"

"Calm down, Miyako," Iori said. "Don't freak him out on his first day."

TK regarded the two. Yolei was energetic and quirky, and Iori- or Cody; he wasn't sure which- was quiet and kind of rigid. He chuckled to himself; they were strange, but maybe they could be his friends. After all these years, it was about time that he made some more.

* * *

With Yolei chattering all the way, they reached the school just as all the other students were strolling in. "Yeah, looks like we're here just fine!" she announced, pointing. "Look! There's even enough time to play a little soccer!"

TK followed her finger to the school athletic field, where a lively group of kids were booting a soccer ball around in an impromptu match. He smiled as he looked; watching soccer always reminded him of his older friend, Tai. That boy was nuts about soccer. He was always out on the field, tearing around after the ball in his favorite blue shirt and the trademark pair of goggles that rested in his wild hair, just like the kid who had the ball right then...

...The kid who had the ball right then? TK froze and looked again. The ball was being punted along by a boy his own age, who wore a cocky grin on his lips, a blue blazer over his shirt, and a pair of futuristic-looking goggles in his short, spiky, chocolate-brown hair. TK sighed as both logic and nostalgia came to him; it had been five years since he had last seen Tai, who certainly was older now, and most likely had changed his wardrobe. This boy wasn't Tai, but he looked similar enough to befuddle him for a moment.

A sudden yell snapped him from his musings, and he looked up just in time to see the soccer ball bean Yolei in the head, whereupon in bounced right into his hands. Yolei howled as she fell on her butt, grabbing at her face. "What the hell?" she demanded.

The Tai doppelgänger raced over to them, panting heavily. "Whew, sorry 'bout that..." he started, but then saw whom he had hit and instead grinned wryly. "Well, Yolei, looks like your face is good for somethin', huh?" he laughed.

Yolei's face burned. "Dammit, Daisuke!" she snarled as Iori pushed her back onto her feet. "You did that on purpose!"

"Nah-ah-ah... What did I say?" the kid asked, mockingly shaking a finger. "It's Davis, remember? Like the great soccer master? Sheesh... This girl; in one ear and out the other, huh, Cody?" He then turned to TK with a smirk. "Nice catch, there," he complimented. "You done that before?"

TK grinned and tossed him the ball. "I like those goggles," he replied.

Davis raised an eyebrow at the remark, but a call from the other players caught his ear. "Later!" he called, and raced off to rejoin the game.

"Wow..." TK murmured as he watched for a bit longer. "Who was that?"

"That's Daisuke Motomiya," Iori explained as a whimpering Yolei inspected her precious glasses for damage. "Of course, he's such a big-shot soccer player that everyone calls him 'Davis.' Apparently, it sounds cooler."

"Soccer player, huh?" TK asked, smiling again. "Well, he looks pretty good..."

"You bet he is," Yolei answered as she jammed the glasses back on her reddened nose. "He's the top shooter on the junior high team... Of course, off the field, he's a total asshole."

"Miyako!" Iori hissed. "That's very rude!"

"Big whoop," Yolei replied coolly. "It's not like he can hear me."

"You're always shooting your mouth off!" Iori reprimanded. "One of these days, it's going to get you in a world of trouble."

"Lighten up, Cody," she rebuked. "You're such a stiff."

TK wanted to interject, but the bells rang; classes were beginning. "Whoops! Guess we'd better go," he broke in.

"Well, nuts," Yolei mimicked disappointment. "I was just getting into that one..."

"My classroom is on the far side of the building," Iori said as he walked away. "I'll see you two later."

"Good thing our classrooms are right next to each other, huh?" Yolei chuckled to TK. "C'mon, I'll walk you there."

They headed into the school along with the rest of the student throng, Yolei grabbing his arm so they would not be separated. Along the way, TK decided to make more conversation. "Iori and you are friends, right?" he asked.

"Sure we are," she answered. "Why?"

"Well," TK admitted slowly, "you two... seem to be... at odds. A lot."

Yolei chuckled. "He's stiff as a board, but he's a good kid," she replied. "You just caught us on an off day. Anyway, he helps me with homework, and I help him with his computer."

TK was surprised. "HE helps YOU?" he asked.

She shrugged as they arrived in the seventh-grade hallway. "What can I say? He's smart... Of course, he's clueless about computers, and his is so old it should be on life support. That's where I come in. Give it time; he'll warm up to you." She stopped at a door marked 7-B. "Oh, this is me. You're in 7-A, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Thanks a lot," he replied, heading for that door. "See you after school."

As he walked away from her, he realized that the air was suddenly cleaner, with a faint scent of chalk. With relief, he realized that her "aura" must not have been so bad if he had gotten used to it so quickly. With this in mind, he opened the door and entered his new classroom.

* * *

A dozen glowing screens greeted the Emperor as he returned to his central viewing room. With a satisfied sigh, he sat down on a velvet throne and raised his finger, the screens activating like magic. The Autumnal Forest was a fine victory to start off his day, but he felt the urge to seek a more challenging territory. Nothing pleased him more than a place where the locals fought back; it made crushing them all the more satisfying.

His eyes fell on a lake with a small island in its center, and he scratched his chin with interest. This was one part of File Island that he had never been able to take before; eight varied creatures had always driven off his minions. Of course, that was before he had programmed the rings to seek hosts on their own. Within one week, he had caught three of the eight by total surprise, and now they were his strongest warriors. He smirked as he looked at the monitor; today, he would finish the job.

As he watched, a small, orange dinosaur with wide, green eyes appeared, looking around warily. The Emperor cackled; here was one of them now! It looked like it was alone, but that was no matter; he would find the others soon enough.

He pointed at the screen and it moved right in front of him. "There," was all he said.

Instantly a swarm of black rings came down from the sky, the first one snapping around the dinosaur's neck. With a cry, the creature fell and grabbed at it in a feeble attempt to pull it off, but it was too late. The language appeared around the ring, and the monster's struggles ceased. It rose to its feet, its eyes as violently red as the others. The other rings scattered off into the distance, searching for whatever other life forms still roamed free on that island.

The Emperor sighed crossly and drummed his fingers on the throne's arm as the screen moved back into the darkness. That was far too easy, just like the other captures. Without a challenge, he felt annoyed and unfulfilled. Was there no being in this world who could keep him interested?

* * *

The classroom was just like every other classroom TK had ever been in: musty-smelling, whitewashed, and sterile. It was also jam-packed with kids; he must have been one of the last to come in.

He was not the absolute last, though; someone else tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see the goggled boy from the soccer field. "Oh, hi," he said.

"Err, hi," the boy replied. "Uh, you're kinda blockin' the door, dude."

"OH! Sorry," he apologized and scooted to the side, beginning the confounding task of finding his seat. If he was lucky, the seats would be marked with their names. If he was not, then he just hoped he didn't end up in a spot where he could not see the blackboard, or worse yet, next to a gassy fat guy. He saw the goggled kid land in a desk and his jaw locked; what if that was the last one?

Fortunately, he spied the kanji that spelled his name on a nearby desk and quickly planted his sitter in its seat. As he raised his backpack to get his pencils out, the sack caught a side of the desk and spilled its contents onto the floor. With an exasperated groan, he leaned over to start picking them up.

Another hand touched the notebook that he had just put his fingers on. "Here, let me help you with those," a soft, feminine voice said.

"No, that's OK, I've got it..." he began, but looked up and trailed off. He was staring at a girl with ruby-red eyes, a small nose, and short, smooth, chocolate-caramel hair. He blinked. "Well, if you insist..." he finished, his cheeks gaining a little pink.

"You're the new kid?" she asked, grabbing a handful of pencils and putting them on his desk. "You must be pretty nervous, huh? Don't be; everyone here's really nice."

"Thanks," he replied, looking her over again. It was not just his newly-discovered hormones that made him do it; there was something else. This girl seemed familiar to him.

She looked TK over, too. She also sensed that there was something about him. "I... Sorry, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" she asked.

As they both stared at each other, his eyes scanned her, looking for some sort of clue to end the awkward silence. She wore a pink-and-white-striped shirt with pink gauntlets; no, that wasn't familiar. A tiny digital camera hung from a strap around her neck; that was no help, either... but wearing something shiny on a strap? Wasn't there someone else who...? Something in his brain snapped, and a wave of memories washed over him. This girl was one of his best friends from five years ago: Tai's little sister, Kari!

"...Kari?" he ventured.

She blinked a few times, and then her eyes lit up. There was only one person she knew with straw-colored hair, blue-slate eyes and a hat. "TK?" she asked.

He grinned excitedly. "Wow! It IS you!" he laughed, grabbing her hand and shaking it wildly. "How've you been?"

"I haven't seen you in years!" she replied, pumping his hand just as hard. "You're gonna be here? This is awesome!"

"Yeah! I moved in down the street," he explained.

"Wow!" she laughed. "This is just great! Wait until the others hear! Oh, everyone'll be so glad to see you!"

TK's smile went from one ear to the other. It was only the first day of school, and he had already made two new friends AND had been reunited with another, and all his old friends were around as well. Could this day get any better?

Unbeknownst to both of them, someone else was watching. Davis glared daggers at TK; this kid had just shown up today, and already he was putting the moves on HIS girl! His fists clenched as the teacher came in, and the offensive one whispered something to Kari and she laughed. First thing after school, this kid was going to learn a different kind of lesson.

* * *

Though they had a 95% rate of success, the Emperor's rings did not always ensnare every creature in an area. This might have allowed for resistance if not for the simple fact of the rings' properties; those who were lucky enough to avoid the fate of servitude quickly met the alternate one of being ripped apart by the unfortunates.

Such was the case back in Autumnal Forest, which the Emperor had left in the care of his new servants. Three creatures still tore through the woods, desperate to get out of the area while they could. They flew among the trees, trying hard to drown out the shrieks from the animals who had just met their maker.

The pink bird, the red beetle and the strange, flying pig were almost out when they took a wrong turn and ran straight into a large, green mantis with scythes for limbs and a ring around its abdomen. It buzzed at them angrily and started in.

"It's a Snimon!" the red beetle panted, whirling around and zipping the other way. "Run for it before-"

Before the beetle could finish, the mantis raised its hands and slashed in its cleaving Twin Sickles attack. The bird and the beetle cried in pain and tumbled, leaving the pig to flee on his own.

Unwilling to leave without his friends, the pig faked right, then flew left and into the underbrush, where he scrunched up as tightly as he could and peered out.

His friends lay on the forest floor, struggling to get away. The Snimon planted its feet on each one, keeping them restrained. "Zzzzzo..." it rasped in its buzzing voice, "here are two more of them... The mazzzter will be pleazzzed..." It gathered them up in its hands and flew off into the clouds.

"No..." the pig gasped sadly. "Biyomon... Tentomon!..."

Suddenly, something tapped him on the wing, and he whirled around defensively. He found himself looking at the white cat. "Relax; it's just me," she whispered. "You OK, Patamon?"

"Yeah, but..." Patamon mumbled as he looked at where his friends had been sadly.

The cat sighed. "I know. I saw," she sympathized. "Look, we have to get out of this forest. It isn't safe anymore."

"What're we gonna do, Gatomon?" he sobbed, rubbing at his eyes with his small paws. "Our friends are all gone, the Emperor gets stronger every day, and we can't even Digivolve to protect ourselves..."

She frowned darkly. "Yeah, that sucks the most," she agreed, glancing off into the woods. "If we could do that, the Emperor would've been dust a long time ago..." She paused, then shook her head. "Never mind that; we have to get outta here!"

"It's gonna take a miracle to get out of this one..." Patamon whimpered.

* * *

What Patamon and Gatomon did not know was that, at that very moment, they were being watched. The Emperor chuckled as he watched them on one of his many screens. No miracle was going to come to them as long as he was there.

He sighed as he fingered the small, black-rimmed device in his hand. This black Digivice, combined with his rings and the obelisks, prevented the animals from strengthening themselves. Only those who were under his power could achieve their full potential as battle monsters. Those tools were what made it so easy to put the world under his boot.

He looked at it a moment more, than sighed. Perhaps it made the job too easy. After all, where is the fun in controlling small, weak creatures? As he watched the two on the monitor again, he almost wished that a miracle would happen; at least then he would have a worthwhile experience.

* * *

The day went as any first day of school went; it started as total chaos and descended into safe, predictable mediocrity. By the time the 2:30 bell rang, most everyone was ready to call it a day.

Yolei, however, was not. She was sitting in the junior high's computer lab, eagerly awaiting the computer club meeting. She usually raced right home, but once a week, nothing could pry her out of the building until she had spent an hour exploring the inner workings of an electronic brain. On top of that, she loved to bask in the presence of her tutor- and by far the sexiest-looking nerd on the campus- Koushiro Izumi. She was as crazy about the rest of him as she was about his brain.

It was because of this routine behavior that Cody knew exactly where she was. "Miyako," he said even before he came in, making her jump. "I have a favor to ask of you."

She sighed, clutching her chest. "I really hate it when you do that..." she grumbled. "What's up?"

He coughed and broke eye contact. "...My computer is acting up again," he replied. "Would you mind repairing it, please?"

She grinned wryly. "Help me on the biology work and get me some of your mom's brownies, and we have a deal," she replied.

"Very well," he replied. "I'll go and fetch them." With that, he was gone.

She cackled and spun around in her chair, satisfied with the victory. Cody could be demanding sometimes, but his mother's brownies could sucker her into anything. Cracking a computer's brain while chowing down on that chocolate goodness was as close as she had ever been to heaven. She put her sleeve to her lips to wipe away the drool from just thinking of it.

However, as she pulled the sleeve back, she noticed something strange on her monitor. Simply shaking away the connecting drool string, she pulled herself closer and stared hard. A new application had opened up, depicting a strange mapping program. On the left side was a grid of black and white squares, and on the right was a small screen and a large, red sphere. One of the squares on the grid was flashing, and the sphere glowed brightly. Bewildered, she stared down at the program's name. It was labeled: "."

"Digitalworld?..." she whispered. Maybe it was an online game she had never heard of. That intrigued her even more; she loved computer games of all shapes and sizes. Still, it had appeared so suddenly that it might be a virus, too; she didn't want to risk breaking the school's computers just for a bit of fun.

She thought for a moment, then grinned and commanded the machine to print the screen output. As the mysterious thing emerged from the nearby printer, she snapped it up and raced out of the lab. If anyone knew what this was, it would be Koushiro. She just had to find him.

* * *

"Well, that was... about the same as any school," TK admitted as he jammed his school shoes into his cubbyhole and strapped on his regular ones; in Japan, it was customary to use different shoes in school so no mud would be tracked in from outside. "I'm just amazed that I'm in your class!"

Kari was shelving her own sneakers next to him. "This is going to be such a great year," she agreed. "Come on, we'll go see Tai. He'll be glad to see you, too!"

"Yeah, that sounds-" he began when the goggled boy appeared in the doorway. He looked exceedingly angry.

"Hey! Buddy!" he snapped at TK, rapping his hand on the cubbies. "First day here and yer already on thin ice!"

TK looked at him, puzzled. "...I am?" he asked.

"I'm a nice guy, usually, but there's one rule everyone's gotta follow," Davis said, cracking his knuckles. "Ya don't hit on Davis's girl!"

TK blinked a few times. He had hit on this kid's girlfriend? When? The only two girls he had talked to today were Yolei and Kari. He turned to her for some sort of explanation.

Her face was red, and not from embarrassment. "One, Davis, I am not 'your girl,'" she snapped, holding up a finger, "and two, this is TK, and he's an old friend of mine."

This, of course, just made Davis angrier. "I don't care WHAT his name is!" he snarled, glaring at TK and raising his fist. "He n' I have a misunderstanding, and we're gonna settle it!"

"Misunderstanding?" TK asked aloud, recoiling; he didn't know exactly what was going on, but this kid was furious, and he seriously believed he was in for a beating. "But..."

Davis took another step forward, but at that moment Yolei charged in and crashed right into him, killing all tension. They hit the floor, hurling both their limbs and obscenities like an overturned, rude octopus.

TK and Kari immediately came to the rescue, pulling the two apart. TK cringed as he saw that he had Davis by the shoulders, and that the boy was making fists again; what would happen next?

"Ugh..." Yolei coughed, glaring at Davis. "Again with the knocking me over, Daisuke?" she yelled.

"Davis! DAVIS!" Davis yelled back, "and YOU knocked ME down, you crazy bitch!"

"I'm not even gonna dignify that with a response," Yolei retorted, then noticed Kari. "Oh! You're Kari Yagami, right?" she asked.

Kari was surprised; she had never met this slightly malodorous girl before. "Y-yes?" she asked.

"You know where Izzy is?" Yolei pressed. "I mean, your brother IS best friends with him!"

"Um, I think Tai's outside," Kari answered. "What's wrong?"

"Something's gone nuts in the computer lab, and I've gotta find Izzy!" she said, motioning to the paper she held, then tearing off outside.

"Ugh... Crazy," Davis snorted, then noticed that TK's hands were still on his shoulders. "Yo, three-second rule!" he barked.

TK started and let go. "Sorry," he apologized.

"Anyway, Tai ain't outside," Davis replied. "He went in to grab a water keg for practice."

TK looked at him. "You know Tai?" he asked, surprised.

Davis saw that he had the new kid's attention and grinned. "Hell, yeah!" he said, thumping his chest. "You're lookin' at coach Yagami's one-and-only protegé! He says I play as good as he does!"

"I said you have the POTENTIAL to play as well as I do," a familiar voice came from the inside doorway. TK was delighted to see a mop of wild, chocolate-brown hair appear, followed by an older boy with matching chocolate-brown eyes, a blue headband, and a set of round goggles. He was taller than TK had remembered, and he now wore the drab, green high school uniform. He saw TK and beamed. "I heard you were back in town," he chuckled.

"Tai! How are you?" TK laughed, running over and slapping palms with the boy. "It's been too long!"

Davis was caught completely off guard. "WHAT?" he demanded. This straw-headed doofus knew his hero? His edge was gone!

"Yep," Tai added. "TK's a friend of the family, I guess you could say." He then looked at them quizzically. "Why was that girl looking for me?"

"She wanted to ask you where Izzy is, because something's up in the computer lab," TK answered. "I wonder what spooked her so badly?"

Kari hadn't said a word since Yolei left; she was staring straight out the door, a haunted look on her face. TK noticed and looked worried. "...Kari?" he asked. "You OK?"

"The Digital World..." she whispered.

Tai and TK froze. "Say what?" Tai asked.

"That paper she had..." she repeated, turning to them. "It said something about the Digital World!"

TK's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "The Digital World!" he repeated.

A cloud of memories fell over Tai, Kari and TK as they recalled that mysterious world. They didn't understand where it came from or why, but it was a wondrous place full of mysterious landscapes and amazing creatures. They had gone on a grueling adventure in it with their other friends, and though it had been a dire mission of preserving the peace of both worlds, they had had an amazing time.

Davis, however, was completely in the dark. "...The hell are you guys talkin' about?" he asked.

"We'd better get to the computer lab," TK suggested. Tai and Kari nodded and they all rushed back into the school.

Davis, both bewildered and furious at being ditched, chased after them. "Hey, come on! What?" he yelled. "Wait up, dammit!"

* * *

The nearly empty hallways made it easy for the four of them to charge up the stairs towards the lab. Tai, Kari and TK needed to see this thing with their own eyes; if what was on that paper was true, they might be able to get to the Digital World once again. Davis was just along for the ride, thinking that this must be a huge deal for Tai to forget about soccer practice all of a sudden.

"Refresh my memory," Tai barked, "where's the lab?"

Kari was about to tell him when a door opened and Tai almost slammed into the person who had come out. He sprang backwards with a yelp, startling everyone.

"Whaaagh!" the red-haired boy huffed as he regained his breath. "Tai, what was that for? Have you gained an affinity for startling people into relieving themselves?"

Tai clapped him on the shoulder. "Izzy," he said, "we've got to get to the computer lab. The Digital World!..."

Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi's jet-black pupils widened. "The Digital World?" he hissed. "Are you sure?"

"We've gotta go find out!" TK added, practically running in place.

Izzy paused and smiled at him. "Oh, hello, TK," he said. "It's good to see you again."

"NOW!" Tai huffed, grabbing Izzy's arm and yanking. With a yelp, the young computer genius joined the race.

Davis scratched his head as he ran. So the mega geek Izzy was in on this thing, too? How much weirder could this get?

All five of them piled into the lab, where Yolei's screen was still on and flashing. They all crowded around it and stared as Izzy sat down and tried to figure it out. "So? What do you think, Izzy?" Kari asked.

He hit some keys, but nothing happened. "I suppose we should try to make it work," he replied. "Does anyone have his Digivice?"

Tai, Kari, TK and Izzy all pulled out some things, and Davis's eyes bugged. They were small, clear-colored plastic gizmos that looked like strapless watches with a strange language written all around small monitors in their centers. This was getting wilder by the second!

"All right, should we get going?" Izzy asked. "Davis, guard the door."

"Hey, woah, woah, wait just a goddamn minute!" Davis snapped. "What the hell's goin' on? Clue me in, will ya?"

Kari shook her head. "Sorry, Davis, but you can't help here," she said.

"What?" he roared. "I'm yer pal for three years, and suddenly I can't help?"

"It's nothing personal, Davis," Tai replied, showing him the device, "but you don't have one of these... You need one to do anything in that world..."

"You, too, coach?" Davis snapped, getting even angrier. "Look, I don't give a rat's ass about your stupid toys! Whatever you guys are doin', deal me in!"

Izzy was about to respond when the computer glowed even brighter. "What the..." he started as he turned to it.

The computer flashed blue, then yellow, and then red, and three small things burst out of the screen and flew across the room. One hit Davis in the face, and the other two clattered against the wall and fell into a trash can.

Everyone was stunned. "What was THAT?" Kari asked.

As Davis swore, TK picked up what had clocked him. It was a strange gizmo, larger than their Digivices and with a blue ridge. Still, it had that same language on it, so it had to be a Digivice of some sort. "I guess it's a Digivice," he concluded.

"A Digivice?" Tai exclaimed. "But..."

TK looked at the sore-cheeked Davis, smiled and offered it. "Looks like you're getting your wish," he said.

Davis hesitated, then took it. "Right, then!" he laughed. "Let's do... whatever it is we're doin'!"

"I wonder how we use them to get in..." Kari remarked, holding her Digivice up so that its screen faced the computer. Almost like an answer, there was a bright flash, and she was gone. Davis's mouth could have touched the floor.

Stunned only for a moment, the others readied their own devices. "OK, in we go!" Tai announced, lifting his Digivice and vanishing.

"Right!" TK added, repeating the motion and disappearing.

Izzy glanced at Davis, who was still gawking at the screen. "Your turn," he said, raising an eyebrow, "unless you're scared, of course..."

That was enough to snap Davis from his shock; he had never seen a person get sucked into a computer before, but nobody ever could call him scared and go unchallenged. "Scared? No way!" he stated, lifting the new Digivice. He vanished just as the others had.

"OK, then," Izzy said, getting out of the chair. "Now it's my turn to-"

"IZZY!" a shout from the door practically sent him into the ceiling. He whipped around to see Yolei, hunched over and wheezing like a triathlete. Behind her stood Cody, looking stoic as usual, a brown sack in his hands.

"Oh! H-hello, Yolei," Izzy stammered, quickly jamming his Digivice back into his pocket. "You, uh, surprised me."

"I've been all over lookin' for you!" she panted. "Something showed up on the computer and..." She paused and looked at it. "...Oh. I guess you saw it already," she finished. "What was it?"

"Heh? Oh, nothing... Just some game a kid left on yesterday," Izzy lied, though he knew it was a lousy one; he was the smartest of his friends, but certainly not the craftiest.

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "There wasn't anyone here yesterday," she pointed out. "The schedule on the door says so."

"Huh? Oh, you're right," he replied, scrambling for some way of changing the conversation. "Well, maybe it was this morning, then..."

"Nobody was in here this morning, either!" she snapped, getting mad. "This place has been locked up since last spring! The blackboard is bare, the desks are dustless, and the trash cans are empty!"

She emphasized her point by kicking the waste basket, which made a rattling, less-than-empty noise. She paused, then kicked it again and listened, muddled. Something or a few things were banging around in it.

"How about just looking instead of making noise?" Cody muttered as he walked over and looked into the can. As soon as he did, though, his expression changed from grumpy to surprised.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

He reached in and pulled out two more odd Digivices, their forms just like the one Davis had been beaned with. One of them had a yellow ridge, and the other had a red one. "Strange..." he said, tossing the red one to Yolei and looking at the yellow one, "people don't usually throw their game machines away so carelessly..."

Sweat poured down Izzy's face. Yolei was going to demand to know what the things were, and what the Digital World program was all about, and he really didn't want to answer. He had been sworn to secrecy about the Digital World, but Yolei could pry him open like a bear shelling oysters. What was he going to do?

"Izzy..." she said slowly, glancing at him and holding up the Digivice, "do you know what this is?"

His mind raced. He could lie and say they were game machines, but that would still leave the program question unanswered. How was he ever going to keep his promise not to talk about the Digital World to people who weren't Digidestined?

At that thought, a light went off in his head. These three Digivices had fallen out of the computer for a reason; they sought out Digidestined, just as the first ones had. One had clocked Davis, so that meant he must have some special purpose in the Digital World, as did Yolei and Cody... sort of; those other two had landed in the trash, after all... He shook his head wearily. If they were Digidestined, then it wouldn't hurt to tell them... In fact, they SHOULD know.

"OK, I'll tell you," he said almost as a relieved sigh, "but you have to keep it quiet, OK? Both of you!"

Yolei frowned, but nodded; she hated being told to keep something quiet, but she also liked secrets. Cody simply shrugged and closed the lab door. "All right, then," he said, opening the sack, "but there's no sense chatting without refreshments."

Yolei's nose spun to the sack like a compass, her brain forgetting everything except the word 'brownie.' "Oh, yeah!" she laughed, grabbing one and sitting down. "Dig in!"

Izzy sighed and took the goody that Cody offered him, thankful that, when there were brownies around, Yolei had the attention span of a gnat.

* * *

The next thing the four travelers knew, they stood in a lush forest of gray trees with dark-green boughs, though all around was the aroma of dead leaves. A gentle wind blew through them, carrying the cries of far-off birds.

Tai, TK and Kari took a few steps forward and looked around, puzzled. Though they were certain they were in the Digital World- where else could one go through a computer?- they had no idea where they were. With their friends, they had spent months traversing this land before, and had seen plenty of exotic and wonderful places: a forest full of road signs that led nowhere; a vast desert full of upside-down pyramids; and even a tall mountain made up of both earth and sea... but they had never been in a green forest that smelled like it should be orange.

"I don't remember this place at all..." Kari voiced their thoughts.

"Well... there's definitely more to the Digital World than we know," Tai replied, trying to keep everyone calm. He had been the leader before, and still felt the need to live up to those expectations. "Izzy showed us a whole map once, remember?"

"Someone could have changed the landscape, too," TK pointed out. "Remember how the Dark Masters changed it?"

While those three discussed the place, Davis just stood there like a mannequin. He could hardly believe what was going on; a few seconds ago, he was standing in the musty computer lab, and now he was in a forest where the colors and the scent didn't match, and his friends were already experts on it.

He looked toward the ground and noticed something else; his clothing had changed somewhat. The bottom of his blazer was now adorned with bright, orange flames, and its top boasted a light-blue frill, like a bomber pilot's jacket. By the time his brain registered all of the changes, his hands were shaking violently.

"Davis?" Kari asked. "Are you OK?" She did a double take as she noticed his new look.

TK raised an eyebrow. "Man, since when does the Digital World grant new threads?" he asked, looking at his own clothes; nothing had changed on Tai, Kari or himself.

Davis did not seem to hear them; he trembling all over now, with occasional utterances of the sound "uh."

"...I guess that was pretty traumatic, being 'downloaded' for the first time," Tai suggested, scratching his head. "I mean, it wasn't the way we usually get here..."

Davis shook for a few moments more, then fell on his knees with an exasperated wheeze. "WOAH... damn..." he managed. "What a trip!..."

"Are you OK now?" TK asked, helping him up.

"OK? OK?" Davis snapped, shooting an angry eye at him. "Does it LOOK like I'm OK?"

TK looked him over. "Um, well, yes," he replied.

Davis paused, then scratched his head. "Oh. Then I guess I am," he admitted with an embarrassed chuckle. "OK, forget about that..."

Tai sighed, then looked around with a frown. "We should figure out where we are," he announced, turning and starting to walk. "Come on."

Tai, Kari and TK started off into the woods. Davis sighed with exasperation. He had just transcended time and space and jumped inside a computer; he could not shake the feeling that that was only the first of many crazy surprises for him.

Of course, if he didn't catch up with the others, getting lost would be the only one he would get. "Agh, dammit!" he swore, chasing after them. "Why're you guys leaving me behind today?"

* * *

Bored with the easy conquest of the dinosaur, the Emperor crossly cycled through his monitors, looking for something interesting. In a way, he regretted progressing his enslaving technology so far; just like his black Digivice, it made things so easy that he hardly had anything to do anymore. What could possibly get him out of this rut?

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the Autumnal Forest monitor and he stood up. Walking along the path were four humans. Though his face didn't show it, his brain registered shock. No humans were able to reach this place aside from him; how did one- let alone four- just waltz in without his knowing? This was an outrage!

He raised his hand to dispatch his guards, but then stopped; he should watch them for a while and see what they were up to. He sat back down and brought the monitor to the front. Maybe these children were here for a reason; maybe they could keep him entertained.

* * *

"Huh..." Tai muttered as he stood in a high tree branch, using a pocket telescope to look over the trees. He had looked past the forest in every direction, but he still didn't know where they were. He chuckled at this; on his first adventure, he had scaled a tree just like this in search of exactly the same answer. This time, he knew where he was, but not... where. He chuckled even more, wondering if it was possible to be only half lost.

"Hey, Tai! Do you see anything?" Kari's voice came from below.

He pocketed the telescope and descended the tree. "Nope, I don't recognize a thing," he replied. "We must be in a new place entirely..."

TK frowned. "So we don't know where we are, or why we're here in the first place..." he reasoned, "and to top it all off, we don't know how to get home!"

Kari sighed and glanced over at Davis, who was wandering around and gawking at stuff. "Not to mention we have to keep an eye on him..." she added.

At that moment, Davis's eyes fell on something, and he cried out in surprise. Sitting against a shrub was a red, metal soda machine, boasting ads for all of the best

American and Japanese soft drinks. His mouth suddenly felt dry and parched. He had never heard of sticking a soda machine out in the forest, but at the moment, he didn't really care. The money slit was marked at only one coin; what a bargain!

"Hey, I'm gonna get a pop," he said as he pulled a coin from his pocket. "Anybody else want one?"

Tai turned just as he plopped his coin down the slit. "No, wait, Davis," he started. "I don't think-"

Before he could finish, the machine puked out a slew of small, bug-eyed, foul-smelling green things. They crawled right over the mortified Davis as they fled into the woods, belching and gurgling.

"WHAAAGH! Damn! Shit! Agh!" Davis swore as he struggled to get away from the putrid stampede, but he was quickly lost beneath them.

TK couldn't help but laugh, remembering when those same things had assaulted his friends and him on their own adventure. Tai and Kari started to snicker, too. For the moment, all their worries vanished as Davis was given a thorough stomping.

When the last of the creatures had left, they walked over to where he lay on the ground, twitching. "Ohhhhh..." he groaned as he slowly got to his knees, "what the hell was that?..."

Tai looked at the coin slit, then grinned at Davis. "I think you needed exact change," he joked.

"Yyyyyeccch!" Davis retched as he got up and swung his limbs around, trying to clear the air. "Those were disgusting!"

"Those were Digimon," Kari corrected him.

Davis paused and looked at her. "...Say what now?" he asked.

"Digimon," she repeated. "The Digital World is full of Digimon; that is, Digital Monsters."

"All the towns here are run by them," TK elaborated. "There aren't any humans here, and nothing is what it seems."

"Yeah, so think twice if you see a candy bar machine," Tai chuckled. "Come on, let's keep moving."

They walked a little longer in the forest, not one of them knowing where they were headed. Finally, they reached a clearing and stopped. Something had definitely happened there; almost all of the grass was either trampled or ripped up, and broken limbs dangled from some of the trees.

"What a mess..." Tai murmured as he knelt and felt the dirt.

"Looks like there was a scuffle here..." TK said, eying the trees, "a big scuffle."

Davis set his jaw. They were in a world full of monsters that loved to fight? That sounded cool to him, but others might not be so glad of it. He looked over at Kari, who was looking at the clearing with concern. If some monster came along looking for a fight, he would personally show it the door. That would keep her safe and- this was the part that he liked- would make him look cool.

Suddenly, the bushes behind them rustled. Davis whirled around, his eyes wide; something was coming already! Now was his chance! He reached up and pulled down a broken branch and held it out. "OK, who's there?" he yelled. "C'mon!"

Two creatures jumped out of the underbrush, looking just as defiant as Davis. One was a small, white cat, and the other was a pig-looking thing with wings for ears. "Who're you?" the cat asked.

Tai, Kari and TK reacted with shock, as did the monsters. "Hey!" TK exclaimed. "Patamon!"

The pig laughed and starting to fly towards them, but Davis leaped in front of him and swung the branch, almost hitting him.

"Back off, ya psycho flyin' swine!" he snapped, swinging again.

"YOU back off!" the cat snarled, charging at him.

It leaped and branch met claw; he gasped as the appendage sparked with electricity; this monster had magical powers! Terrified but still adamant, he swatted it away and raised the stick for a blow of his own. The cat hissed and rushed at him again.

"Stop it!" Kari huffed, jumping between the cat and him. She grabbed the branch and snapped it on her knee. "Davis, these are friendly!" she stated, tossing the pieces aside.

He hesitated, then looked at her angrily. "Friendly?" he asked.

"I'm serious," Kari said, turning to the cat. "This is Gatomon, one of my best friends."

Gatomon smiled at Kari, then frowned at Davis. "Yeah, and don't you forget it," she warned. "Kari, who's the wack job?"

"That's Davis," she introduced him. "He's another of my friends, and he won't hurt you..." She frowned at him. "Will he?"

He blinked, then sighed wearily. "This place is startin' to get to me..." he muttered.

"TK!" the pig laughed, flying over the mess and into the boy's arms.

"Patamon!" TK returned, hugging the monster happily. "It's been too long!"

"Let's try this again," Kari said, smiling and opening her arms. "Gatomon!"

Gatomon eagerly leaped into the hug. "I've missed you!" she laughed. "You're so big I feel like an actual cat now!"

"Oh, you kept my old whistle!" Kari beamed, looking at the shiny bauble on the cat's neck. "Still in good shape, too."

Tai smiled. "It's good to see you guys again," he said. "So, uh... where's Agumon? And what about the others?"

Patamon's smile faded as he glanced at Tai. "Well, um..." he started.

Kari heard a strange noise, like a broken electric cord. She glanced down at Gatomon's tail and gasped; the golden ring was covered with cracks and sparking with blue electricity. "Your ring..." she said, looking at her friend. "Tell me what happened!"

Gatomon nodded, but then leaped from Kari's arms. "OK, but we've gotta move," she announced, starting to run. "It's not safe here."

"Not safe?" TK asked. "What do you mean?"

"Just come on," Patamon urged them as he flew after Gatomon. "There's a cave nearby!"

Anxious to hear what they had to say, the four kids took off after them. Davis was especially curious; this was the first time he had ever heard that Kari had a freaky, talking cat for a friend. Even after three years of hanging out with her, he figured, there were still things he didn't know about her. Either way, he figured he should say something.

"Hey, Kari?" he asked as they ran. "Uh, sorry 'bout that..."

She shook her head. "You didn't know," she replied.

It wasn't the response he was hoping for, but it was all he was going to get. He sighed sadly; how could he ever get back into her good graces? He cursed at himself as he turned back to what was happening. He was in an unknown land full of monsters, running into God knows what kind of danger; this was no time to be thinking about that sort of thing.

Suddenly, the forest ended and the foursome found itself at the bottom of a high, rocky hill. A huge cave mouth opened before them, beckoning. Patamon and Gatomon stood just inside it, doing the exact same thing. "Come on! We'll be safe here," Gatomon said.

The four kids ran into the cave and leaned against the walls, heaving for air. "Safe... from what?..." Tai managed. "What... were we... running from?..."

Gatomon frowned darkly. "...The Digimon Emperor," she said.

The kids looked at her, puzzled; none of them knew how to respond. "The whoza whatsis, now?" Davis asked, scratching his head.

Gatomon sighed and signaled for them to walk. As they moved deeper into the cave, she tried her best to explain it. "Ever since you guys left, things were peaceful here... until around a month ago," she said. "First of all, there was this crazy earthquake that shook the whole planet and changed how it looked... and then, all of a sudden, this bossy human appeared and started turning Digimon into his slaves! He calls himself 'The Digimon Emperor,' and he's already conquered half of the world!"

Tai, TK and Kari were astonished. "Another human?" Tai asked. "Others can get here, too? How?"

Gatomon shook her head. "I don't know..." she answered. "All I know is that he has a black Digivice, and it looks different from yours... and it does the opposite, too; it STOPS Digivolution instead of starting it!"

"Prevents Digivolution?... That's kind of creepy," TK admitted, glancing at Patamon. "He's like an anti-Digidestined, then..."

"Wait, you said it looks different?" Kari asked, then looked at Davis. "Davis, show her yours."

Davis fumbled around in his pocket and yanked out the blue-ridged gizmo. "What, this?" he asked.

The cat's ears pulled back and she snarled. "That's it!" she hissed, her claws extending. "You work for the Emperor, don't you?"

He recoiled, not wanting to be on the business end of those electric nails. "Hell no! No way!" he argued. "I ain't never heard of this Emperor! I just got this when it shot outta the computer!"

"He's right," Kari added. "He's our friend, Gatomon. Calm down!"

Gatomon hesitated, then her ears swiveled back into upright position. "If you say so..." she mumbled. "Anyway, that black Digivice's power isn't just stopping us from Digivolving; it drains our energy, too... By the end of the day, the Digimon are all as weak as newborn kittens... unless they're his slaves already."

"You said that before," Tai said, kneeling before her. "How does he enslave the Digimon?"

"He's got these nasty, flying Dark Rings to do the job," Patamon broke in. "They fly around looking for something to grab onto... and when they get on you, you're his slave for life!"

Tai was sweating now. "Tell me..." he said slowly, reluctant to hear what had become of his own Digimon partner, "is Agumon..."

Gatomon sighed sadly. "When I last saw him, the Emperor had already caught Palmon, Gabumon and Gomamon. He stayed at the lake where we all said goodbye to you guys while the rest of us split up..."

Patamon looked even worse. "He just caught Biyomon and Tentomon today..." he mumbled. "I saw the whole thing..."

Tai hung his head. His little friend was now in the control of a ruthless dictator, and helpless to resist him. "I see..." was all he could say.

"What?" Kari snapped, furious. "Who does this guy think he is?"

"The Digimon Emperor, apparently," TK replied.

"Digimon Emperor!" she snapped, stamping her foot. "I'll slap a Dark Ring on HIM!"

* * *

From his throne, the Digimon Emperor heard this and chuckled, his screens each giving a close-up of one of the kids' faces. "Oh, you will, will you?..." he asked quietly. "Well, this is all just a game to me... and if you can't enjoy yourself, I'll have to ask you to leave."

He glanced to his side and raised his hand, and a red chart appeared with what looked like several names and statistics. His eyes fell on one and he beamed. "Monochromon, go and smash them," he said, pushing a button.

On the Autumnal Forest monitor, a hole opened up in the ground, and a large, gray dinosaur with a steel-ridged back emerged. With a bloodthirsty roar, it stomped off into the woods.

"Now, let's see what you're made of..." the Emperor said as he turned back to the monitors... but the kids were gone. Surprised, he stood up. "What? Where'd they go?" he asked.

* * *

There had been a loud rumble in the cave when Kari had stamped. For half a second, the kids saw the floor crack, and then there was a giant hole. Kari lurched forward to try and get away, but it was too late. Panicked, she grabbed TK's arm and pulled him down with her. He grabbed Davis's arm in shock, and he grabbed Tai's. Screaming, all four of them plummeted into the crater.

"Kari! TK!" Gatomon and Patamon shouted, sliding down the side of the hole after them. They found the kids in a heap, groaning and twitching.

"Owww! My ass! MY ASS!" Davis cursed.

"I guess we fell to another level..." Tai wheezed.

"TK, get your knee off my foot!" Kari snapped.

"...That's not my knee," TK grumbled.

Somehow, they untangled themselves and got back on their feet. They now stood in a medium-sized chamber shaped like a craggy beehive. One small hole at the top let in a beam of sunlight, which shone down onto the room's exact middle.

"Boy, where are we?..." TK asked. "Kind of looks like a sanctuary or something."

Kari squinted where the beam touched the earth; something was there. "Hey, look," she piped up.

On a small mound, bathed in the sunlight, was a small, oval-shaped, red object. It was decorated with orange flames and a long, metal blade jutted out of its top. An emblem of a bright sun glittered on its middle.

The party approached it, curious. "Is that... an egg?" Davis asked.

Gatomon scratched her head. "Must've been rough on the chicken that laid that thing," she remarked.

Tai's eyed widened as he noticed the sun symbol. That was one of the emblems of power in the Digital World, and to top it off, it was the one that he had been presented with: the Crest of Courage. "...It's a DigiEgg!" he announced.

"A DigiEgg?" Kari asked, staring at the symbol. "Yeah, you're right!"

"It has the Crest of Courage on it; maybe it's for you," TK pointed out.

Tai nodded solemnly. Gatomon had basically said that all of their old friends had been captured by the Emperor; maybe this was something that could help him get them back. His thoughts turned to Agumon, his happy little dinosaur friend, and he was filled with resolve. He walked over to the egg, stooped down and clasped it.

Suddenly, the egg flashed with black energy. Tai shrieked as electricity shot through him, and forced himself to let go. He fell on his back, gasping for air.

"Tai!" Kari gasped, running to her brother's aid. TK and Davis ran to him, too. "What happened?"

"I... I... I don't know..." he managed. "I touched it... and I got zapped!..."

"Really?..." TK asked, looking at the strange thing. "But if it has your Crest..." He got up and walked to the DigiEgg and touched it. Instantly he was electrocuted by the same black energy and toppled on his butt. "Yeowch!" he hissed.

Kari frowned and approached it. "Fine, let me try," she huffed, kneeling and clutching the egg. In a moment, she was also on the ground gasping and twitching.

Davis didn't know what to make of it. Who had ever heard of an egg that fried people? Usually it was the other way around.

Tai huffed crossly. "That's one nasty thing, whatever it is," he grumbled.

"But if Tai can't get near it, and neither of us..." TK thought aloud, "who could?..."

Kari was about to say something when she noticed Davis still standing there, bamboozled. There had to be a reason he was given a Digivice; maybe this was it. "...Davis," she started, "why don't you try?"

Davis turned a shocked eye to her. "What?" he demanded.

"You're the only one who hasn't," TK pointed out, "and you've got that new Digivice... Maybe you can move it."

"Oh, no! Hell no!" Davis argued, shaking his head furiously. "I've been through enough today without gettin' my eyeballs toasted!"

"Please, Davis?" Kari asked, getting back on her feet. "Moving that egg might be the key to helping the Digimon and stopping the Emperor..."

Davis snorted and folded his arms, but his mind chewed it over. He really had nothing to do with this world, or its inhabitants, or this Emperor. He could have just as easily tossed the Digivice in the trash with the other two and left, writing them all off as nut jobs. Still, when he looked at Kari again, she seemed desperate. He glanced at Patamon and Gatomon, who eyed him expectantly. Their home had been ravaged by this Emperor, and even someone who Tai called a friend had been enslaved. Kari- and Tai and TK, too- must have really cared about this place... and yet, they could do nothing. They were depending on him.

He sighed wearily and shook his head. So he might get zapped; that was the worst that could happen. "Shit... Fine, I'll try it," he agreed, walking over to the egg. "But if this thing zaps me, you guys owe me big!"

"Right, right," Tai replied. "Just give it a shot, Davis!"

Davis stood over the egg and glared at it. Sure, it could blast him with some dark-looking death beams, but it was just a stupid egg. He could move one stupid egg. With that mindset, he snarled and quickly put both his hands on it.

Nothing happened. There was no black energy or electric fizzle. Everyone waited for five, then ten, then fifteen seconds, but nothing came.

Sighing with relief, Davis yanked the egg off the ground. "See?" he told himself aloud, "just a stupid old egg!"

He noticed the others staring at him in astonishment. "...What?" he asked.

Just then, a bright, orange light shot up from where the DigiEgg had been, making him fall on his keister. It filled the whole room with a valiant, bright glow, forcing the others to shield their eyes. A dark blotch formed in the center of the light and took the shape of a small, blue, bipedal lizard critter with a small horn for a nose and a yellow V on its forehead.

As Davis stared at it, it opened its eyes to reveal large, bright-red pupils. It looked down at him and its mouth curled into a big, happy smile. With an ecstatic cry, the thing bounded out of the light and started to dance around him. "YEAAHHHH! Free at last! Free at laaaaast! You moved that DigiEgg!" it cried happily. "You're so cool!"

Davis was struck dumb.

The little creature stopped in front of him and beamed. "My name's Veemon, but you can call me Veemon!" it stated, flashing a toothy grin.

"Uh, hi... I'm Davis," Davis replied, not knowing what else to say.

Veemon laughed. "Nice ta meetcha, Davith!" he said, lisping the name.

"Davis," he corrected; he hated it when people didn't get his name right... although since his actual name was Daisuke, this was a common occurrence. Still, he had never heard anyone lisp it before.

"That's what I said! Davith!" Veemon said.

"...Davis," he repeated.

"Boy, what are ya, hard of hearing, Davith?" Veemon laughed.

Davis just sighed.

"Veemon, eh?" Gatomon asked. "I've heard of him... Supposedly, he's a fun-loving, adventure-seeking little Digimon that brings good luck..." She paused and frowned, puzzled. "But I thought he was just a legend..."

Veemon laughed yet again. "Nope, I'm real! An' I'm very glad ta meetcha, Davith! We're gonna be great partners from now on!"

Davis facevaulted. "What? Partners?" he asked.

"Yep, yep!" Veemon answered. "I'm the partner of whoever moved the DigiEgg of Courage, an' that's you!"

Tai, who was watching the whole spectacle, was both amazed and shocked. He, the one entrusted with the Crest of Courage, couldn't get close to that egg... and yet, Davis lifted it with hardly any effort. His own partner was gone, enslaved by the Emperor... Did this mean that Davis was his replacement?

He didn't have any more time to think, however; the whole cave shook violently, startling them all. "N'gahh!" TK yelped. "What is that? An earthquake?"

Kari looked up and pointed. "No, it's that!" she answered.

They all looked up. Knocking through the hole on the ceiling was the Monochromon that the Emperor had dispatched. One more ram and it fell freely towards them, a black ring around its midsection and its blood-red eyes blazing.

"MONSTER!" Davis screamed, scrambling to his feet.

"No, that's a Digimon!" Kari said.

"Monochromon..." TK elaborated.

The Monochromon landed before them and roared furiously, a huge, swirling ball of fire forming in its mouth.

"RUN!" Tai shouted, and all the kids and their Digimon took off.

The Monochromon roared and belched a stream of burning magma across the walls. Panicked, everyone ran for the other side of the room. The monster's earthquake had opened up another hole, and light could be seen streaming from the end of its conjoining tunnel. The monster wasn't finished; it sucked in air for another salvo.

The last one in the pack, Davis tore down the tunnel, still clutching the spiky egg and Veemon panting at his side. "Davith, ya gotta open the DigiEgg!" the blue lizard yelled.

"I don't know what the hell yer talkin' about!" Davis heaved. All he was thinking about was not getting barbecued.

They leaped out of the cave and into daylight, and he paused at the edge of a steep hill to catch his breath. "S... shit..." he gasped. "This... this's too wild for me!..."

"Davis!" Tai shouted, turning back with a horrified look. "Keep running!"

Davis was about to when he heard the Monochromon stampede up behind him. As it screamed its attack again, his heart practically stopped. He turned around to see a giant, burning sphere coming right at him...

...And then he was rolling down the hill as Veemon clung to him for dear life. He smacked against a few rocks, then landed flat on his back at the bottom just in time to see the fireball fly overhead.

"Aww, geez! Davith, tell me, what hurts?" Veemon asked, nervously grabbing at his new partner's shoulders.

"Urrgh... Everything but my goddamn earlobes..." Davis growled.

"You need to open the DigiEgg!" Veemon pushed. "Just hold it up an' say 'DigiArmor Energize!'"

Davis heard footsteps approaching. "Davis!" Tai's voice came to him.

With a groan, he pulled himself into a sitting position. His goggles had been smashed from the fall; one of the lenses barely hung onto the rest.

TK looked around nervously. "We all dodged that... Where's Kari?" he asked.

"Over there!" Patamon announced, pointing.

Kari was on her stomach near a tree with gnarly roots above the ground, struggling and grunting. One of her legs was caught in the roots. Gatomon yanked at the roots, but they wouldn't budge.

Monochromon leaped over Davis and his mouth glowed orange again, aiming right for Kari. Her red eyes widened in horror as she saw her fate. Furious, he scrambled to his feet.

"I can Digivolve if you have courage," Veemon said, tugging at his pant leg. "Use yer courage, an' open that DigiEgg!"

He looked down at him, then back at the doomed Kari, and his lips curled into a determined snarl. "Ya want courage?" he yelled, raising the spiked egg. "I'll GIVE ya courage! DIGIARMOR ENERGIZE!"

The egg flashed brilliantly orange, blinding Tai and TK. Davis, shocked yet again, watched as the egg split apart and flew at Veemon, who was engulfed in its light.

"Veemon Armor Digivole to..." the blue lizard said, and then he was no longer Veemon. He grew to twice his original height. Egg pieces stuck to his feet and became sharp toes. More stuck to his kneecaps to become armored pads. Two more slapped onto his hands and became menacing three-nail claws. One strapped itself to his chest like a breastplate, and the final part applied itself to his head as a brilliant helmet with a huge scimitar blade in its center. The light faded, and a dangerous-looking warrior stood before Davis. "...Flamedramon; the Fire of Courage!" he finished.

Tai and TK's jaws dropped. "Fla... Flamedramon?" TK gasped.

"Amazing..." Tai whispered.

Davis was flabbergasted, too, but he was focused more on Kari's assailant. "Go get 'im, pal!" he ordered, pointing at the Monochromon.

"Right, Davis," Flamedramon answered in a much deeper voice. "I'll broil him like a well-done steak." He turned and threw himself right at the beast.

* * *

"Hmm... Armor Digivolution?..." the Emperor repeated to himself as he eyed the screen with amazement. "With my black Digivice, they shouldn't be able to Digivolve at all!"

He stared a moment more, then sat back in his throne, scratching his chin and grinning wickedly. They were more resourceful than he had thought...

* * *

Kari's life flashed before her eyes as Monochromon's fireball rocketed at her, but the flashback was cut short by a tall, blue figure leaping in front of her. With one swing, Flamedramon snuffed out the attack.

Monochromon roared, furious. Flamedramon raised his claw and made a taunting gesture, infuriating the beast even more. Monochromon charged, and Flamedramon grabbed him and tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of marshmallows. The gray monster heaved another round of fireballs, but Flamedramon punched them all out as if he were popping bubbles.

Kari couldn't believe her eyes. "Wow..." she gasped, "that's Veemon?"

There was a snap behind her; Gatomon had broken the roots. "Gawk later!" she snapped, grabbing Kari's arm and leading her to safety.

Monochromon was at the end of his rope; he charged straight at Flamedramon and gored him with his horn. The blue Digimon flew up into the air, but even then he had a trick up his sleeve. He slowed to a hover, and his whole body suddenly engulfed itself in flame. "FIRE ROCKET!" he declared, barreling down at the monster at breakneck speed.

"Just the ring, Flamedramon!" Gatomon cried. "Hit the ring!"

Flamedramon altered his drop and crashed onto the black ring around Monochromon's belly. The wicked device disintegrated at the touch, and Flamedramon bounced to a halt on the ground nearby. He glowed, then reverted back to Veemon, his armor dissolving into orange light and shooting back towards Davis.

As Davis gaped, the energy flew into his Digivice and something appeared in his other pocket. He reached in and found a gray, square gizmo that looked like a handheld game machine. He opened its lid to see a screen with a small, black egg on it. "Huh... What's this?" he asked aloud.

"Man, that's a weird-looking thing," Tai remarked. "Maybe Izzy can figure it out when we get back."

"Yeah, maybe," Davis said, then pocketed it and grinned. "Well, that was just awesome, savin' Kari and all... Ain't that right, Kari?"

There was silence. "...Kari?" he asked again.

TK coughed and pointed. Kari was rubbing and petting the now-gentle Monochromon and talking softly to it, like it was an old friend.

"That's a good Monochromon..." she said. "Now, you run along home; you've had enough excitement for one day."

Davis hung his head. "Damn," he swore. "I just don't get no respect..."

* * *

The doorway opened, and in hobbled a small, green worm Digimon. He shuddered as he approached the throne; he never had liked this dark chamber. "You summoned me, o evil one?..." he asked.

The Digimon Emperor chuckled to himself, still looking at the Autumnal Forest monitor. "I believe we've found some worthy foes at last," he announced.

"...Great," the Digimon replied, not sounding at all as excited as the Emperor was.

* * *

"Bye, Monochromon!" TK called as the oversized monster lumbered off to its home. He then sighed and turned to his friends. "I can't believe that such a gentle creature like that can be turned into a killing machine..." he said.

"No kidding," Kari agreed. "We have to stop this maniac before he takes over the whole Digital World!"

TK looked at her, then smiled. "Well, I was wondering what kind of after-school activities I'd be doing this year," he laughed.

Davis and Veemon exchanged a handshake. "Heh! Nice workin' witcha, Davith!" Veemon said, once again lisping the boy's name. "Let's do it again sometime!"

"Well, sure," Davis replied, looking puzzled, "but, uh, why couldn't you just stay Flamedramon? I mean, you were a lot bigger an' stronger... and you said my name right."

"I ain't got the energy, Davith," Veemon replied. "Ta Digivolve, I gotta share YOUR energy, an' that can only last fer so long!"

Davis scratched his head. He hadn't noticed it before, but he did feel a bit tired. "Oh," he replied. "Well, I guess it's OK now. We whupped that monster, so everything's fine!"

"Not at all, Davis," Kari corrected him. "We only saved one of the Emperor's servants."

"Yeah, this is going to take a lot more than one fight," TK added. "You've signed onto a lifelong commitment, here!"

Davis recoiled. "WHAT?" he bellowed. "LIFELONG?"

"That's right," Kari agreed. "Veemon and you are partners for life now!"

He shook his head furiously. It was one thing to risk life and limb in a psychotic world once, but to be doing it for the rest of his life was way, way more than he had bargained for. "What the hell?" he yelled. "But... but... I've got hobbies! Homework! Soccer practice! I've got a life, ya know!"

"You'll just have to fit this in," TK replied. "This is important, too!"

"Yeah, this is about life an' death," Patamon piped up. "You're the only one who can stop the Emperor!"

"You walk out on this, you might as well get Veemon sized up for a Dark Ring," Gatomon grumbled.

His fists clenched and unclenched as he stared at the ground, tensely silent. Veemon looked at him, confused. "Davith," he chirped, "don'tcha wanna be my partner?"

He looked at the blue lizard and sighed wearily. When that Monochromon had almost fried him, he had tasted absolute fear. He had been afraid of losing his friends, and his own life to boot. If he stuck around in this world, he may not live to see the end of puberty. Still, looking down at the energetic little Digimon, he remembered Kari's plea and what had made him move the DigiEgg of Courage in the first place.

He shook his head, smiled and patted Veemon's head. Some voice deep inside of him knew that this was a special, important place, and he now had an obligation to it. "Sure, I wanna be yer partner, dude," he replied. "I just... don't know much about this place... but between my human pals and you, I'm hopin' I'll figure it out."

Veemon beamed at him. "Great!" he laughed. "We're gonna have so much fun!"

Davis chuckled halfheartedly. "Yeah... if you wanna call it that..." he mumbled.

Just then, he noticed that Tai had approached them, a sad sort of smile in his eyes. "Davis, this is really brave of you," he said. "I know you'll learn to love this world as much as I do. Even though I can't help much, I know you and the others can stop this guy."

Veemon laughed. "You bet! Leave it to me n' Davith!"

Davis eyed his mentor, puzzled at where this was going. "...Tai? What's up?" he asked.

"I noticed you broke your goggles," Tai went on, pointing at the busted set still perched in his hair, "and a Digidestined just wouldn't look right without them, so..." He reached up and pulled his own goggles out of his hair and offered them. "I... want you to have mine."

TK and Kari gasped; Tai would never, _ever_ give away his prized goggles... would he? Davis looked equally shocked; he couldn't imagine his hero without goggles. There was a long, tense pause.

Finally, though, Davis just laughed and gently pushed Tai's hands away. "Ahh, that's OK, Tai," he said, pulling off his own goggles and grinning. "I can tape these right back up! These babies were built to take a beating; they've been smashed a million times already! See that little crack there? That's from a 50-MPH soccer ball!"

"That explains a lot," Gatomon whispered to Patamon.

Tai, surprised, looked around. "Oh, uh, well, OK, if you say so," he said, slapping his goggles back on his head, a slight blush on his cheeks.

"It's just as well," Kari giggled. "You just wouldn't look right without them, big brother!"

Everyone laughed, but then a relieved sigh from Patamon caught their attention. "What's up, Patamon?" TK asked.

Patamon pointed at the sun, which was setting in the distance. "Sunset," he said. "Now we can relax!"

"Really? Why?" TK asked.

"The Emperor only appears during the daytime," Gatomon answered. "We don't know why, but we're all thankful for the night."

Tai scratched his chin in thought. "I see..." he said again, then grinned. "Well, maybe night would be the perfect time to do a major strike!"

The others looked at him, baffled. "Tai, are you nuts?" TK asked. "It's night! We've gotta get home, or our parents will freak out!"

"Not to mention the lack of firepower," Kari added. "We've only got Flamedramon. I mean, he's great, but he can only do so much."

"Yeah, and I'm beat," Davis continued, yawning deeply. "This really took it outta me... I'm no good right now."

"Besides, we don't know enough," TK finished. "We've gotta learn about this Emperor before we do anything rash..."

Tai heard them all and sighed; it was a silly idea. "Yeah, you're right..." he agreed. "Fine, let's go home."

"...Oh, yeah!" Davis yelped. "If I'm not home right quick, the 'rents'll think I got detention and my goddamn sister'll never let me hear the end of it!"

"I guess we should be getting home," Kari agreed. "Of course, I'm not sure how we can..."

"Maybe if we go back to where we landed, we'll find something," TK suggested.

They started to go, but Gatomon tugged at Kari's sock. She looked down and her cat took off the whistle and offered it to her. "I know you said I could have it, but..." she said, "well, it's been weighing me down a bit... and let's face it, you just don't look the same without it."

Kari smiled and accepted it. "I'll hold onto it for you, then," she agreed.

The kids and their Digimon hiked back to the grove where they had landed. Much to everyone's surprise, a small, old-fashioned TV set now sat in the grass. "What's that doing here?" Tai asked.

"Either this's a way back home, or someone's a litterbug," Kari remarked.

"Ya think there's cable on this thing?" Davis asked, kneeling and turning it on. Much to his surprise, an image of Yolei, Cody and Izzy sitting in the computer lab appeared.

"So, Izzy, can we go to the Digital World now?" Yolei asked.

"The gate might close," Izzy replied, taking the brownie that Cody offered and biting into it. "It's not safe... Mm-mm-MM! MAN, this is the best brownie I've ever tasted!"

"Aha..." Yolei replied crossly, then glanced at the screen for a moment. "By the way, what does it mean when that red button lights up?"

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked, still engrossed in the brownie.

"Just like that," Yolei said, pointing right at Davis. She then realized that he was there and shrieked in surprise.

"Hey, guys!" Davis said, then frowned. "Aww, man, they've got brownies in there!"

Just then, the TV screen lit up, and the four kids were sucked in, leaving their Digimon friends behind. As fast as bullets, they shot out of the computer and landed in a dogpile on the lab floor, with Izzy right on the bottom.

"Somehow I sense this is going to be a regular occurrence," TK sighed.

"GET OFF!" Izzy yelled. "YOU'RE CRUSHING MY BROWNIES!"

* * *

The monitors switched off for the night, the Digimon Emperor sat at his computer, planning his next move. He was sure the children would come again the next day, and already his mind was hard at work. This time, he would plan accordingly.

"This is going to be more challenging than I thought..." he said, looking over his plan with a sinister smile. "...I love it!"


	2. Love Takes Flight, Knowledge Digs Deep

**CHAPTER 2**

**LOVE TAKES FLIGHT AND KNOWLEDGE DIGS DEEP**

"N'gahhh!" Yolei yelled, yanking herself out of the mess of bodies. "What the hell?"

Cody, who had avoided being caught in the mess, looked at them all with restrained surprise. "You all just came out of the computer screen..." he stated. "How? Where were you?"

Davis pulled himself out and laughed. "Where were we? The Digital World, of course!" he exclaimed.

Cody scratched his head, suddenly recalling what Izzy had told Yolei and him. "Oh, yes," he replied. "I suppose that would be a way in..."

"It was freakin' awesome!" Davis declared, hardly able to contain his excitement. "There I was, running through the jungle with a Monochromon hot on my heels, but then Veemon and I-"

"Daisuke, slow down," Cody said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Davis coughed at the use of his real name, but then stopped. "Right, right, my bad," he apologized. "Lemme start at the beginning..."

"I've got a better idea!" Yolei piped up, clapping merrily. "Let's all go back right now!"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Kari said as the others yanked themselves out of the human pretzel that they were in. "Look at the time; we have to go home."

"Seeing such a world could be interesting..." Cody said, folding his arms, "but it's macaroni and cheese night at home, and I don't want to miss that."

"Oh, yeah," Tai said. "It's pork surprise at my place..." he exchanged nauseated faces with his sister.

"Stuffed peppers in a salad," Izzy added.

TK sighed. "TV dinners in the microwave..." he muttered.

Yolei looked at all of them, suddenly realizing that she was outnumbered. "...No fair!" she cried. "I wanna go!"

"You will later, Yolei," Cody said as they all filed out of the computer lab.

"WHENNN?" she whined.

Izzy was about to turn off the lights when he glanced at the computer once more. To his surprise, the button that Yolei had mentioned was no longer red; it was a pale, boring gray. He went back and tried to mess with it, hitting every kind of key combination imaginable. The program was unresponsive; the Digital World was locked once again. He stood back and scratched his head, frowning.

"Hey, Izzy," Tai said, walking back in, "everyone else is gone. Something up?"

Izzy nodded slowly, then looked at his friend. "Round up as many of the eight of us as you can," he said. "We have to discuss this."

"Right," he said. "I'll get Kari, TK and Mimi. You call Sora, Matt and Joe. Let's meet at the playground around 8."

"Sounds like a plan," Izzy agreed, then stared at the screen and frowned again.

* * *

"Oh, man, I've gotta tell you guys, it was wild!" Davis said as he stepped out of the school, with Yolei, Cody, TK and Kari behind him. "A whole forest that smells like fall, but isn't! And vending machines full of sewer things! And collapsing caves and giant monsters... Oh, man!"

"Yes, Daisuke, we've heard," Yolei replied, still cross about her denial into the digital realm.

"Yeah, Koushiro told us about it while you were in there," Cody replied.

"Heh?" Davis asked, looking at them. "Whaddya mean?"

Yolei smirked and showed her red-rimmed Digivice. Cody revealed his yellow-rimmed Digivice as well. "You aren't the only one with a new toy!" she said impishly.

Davis, TK and Kari leaped in surprise. "What? You got Digivices, too?" TK asked.

"Yep!" Yolei laughed. "They just hopped right into our hands!"

Cody shook his head. "They landed in the trash can. We just pulled them out," he corrected her. "A filthy practice, really..."

"Izzy told us all about the place, so I'm all psyched to go!" Yolei laughed. "This is gonna be the best school year ever!"

Kari and TK exchanged surprised looks, but Davis fumed; he couldn't stand this smelly girl, and the thought of sharing the Digital World with her was extremely distasteful. "Oh, yeah?" he huffed. "You wouldn't last ten seconds there!"

"Would to!" Yolei shot right back; this goggle-wearing meathead- the only boy in school she had never fantasized about- always ticked her off, and she was not about to let him pull her from her moment of ecstasy. "Izzy told us all about it!"

"I've actually BEEN there!" Davis retorted.

"If Izzy tells us something, it's always right!" she snapped. The two were in each other's faces now, which meant that Davis had to stand on tiptoe to match her glare.

Kari scratched her head. "I didn't know Davis knew Yolei," she said, "but then, he never talks about his other friends around me..."

TK looked at Cody, who was watching with indifference. "Aren't you going to stop them?" TK asked.

"This is a common occurrence," Cody replied, not at all surprised.

"You were just lucky!" Yolei huffed. "The next time you go in, you'll get gobbled up like a jelly donut!"

"I'd say the same for you," Davis rebuked, "but they'd spit you out, 'cuz you stink!"

She puffed her cheeks; she didn't think she smelled bad, and she hated anyone saying otherwise. "I'm not even gonna answer that!" she snarled.

He grinned. "Your mouth doesn't have to," he said. "The rest of ya already did!"

"WHY, YOU!" she screeched, and threw a violent punch. He dodged it and stuck out his tongue. She grabbed him and dragged him to the ground, where they rolled around, kicking and punching and cursing up a storm.

TK and Kari watched in shock. Cody just glanced at his watch.

"This is going way too far!" TK exclaimed.

"We'd better do something!" Kari said, starting to move toward the scuffle.

Cody held up a hand to stop her. "Wait for it," he instructed.

As they rolled around, Davis and Yolei got closer and closer to a hill on the far edge of the school grounds. At the bottom of that hill was a shallow pond with several lily pads floating on it. With one last curse, Yolei kicked them onto the incline and they tumbled down the hill. One tremendous splash later, both combatants were on their soggy butts in the middle of the pond, coughing and spitting water.

TK, Kari and Cody walked down to the pond. "It's the same every time," Cody sighed.

"Are you guys OK?" TK asked.

Yolei wrung out her sleeves, but it was a futile gesture.

Davis glanced at her and grinned. "Well, this counts as your bath for the month, right?" he jeered.

"...Aww, shaddup," she replied, too wet and soggy to retaliate.

Dripping and sloshing, they pulled themselves out of the pond and stamped away some of the wet. "Well, I'd better be gettin' home now; stuff needs fixin'," Davis said, motioning to his goggles. "See you tomorrow, Kari, Cody, TJ." With that, he turned and raced off.

"TJ?" TK asked, scratching his head. How could Davis get his name wrong?

"I guess we should go home, too," Cody said, motioning to the dripping Yolei. "Coming, TK?"

"Yeah, I am," TK replied. He turned back to Kari. "Is your place around here?" he asked.

"Actually, yes," she said. "It's just three blocks north, fifth floor. See you tomorrow!" With a wave, she took off up the street.

TK waved back until she was across the busy intersection, then started after Yolei and Cody. "Well, this certainly was an interesting first day," he remarked.

"No kidding," Yolei replied, wiping her glasses off on her shirt and smiling playfully at him. "So, already have a prospect, eh?"

TK raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

"She means that you're friendly with Kari, even though it's only your first day," Cody said.

"Friendly?" TK asked as they rounded the corner and came to the apartment building. "Well, I met her on vacation five years ago, and we got to be pretty good friends... I was surprised to see her here; I didn't think I would."

"Right," Yolei chuckled. "We'll just keep it at that, then."

TK was as confused as before. "Keep it at what?" he asked.

"Oh, forget it," she finished, still grinning as Cody and she headed for the elevator. "Come on, Cody. I've got a computer to tame!"

"You'd better change first," Cody warned her. "Mom will have a fit if you wet the carpets again. See you later, TK."

The elevator doors shut, leaving TK to head up the stairs, fondly thinking of all of the day's excitement.

* * *

The fall night air was crisp and cool as six children stood in the shadows of their old playground, waiting. Though most of them were already there, a few were still missing.

TK quietly sat on a swing, kicking up sand. The rest of the day had been exciting enough, but when Kari and Tai had appeared at his door around 7:45, he realized that it wasn't over yet. Though he was thrilled to see all of his old friends again, he couldn't help but sense that something was going on besides a reunion.

Perched at the top of the dome-shaped monkey bars was Sora Takenouchi, the captain of the girls' soccer team and Tai's best friend. She was a kind, tough, sharp girl with short, caramel hair and cinnamon eyes. Always athletic, she had scaled the bars to kill time, but had stayed up there for the view. Now she looked around, trying to catch sight of their missing friend.

On a whirligig near the swings sat lanky Jyou "Joe" Kido, a freshman at the medical college on the other side of town. He was the oldest of the group, but certainly didn't act it; aside from his weird short, blue hair and his thick glasses, he was a pathological worrywart who freaked out at the slightest irregularity and blew everything out of proportion. Even now he fidgeted with his glasses, concerned about how long this meeting would take; he had a quiz the next day, and he needed to go home and study... even though he already knew the material by heart.

Kari leaned against the monkey bar dome, staring at the night sky. She had a feeling that this meeting was the start of something important that could change all of their lives. She always had feelings like that when something important was about to happen; it was like she could sense the coming events. It was a sense that was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

Tai balanced himself on the top of a bench. Izzy sat next to him, impatiently drumming his fingers on the wood. "I wonder what's keeping Matt," the young genius grumbled.

"Well, you know him," Tai answered. "Ever since he joined the jazz band, that saxophone's become his life."

"Even he wouldn't miss something about the Digital World, though," Sora said, peering off into the darkness. "Oh, here he comes now!"

A seventh person entered the playground. This was Yamato "Matt" Ishida, the resident musician. With his short, spiky, golden hair and feminine face, one would assume that he was one of those pop idol singers that make pre-teen girls shriek at the tops of their lungs. However, that was not the case; Matt was a jazzman. He had first started playing the blues on his harmonica, but had since switched to a stylish saxophone. Now he led the school's jazz band in their practice of the masterpieces of all the hotshot jazz masters. It didn't pay well, nor did they get much attention, but he didn't care; he was in it solely for love of the music.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, setting his saxophone case down next to him as he leaned against a lamppost. "We were having trouble on a Thelonius Monk piece and the guys wanted me to help figure it out."

"No problem, Matt!" TK laughed as he walked over and gave his brother a happy slap on the shoulder. "Nobody was going to leave you out of this!"

"So, is everyone here?" he asked.

Joe looked around. "Mimi isn't here yet," he replied.

Izzy shook his head. "She isn't coming, I'm afraid," he said.

"I told her about it, but she said she had other things to do," Tai said, frowning. "Something about a slumber party with the other cheerleaders..."

"Talk about leaving people out..." Sora mumbled as she slid down to the ground. "At least she'll answer you when you say something."

"Oh..." Joe replied, sounding disappointed. "Well, I guess we should get started, then..."

"Right," Izzy said, turning to Tai. "Now, Tai, please recount what went on this afternoon."

"All right, then," Tai said, standing up and clearing his throat.

* * *

"Yeah, there we go," Davis mumbled with satisfaction as he placed a strip of tape over one last crack, then mounted the goggles back in his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror and beamed. This tape did wonders; he could barely see the cracks at all. "The goggle master rides again!" he cackled, pumping his fist.

His wardrobe malfunction set right again, it was time for his favorite part of the night. He sat down at the small desk in the corner of his room and pulled out a magazine. After flipping through a few pages, he chuckled and propped it up on the desk, then reached into another drawer and pulled out some old newspapers, a bottle of super glue, cutting tools, and a small model airplane on a stand. He set the plane on the desk and studied it happily.

If there was one thing that Davis loved more than soccer, it was airplanes. He had books about airplanes, posters of airplanes, and models of airplanes all over his room. His favorite hobby was assembling the models and then detailing them to look exactly like the ones in the magazines. Though he loved to look at the planes and build the models, in the back of his mind he couldn't help but think that he could do even better. He always wondered if planes could be made faster, or lighter, or more maneuverable. He would daydream for hours about the ultimate plane, one that he would fly across the world at breakneck speed, doing barrel rolls all the way. His parents were perplexed at his bizarre fantasy, but his sister said it suited him, since his head was in the clouds already. That was when he threw pillows.

Tonight, however, his attention was divided. Though he worked hard at finishing the model, Veemon kept popping up in his mind. He wondered if his new little friend was all right off in that mysterious Digital World, with those crazy monsters and that Digimon Emperor creep. He shook his head, remembering that the Emperor did not come at night... but he couldn't help but think about it. If he wanted to keep Veemon around, he had to help TJ and Kari fight off this tyrant.

Suddenly, there was a snap. He looked down to see a jagged fragment of a wing in one hand and a dripping glue bottle in the other. He had forgotten the most basic rule of building models: to not use glue when thinking of other things.

An explosion of obscenities rocked the apartment.

* * *

In a powerful swing, Cody brought down his bamboo shinai with perfect control. He always practiced his kendo before dinner, and such a wonderful fall evening was cause for practicing out on his balcony. Even at his age of ten, he was a competent swordsman, though he never boasted about it. With such stoic discipline, and clad in his white gi and violet hakama, he could have fallen out of a history book.

Though his technique was exceptional as always, he was just going through the motions; his mind was wandering the mysterious realm called the Digital World. He usually wasn't one for daydreaming or imagining- life was simply what it was, and not meant to be questioned- but Izzy's story had caught his ear. He didn't care for fantasy, but in his mind he saw it as a grand adventure, and a place to test his skills. He saw himself wandering a vast, grassy plain untamed by human hands, like the samurai warriors of old.

"Such a world..." he murmured, staring at the tip of his weapon.

Just inside, Yolei was boarding a completely different train of thought. She grumbled and snickered as she poked and prodded at the guts of Cody's ancient computer. She didn't mind fixing it every other week, seeing as how she got to both play with the intricacies of technology and eat brownies. She loved fixing and designing computers as much as Izzy loved programming them. Some day, she wanted to create a computer all her own, and show off its "leetness" to the world. She giggled as she thought the word again. She was well versed in the goofy hacker language of the Internet, and all sorts of the World Wide Web's jokes and wackiness.

It was true that her real name was Miyako, but when she had become a seasoned web surfer, she had taken the name "Yolei" to avoid giving personal information, and also to sound cooler. She had also talked Iori into joining a few forums, and had dubbed him "Cody" out of playfulness. He only allowed her to call him that in reality; he was Cody to the electronic masses, and Iori to everyone else.

Tonight, though, her thoughts were far from processors and RAM discs; they were on the Digital World, just like Cody's. Izzy's words had captured her imagination entirely, and she couldn't wait to dive into the place. If it was an entire world inside the computer network, which meant that it was one big, real-time online game, her favorite kind. She didn't care if that meathead Davis didn't want her there; she was going, and that was that. She had found the red Digivice; that world was something that she was entitled to.

She sighed and looked up for a moment, thinking of how glorious that was. She had a brother and two sisters, all older than she, and they constantly squabbled over who owned what in the apartment. Every day there was a scuffle over who's turn it was to play the video game machines, or who got to watch his or her favorite show, or who got the last cookie. She beamed as she thought of the little red gizmo. She did not have to share that; that was hers, and hers alone, just like the Digital World.

Satisfied with the job she had done, she closed up the computer and turned it on. Just like always, it sprang back to life, a reanimated Frankenstein of her own nurturing. "Well, that's that," she cackled, mounting it back on his desk. "No machine's a match for me!"

"Yolei," Cody's mother called from the hall, "would you be a dear and tell Iori that dinner's ready?"

"No problem, Mrs. Hida," Yolei replied, getting up and jamming her tools into her backpack.

"Would you like to stay, too?" she asked. "Macaroni and cheese!"

"I'd love to, ma'am, but I have to get going," Yolei said reluctantly. "Plenty of homework to be done."

She walked out onto the balcony. "Your mom says dinner's ready," she said to the little kendo master. "Your compy's all fixed, and I'm going home."

"Thank you, Miyako," Cody said, lowering his shinai and wiping the sweat from his brow. "I am glad that you always help me."

"No worries," she answered, then shot him a wry look. "Now, maybe you can help me with something..."

He looked at her, puzzled. "Oh?" he asked. "What?"

"Well," she said, beaming, "tomorrow after school, you meet me in the computer lab, and we'll force Izzy to take us to the Digital World!"

He frowned. Sometimes Yolei's shenanigans really got on his nerves. This time, however, his interest was piqued. "'Force' is such a rude word," he corrected her. "I'll help you... persuade him."

"Awright!" she laughed, clapping her hands. "I knew I could count on you!"

"It sounds like a strange place," he replied, leaning his weapon against the wall. "I'll gladly assist."

"Awesome!" she said, throwing on her backpack. "I'll meet you in the lab after class, then. Ohh, baby, this is gonna r0x0r!"

He gave her a blank look. "...What?" he asked.

"...Never mind," she sighed.

* * *

"DigiArmor?" Matt asked, scratching his hair. "That's a new one."

"It was the strangest thing," Tai replied. "When I tried to touch that DigiEgg, it zapped me, but somehow Davis moved it without a problem..."

"I'm more surprised that Davis got a Digivice," Sora said, frowning. "I mean, he's a hotheaded screwball who shows off every chance he gets!"

Tai grinned at her. "Kind of like me at that age, huh?" he asked.

Her cheeks reddened and she coughed awkwardly. "Well, you didn't cuss every other word," she replied.

"Davis isn't the only one," TK piped up. "My new friends Yolei and Cody- err, Iori- also got new ones... but it's weird how they got them."

"What do you mean?" Joe asked. "If they got Digivices, it means they're the new Digidestined, doesn't it?"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Matt protested hotly. "'New' Digidestined? You're making it sound like we're out of a job, here!"

"Aren't we?" Joe asked with a sigh. "This Digimon Emperor person has grabbed almost everyone's Digimon, and whoever's left can't Digivolve anyway." He gazed up at the sky, a far-off look in his eyes. "It's been five years... Maybe it's time to get off the horse."

Matt fumed. "I'm not getting off any horse!" he snapped. "Joe, listen to yourself! Gomamon's in danger! Don't you want to help him?"

"Of course I do," Joe replied, getting angry. "I just don't see a way how!"

"He has a point..." Sora added.

Matt folded his arms. "It's easy," he said, "we'll just go to the Digital World and do things our way."

"...And that's suicide," Sora added.

"I'm afraid we can't even do that," Izzy said, shaking his head. "The gate closed up when we left..."

"Boy, Izzy, you sure are making us feel better!" Matt snapped. "The gate's open again, but all our Digimon are brainwashed, some total newbies have Digivices that work where ours don't, and the gate's closed again! Sheesh!"

"Calm down, Matt," Tai said. "I thought jazz men always kept their cool."

Matt snorted and looked away.

"The Digivices landed in the trash," TK noted quietly.

"...What?" Sora asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Kari piped up. "When the Digivices came out of the computer, one hit Davis in the face, and the other two landed in the trash."

"Yolei and Cody fished them out later," Izzy finished.

"Well, that's weird," Joe said. "Digivices don't land in garbage cans if they're meant for someone... do they?"

"I don't know, but it's got me thinking," Izzy said, getting up and starting to pace. "Look, this's going to bug you guys, but I think something's off about this whole thing."

"Besides everything you've already said?" Matt muttered.

"First of all," Izzy said, ignoring the comment, "is the fact that this gate opens through a computer. When we all went, it was through a wave of energy from the sky, wasn't it?"

Everyone mumbled with agreement. "Secondly," he continued, "is the fact that the Digimon Emperor only comes out at night, and that night falls at the same time there as here..."

Sora's eyes lit up. "Oh! How can that be?" she asked. "When Tai got sucked out of the Digital World and then came back, months had gone by for us!"

"Exactly," Izzy answered, frowning. "Time in the worlds has become synchronized again. That only happened once before..."

"...When the worlds were directly connected to each other so we could go home," Tai finished. "The Digital World was being held in place for us to leave before it locked up!"

"That's right," Izzy said. "Time could have stayed synchronized after we left, but that's highly unlikely, given that it didn't when Tai left alone."

"So... something's holding the Digital World in place now?" Sora asked.

"I'm not completely sure yet," Izzy admitted. "This is all speculation..."

"Gatomon said that the land rearranged itself," TK added. "That's something, too."

"Indeed," Izzy replied. "Even under normal continental drift, the world shouldn't have changed as much as she implied."

"I remember that the Dark Masters changed the land to make that big mountain of theirs," Sora said. "Do you think someone did it on purpose?"

"I don't know..." Izzy said, shaking his head tiredly. "There are far too many questions at this point..."

"So what do we do, Einstein?" Matt groused.

"I'm going back tomorrow to check that computer again," Izzy answered. "Maybe the gate will have reopened..."

Tai looked at him. "Then I'm coming, too," he said.

Sora nodded. "Count me in," she said. "This's way too crazy to miss."

"You know I'm coming," TK agreed.

"Me five!" Kari said, smiling.

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Joe said, the resolve fading from his face. "Oh... I can't. I have an oral test on laryngitis."

"Damn," Matt growled. "That's when the jazz band practices, and we've got that PTA dinner gig to work towards... I can't come, either."

Tai clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't you worry," he said. "We'll scope things out and keep in touch."

"All right," Matt agreed, "but if you need us, you'd better call us."

With that, everyone started off home. Sora had the farthest to go, and because it was so late, Tai offered to see her home.

"This is amazing..." she said, staring at the ground as they walked. "It's open again..."

"Well, don't get too excited," Tai said. "We've gotta save Biyomon and Agumon from the Emperor first."

"Right..." she sighed. "Poor Biyomon... Well, I'll give it my all!... when I have time..."

"Yeah, after school and soccer practice, I'll whup that Emperor's butt," he agreed. There was a pause, and then suddenly he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny, Tai?" she asked, surprised.

"Just think about it!" he laughed. "The Digital World has opened up again, and we're here... SCHEDULING it!"

She thought about it for a moment, then chuckled halfheartedly. It was funny, but a little sad at the same time.

* * *

The next afternoon, the computer lab was safely empty as Izzy gave it a thorough inspection. He checked every terminal and hard drive, but the only computer with the Digital World program on it was the one they had used yesterday. The gate was still locked as well. He leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. Something about all of this made him uneasy.

Just then, the door opened, and he looked up to see Yolei and Cody. "Oh, hello, Yolei, Iori," he greeted, remembering to use Cody's proper name.

"Hi, Izzy," Yolei said, flashing a big grin. "Hey, we were wondering..."

"Perhaps you could show us the Digital World?" Cody asked, looking hopeful. "I was thinking of it all night."

Izzy smiled. "I would if I could, guys, but-" he began, but then glanced at the screen. To his shock, the button was red again; the gate was open! "...What the..." he murmured.

The door opened again, and in walked Davis, flanked by Kari and TK. "Yo! Am I late to the party?" he asked with a grin.

"We thought we'd drop in and see if you learned anything," TK said to Izzy.

"Well, the gate just opened again," Izzy remarked, getting up and scratching his head. "I guess we could go in and investigate, but I'm still waiting for some..."

"Hey!" Tai's voice came as the door opened yet again. "We're here!"

"Ah, here they are now," Izzy said, smiling. "Come on in, guys."

Davis turned around and his jaw dropped in horror. Tai stood behind him, but so did the captain of the girls' soccer team, the team that he despised above all others. "HEY!" he yelled, pointing at her. "What's SHE doing here?"

"That's a great way to greet a captain," Sora said, rolling her eyes. "What've you been teaching this kid, Tai?"

"Coach, what the hell?" Davis asked, looking wildly at the older boy. "She's your FRIEND? But she's the captain of our arch enemies!"

"Hey, just because we're rivals on the field doesn't mean we can't be friends off it," Tai replied, smiling at Sora. "Sora and I've been best pals since before I can remember... and she's a Digidestined, too!"

Davis just gawked; yet again, his world had been rocked. The girls' soccer team clobbered the boys' team in half of the games they played, and his mentor and the enemy coach were old friends! To top that off, she was a Digidestined just like Tai and Kari! It was too much to absorb politely.

After a few awkward moments, Tai and Sora stepped past him. "So, Izzy, what have you learned?" Sora asked.

"The gate's open now," Izzy replied, frowning. "I'm not entirely sure why, but..." He paused and glanced at Yolei and Cody. "...Never mind; let's just go in."

"Go in?" Yolei asked, her eyes lighting up. "We're going in? YES!"

Davis shook himself from his stupor and turned a cocky eye at Yolei. "Hang on, newbie," he said, smirking, "I think I oughta warn you, this place ain't for weenies!"

Yolei shot him a fiery glare. "You only went once," she snapped. "You're as much a n00b as I am!"

"True, but he may know something," Cody suggested. "Why don't we listen-"

Just then, the door opened once more and an adult voice boomed. "Taichi Yagami! Is that you?"

Everyone stiffened and turned around. In the doorway stood a teacher with short hair, glasses, and a goofy-looking face. Sora, Tai and Izzy recognized him right away. "Mister Fujiyama!" they said in unison.

"Sora and Izzy are here, too?" Fujiyama asked, walking in and looking them over with happiness. "Didn't you all graduate? Ah... couldn't stay away, could you?"

"Nice to see you, too, Mr. Fujiyama... um... but what are you doing here?" Izzy asked, scratching his head.

"Me? Oh, well, some of the staff had doubts about you teaching the after-school session all by yourself, so I'll be helping teach it now," he replied.

Izzy's hair stood on end. Doubts? How could anyone have doubts about his teaching?

"...But what do you know about computers?" Sora and Tai asked in unison.

"Not a thing!" Fujiyama replied, laughing.

The older kids sighed.

"Well, now that that's done, let's start the class!" Fujiyama said, looking around. "Wow, you've sure got a lot of students, Izzy. I-"

"Um, actually, Mr. Fujiyama," Tai broke in, moving forward and practically pushing Mr. Fujiyama out into the hall, "maybe you can help me out. I'm having some problems adjusting to high school. It's the girls; they're all so different now!" He gave the others the two-fingered "v" sign as he disappeared with the oblivious teacher.

Kari sighed. "Whew... that was a close one," she said.

"That's another one we owe Tai," Sora laughed. "Well, we'd better get going, and fast!"

"Right!" Davis said, whipping out his Digivice. "All ashore what's goin' ashore!"

The remaining seven children held up their Digivices and vanished into the computer screen.

* * *

The next thing that Yolei and Cody knew, they were standing with everyone else on a wide, grassy plain, a warm breeze rolling the tall grass in waves beneath the afternoon sky. The only thing that stuck up in this field was a tall, black obelisk; it cast a shadow far across the grass, like a sundial.

TK, Kari, Sora and Izzy were unfazed by the transition. Davis was still a bit shaky, but pulled himself together faster than before. Cody swallowed hard and stamped out his residual shock. Yolei, however, was thrown completely for a loop. "Whoaaaaahhhh!" she howled as she staggered and flailed her arms around.

"Miyako, are you all right?" Cody asked.

She stopped convulsing and beamed at him. "Let's do it again!" she laughed.

He shook his head. "You never cease to baffle me," he muttered.

Just then, he noticed that her clothing had changed. Instead of her blue kerchief, she now wore an orange pilot's helmet on her head, as well as a tan vest and loud, red parachute pants. "Your clothes..." he remarked.

She looked down, then squealed with joy. "Wah-ha-hah!" she laughed. "I'm dressed like one of the cool crowd!" She looked at him and pointed. "So are you!"

He glanced down and his eyes widened. Instead of his purple shirt and black pants, he now boasted a loose, tan cloak with brown trim and mauve pants. "How... odd..." he said, feeling the fabric with his hands, "...but comfortable."

"Yeah, I forgot to mention the wardrobe that comes with this place," Davis chuckled, strutting over in his bomber jacket. "Check it out!"

Yolei looked at him and cackled. "Nice, nice," she said, "but mine are way better."

"Oh, c'mon," Davis rebuked. "Whoever dressed you has less fashion sense than you!"

"Who cares?" she snapped. "They're free! Wait until I tell my sisters! HAH!"

Cody flapped his sleeves around. "These would never work for kendo," he grumbled.

TK, Kari, Sora and Izzy watched them from nearby. Sora shook her head. "Kids today have no values," she grumbled. "If I'd been given new clothes, I'd have been way more grateful."

Kari giggled. "Sora, I hate to say it, but you sound just like my mom," she admitted.

"At any rate, let's figure out where we are," Izzy said, looking around. "This place doesn't seem familiar..."

"The place we were in yesterday was new, too," TK added.

"Gatomon did say the land rearranged itself," Kari pointed out. "Maybe we have been here, but don't know it."

"That's exactly right," a familiar voice popped up.

Kari looked down and laughed in surprise. Gatomon stood in front of her, along with Veemon and Patamon. "Gatomon!" she exclaimed.

"How did you get here so quickly?" TK asked.

"The Autumnal Forest is just down that way," Patamon said, pointing behind them. "That's where we were yesterday."

"Hey, Davith! Davith!" Veemon lisped, running over to the boy who was currently in one of Yolei's headlocks. "Didja bring friends?"

Yolei looked at the blue lizard and shrieked with joy, dropping Davis immediately. "What is THAT thing?" she cried out.

Davis coughed and rubbed at his throat. "That's Veemon, my new partner," he said. "Veemon, this is Miyako."

"It's YOLEI," she defended, walking over to Veemon and looking him over happily. "Awww, he's so cute!"

Veemon laughed, but then wrinkled his nose. "Woah! You smell funny, lady!" he chirped.

Her jaw dropped. Davis laughed behind her. "See? It isn't just me!" he retorted. "Oh, and this is Cody, Veemon."

"Iori," Cody growled, then bowed to Veemon. "Delighted to make... uh... your acquaintance," he said, stunned by the existence of such a blue, wisecracking being.

"Same to you!" Veemon said, bowing back. "Heh... that's fun!"

Cody smiled faintly at the Digimon, then scratched his head. This place seemed so calm and peaceful, and not at all like Izzy had suggested. Where was the danger?

* * *

From his throne, the Digimon Emperor eyed the group with interest. "So, they came back with more, did they?" he asked himself aloud. "Well, perhaps it's time to deal with them properly..."

He raised his hand and the red chart appeared at his side. He stared at it for a moment, then grinned. "Let's see how tough they are without their weapon..." he muttered, then pressed three of the buttons. "Snimon, Mojyamon, attack. Drimogemon, this is not a drill."

Chuckling at his own bad pun, he rose from the throne. "Time to introduce myself..." he said, leaving the chamber, "...as well the power of my generals."

* * *

"...Well, then!" Yolei said, snapping out of her funk as quickly as she had gone into it. "What do we do first? Slay a dragon? Explore a dungeon? Get ye flask?"

"First I need to know something," Sora said, looking at Patamon and Gatomon. "Have you guys seen Biyomon anywhere?"

"Yes, and what about Tentomon?" Izzy asked.

Before the Digimon could answer, a dark shadow fell over the party. They looked up to see a tremendous, green mantis hovering over them, a black ring strapped around its abdomen like a belt. It buzzed menacingly, its mandibles clicking.

Yolei looked up and her eyes almost popped from their sockets. Cody took a step back. "What..." was all he managed.

With a buzzing shriek, the Snimon dove right for Sora, its sickles flashing in the light. She dove into the grass and missed being sliced up by a second and an inch.

"Snimon!" TK huffed.

"The Emperor's, no doubt!" Gatomon said, pointing at the ring.

The big bug was still on the offensive, and dove at them again. Patamon sucked in air and fired his Boom Bubble attack, but Snimon dodged it easily.

"Fine, it's my turn!" Gatomon snarled as she leaped at Snimon with her claws sparking. She slashed the bug across the face, but it did absolutely nothing. With one swing of its sickles, she was flat on her face.

"Gatomon!" Kari yelled, racing to her friend and picking her up.

"Sorry..." Gatomon coughed. "With my Tail Ring broken, I'm only half as strong..."

Davis frowned. "Looks like it's up to us again," he said to Veemon, pulling out his Digivice. "Let's kick some ass!"

"Right!" Veemon said, pumping his fists. "Let's show 'em!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath Davis fell away like broken glass, and he tumbled into the hole. Quickly he whirled around and grappled at the slope, finally catching a stone outcropping. "What the hell?" he yelled, looking around. "Where'd this come from?"

A whirring noise caught his ear and he looked down. Beneath him stood a giant, angry mole with a drill for a nose and a dark ring around its paw. It growled and crawled its way up the hole towards him, the drill spinning furiously.

"Aww, hell no!" Davis yelled, struggling to climb away. "I already went to the dentist this year!"

Veemon ran to the lip of the hole and peered down. "Davith! Don't worry, I'm comin'!" he shouted.

Just then, a loud roar resounded, and a large, hairy, white yeti stomped up onto the field, a club made of bone in its hand and a dark ring around its arm.

"Another one?" Izzy asked.

"Mojyamon!" Kari gasped.

With another roar, Mojyamon hurled his club like a boomerang. It clocked Veemon in the head, sending him into the hole.

"Dammit!" Davis swore as he saw Veemon coming down. He reached out to grab the little guy, but the rock he clung to gave way and they both fell. Drimogemon slapped a giant claw on both of them and vanished into the darkness.

Yolei, horrified at everything that had just happened, could do nothing but sink to her knees and stare at the hole. "They... they're gone..." she gasped.

"...I'm ready to go home now," Cody whispered, as paralyzed as Yolei.

The monsters weren't finished. Mojyamon stomped towards the remaining kids as Snimon buzzed overhead, closing in for the kill.

"We have to retreat!" Izzy announced. "Everybody run!"

Sora, Kari, TK and the Digimon were eager to do that, but Yolei and Cody stayed where they were, frozen stiff. "Come on!" Sora yelled, grabbing Yolei's arm and pulling. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Yolei did not respond; she just knelt there. "Yolei, hurry!" Kari barked, pushing at her back. Still nothing.

"Come on, Iori!" TK yelled, grabbing the boy's hand and pulling.

Cody snapped out of his terror and struggled to keep up with Izzy, Patamon and TK. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Away from here!" Izzy replied.

"But..." Cody began, but saw that the ferocious Mojyamon was hot on their tracks, roaring and swinging its club, its eyes blood red. That was enough to make him keep up.

"YOLEI!" Sora yelled, pulling even harder. "C'mon, we've gotta MOVE!"

Snimon swooped down to cleave them all into bits. Yolei stared at it like a deer in headlights. Whatever this place was, it certainly wasn't a game. She had felt the wind when that thing dove for Sora, and she had smelled that yeti's breath as it hurled that club. These things were real, and they were going to kill her.

"I... I can't take this!" she wailed. "I wanna go home!"

* * *

With a groan, Davis returned to consciousness. A split-second later, he wished that he hadn't. He was strapped to the side of a canyon by metal cuffs on his limbs, dizzyingly high above a ravine. "AHHH! Where the hell am I?" he yelled, looking around in shock.

"You're just... hanging out," a sharp-tongued voice spoke above him.

He strained his neck to peer upwards and found himself staring at a boy about his age with wild, midnight blue hair and a blue cape. He wore purple sunglasses so dark that his eyes couldn't be seen. He stared down at Davis with a cocky smile on his lips. "Frankly, I'm annoyed you slept that long..." he said.

"Who the hell are you?" Davis demanded.

"I'm your worst nightmare come to life," the boy replied, laughing.

Davis snarled. "Bullshit! You ain't a ten-foot-tall hydra with my sister's face on all of yer seven heads!" he spat.

The boy paused, then laughed. "I concede; I'm not THAT nightmare," he admitted.

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Are you... the Digimon Emperor?" he asked.

"Speaking," the boy replied.

Davis stared at him, surprised. He had expected this big, mean emperor to be a giant, armored monster, like villains in fairy tales; this person was just a twiggy little boy. "YOU?" he asked. "You're a goddamn kid! You're only as old as me!"

The Emperor laughed again. "I'm NOTHING like you, little boy," he retorted. "If I were, then I'd be the one hanging from the cliff!"

Davis wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Why'd you drag me here, anyway?" he asked.

"I felt that the three of us should have a private chat," the Emperor said.

Davis was puzzled again. "Three?" he asked.

"Oh! Where are my manners?" the Emperor crooned, snapping his fingers.

On the other side of the canyon, part of the rock wall swiveled around to reveal Veemon, strapped in just like Davis. "Veemon!" Davis yelled.

"Davith!" Veemon called back, then looked around. "Hey... great view, isn't it?" he chuckled.

"No time for that!" Davis snapped. "Armor Digivolve, quick!"

"Just one thing..." the Emperor broke in, catching their attention. He reached into his cloak and pulled out Davis's Digivice and the other gizmo he'd received the other day. "Won't you need these to pull off that little trick?"

Davis gnashed his teeth and glared at the laughing Emperor. This guy had pulled him away from his friends, strapped Veemon and him to a cliff, and to top it off, picked his pockets! How was he going to get out of this mess?

* * *

If there was one thing that Cody learned about the Digital World that day, it was that things changed fast. One moment, he was fleeing the Emperor's Digimon with half of his friends, and the next, he was tumbling down a steep hill, crashing face-first into something hot and grainy. With a growl, he yanked his face back up and warily looked around. He lay at the edge of a vast desert populated only by broken telephone lattices. Their wires sprawled out into the sand, connected to nothing. The only other thing of interest was another black obelisk towering in the distance.

He was yet again befuddled. Nobody put telephone lattices up in the middle of nowhere without connecting them to something; it made absolutely no sense. When he thought about it, though, nothing he had seen so far made any sense. Talking monsters, broken lattices and deserts side by side with grasslands? Logic had abandoned this world, and he didn't care for it. Life was exactly what it was back home, but here nothing followed that rule, and that bothered him immensely. If nothing made sense, how could he keep himself stable?

A grunt brought him out of his brooding. He glanced to where Izzy, TK and Patamon were pulling themselves out. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, except for the sand down my pants," TK grumbled, getting up and shaking himself off.

"Well, this certainly is odd," Izzy said, looking around the area. His eyes fell on a downed lattice and something sparked in his memory. "This place is familiar..." he murmured.

"It should be," Patamon piped up. "This is the desert of File Island!"

Izzy looked down at him, shocked. "Are you positive?" he asked.

"Yep," Patamon replied. "The land changed, remember? That grassland just popped up in this desert."

Izzy, amazed and bewildered, scratched his chin as he looked around. "Really..." he murmured to himself.

"So, Patamon," TK said, "that forest we were in yesterday... was that new, too?"

"Yeah," Patamon answered. "Some places are the same, but others got more twisted than a twine rope."

Cody regarded his friends, who all seemed engulfed in their own minds; they acted as oddly as this world. "Perhaps you can tell me what's going on?" he asked crossly.

Izzy looked up. "Sorry, Iori," he apologized, "don't worry about it."

"Well, we can't just stand here not worrying," TK said, looking back towards the grasslands. "We have to find the others!"

Izzy turned back, looking solemn. "Agreed," he said. "Let's hope that Sora and the rest were as fortunate as we were."

"I wouldn't wish that, boy," a harsh, buzzing voice said behind them.

Everyone whirled around in shock. Before them floated a large, purplish-black insect with six arms and long, sharp toes. It wore a shining, metallic helmet with a long, jagged horn jutting from its front. A dark ring was strapped around its waist. Its mandibles snapped in and out, mixing their clicks with the eerie buzz of the wings. "If they are as 'fortunate' as you, they'll be executed as well," it cackled.

Cody's stomach lurched at the sight; never had he seen a creature more foul or terrifying. Still, he felt the need to be brave in the face of this new world, and stood his ground. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I am Kabuterimon, of the Digimon Emperor's six Generals," the big bug clicked. "He's very displeased that other humans are befouling his land. I've been sent here to delete you."

TK gulped, and Izzy's face was as pale as ivory. "Ka... Kabuterimon?" he asked.

Cody turned around, surprised. "Do you know this Digimon, Koushiro?" he asked.

Izzy was still staring at the giant bug. TK gave Cody a grave look. "That's Izzy's Digimon partner!" he said.

"The Emperor turned him bad, like those other guys back there!" Patamon yelped.

Cody's eyes widened. "Turned him bad?" he hissed.

"If you're all through chatting, I have a job to do," Kabuterimon growled, lifting himself higher into the air, his arms crackling with electricity. "Death to all who oppose the Emperor!"

Before Cody knew what was happening, Izzy was on top of him, pressing him into the sand as a gigantic ball of electricity shot over their heads. "RUN!" Izzy ordered, pushing him forward.

Doing as he was told, he tore under Kabuterimon and rushed into the desert. He turned around to see Izzy, TK and Patamon right behind him, but the giant bug was in hot pursuit... and his wings carried him faster than their feet carried them. He was right on top of them again, his arms sparking as he charged for another shot.

"What do we do now?" TK asked.

"I... I don't know!" Izzy admitted, cursing himself for saying those words.

Cody's heart felt like it would burst through his chest. That giant bug was going to kill him. He wondered if he would die quickly, or if he would last long enough to feel his innards explode from the electricity. Either way, he suddenly regretted that he never thanked Yolei for fixing his computer last night. It was funny how such small, trivial things popped into one's head just before death...

Just as he thought this, though, the ground vanished beneath his feet. As Izzy and TK's yells burst in his head, he was knee-deep in sand, then chest-deep, then neck-deep... and then all was dark.

* * *

With a shriek and a yell, Yolei tumbled down the grassy slope, finally coming to a soft landing at the bottom. She groaned, then groggily looked around. The prairie had dropped off abruptly, replaced by thin, dry badlands. Though there were a few spindly trees, the only object of interest was a large, stone mesa in the distance, whose top sported several blocky buildings and a black obelisk.

"Guooo..." she groaned as she looked around. "Where are we now?..."

"I don't know," Sora grumbled. "Maybe we could tell if you'd get off!"

With an eep, Yolei rolled onto the ground. Groaning, Sora, Kari and Gatomon picked themselves out of the dirt. "Wow... that was close..." Gatomon panted.

"We owe you, Sora," Kari said, dusting herself off. "Yolei was frozen stiff; I don't know how you got her to move!"

"It's called a 'wake-up' slap," Sora said, showing her reddened hand. "You might want to learn how to do it."

Yolei shivered, recalling the terror. "Ohhh..." she gasped. "I think I peed myself."

"...OK, let's forget you said that," Kari said quickly. "I don't know where we are now..."

"I do," Gatomon said, frowning and pointing at the mesa. "See that? It used to be Infinity Mountain!"

Sora looked at the cat in shock. "What?" she asked. "Are you serious?"

"When the land changed, the mountain got flattened," Gatomon replied. "Now the Emperor uses it as an airfield for flying Digimon he's enslaved."

Almost as soon as she had finished, there was a great roar from the mesa. They looked up and several winged, serpentine creatures shot over their heads with an accompanying sonic boom. "Wha... what are THOSE?" Yolei shrieked.

"Airdramon..." Sora said gravely. "Gatomon wasn't kidding. He's got 'em flying like machines."

Kari's fists clenched. Digimon were living beings, not machines; this Emperor either didn't understand that or simply didn't care. Either way, it made her blood boil. "That does it!" she snapped, "let's go up there and shut it down!"

Sora and Yolei looked at her as if she'd just suggested they jump butt-naked off of Niagara Falls. "Are you NUTS?" Yolei yelped.

"Kari, we don't have the strength to do that," Sora pointed out. "All we have is Gatomon, and with that ring broken..."

The broken ring on Gatomon's tail sparked again. "Yeah, yeah, I know..." the cat sighed sadly.

"Look, the first thing we should do is find our friends," Sora urged, "then we need to find Davis and get out of here..."

Kari looked at Sora. "But Sora, they've got Biyomon!" she said. "Doesn't that make you mad?"

"Sure it does," Sora answered, "but I can't help Biyomon if I'm dead."

"You're correct about that..." a low, dark voice said from above them.

The girls looked up and gasped. A brilliant orange bird descended from the sky and leered at them, its wings flickering like fire and a dark ring clasped around its neck. Its beak was lined with razor-sharp fangs, and its eyes glowed a wicked red.

Yolei was even more horrified. "AHHH!" she shrieked, holding up her arms. "Birds aren't supposed to have fangs!"

Sora stared wide-eyed at the bird. "Biyomon!" she cried.

"I am Birdramon, of the six Generals," Birdramon corrected her. "Your presence offends the master. I shall eliminate you."

"Birdramon, snap out of it!" Sora argued. "You don't serve the Emperor!"

Birdramon flew higher and violently thrust out her wings. Dozens of searing fireballs rained down all around the girls as they grabbed onto each other.

"I think she disagrees," Gatomon growled.

"Run for it!" Sora barked, pointing for the mesa.

Yolei needed no other encouragement. She barely touched the ground as she tore towards the rocky structure, with Sora, Kari and Gatomon behind her. Birdramon flew fast, though, and came down for another round of fireballs. Yolei screamed as one exploded just to her left, and her legs collided, sending her rolling across the dirt. She had been wrong about Snimon and Mojyamon killing her; this was where it would all end. That big bird would make a Kentucky Fried dinner of her. What an ironic way to go out.

Suddenly, though, she was back up and running, with Sora and Kari yanking her arms. "Come on!" Kari huffed. "There's a cave!"

She looked up and saw the rock outcropping coming up fast. Just as Kari had said, a small hole sat ahead of them, beckoning. Her heart leaped for a moment, but then she heard the bird flap its wings again, and the hiss of incoming fireballs. It was now or never. With a crazy yell, she lunged for the cave.

A split-second later, it was over. The three girls and Gatomon were on their knees in the cool, dark cave, gasping for breath. Birdramon screeched as her giant talons scraped at the hole, but they were too big to get in. They heard her growl with frustration, then flap her wings and fly away.

"Ohhhhh..." Kari groaned as she fell on her butt. "That was too close for comfort."

"I think... I'm gonna throw up," Yolei panted, leaning on the wall.

Sora said nothing. She just stared out of the cave entrance, a sad look in her eyes.

Kari looked at her sympathetically; she must have been devastated by this turn of events. "Sora..." she said gently.

Sora shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she replied, turning back and putting on a brave face. "There's a way to get her back... I just know it."

Kari smiled. That was Sora; she always kept going, no matter how down she was. It was that level head that had kept Tai and the others anchored on their first adventure, and age hadn't cost her that trait. "...Right," she agreed. "First, though, we should regroup with the others..." She turned to Yolei. "Yolei? You gonna barf or not?" she asked.

After just a few deep breaths, Yolei actually felt much better. However, she was curious about the cave they were in. A faint odor of diesel was in the air. The wall felt smooth on her fingers, and not rocky like a cave should feel. She shifted her foot and the floor clanged. "Hey, guys..." she said, "I don't think this cave is-"

Suddenly, a loud hum filled their ears, and the floor started moving upwards. "Wagh!" Kari yelped.

"What's goin' on?" Gatomon demanded.

Sora looked up. A tiny patch of light shone far, far above them, but it seemed to be getting bigger. "We're on an elevator," she remarked.

"An elevator?" Yolei asked, exasperated. "Who puts an elevator in a cave?"

"...Someone who has a base on the top of the plateau!" Kari gulped as her expression became one of dread. "We're going right up to the Emperor's airfield!"

Yolei's eyes bugged. The Emperor's airfield? This was like covering herself in honey and walking into a bear's den. If Birdramon was any indication, whatever was up there would make mincemeat of them. "Ohhh!" she wailed. "What do we do? What do we do?"

Sora clamped her hand over her mouth. "The first thing we do is keep QUIET," she hissed. "If they hear us coming, we're through!"

"If this elevator goes to the airfield, it probably ends somewhere indoors," Gatomon suggested. "We'll hide somewhere as soon as the elevator stops; behind a wall or something."

Sora and Kari nodded. Yolei just kept her mouth shut; she couldn't think of anything she could say that wouldn't come out in a scream anyway. Her mind drifted to Cody and Davis; if this was her fate, then God only knew what had happened to them. A moan escaped her clamped mouth.

"Don't worry; we'll be fine," Sora reassured her softly, then paused. "...You know, you DO kind of smell," she added.

"Oh, thanks," she grumbled.

* * *

"Iori? Iori, wake up," TK's voice came into Cody's ear.

With a groan, the boy came back into consciousness. He lay in a dark, rocky chamber with a sandy ceiling. TK, Patamon and Izzy stood over him, looking relieved. "Ah, good," Izzy remarked. "You had us worried."

Cody slowly got to his feet, knocking the pebbles from his clothing and shaking the sand from his hair. "What happened?" he asked.

"I guess we fell into a sinkhole," Izzy said, pointing up at the ceiling. "TK and I landed all right, but you hit your head."

TK looked around the chamber. There didn't seem to be any exits. "Looks like we're stuck, though," he admitted. "We have to climb out to get anywhere... and Kabuterimon's up there waiting for us."

Cody frowned. First Davis had dropped into the abyss, then they had been separated, then a giant bug had tried to electrocute them, and now they were trapped in this tiny hole. This world was far too chaotic for him. He wanted to go home and forget that this had ever happened.

Still, if he ever were going to get home, he realized, he would have to get out of this tomb. "Let's try digging," he suggested. "We're under a desert, after all; digging doesn't get easier than sand."

Izzy smiled. "That's a good point, Iori," he said. "OK, everyone see if you can make a hole!"

The four of them went to different parts of the chamber and started clawing at the rocks. Izzy, Cody and TK tried as hard as they could, but their spots were only jagged stone. Only Patamon, who swiped furiously at the wall with his little trotters, was making any headway. "I... urrf... think... urrrgh!... I'm getting somewhere!" the little Digimon huffed.

"Wow, you're digging pretty deep," TK remarked, glancing at him playfully. "Is there a truffle in there?"

Patamon gave him a dirty look. "For the last time, I am NOT a pig," he snorted.

"Looks like Patamon has the place to dig, then," Izzy concluded. "Let's all give him a hand!"

As soon as Izzy said this, though, there was a sharp, electric sizzle, and Patamon shot backwards like a bullet from a gun. "Yeeeeeowwww!" he howled as he splattered against the opposite wall.

"Patamon!" TK cried, running to his partner and picking him up. "What happened?"

Patamon's eyes were swirls in his head. "Aye yai yai..." he wheezed.

Cody glanced into the hole and his eyes widened. Sitting on a half-buried pedestal was a strange, yellow object with a tiny drill jutting out of its top. A purple symbol that looked like a pair of glasses was painted on its front. "There's something here," he said to the others.

The others ran over to look, and TK's eyes widened. "Hey, that's a DigiEgg!" he exclaimed. "It's like the one Davis found yesterday!"

Izzy stared hard at it. "It has the Crest of Knowledge on it," he said, pointing at the purple symbol. He knew the symbol well enough; it was the one that he had been entrusted with. "Maybe I should..." he started, reaching for it.

"No, wait, Izzy," TK started. "It's-"

The egg sparked with black energy, sending Izzy into the rear wall with a pained shriek. "Koushiro!" Cody gasped, rushing to him.

Izzy pulled himself to his feet with a groan, still feeling the energy coursing through his veins. "I guess I shouldn't," he growled.

Cody sighed. "Well, what are we going to do now?" he asked.

Izzy frowned. This was very suspicious. Here was an item with his Crest symbol on it, and yet it repulsed him, and painfully; that wasn't supposed to happen, was it? This was as strange as Davis, Cody and Yolei getting Digivices...

Suddenly, he looked at Cody. Hadn't Tai said that he couldn't touch the DigiEgg with the Crest of Courage on it? Hadn't Tai said that Davis had picked it up without any trouble? Cody had a new Digivice, just like Davis; maybe he could do something about it. "Iori..." he said, motioning to the DigiEgg, "why don't you try it?"

Cody raised an eyebrow. "After what happened to both Patamon and you, I hardly think that's a good idea," he replied.

"Just trust me on this," Izzy urged. "It may be our only way out of here!"

Cody frowned. Logically, if that thing zapped both Patamon and Izzy, then it would zap him as well... and yet Izzy seemed to think otherwise. Izzy was a smart person- far smarter than Cody could ever hope to aspire to- but he still thought that something would be different. Either way, he was bound to do it now. One should never question his elders; they knew what they were talking about. "...Very well," he said quietly.

Biting his lip, he walked over to the strange egg. Quickly, like pulling off a bandage, he placed his hand on it. Nothing happened. He pulled it off of the pedestal, and still nothing happened. He turned it over in his hands; for something of its appearance, it was amazingly light.

TK sighed with relief.

"...I thought so," Izzy replied, scratching at his chin. "Interesting..."

Cody turned back to them. "...Now what?" he asked.

Just then, the pedestal erupted in a vibrant, purple light. Cody whirled back around and his eyes widened.

A strange creature appeared in the light. It was a short, yellow quadruped with a golden shell, yellow whiskers, and bright green eyes. It looked at Cody for a moment, then hopped out of the light and landed in front of him. "Why'd ya have ta wake me up?" it mumbled in a light Southern accent. "I was havin' such a nice dream..."

Cody just stood there, staring at it with shock and awe. It stretched its limbs and yawned, then coughed a few times. "Whoo-wee, I think my shell fell asleep," it finished, then looked at him and beamed. "Hi! I'm Armadillomon, an' you an' me are partners!" it announced.

He continued to stare, his mind full of questions. Partners? With this strange being? For what purpose? Why him? Still, he didn't ask them; nothing was more impolite than a barrage of questions. If this was what was to transpire, then he had no business questioning it. "...Understood," he stiffly replied with a small bow.

Armadillomon tilted his head to one side, puzzled. "Understood?" he asked. "What's that about, boy? I ain't no drill sergeant! Just talk normally!... or is it that you don't wanna be my partner?"

"No, no, it isn't that..." Cody tried to explain, but he found he could say little else. He felt ashamed; he had tried not to offend the little creature, but he had anyway. What was he to do?

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Izzy smiling at him. "So... what do you think of the Digital World so far, Iori?" he asked.

Cody shook his head. "I... I'm not sure," he replied. "It is all so unstable and chaotic... but it's not my place to question it. I guess I can't answer."

"You know, you sound like a curious kid..." Izzy said, kneeling to Cody's height, "but you don't let yourself ask questions. Trust me; if you want to grow in life, you have to be inquisitive. Don't just be satisfied with any old answer; find one yourself. I mean, the only reason you grabbed that DigiEgg just now was because I told you to, wasn't it?"

Cody hesitated, then nodded, his cheeks flushing. "Yes," he mumbled.

Instead of chiding him, Izzy smiled again. "You have to ask questions and find your own answers to truly experience life," he said, standing up. "If you work to find an answer, you'll be all the happier!"

Cody looked at him for a moment more. The red-haired genius had become a genius by pursuing knowledge on his own terms; maybe it was time for him to do the same... or at least take small steps.

"So, if you ever have a question, Iori, you come to me," Izzy finished, "and we'll work on an answer that you can be happy with!"

Cody smiled at him. "Call me Cody... Izzy," he said.

Izzy was surprised at Cody using both of their nicknames, but he beamed. "No problem," he said.

Cody turned back to Armadillomon; it was time to mend a fence. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I'd be honored to be your partner, Armadillomon."

"Well, that sits fine with me," Armadillomon answered, grinning. "Now, how's about we get outta this cave?"

Cody looked puzzled. "How?" he asked. "The only way we haven't tried is up."

The DigiEgg in Cody's hands started to glow. "I'm glad you asked that question, Cody," Armadillomon said with a laugh. "Just say 'DigiArmor Energize!'"

Cody looked at the glowing egg, then grinned; Izzy's advice was already starting to work. "All right, then," he said, "DigiArmor Energize!"

The egg flashed a brilliant purple, blinding the youths. It then split apart and flew at Armadillomon, who was engulfed in its light.

"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to..." the little creature said, and then he was no longer Armadillomon. He doubled in size and stood up on only two legs. Egg pieces stuck to his legs and changed them into thin, three-toed talons. More stuck to his back to create beetle wings. More slapped onto his arms and gave him two more while transforming his old claws into two sets of two drills. One strapped itself to his chest as a breastplate, and the final part applied itself to his face, the small drill becoming a huge, whirring nose. The light faded, and a dangerous-looking insect stood in the chamber. "...Digmon; the Drill of Knowledge!" he finished.

Cody's eyes widened. What was once a mammal was now a giant bug who could dig them out of the cave! "Amazing..." he gasped, then smiled. "Yeah, let's get out of here!"

"Right! Everybody hold on tight!" Digmon laughed, grabbed the boys with his inner hands and flew to the ceiling. He slammed his drills and nose into the rock and debris flew like they were in a hurricane. Almost instantly they were tunneling up through the sand.

"Digmon, be careful," Cody warned him. "Kabuterimon's up top, and he's looking for a fight!"

"Whoever that is, if he wants a fight, I'll give it to 'im!" Digmon replied.

TK couldn't believe this good fortune, but his mind quickly turned to worry. Were Kari and the others all right?

* * *

The elevator's whir slowed as the light patch overhead got bigger and brighter. The girls and Gatomon nervously wondered what would happen next. Would the elevator put them outside, easy prey for the Emperor's minions? Or would it put them in the middle of a hangar, where they would be spotted and terminated just as swiftly?

Whichever was it was going to go, Yolei didn't like it one bit. How could Sora and Kari be so calm at a time like this? First Davis bought the farm, then they got split up by monsters, then a bird had tried barbecue them, and now they were stuck in the heart of enemy territory. She didn't like anything about this world now. "Ohhh... I just wanna go home..." she groaned.

"Shhh," Sora shushed her. "We're almost at the top..."

The light grew intense. Kari bit her lip. Sora clenched her fists. Gatomon's paws sparked. Yolei shut her eyes and waited.

There was a clunk, and they stopped moving. Yolei opened one eye a little bit. They sat on the floor of a hangar full of metal crates stacked on and around each other like a metallic labyrinth. The hangar doors were wide open, but they saw nobody else. The only sounds came from out on the airfield.

"...Um... are we OK?" Kari asked.

Sora looked around again, then sighed with relief. "...Looks like it," she said.

Gatomon gladly lowered her claws. "That's good. All I can do is scare people right now," she admitted.

"We're OK?" Yolei asked, her eyes darting around. Seeing that it was true, she leaped off of the platform and did an excited dance on the floor. "We're OK! We're OK! We're OK!" she chanted.

"All right, all right, Yolei!" Sora gulped, trying to quiet her. "Calm down! Someone might come!"

Sora's warning didn't stop Yolei's celebration. Hitting her hand against one of the metal crates, however, did. The pang of pain waited for exactly one millisecond before shooting up her arm, sending her bouncing across the floor with yelps. "OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!" she shrieked, rolling on the ground and clutching her limb.

Kari chuckled with embarrassment. Sora shook her head and sighed. "What is this kid's problem?" she asked aloud.

Just then, the panel of the crate Yolei had hit fell down, revealing what was inside. Kari looked up and gasped. "Woah! Sora, look!" she exclaimed.

Sora looked and her eyes got as wide as Kari's. Yolei, who ignored the pain long enough to find out what was taking the attention from her, got up and shuffled over to see. "What? What is it?" she asked.

Sitting in the crate was a stone pedestal, and on that pedestal sat a silver, bullet-shaped object with bat wings jutting out on either side. Something that looked like a red heart was painted on its front. Sora's eyes fixed on the heart. She knew the design well; it was the Crest of Love, which she had been entrusted with on their first adventure. "What... what is this?" she asked.

"It looks like a DigiEgg..." Kari said, looking it over, "but what's it doing in this crate?"

Yolei stared at the weird thing, and then something else caught her eye; a small slip of paper lay near the pedestal. She snatched it up and read it. "This says that the Emperor's troops found this in a cave somewhere," she read. "They couldn't do anything with it, but it looked valuable, so they shipped it here."

Sora approached the strange egg. "Well, if it has the Crest of Love, then it must be something I can use..." she reasoned, reaching for it.

Kari's mind suddenly went back to yesterday, when her brother tried to grab the DigiEgg of Courage. "No, wait, Sora!" she started.

Sora's hand clamped onto the egg and black energy shot through her like she had stuck a fork in an electric socket. She shrieked, writhed, convulsed, and finally flew backwards, landing flat on her back.

"Sora!" Kari cried, running and helping her sit up.

Sora coughed violently as she tried to breathe again. "Ugh... that egg has an attitude..." she growled, but inside she was very upset. That egg had the Crest of Love on it; why couldn't she touch it?

"Oh, man..." Yolei gulped, staring at the egg. "Maybe this is an evil artifact... We oughta leave it alone and look for something else."

Sora looked at Yolei. Tai had said that he hadn't been able to budge the DigiEgg of Courage, but that lamebrain Davis had. Maybe this was Yolei's opportunity? She exchanged glances with Kari; her look told her that the younger Yagami shared her thoughts. She sighed. Yolei was a loony, rude, and smelly girl, but maybe this was her chance to shine.

"Yolei," Sora said, "why don't you try moving it?"

Yolei gawked at her. "Me? Touch that?" she asked. "After what it did to you? No way, Jose!"

"Please, give it a try, Yolei," Kari urged, thinking of a way to persuade the purple-haired girl. "Uh... it might be one of those artifacts that only work for certain people."

Yolei's eyes widened. "Ooh! You mean like a magic talisman?" she asked.

"Um... yeah, and for all we know, it's yours," Gatomon winged it. "Give it a try, already!"

Yolei stared at the DigiEgg. When she had first seen Veemon, she had been hit with a jealous arrow. If this thing yielded only to her, it would be the perfect thing to rub in Davis's face. Besides, it might help her get out of this crazy world faster. "All right, then!" she said, cracking her knuckles. "Let's see how tough it is!"

She defiantly walked up to the pedestal, gave a furious war cry and yanked the DigiEgg from it. She teetered for a moment, then laughed; the egg was so light that she even surprised herself. "Ha-hah!" she declared, holding up the DigiEgg. "No egg is a match for Dungeon Master Yolei!"

Sora pointed behind her. "Yolei, look!" she said.

Yolei turned and bounced backwards, surprised. The pedestal was engulfed in a strange, red light. As everyone watched, a creature appeared in the beam. It was a brown bird with white facial feathers, red war paint under its cheeks, a bandanna with a feather in back, and bright blue eyes. It looked up at Yolei and leaped out of the light. "Ah-ha!" it laughed in a proper British accent. "It feels so good to get out from that stuffy rock and spread my wings!"

He landed in front of the surprised girls and glanced around. Noticing that Yolei held the DigiEgg, he bowed to her. "Greetings!" he said, trilling his 'r', "I am Hawkmon. Delighted to make your acquaintance!"

Yolei looked around nervously. "...You talkin' to me?" she asked, knowing that he was but wishing he wasn't.

"Indeed, I am," he replied, "for you were the one who moved the DigiEgg! Therefore, it is yours, as is my partnership."

She hesitated, wondering where the bird was going with this. "Partnership?..." she asked slowly.

"Yes!" he said, making a strange fist from his wing. "The minions of wickedness roam this land... You and I shall work together to drive them off, valiantly striking terror into their hearts!"

At the mention of combat, she almost wet herself again. "WHAT?" she cried out, frantically waving her arms. "Fight? No way! Those things out there?... No freaking way!"

Sora and Kari exchanged looks. "But Yolei, all this time you've been talking about what an awesome adventure you were going to have..." Kari pointed out.

"That was before I almost went six feet under!" Yolei snapped. "No way am I gonna get myself blown to smithereens! I've got my whole life ahead of me!"

Hawkmon looked as if she had insulted his mother. "Are you saying you refuse to fight?" he demanded hotly.

"That's EXACTLY what I'm saying, bird boy!" she retorted.

"Harrumph!" Hawkmon snorted, folding his wings and looking away. "How did I get stuck with a defective human?"

"DEFECTIVE?" she snarled. "What does THAT mean?"

Kari shook her head, amazed. "Boy... this is new..." she admitted. "I've never seen a Digimon and its partner get into it before... have you, Sora?"

She looked up at Sora. To her surprise, the older girl was smiling. "...Sora?" she asked.

Sora walked over to Yolei. "Yolei, you remind me of someone..." she started. "She never wanted to fight, either... but eventually, she realized that if she didn't do it, nobody else would. So she went with us deep into the Digital World, and fought to save it... and we're all grateful that she did." She paused and gazed at the entrance with a far-off look. "This world is full of living creatures. They talk, they think, they feel... they're just like us. They need help right now, and you're someone who can give it to them."

Yolei looked at her strangely. Sora's voice seemed gentler than before; what was up?

"My friends and I want to help, but after what I've seen today, I don't know if we can..." she went on, looking a bit sad. "But you, Yolei, just like Davis, you've been given a special gift. You can save all of those Digimon... like my own partner."

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "Your own partner?" she asked.

"That big bird out there," Gatomon broke in. "That's Sora's partner. The Emperor captured her and turned her bad with one of those rings..."

Yolei gasped. "What?" she asked. "That was YOUR partner?"

Sora nodded. "Yes... so I'm asking you... please save her, and all the Digimon."

Yolei bit her lip. She had no desire to get bumped off so early in life, and could have easily left that Digivice in the trash can where she had found it... but listening to Sora almost begging her for help touched something deep inside of her. She thought of Veemon and Gatomon, and what they would look like with those rings around them, and it made her feel sick. They were right; even if she didn't fully understand this world, something had to be done.

She took a deep breath, then sighed. "Oh, all right, then!" she said, nodding fiercely. "I'll give it a shot!"

Sora smiled warmly. "Thanks, Yolei," she said.

Hawkmon was certainly pleased. "Very good!" he announced. "Well, then, let us get to the business of rescue! Shall we, Yolei?"

Yolei grinned at the peppy bird. "You bet," she said. "Lead the way!"

Suddenly, the DigiEgg started to glow. She looked down, surprised. "I beg your pardon," Hawkmon said, "but if you want me to Digivolve, you must say 'DigiArmor Energize.'"

Yolei gave him the giddiest look; now that was an awesome catchphrase. "Right!" she laughed, holding the egg up. "DigiArmor Energize!"

The egg sparked a bright red, blinding the party. It then split apart and flew at Hawkmon, who glowed as brightly as it did.

"Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to..." the bird said, and then he was no longer Hawkmon. He hunched over onto four legs, his wings becoming small above new talons as his body expanded to twice its size. The egg grew and became a sharp-looking helmet and plastered itself on his face, its wings sharp and shining. The light faded, and a noble, helmeted griffin stood before them. "...Halsemon; the Wings of Love!" he finished.

Sora, Kari and Gatomon gasped with amazement. Yolei shrieked with delight. "Joygasm!" she yelled, running over and hopping on his back. "OK! Let's get out there and kick some ass!"

He shot out of the hangar at lightning speed, Yolei whooping like a cowboy all the way. Kari and Sora watched her go, then exchanged glances. "This is going to be... interesting," Kari said, scratching her head.

"I just hope she can save Biyomon..." Sora sighed.

* * *

With another joyful scream, Yolei was nearly blinded by the afternoon sun as Halsemon sailed through the sky. "This r0x0rs the b0x0rs!" she declared, then looked around at the airfield. It was fun, but she had a job to do. "OK, where's that flyer with the fire?" she asked. "We've got some rings to scrub!"

A dark shadow fell over her, and suddenly she knew. She looked up to see Birdramon flying right over her, a murderous look in her eyes. "You defile the Emperor's land, and then MY sky?" she snarled. "Now you shall know pain!"

Yolei glanced down at Halsemon. "Think you can take her?" she asked nervously.

"We just have to hit the ring," Halsemon replied. "I'm sure I can."

Yolei smirked at Birdramon. "Bring it, turkey platter!" she declared.

"As you wish!" Birdramon growled, flying high and spreading her wings. The rain of fireballs began anew.

"Not this time!" Yolei yelled, and Halsemon dove away from the blasts. "Halsemon, go for the ring!" she cried.

Halsemon's eyes lit up and fired bright red lasers at the ring. Birdramon, however, was no pushover; she flew to the side and swatted the blast away. The beams shot downwards and destroyed one of the airfield hangars, sending shrapnel every which way. Clucking angrily, Birdramon charged up another fiery assault.

Yolei gulped; if Birdramon could do that, it would be hard to get that ring off. What could she do?

Suddenly, she looked down at the airfield and spied something. Out of the wrecked hangar flew several Airdramon like the ones she had seen earlier, their dark rings snapping and breaking off. Roaring with joy, they took to the air and flew off, free beasts once again. She thought for a moment and then grinned. Sora had asked her to free all Digimon, and Kari had wanted to destroy the airfield; maybe she could help fulfill both wishes at once.

"Halsemon, let's get between the bird and the airfield!" she ordered.

Halsemon looked up, confused. "What about the ring?" he asked.

"I have an idea!" she said. "Trust me!"

Halsemon was unconvinced, but he did as she asked and flew right above one of the hangars. With an angry shriek, Birdramon launched her flaming volley. Halsemon zipped out of the way and the attack destroyed the second hangar, sending out more freed Airdramon.

Birdramon shrieked in fury. "How dare you free the minions!" she yelled.

"We didn't," Yolei snickered, "YOU did."

Of course, this made Birdramon even angrier. "This is the end for you!" she announced, flapping up high. "METEOR WING!"

"Meteor... what?" she asked, growing nervous. Birdramon shrieked and a wave of fire far longer and wider than the fireballs came down from her wings. She stared at it and screamed.

Suddenly, Halsemon sped right at the fire, then dipped below it and shot up behind Birdramon like a deranged roller coaster. As they watched, the Meteor Wing hit the airfield and destroyed the last of it, freeing the rest of the minions.

"WHAT?" Birdramon roared, turning on them again.

"Let's finish this up," Halsemon declared, charging straight at Birdramon. "TEMPEST WING!"

As fast as a battering ram, Halsemon slammed into Birdramon's chest, sending her spinning. Unfortunately, Yolei lost her grip from his fancy flying work and fell off. With a scream, she plummeted towards the jungle below. He realized his error and dove for her.

As quickly as she had fallen off, she felt his soft wings beneath her again and grabbed on for dear life. "What was THAT for?" she demanded.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't realize you weren't secured..."

She would have yelled more, but her heart was pounding too hard. "...It's OK..." she managed. "Let's just save Birdramon..."

Halsemon flew back up to finish the job, but Birdramon was already far away, flying into the clouds and shrieking angrily. "What?" he asked. "Why is she running?"

Yolei groaned; she had blown it. "Oh, man..." she said, "Sora's gonna be so upset!"

Halsemon quietly glided down to the destroyed airfield, where Sora, Kari and Gatomon waited for them on the runway. Yolei dismounted and gave them a melancholy look. "Sorry, Sora..." she said.

To her surprise, Sora was smiling. "Good job," she said sincerely.

"What?" Yolei asked, confused. "But Birdramon got away..."

"But you destroyed the airfield and saved all the Airdramon!" Kari pointed out.

"We can save Birdramon later," Sora replied. "This is fine for a first time."

Yolei sighed. Though Sora was telling her that it was all right, she still felt crummy about it. She had to keep her promise somehow. "Sora, the next time I see Birdramon, I'm knocking that ring off her but good!" she declared.

Sora nodded. "Don't just do it for me," she corrected her. "You're a Digidestined now. You have to protect this whole world."

Yolei looked pained; she didn't want to be reminded of that. "Um... let's just stick with freeing Birdramon for right now, OK?" she asked. "I'm no good under pressure!"

"Err... right," Sora said.

Kari suddenly realized something. "Hey!" she said. "With Halsemon, we can find TK and the others!"

"...That's right!" Sora admitted. "We can get a good view of the land, too!"

"Right! Everyone on board!" Gatomon announced, hopping on Halsemon's back. Sora and Kari got on as well.

Yolei glanced down at her new pet griffin. "Um... can you handle all that weight?" she asked.

"I'll be just fine," Halsemon replied. "Come, let's find your friends."

Yolei hopped on and Halsemon took off into the air, going from dead stop to high speed almost instantly.

"YEEEAAAAAAHHHH!" Yolei cheered, the wind whipping her hair around. "Isn't this great?"

Sora, Kari and Gatomon weren't half as pleased. "...We should've asked her to sit downwind," Gatomon muttered, holding her nose.

Sora and Kari nodded.

* * *

In a geyser of sand, Digmon erupted from the ground and brought the boys back under the red sky. "There we go!" he announced as he set them down. "Gotta get you boys some fresh air!"

"Thank you, Digmon," Cody said, bowing to the monster. "You really got us out of a bind."

TK glanced up at the sky and gulped; Kabuterimon hadn't left. With one swift motion, the massive bug swooped down at them, his limbs sparking. "Celebrate later!" TK cried, pointing.

"Cody, now would be a fine time to see Digmon's skills," Izzy suggested, glancing at the boy. "If you can knock that ring off of Kabuterimon's midsection, he'll be set free."

Cody nodded and glared at Kabuterimon. This world was still a mystery to him, but he knew one thing: now that he had his own Digimon, he wouldn't allow this Emperor to control Izzy's. "Digmon, are you ready for combat?" he asked.

"You bet, partner!" Digmon laughed, leaping in front of the boy, his drills whirring.

Kabuterimon zipped upwards at the last second, surprised at the new combatant. Still, he wasn't about to back down. "So, you have a new ally?" he asked. "That won't save you! ELECTRO SHOCKER!" With a snarl, he lobbed an electric globule right at Digmon.

The blast came down upon Digmon and exploded, sending a thick cloud of sand into the air. Horrified, Cody strained to see his new partner in the mess. "Digmon!" he yelled.

"Such is the fate of all who oppose the Emperor," Kabuterimon cackled, rising above the cloud. "Now, for you..."

Just then, the wind blew the sand cloud away, and everyone gasped. Where Digmon had stood was now a deep tunnel in the rock. Kabuterimon made an annoyed clicking.

"Did the Electro Shocker do that?" TK asked.

"It's not THAT strong..." Izzy replied, shaking his head.

Cody looked up at Kabuterimon and grinned wryly; he knew what had happened. "No; for YOU," he declared. "Digmon!"

The earth beneath Kabuterimon burst open and Digmon bounded out, his drills flicking pebbles every which way. The flying bug roared with surprise.

"Get that ring!" Cody instructed.

"You got it!" Digmon said, pointing his drills at Kabuterimon. "GOLD RUSH!"

His nose and his four finger drills shot from his body and flew at Kabuterimon. The black bug shrieked and tried to move, but they were too fast. All five of them thrust into the ring and spun at high speed, shattering the wicked device in no time flat.

"YES!" TK cheered.

"Prodigious!" Izzy declared, struggling to contain his excitement; his old friend was safe.

Kabuterimon shrieked, then became enveloped in a strange light. As Cody watched, he sank to the ground and shrank until he was a small, red bug with wide, green eyes. He teetered around in the sand, then flopped over on his back. "Whooo..." he groaned, "anybody get the number of that truck?..."

"Tentomon!" Izzy shouted, running over to the bug and helping him up. "Are you all right?"

Tentomon was certainly surprised to see his old chum again. "I... what... Izzy?" he asked, baffled. "How did you...? Oh, who cares? You're here! You're really here!"

"I missed you too, buddy," Izzy said, hugging the bug. "It's been way too long..."

Cody and TK watched from a distance. Cody was surprised by Izzy's reaction; he had never seen him so emotional before. "Wow..." he said. "He must really care for that Digimon."

"Sure he does," TK replied, Patamon landing on his head. "We all do. They're not just our partners; they're our friends."

"BEST friends!" Patamon corrected him, pushing the hat down over TK's eyes. TK laughed and playfully swatted at him.

Cody couldn't help but smile at the silliness. "Digmon," he said, looking up at the drilling bug, "perhaps we can be like that some day?"

"That's what I'm hopin'," Digmon answered.

Just then, there was a familiar scream from the air. "HEY, YOU GUYYYYYS!" Yolei's cry rained down upon them. They all looked up to see a huge griffin land before them, the girls on its back.

"Yolei!" Izzy exclaimed. "You're all right!"

Yolei, Sora and Kari hopped off of Halsemon. The purple-haired girl laughed loudly. "Of course I am!" she declared. "Nothing can faze me!"

Cody glanced at her damp trousers and gave a skeptical look. She grumbled and turned away.

"What happened to you guys?" TK asked Kari.

"Oh, not too much..." Kari replied, smiling, "except that Yolei got a Digimon and we blew up an airfield."

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "She did?" he asked, glancing at the griffin. "Is this it?"

"Yeah, that's Halsemon," Sora said, looking somewhat down. "We found the DigiEgg of Love at the airfield, and she got it..."

Izzy nodded. "Yeah, we found the DigiEgg of Knowledge," he replied. "Cody got that and found Digmon, here."

Halsemon and Digmon exchanged looks. "Well, howdy do!" Digmon laughed, offering his drill.

Halsemon looked at the weapon, then at Digmon. "Err... yes," he replied.

Realizing that neither of them had shakable appendages at the moment, Digmon withdrew the drill with a chuckle.

"That isn't all," Izzy continued, motioning to Tentomon. "Cody and Digmon freed Tentomon, too!"

"Hey, that's great!" Sora said, patting the bug on the head. "Are you OK, Tentomon?"

"Kind of shaky, but I'll be fine," Tentomon replied, "but what are you guys DOING here, anyway?"

"To be honest, we really don't know," Kari admitted. "I mean, the computer just opened a door here the other day, and then Davis got that new Digivice-"

There was a horrible silence as everyone remembered something important. "DAVIS!" all of the humans shouted at once.

"Oh, man! We've gotta find him!" TK panicked.

"Another friend?" Halsemon asked. "Do not fret. We can fly to his aid."

"Yeah, but there's one problem; we don't know where he is!" Yolei said.

Tentomon cocked his head to one side, puzzled. "Why don't you find him with your Digivices?" he asked.

Cody and Yolei looked at the bug, confused. Izzy smacked himself in the forehead. "Of COURSE!" he declared. "Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

"Well, we WERE running for our lives..." TK pointed out.

Cody glanced at Digmon. "Let's get back to the hole he fell into and follow it," he instructed.

"You bet!" Digmon said. "Lead the way, partner!"

"That's a great idea, too," Sora agreed. "Hold up, Cody; I'm coming, too!"

Yolei hopped back on Halsemon's back. "I'll check from the air," she said, pulling out her Digivice. "Just tell me how to work this thing!"

"Better yet," Izzy said, grabbing Tentomon and getting on Halsemon behind her, "I'll come along and instruct you."

Yolei's face went red; Izzy was going to ride with her! "O... OK!" she managed. "Halsemon, let's go!"

Halsemon took off into the air, and Digmon disappeared into the ground. Kari, TK and their Digimon were left standing in the sand. "...I think we missed the boat, here..." Gatomon remarked.

"So, uh... what should we do?" Patamon asked.

TK and Kari pulled out their Digivices and glanced at them. They saw four dots that represented their compatriots moving off in their respective directions, but also two more that sat still directly north of them. While five of the dots were red, the one most north was black. "Hey, maybe that's Davis!" TK suggested, pointing to the stationary dots.

"Maybe... but who's with him?" Kari asked. "Why is that dot black?"

Gatomon growled. "That's the Digimon Emperor," she said. "He has a black Digivice, remember?"

TK and Kari exchanged worried looks. "Let's go," Kari said. "Gatomon, do you know where that is?"

Gatomon stared at the Digivice for a moment. "Looks like they could be at the canyon," she said. "Come on! I know the way!"

She broke into a mad sprint across the sand. Patamon flew after the cat as Kari and TK raced as fast as their legs could take them. If Davis had run into this Emperor, who knew what had happened?

* * *

"Now, then..." the Digimon Emperor said, pacing back and forth on the cliff top, fingering Davis's Digivice. It had a different feel than his own; it was warm where his always felt chilly. It bothered him, but also fascinated him at the same time. "Tell me how you got this," he ordered.

Davis spat angrily from his spot on the cliffside. "You dirty sumnabitch!" he swore. "I ain't tellin' you nothin'! Now give it back and let us go!"

"Yeah, we ain't done nothin' wrong!" Veemon added.

The Emperor shook his head. "My, my, such language," he said. "You didn't do very well in English class, did you...? But I digress. I can't let you go."

"Well, why the hell not?" Davis demanded.

"You've been trespassing in my land," the Emperor replied, his smirk becoming a frown, "and you cost me one of my servants the other day."

Davis growled. How did he know about Flamedramon's fight with Monochromon? He must have had eyes everywhere. Well, he was an evil Emperor; anything was possible.

"Something like that warrants punishment, you know," the Emperor went on.

Davis was rattled, but still had his attitude. "So, what are you going to do?" he mocked. "Torture us by not letting us use the john?"

"While that is tempting," the Emperor chuckled, scratching his chin, "I have a far more suitable punishment."

He snapped his fingers and a dark ring appeared in front of him. Davis's eyes widened in terror. That was one of the things that Monochromon had been wearing!

"Your little friend shall become my slave in place of Monochromon," the Emperor said as the ring slowly started towards Veemon, "and you shall watch. Then I'll confiscate these toys of yours and eject you from my realm. Sound fair?"

"NO!" Davis snapped. "Leave him outta this!"

Veemon laughed. "Hah! You'll never make me your slave!" he declared. "You might as well just destroy me now!"

The Emperor frowned at the insolence. "As you wish," he snapped. "Once the ring is on you, I'll have you jump off the cliff."

Veemon cringed; that wasn't the answer he had hoped for. "Hey, come on, I was just jokin' around!" he panted as the ring came ever closer. "You know, a little comedy to lighten the mood? Ha ha! Funny guy, Veemon, right? Come on, old buddy!"

The Emperor smiled triumphantly. "Nobody is laughing," he said bluntly.

Helplessly stuck to his side of the cliff, Davis could only watch that ring approach Veemon. Though he hadn't known the little guy for long, he couldn't stand this. He wanted to rip out of those bonds, leap over there and smash that accursed ring to bits. Then he wanted to climb up there and beat the stuffing out of that scrawny kid. He strained hard against the cuffs, but they wouldn't move; he was powerless. "Damn you..." he snarled at the Emperor, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Almost in response to his yell, two red lasers suddenly shot through the canyon and vaporized the ring. He blinked a few times, amazed.

"HEYYYY!" Yolei cried as Halsemon flew into view. The huge griffin slowed to a hover beneath Davis, with Yolei grinning. "Am I late?" she asked.

He beamed. "Well! I'm actually glad to smell you," he remarked.

She fumed, but Izzy broke up the argument. "We'll get you out of there; just hang on," he said as Tentomon flew up and started picking at the braces.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Davis replied sarcastically. "Just get Veemon next!"

Suddenly, Veemon's rock wall crumbled and he dropped down into the waiting clutches of a big, yellow, drill-nosed bug thing. Yolei glanced at them and grinned. "No worries there," she reported.

Davis freaked out at the sight of the thing, but then regained his wits. That bug and the griffin Yolei rode on looked like they were wearing some kind of armor. Maybe Yolei and Cody had found Digimon, too. He was relieved and annoyed at the same time; now he had nothing to rub in Yolei's face.

The Emperor smirked at the sight of the new Digimon. Had more of these intruders found weapons to oppose him? What good fortune; he certainly wouldn't be bored now. He ruffled his hair and turned away from the cliff; he had to get back to the base and analyze these new monsters, as well as that gogglehead kid's toys.

However, his way was blocked. The white cat that was impervious to his rings stood before him, furious. Two of the kids and the flying pig Digimon stood behind her, looking equally displeased. "This cat box ain't big enough for the both of us," the cat snarled, projecting her claws.

The Emperor grinned. "Indeed..." he said. "One of us has to-"

Suddenly, the green worm leaped in front of the Emperor, holding up his arms in defense. "Leave him alone, you big bullies!" he stuttered, then rushed at Gatomon.

"MAKE me," Gatomon hissed, lunging at the worm and slugging him in the face. He sailed backwards and crashed into the Emperor, knocking Davis's tools off the side of the cliff.

"SHIT!" the Emperor swore, forgetting his temper. "You worthless...!"

The Digivice and the other thing bounced down the cliffside, only to land right in Yolei's hands as Halsemon flew by. "Thank you!" she laughed.

The Emperor turned on Gatomon, his jaw clenched. "Here, kitty, kitty," he snarled, snaring her with his whip and flinging her over the cliffside.

"NO! Gatomon!" the girl cried.

Down in the canyon, Davis saw Gatomon go over the edge and swatted Halsemon's back. "Yo! One-eighty! Man overboard!" he yelled.

Grumbling at the treatment, Halsemon doubled back and Davis caught Gatomon. She was surprised to see the foul-mouthed boy was the one who had saved her. "Hey... you DO care, huh?" she asked.

"Just don't scratch me," Davis retorted, setting her down.

The Emperor turned to Kari and TK, recovering his smirk. "Well... it looks like it's time for some action," he said.

"Wait!" TK urged. "Just wait for a-"

The Emperor slashed his whip across the ground. "Snimon! Mojyamon! Drimogemon!" he shouted. "Get them!"

Drimogemon burst out of the cliffside with a roar. Snimon flew at the kids from the clouds, buzzing. Mojyamon came charging down the canyon, swinging his club around wildly.

"A three-prong assault," Izzy growled as Halsemon hovered next to Digmon. "Split up!"

Cody nodded. "Digmon, can you take care of the mole?" he asked.

Digmon nodded. "You bet, partner," he said, then tossed Veemon to Davis.

"Thanks!" Davis said, then looked down into the canyon. "Veemon and I'll take that hairy dude! Um..." He paused and looked at Yolei. "Yolei, can I get my stuff back?" he asked.

Yolei was about to yell at him for calling her Miyako again, but then she realized that he hadn't. With a wry smile, she offered the tools to him. "Just don't lose 'em again," she warned. "Now get off; we have to deal with the bug!"

Izzy, Gatomon and Davis hopped off, and Halsemon took off into the air towards Snimon. "All right, then!" Davis laughed. "Payback time, Veemon!"

"You got it, Davith!" Veemon said, pumping his fists. "Just say the word!"

Davis held up his Digivice and Veemon became Flamedramon once again. The newly evolved Digimon wall-kicked his way down the cliffs and landed before Mojyamon. The yeti, already mad, was absolutely furious about the new obstacle.

"Come on," Flamedramon said, motioning for the monster to come and get him, "let's see what you've got!"

Mojyamon roared, threw his club on the ground and blew a cold stream of air. A huge, jagged icicle formed in his hand, and he hurled it at Flamedramon like a javelin.

Flamedramon sneered and caught the ice chunk, which vaporized on contact. Mojyamon gawked, stupefied. "When it's fire against ice," Flamedramon said, his claws charging with energy, "fire ALWAYS wins!" With that, he lobbed a volley of fireballs into Mojyamon, igniting him and destroying the dark ring. With a groan, the yeti fell backwards, his eyes becoming their normal, blue color.

Up on the cliff, Davis pumped his fist. "Yeah!" he cheered. "Ain't nothin' we can't beat!"

Cody looked to the other side of the canyon, where Drimogemon snarled and burrowed into the rock. "He's going underground," he said. "Digmon!"

"All over it!" Digmon said, and shot down into the earth with his own drills.

Up in the air, Yolei engaged the vicious Snimon with gusto. "OK, Halsemon, let's go for that ring!" she cheered.

Halsemon sped up and tried to ram Snimon, but the bug zipped away at the last minute. It flew high and swung its sickle claws, sending two violet bolts at them. Halsemon growled as they came close, fearing for Yolei's safety.

Yolei had been waiting to say this for ages. "Halsemon!" she ordered. "Do a barrel roll!"

Halsemon spun like a drill, deflecting the blasts and sending Yolei into a wild screech. Still spinning, he tore upwards and smashed into Snimon, breaking the dark ring.

Down on the cliffside, Kari, Patamon and TK cheered happily. "Yeahhh! Nice one, Yolei!" TK yelled.

Halsemon flew down beside them, and Yolei slumped off, swaying around unsteadily. "OK... no more barrel rolls," she muttered, then threw up.

Just then, the clifftop on the other side of the canyon erupted Drimogemon, whose dark ring shattered as he hit the ground. Digmon leaped out behind him, triumphantly whirring his drills.

TK and Kari ran past the ralphing Yolei and confronted the Emperor, who had watched all three battles fall from his favor. "You lost, Emperor!" TK declared.

"Stop this, now!" Kari demanded.

The Emperor cackled as the green worm wearily shuffled to his side. "You think I'm just going to surrender?" he asked. "Silly little girl... Let us meet again!"

He snapped his fingers and there was a familiar shriek. Birdramon swooped down, he leaped onto her talon, and they took off into the sky. "Wait!" Kari cried, but they were long gone.

TK looked over the cliffside, and Davis, Sora, Cody and Izzy waved to him from their hole. He waved back, relieved that everyone was all right. "Let's go down there and reconvene," he said to Kari. "...Kari? You OK?"

Kari stared at the clouds that the Emperor had vanished into. What could make someone her age, a mere child, such a tyrant? Why did he enslave the Digimon in such a way? What had he done with the rest of her friends' partners?

* * *

With a grunt, the Emperor sat back down before his monitors. He had mixed feelings about the day; it hadn't gone as he had planned, but it still gone well. It was true that he had lost three minions and one of his Generals, but there was something about being beaten that excited him. It drove him to do even better the next day.

He sat in the dark for a moment, contemplating his next move. Finally, he rose. "Wormmon," he barked.

The little worm looked up. "Yes, master?" he asked.

"I'm done for the day," he announced, starting out of the room. "Make sure you lock up."

The door closed, and Wormmon sighed heavily.

* * *

Regrouped at the bottom of the canyon, the kids and their Digimon looked over the three Digimon that they had saved. They were bruised and cut a bit, but there were no serious injuries. "Sorry we had ta fight you," Veemon apologized to them, "but we had ta get rid of the dark rings. I hope we're still buds!"

"Don't worry about it," Mojyamon answered. "Thank you for saving us."

"Yeah, bein' the Emperor's slave was the worst!" Drimogemon admitted. "All day long, it's 'destroy this, destroy that, get me a cappuccino...' Oi!"

With another round of thanks, the three Digimon turned and departed. Davis smiled as they left, but then frowned at the thought of the Emperor. He hadn't imagined this villain to be a scrawny, smart-mouthed kid, but now that he knew, it made him even angrier. This spoiled brat was the source of the Digital World's misery? He would delight in taking him down a peg or three, especially after what he had done to Veemon and him today. "Urrgh... that guy really pisses me off!" he voiced. "Kari, TJ, forget what I said yesterday; I'm behind you guys a hundred percent! This jackass is goin' down!"

Kari and TK both smiled. "Thanks, Davis," TK said. "We're definitely going to need you."

Hawkmon and Armadillomon both conversed with their new partners. "So, Yolei, I can count on your assistance from now on?" Hawkmon asked.

Yolei grinned wildly. "You bet!" she declared. "But, uh... I'll let you call the shots on flying, OK?"

"An' will you be OK with bein' my partner, Cody?" Armadillomon asked.

"Of course," Cody replied, bowing again. "It'll be a pleasure."

Sora, Izzy and Tentomon watched from a distance. "So, Izzy, how did you guys come here again?" Tentomon pressed.

Izzy shrugged. "I'm still not sure, Tentomon," he answered. "There's a door open between our world and this one, and I don't know why... but I do know a few things..."

Sora looked at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He was about to respond when Davis called to them. "Hey, guys! We'd better get home!" he said. "Look at the time!"

Sora looked at the sky. Davis was right; the sky was almost completely dark now. "Woah, he's right," she admitted. "How DO we get home, though?"

"If it's the same as it was yesterday, there should be a portal back where we landed," Kari pointed out. "Let's get back to the grasslands."

"I know the way back," Gatomon said, walking down the canyon rocks. "Come on!"

"We could also fly," Hawkmon pointed out. "How about it, Yolei?"

Yolei's face turned green. "...I think walking is fine for now, Hawkmon," she mumbled.

* * *

Gatomon led them out of the canyon to the grass field where they had first appeared. The only difference aside from the twilight was a small, black television sitting in the flora. "Here we are," Kari said, stopping. "Let's go home."

Yolei and Cody looked around, but they saw nothing that looked like a portal. "What do you mean?" Cody asked. "I don't see a portal."

"Yeah, all I see is this dumpy old TV," Yolei said, looking at the broken-down box. "Ugh! There are litterbugs everywhere nowadays!"

Davis snickered. "That's the portal, stupid," he said.

She stared at him, then at the television, and then back at him. "...You're kidding me," she muttered.

"Nope, that's what happened yesterday," TK said. "We just turn it on, and we're back in the computer lab."

Cody scratched his head. "How... odd," he commented.

Izzy scratched his chin. Here was another mystery; why a television? He supposed that it could be symbolic; since the Digital World was accessed through a computer, perhaps the real world was reached by television.

His thoughts were cut off by a frustrated groan from Yolei. "Going through a TV?" she yelled. "How much is THAT gonna hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt that much, really," TK reasoned. "It's the same as when we came here."

"Yeah, but look at the screen size!" Yolei argued, pointing at the tiny glass. "There's no way we'll fit through that!"

The TV suddenly activated, blinding everyone with bright light. Yolei gasped as she felt something yanking her towards it.

"...I think it's about to prove you wrong," Cody remarked.

* * *

"So... the birds and the bees, eh? Thanks, Mr. Fujiyama," Tai finished as he walked out of his old teacher's office. He looked out the window at the dusk and sighed wearily; he had kept the man distracted for a long time. He hoped that everyone was back now.

Just as he turned the corner, the computer lab entrance flashed with a brilliant light, followed by several thuds and grunts. He raced to the door to see all of his friends in a heap, with three small Digimon sitting on top. "Woah!" he exclaimed. "What happened to you guys?"

"Please don't ask..." Sora groaned from her spot on the bottom.

Davis looked up to see a small, blue critter sitting on top of his head, but it wasn't Veemon. "Wha... who are you?" he asked.

"Don'tcha recognize me, Davis?" it asked in a cute, lispless voice. "OK, well, maybe you don't. I'm Demiveemon, the In-Training form of Veemon!"

"I'm Poromon, but also Hawkmon," a pink ball with eyes, wings and a beak chirped at Yolei.

"I'm Upamon, but I'm Armadillomon, too!" a yellow sphere with whiskers announced to Cody.

Yolei had another joygasm and squeezed Poromon tightly. "Eeeeeee!" she shrieked. "He's so cute!"

Cody stared at Upamon for a moment, then patted his head. "How strange that something like you can become a big thing like Digmon," he observed.

"Hey..." Kari said as she got to her feet and looked around, "where's Gatomon?"

"Didn't our Digimon come, too?" TK asked, seeing that Patamon wasn't with him.

Izzy looked at the computer screen. The Digital gate was open, and the three remaining Digimon stood there, looking at them. "Hey, how'd those guys get out there?" Gatomon snapped.

"Yeah, that isn't fair!" Patamon huffed.

Izzy was perplexed again; why did the new Digimon come through, but not the old ones? This was very strange, indeed... Still, he didn't want to say anything yet. "...Don't worry, you guys," he replied, "we'll figure out some way to get you here, too."

"In the meantime, we'll do some research," Tentomon suggested. "We'll see if we can learn anything about the Emperor that'll help you guys!"

Izzy nodded. "Yeah, you do that," he said. "I'll check in again tomorrow if I can." With that, the Digimon scattered, and Izzy shut the machine off.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've gotta run again," Davis sighed, looking out the window. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble..."

"Just tell them you were studying computers with your friends," TK suggested.

Davis frowned at him. "That won't work!" he snapped. "They all know I suck at computers!"

"Then you'll just have to make something up yourself," Yolei sniffed, tucking Poromon under her arm and walking out. "See you all tomorrow."

Davis uttered something nasty after her. Cody picked up Upamon and started to leave. "We had better go, too," he said. "Until tomorrow, then... Yolei, wait for me!"

Kari turned to Davis. "You'd better go, too, right?" she asked.

"Right, RIGHT!" Davis snapped, grabbing Demiveemon and charging off. All the way down the hall, they could hear him complaining about how much his sister was going to razz him for being late two nights in a row.

Sora looked at her remaining friends. "I guess we should go, too, huh?" she asked.

As the five kids left the building, Tai turned to Izzy. "What did you guys find out?" he asked.

Izzy told Tai what had happened in his group, and Sora told about hers. "...So what I learned today is that touching DigiEggs hurts..." Sora finished, rubbing her arms.

"It's very odd," Izzy agreed. "We have the Crests; we should have been able to touch those eggs."

"Well, we don't exactly HAVE the Crests anymore," Kari corrected him. "They broke."

Izzy frowned. Kari was certainly right about that; in their final battle with Apocalymon five years ago, the brute had seized and shattered all of their Crests. "Yes, but the powers of those Crests had already taken root inside of our bodies," he pointed out, "so even then, we should have been able to touch them!"

"Yeah, and only Yolei could move it..." Sora recalled, sighing. "I just don't get it..." She paused, then looked at them, worriedly. "Maybe... Joe was right?"

The others looked at her like she had said something vulgar. None of them wanted to think that they were being replaced, but after what had happened today, it seemed even more likely.

Tai responded in his usual way. "What?" he snapped. "I am NOT going to roll over!"

Kari sighed. "Is that because of what happened today, Sora?" she asked.

Sora stared at the ground, and the others exchanged worried looks. Though she acted tough to Yolei, they knew she was torn up about Birdramon attacking them.

"...We'll figure something out," TK reassured her. "Just have some faith."

"Yeah, we'll all tell you that," Tai said. "Right, Kari? Izzy?"

Kari nodded, but Izzy was not in sight. Tai looked around and saw him walking off on his own. "Hey! Izzy!" he called. "Where're you going?"

"Home," Izzy replied, looking back at them. "There are more questions now than there were before... I need to think about it all." With that, he turned and left.

TK scratched his head. "Was it something we said?" he asked.

Tai turned to Sora and smiled. "That's Izzy for you," he said. "He'll come up with something, so don't worry too much."

Sora looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "All right..." she agreed, then shivered. "Whew, it's getting chilly... I should get home."

TK looked at his watch and gulped. "Yipes! We all should!" he announced.

"Right, then," Tai said. "Whoever can, meet up in the lab after class tomorrow."

With that, they parted. TK headed east, Sora went northwest and Tai and Kari went straight north towards their respective homes.

As they walked, Kari looked at Tai. He was their leader, and she knew how much the thought of being 'replaced' would upset him. "You really think things'll be fine?" she asked.

"Izzy's got the brain for this," he replied. "If he thinks something's up, I know he'll find an answer." Just then, he paused and smacked himself. "Aww, nuts! I just remembered I have to stay after tomorrow and set up for Sunday's soccer game! I can't meet up with you guys!"

Kari sighed. "TK and I have the lightest schedules; I guess we'll keep helping Davis and the rest," she said.

Tai smiled at her. "Yeah, you do that," he agreed. "Like Izzy would say, you two can do reconnaissance for the rest of us."

"You bet!" she answered. "We'll tell you everything!"

Tai nodded, then frowned. He didn't like to think badly of people, but he really didn't know about those new guys. He had said that Davis had potential, but the boy's hot head and foul mouth bothered him. Cody was young and only knew how to follow orders. Yolei was... well... Yolei. It might just have been his ego talking, but could they really be Digidestined? Even if they were, could they stop this Emperor all by themselves?


	3. Light And Hope Return

**CHAPTER 3**

**LIGHT AND HOPE RETURN**

The door to his room shut safely behind him, Davis unzipped his backpack. "OK, the coast is clear!" he said. "You can come out, but keep quiet!"

Demiveemon hopped out onto the floor and looked around in amazement. He stood in a giant's room, where gigantic, flat humans raced around with soccer balls on the walls and colorful, strange birds decorated the surfaces. "Oh, wow!" he peeped. "Davis, this place is awesome!"

Davis chuckled. "Yeah, I know," he admitted. "This is the center of my universe. Just be careful and-"

Demiveemon bounced onto the bed and then onto Davis's desk to get a better look at one of the birds. "Hi there!" he chirped. "I'm Demiveemon! What's your name?" he asked.

The thing gave no response.

"Whassa matter, you got hearing problems, too?" he pressed, slapping it on its wings.

Davis's heart shrieked as the model airplane he had been working on for two months toppled off the desk and smashed to pieces. He dove down and picked up one of the parts, but it was broken beyond reconcile. His blood boiled as he slowly turned his gaze on Demiveemon.

The little blue critter looked horrified. "...Oops," was all that he could say.

Davis raised his shaking hand and pointed at the remaining plane on the desk. "These..." he slowly said through clenched teeth, "are models. They don't move. Do NOT... touch them."

Demiveemon's ears sagged, and he quickly hopped back to the bed. "I'm sorry, Davis..." he said, instantly remorseful.

Davis was absolutely furious; two months of getting his hands glued together and spraying himself with paint, down the drain with one fell sweep! He wanted to pound Demiveemon into pudding, but the little guy looked so sad that he could not... and that was no way to treat a partner on only their second day of life. Holding himself back, he loosened his fists and took several deep breaths. "It's... It's all right..." he forced himself to say. "Just... be more careful."

Overjoyed to hear of his forgiveness, Demiveemon laughed and leaped into Davis's arms. "I'll be real, real careful now!" he vowed. "I'll even help you make new ones!"

Davis was still upset, but the little guy's attitude forced a smile from him. "...OK," he agreed. "First, though, we've gotta clean this up." He reached for a broom and dustpan.

Demiveemon hopped down and grabbed the dustpan. "I'll hold, you sweep," he chirped. Davis chuckled as he swept the remnants to the little guy, who raised the dustpan (he was strong for his size!) and dropped them into the trashcan. "All done!" he reported.

Davis stood up and looked Demiveemon over. "I think this is gonna be the start of something good, Demiveemon," he said.

Just then, Davis's mother called from outside the door. "Daisuke! Dinner time! Pork chops tonight! she said."

Davis could have somersaulted; pork chops were his favorite meal of all time. "I was right!" he announced, starting for the door.

"What're pork chops, Davis?" Demiveemon asked.

Davis stopped and looked at him; the poor guy looked pretty hungry himself. "...I'll see if mom'll let me eat in here," he said. "Just hang tight." With that, he shut the door.

Demiveemon made himself comfortable on the messy bed; if someone besides Davis came in, he could quickly hide under the upturned blankets. He looked up at the other models on the dresser, still captivated by their bright colors, but even more so by their wings. After seeing Halsemon flying that day, he had thought it looked awesome. He wished that he could try it some day.

The door opened and he dove under the covers. Davis came in with a plate with four steaming slabs of meat on them and a big glass of water. "OK, here's dinner!" he announced. "...Demiveemon? Where are you?"

"Yay!" Demiveemon laughed as he exploded out of the sheets and landed before Davis. "Those are pork chops? Mmm, they smell good!"

Davis set the plate and glass down at his desk and sat down, with the little blue guy sitting on the desk right next to him. He cut one of the chops into smaller bites and offered them. Demiveemon picked up a piece and tasted it, then happily wolfed it down. "Mmm-MMM!" he announced. "This is great!" He grabbed the other cut pieces and ravenously shoved them down his throat. "Is there more?"

Davis's eyes bugged; the little guy had worse table manners than he did. Still, his gusto made him laugh. "Demiveemon... you're gonna be quite a handful," he chuckled.

* * *

With an irritated growl, Cody pressed his back to the bathroom door. "Are you finished yet?" he asked.

There was an unpleasant sound from within. "Um... no," Upamon's reply came. "Ohhh... Why did this happen to me?"

"I told you not to drink the prune juice, but you didn't listen," Cody retorted.

"But it looked so purple!" Upamon argued. "I love purple!" Another noise made him groan.

Cody sighed. If that juice had not stopped Upamon when it had, the contents of the entire fridge would have been gone. He had no idea that the little Digimon would be such a bottomless pit. He was glad that his mother was out running errands and his grandfather was taking a walk, so nobody was there to ask why he was guarding the bathroom door. He vowed that the first thing he would teach Upamon was moderation.

Finally, Upamon sighed with relief. "OK, that's it!" he announced.

"Good. Now maybe you'll learn to-" Cody started as he walked in, then stopped dead. His eyes rocketed around the room, horrified.

Upamon bit his lip. "...Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

Cody slammed the door and started down the hall for the cleaning supplies, scratching what he had vowed; the first thing he would teach Upamon was how to use a toilet.

* * *

"OK, I'm going to bed!" Yolei announced as she rose from the brain-melting drivel of late-night TV. "See you all in the morning!"

Her siblings looked at her, then started giggling amongst themselves. She ground her teeth as she walked away; she knew they were joking about the "stuffed toy" she had brought home from school. One suggested that she had gone soft in the head. Another thought she was just becoming more feminine. Another joked that she had embarked on a life of crime, stealing stuffed toys from unsuspecting little kids. The constant ridicule was something she was used to, but when it was directed at Poromon instead of her, she fumed more than usual.

"Ugh... Stupid sisters," she grumbled as she shut her door and looked over her room. Computer components were strewn about the desk and dresser, clothing lay all over the floor, and pictures of hot boys overlapped each other on all four walls. An odor wafted through the room that smelled like a mix of old ramen and hot chocolate. Yolei loved the smell- those were her favorite food and drink- but no one else was crazy about it. It was a strange mix of reeking clutter, but that represented Yolei perfectly.

Poromon was perched on the bed. "Hi, Yolei!" he chirped. "Are you going to read those big books in your bag now?"

"Ahh, I'll do it tomorrow before class," she grumbled, peeling off her shirt and pants and tossing them on the ground. "I'm bushed." She had been disappointed that she had not been able to keep the swanky clothes she had worn in the Digital World, but she then recalled that this saved her the trouble of washing them after her frights.

Clad only in her undergarments (yellowed by months of being unwashed), she flopped onto the bed and gently placed her glasses next to her bedside lamp; that was the most organized thing that Poromon saw her do. "Yolei," he said, his beak wrinkling, "what's that smell?"

Yolei grumbled to herself. "What, you're gonna get on my case, too?" she asked.

"...Huh?" Poromon asked, looking around for the case she had mentioned. "Where is it?"

She stared at him for a moment, then decided that she was too tired to be puzzled. "G'night, Poromon," she replied, then turned off the lamp. Poromon sat there silently for a few moments, watching her shuffle and toss until she found a comfortable position and stopped moving.

"Um, OK..." he said, fluttering to the floor. "I'm, uh, I'm going to look for the case, OK? Or am I not supposed to get on it?"

A loud, grating snore made him hit the roof.

* * *

The next day went as the days before it went, with one minor change; Davis, Cody and Yolei all brought their Digimon to school. Upon TK's statement that Digimon could not sit still on a desk for the whole day, they let the critters hide in the computer lab. There they whiled away the day, sitting and waiting for their humans to return, ducking into a cupboard if anyone should enter unannounced.

After quite a long time of this, though, the little creatures began to grow impatient. "Where are they?" Upamon huffed, bouncing back and forth along the floor. "They ARE coming back, right?"

"Sure they are," Poromon reassured him, pointing at the clock on the wall. "See that? Yolei said that when the little hand is on the 2 and the big hand is on the 9, they'd come back and we'll all go to the Digital World."

Demiveemon looked at it and scratched his head. "So, uh, what's a 2, and what's a 9?" he asked.

Poromon blinked a few times, then sagged, defeated. "...She didn't tell me that," he answered.

Just then, they heard footsteps outside the door, and they all zipped back into their cupboard. Three shadows appeared in the glass, and then the door started to open.

Upamon and Poromon kept still, but Demiveemon perked up right away. "Hey! Smells like Davis!" he announced.

The door opened the whole way and Davis walked in, Kari and TK behind him. "Hey! You sayin' I stink?" he asked.

"Yay!" Demiveemon laughed, bouncing out and dancing around his partner. "It IS Daviiiis!"

"Hey, guys," TK said. "Sorry you had to hide in here all day."

"It wasn't so bad," Poromon admitted. "I amused myself by taking one of the leftover spelling tests..." He looked at the three of them. "Where's Yolei?"

"Yeah, and what about Cody?" Upamon asked.

Kari looked surprised. "They aren't here yet?" she asked. "That's weird..."

Just then, a familiar cry came from behind them. "Heyyyy!" Yolei yelled as she rounded a corner and tore down the hall. She had a huge plastic sack with her.

She charged into the classroom and TK shut the door. "Sorry I'm late," Yolei apologized, holding up the sack. "I stopped off at work and got some snacks."

TK raised an eyebrow. "Work?" he asked.

"My family runs a convenience store down the street," she explained, showing the logo on the bag; it was a bright yellow I in a triangle. "See? I for Inoue!"

"Man, that rocks," Davis admitted. "I tell you, if my family owned a snack shop, I'd eat so much candy that I'd have wooden teeth by age 20!"

Yolei set the bag down and opened it. "It's not so glamorous," she said. "I've gotta pay for everything I take, plus I have to clean and keep things orderly. It's a lot of hard work!... but I get one heck of a pension plan."

"Wow, working at our age!" Kari said. "You must be pretty responsible!"

"...The hell's a pension plan?" Davis asked.

The three Digimon stared at the sack's contents. There were all sorts of small packets with tubes sticking out of them, as well as rectangular blocks wrapped in paper and shiny stuff. "...What are these?" Demiveemon asked, holding up a bar.

TK knelt down and took the bar from him. "Oh! I forgot, you guys have never seen this stuff before," he said. He unwrapped the bar a ways and handed it back. "There, try that... and you just suck at the straws on the juice boxes."

"Sweet!" Upamon laughed. "The buffet is OPEN!" He leaped right into the bag, snaring a juice box and draining it dry in moments and finishing with a belch. "This is the best thing I've eaten in my life!" he declared, bouncing around happily. "All two days of it!"

Veemon had eaten half of the chocolate bar already, and it showed; his whole face was coated with brown. "This is great!" he laughed. "Almost as good as pork chops!"

Poromon hesitated. The sloppy way that the other two were eating offended him immensely. Still, he was hungry, and if they could eat it, he could, too. He hopped up, selected a juice pack and sucked on it a bit. With an amazed, sugar-charged whoop, he burst from the ground and darted around the room, his little wings moving as fast as a hummingbird's, until he crashed back down next to Yolei.

"Good?" she asked, beaming.

Poromon coughed. "...Indeed," he replied.

Kari looked at Yolei. "So, uh, where IS Cody?" she asked.

Yolei shrugged. "Last I saw of him, he was in his classroom, still eating," she said. "He doesn't like to rush lunch, I guess..."

She was interrupted by another belch from Upamon. "...Unlike some people," she finished.

The yellow ball blushed.

* * *

As he rolled his final cherry tomato around on his tray, Cody could hear the clock's irritated tick. He was no longer hungry and he knew everyone was waiting for him, but food remained, and he was not going to leave until it was gone.

"You don't have to eat ALL of it, Iori," the teacher said. Aside from Cody, she was the only person left in the classroom.

Cody shook his head. "One must never waste food," he stated, growing contemplative. "That's what my father always said before... he passed on."

The teacher folded her arms, not quite sure how to answer that. "...Oh," she finally managed.

He suddenly found himself thinking of his dead father. Though lighthearted, the man had always offered sound advice that Cody followed to the letter. Still, some of that advice was Yolei's reasons for calling him a stiff, and even Izzy had commented on his lack of pursuing his own goals. He frowned as he looked back down at his tray. He was quite stuffed; logically, if he ate any more, he might be sick... but was it right to throw a good piece of food away?

Just as Cody turned his attention back to the tomato, his fork split it down the middle. Surprised, he speared half of it and held it up, not really knowing what to think.

* * *

Davis scratched his head. "I've gotta admit, feels weird with the older kids not comin' with us..." He paused, then laughed. "Hah! What'm I sayin'? We can go an' handle it no problem!"

Demiveemon gave a chirping vote of confidence.

"Well, we certainly can't go without Cody," Kari said, folding her arms and looking bored. "What can we do while we wait?"

Yolei walked to the computer and brought up an Internet browser. "Well, we can do what my folks always do when they're bored; watch the news."

Davis frowned. "News. Ugh! Only boring people watch the news."

"Hey, it can be useful," Yolei snapped, irked by the zing.

"Can be kinda depressing, too," TK admitted. "I mean, ever since that war started, it's been nothing but bad."

"Then we'll watch some mushy human interest piece," Yolei resolved, hitting a few buttons and looking over the available clips. "Hey, here's something about the national programming contest!" She grinned. She watched these contests religiously, hoping to scoop up tips for when she herself gave the competition a whirl.

She activated the film and the story came on. A pretty reporter with short hair stood outside a large building. "The national junior programming contest has just concluded here in Tokyo," she said into her microphone, "and the honor this year falls to a very surprising entrant: the boy genius Ken Ichijouji."

The camera switched to a boy about TK's age. He was tall and thin in a plain, gray school uniform. He had smooth, midnight blue hair that came down to his shoulders on his sides at sharp points and also over his right eye in rigid edges. He had an attractive smile, but what TK noticed the most were his eyes; they were a strange purplish-blue, and the pupils were tiny, black dots in the center. They looked kind of creepy, but TK figured they might be contacts; after all, every smart person he knew had a quirk of some kind.

"There were so many amazing programmers here, I was surprised that the judges ranked my project the highest," he said, his voice slightly nasally. "I'm very honored that they selected me."

The screen shifted to an elderly professor who was the contest's judge, as was stated beneath him on the screen. "It was amazing," he commented. "Mr. Ichijouji's work was more advanced than anything I had ever seen for this age group. I am sure he will excel in life."

The scene shifted to an image of Ken standing in another chamber surrounded by chessboards. "Ken's other intellectual talents include playing- and winning- twenty games of chess simultaneously, and just last year he used his mathematical skill to create a theory for balancing the budgets of all of the world's nations."

The image changed again to Ken racing down a soccer field and scoring a major goal. "His talents don't end at brain, though; he is also a black belt in judo, and he captains the national soccer team... and girls, he's single!"

As they replayed the goal kick footage, Davis whistled. "Damn... Look at that kick... He's almost as good as me!" he declared.

The scene changed again, this time back to the reporter, who now stood with a happy-looking set of parents. "I'm here with Ken's proud parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji," she said. "Please tell us: did you have a hand in Ken's prowess? Do you set a strict regimen for him?"

Mrs. Ichijouji chuckled softly. "No..." she said in a soft voice. "We just raised him like an ordinary boy."

Mr. Ichijouji laughed. "I guess it's just like father, like son," he said. "I mean, I guessed how many gumballs were in a jar once!"

"I've heard that this boy is so smart that he gives his teachers homework," Cody pointed out.

Everybody jumped. "Woah! Iori, when did you get here?" Kari asked.

"Only a moment ago," Cody replied. Upamon was happily perched in his arms. "...And it's Cody for you guys."

TK smiled at Cody's sudden change of heart, but then turned his attention back to the news report. "Maybe he could figure out how to get rid of the Digimon Emperor; this guy sounds like a real brainiac," he commented.

With a loud harrumph, Yolei shut off the news report. Her face was red with jealous rage. "Bah! I could program circles around that dumb kid any day!" she snapped.

Davis leered at her. "...But can you play sports, too?"

Yolei just folded her arms and snorted, too angry to admit defeat.

"Well, now that Cody's here, let's get going," Kari said, opening the Digital World gate program.

It activated to show Gatomon's big, blue eye. "Woah!" she yelped, bouncing back a bit to reveal Patamon behind her. Both of them were in a forested area. "Kari! Don't scare me like that!" she snapped.

Kari grimaced. "Sorry," she apologized. "Where are you guys?"

"Tentomon told us about an arena where the Emperor holds a lot of prisoners," Patamon said. "It's built where you guys all went home on the trolley!"

TK frowned. "Well, then we'd better get there and free them all," he said. "We're coming in!"

"Right!" Davis said as Demiveemon hopped on his shoulder. "Let's get rockin'!"

* * *

As the young Digidestined prepared for their next mission, the child prodigy Ken Ichijouji walked down the street of Tamachi, his classes concluded for the day. The fall air was brisk, but he did not mind; he was perfectly comfortable in his gray uniform with one hand in his pocket and his surprisingly light briefcase in the other.

In front of a sports bar, he stopped abruptly and glanced down. A small, brown puppy had scampered up to him and was affectionately wagging its tail, its panting tongue hovering over his feet.

His eyes narrowed. "You're soiling my shoes," he snapped.

The puppy sailed through the air, splattered on the pavement and took off, yelping in terror. He watched it tear around a corner and a chuckle escaped his lips. That had been fun.

Ken walked until he reached his apartment. He went in to find his mother waiting for him in the kitchen. "Oh, hello, Ken," she said merrily, setting on the table a plate with a slice of cake and some grapes. "I have to get to work soon, so I'll leave your snack here... Oh, I had such a morning! I bought a new label-maker and I just haven't been able to put it down!" she went on, turning back to washing some dishes. "I even labeled the toilet."

He looked at her backside disdainfully. What a frivolous line of conversation. Then again, it was only natural for her; simple-minded beings took pleasure in simple-minded activities. Still, he had no time to listen to such garbage; there were other things to do.

There was a click, and she turned around. Ken was gone. She walked out into the hall and saw that the door to his room was shut. She sighed. Her son certainly spent a lot of time in his room… Ah, well, she thought, the school probably loaded him down with extra homework since he was a genius; that would be only natural.

* * *

Once again, the Digital World braced itself. The Digimon Emperor stood on the branch of a tree, looking out onto the woods and its mysterious road signs, searching for some kind of amusement. The afternoon sunlight made the mysterious black obelisk in the forest's center gleam, and he smiled at the sight. Dominance was beautiful.

A rustling in the nearby underbrush caught his ear. Readying his whip, he leaped off of the branch and accosted the shrubbery. He could hear something whimpering in it. "It's no use hiding," he announced. "Now, come out!"

With a panicked shriek, a red, four-legged Digimon shot out of the bush. The Emperor recognized it to be an Elecmon; he had captured enough to know what they looked like. He grinned as the monster took off down the path; he loved a good chase.

He whistled and a large, orange dinosaur with a steel helmet came crashing through the trees, the black ring around its neck shining as brightly as the obelisk. The Emperor motioned for it to kneel. "We've got a job to do, General Greymon," he smirked.

When he felt the ground shaking, the Elecmon made the mistake of turning around to look. His heart almost exploded as Greymon burst through the woods, the Emperor perched atop his helmet, keeping perfect balance.

His prey in range, the Emperor loosed his whip upon the creature, landing lash after lash across its back, small spurts of blood speckling the surrounding plants. Its cries getting weaker and weaker, the Elecmon finally collapsed in the grass, too hurt to keep going.

The Emperor chuckled. "It's not much of a challenge if I catch you right away," he explained softly to the half-dead animal as Greymon snatched it up in his claw. "Now, General, to the arena!"

Uttering continuous gasps of panicked protest, the Elecmon flailed and writhed uselessly as Greymon turned and stomped off.

* * *

The arena was a large, formidable-looking stone ring dug into a peninsula in the center of a lake. It was designed similar to the Colosseum of Rome, except that it contained a multitude of prison cells in its walls. The only spectator seat in the whole place belonged to the Emperor.

A group of three Gotsumon- rocky, humanoid Digimon- was near the arena when Greymon arrived with the captive and its captor. They panicked and hid in a thicket behind the Emperor's throne as the blue-robed youth kicked Elecmon down a hole and into another cage.

"He caught another one!" the first Gotsumon gasped.

"Once he puts those rings around them, they change completely..." the second one remarked.

The Emperor walked to his throne and sat down. Wormmon shuffled up beside him. "You summoned me, master?" he asked.

"I just thought you'd like to watch the afternoon show," the Emperor replied. "I just rounded up a new contestant."

"This isn't good..." the third Gotsumon whined. "Let's run!"

"But we can't ditch our friends!" the first protested. "We have to help them somehow!"

Two doors at the bottom of the arena opened. Out of the first ran another Elecmon, a dark ring strapped around its neck and a bloodthirsty glow in its eyes. It rushed into the other door and came out in a rolling tussle with the captured Elecmon. The Emperor leaned in close with excitement as his own servant tossed the other around like a rag doll, carving it up with its claws and zapping it with its lightning attacks.

The Gotsumon quivered with fear; the Emperor was making them fight each other for fun! The third shook his head. "They would never hurt each other if they weren't wearing those rings..." it said.

The enslaved Elecmon launched its lightning once more. The captured Elecmon gave a horrible shriek and dissolved into nothingness. The Emperor rose up, clapped his hands and laughed, overjoyed at the superiority of his own minions.

All three of the Gotsumon recoiled from this. Not only did the Emperor make them fight, but to the _death_... and he _enjoyed_ it!

"What a terrible person!" the second one wailed, involuntarily stepping backwards.

Its foot snapped a twig, and the Emperor whirled around and saw them. The Gotsumon looked down and gasped; he had stepped on a twig. In a split-second, the first and second ones were on their backs, the Emperor's lashes on their chests. As the third Gotsumon took off, they looked up in horror as the boy approached.

A few moments later, the Emperor looked on with delight as two Gotsumon fought to the death in the arena. The third one watched from further away, tears streaming down his rocky cheeks. "They're best friends..." he blubbered. "They're... best friends!..."

Wormmon winced as one Gotsumon put its fist through the other's head and destroyed it, then sadly looked at the applauding Emperor. Did this really make his master happy?

* * *

With another exhilarating rush, the five children stood in the sign-adorned forest. Davis looked around in amazement. "Damn..." he said. "Whoever designed this place must have been trippin' pretty bad!"

"Nahh, that's just how this place is," Patamon piped up.

Davis looked down and recoiled in surprise. Instead of little Demiveemon, bigger, stronger Veemon stood before him. Poromon and Upamon had become Hawkmon and Armadillomon as well. "Woah!" he exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"

"We go back to our Rookie levels when we get back to the Digital World," Armadillomon replied casually, as if he had done it a thousand times already.

"Wow, you're quick-change artists, too?" Yolei laughed, who was equally delighted that her uniform was fresh and clean. "That is totally 1337!"

Kari and TK turned to their Digimon. "Gatomon, you said something about an arena?" Kari asked.

Gatomon nodded. "Yeah, it's up ahead," she said gravely. "The Emperor imprisons his slaves there and makes them fight to the death! It's barbaric!"

Kari frowned furiously. "No kidding," she agreed. "We'd better get over there."

"Right, then!" Davis declared. "Move out, troops!"

Yolei smacked him on the head. "You're not a drill sergeant, bozo," she snapped. "OK, move out!"

Davis smacked her head right back. "You aren't, either!" he pointed out. Both of them stood there, snarling.

Cody simply sighed and started up the path towards the arena, Armadillomon at his side. "I swear, watching you two is like watching monkeys play chess," he remarked. "Let's just get going."

Davis and Yolei shot nasty glared at each other, then turned away and started up the path after Cody with their Digimon in tow. TK and Kari, however, lingered. Kari looked at TK and noticed a bothered look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Watching the others with their Digimon, TK had felt a sudden pang of hopelessness. This Emperor strutted around the Digital World like he owned the place. Kari and he had protected this world before, but now their Digimon could do nothing against the new threat. If things kept going the way they did, he feared that he would lose Patamon to this monster, just like the older kids had lost their partners... and he really did not want that to happen. "...I feel bad," he said. "I want to help fight the Emperor, but..."

Patamon whimpered and fluttered down to the ground, as disappointed as his partner.

Kari sighed. She also felt helpless, but her nature kept her from admitting it. "Yeah, I know..." she admitted, "but we're still here. Let's keep up and try to help somehow. Besides... We have to look for anything weird for Izzy."

TK looked up and frowned. Was his new role in the Digital World only one of a reporter? He wanted far more than that. The Emperor was defiling all that he knew; he wanted to fight. Still, it did not seem like he would be able to. He shook his head sadly. "...Fine..." he surrendered. "Let's go."

Kari smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder. "We'd better run if we're gonna catch up," she said, starting up the road. "Those three move fast!"

TK nodded quietly and chased after her.

* * *

The Emperor's eyes narrowed as his black Digivice beeped. He glanced down to see that five other Digivice signals had appeared south of the arena. He snarled with annoyance; how dare they interrupt him during his favorite time! At any other time he would have been glad to see the challenge arrive, but not when he was watching his duels. This called for him to personally teach them a lesson.

"Wormmon," he growled, "put the combatants away. I have to deal with something." He snapped his fingers and Greymon appeared again. He mounted the dinosaur and rode off, pushing some buttons on his Digivice as he went.

"Right..." Wormmon replied, shuffling towards a flight of steps. "All right, boys, that's enough for today... Back to your cages..."

* * *

The woods seemed to get thicker and darker as the Digidestined walked up the path. Kari looked around and shuddered. This place was different than when she had been here before; its friendly aura was gone, replaced with one of foreboding.

Davis glanced at her and grinned; now was his chance to show her how cool he was. He slowed his pace, then reached behind him and took hold of a hand. "There," he said. "Now you won't be scared."

Kari shook her head. "I'm not scared," she replied.

"Well, I sure appreciate it," TK chuckled. Davis looked behind him and facevaulted; he was clutching TK's hand, not Kari's. The capped boy grinned. Davis yanked his arm away and marched angrily back to the front of the pack.

Just then, the three new Digivices began to beep loudly. "Eh? What's that?" Yolei asked, pulling out the gizmo. In the center of the screen was a cluster of five white dots, and off to the northwest there were two more dots, one of them pink and the other green.

TK looked at her screen. "Hmm... I think that's a map," he said. "See those five dots? I think those are us."

"Then what are the other two?" Cody asked, scratching his head.

Kari raised an eyebrow at the differently colored blips. "...I have no idea," she admitted. "Let's go look."

"But what about the arena?" Gatomon objected. "We have to get there, fast!"

Davis looked up the path, then back at his Digivice. "It's kinda on the way," he remarked, partly because he was curious and partly because he wanted to agree with Kari. "Let's have a look-see."

They were just about to keep moving when a familiar figure stepped out from behind a tree. "What do you think you're doing here?" the Digimon Emperor demanded.

Everyone jumped in surprise. "Agh!" Yolei cried.

"Is that the Emperor?" Cody asked.

"Hell yeah!" Davis snarled, balling his fists; he certainly had not forgotten what the creep had done to Veemon and him the other day. "Listen up, you! Get ready for an ass whuppin'!" he yelled, charging at the robed figure and swinging.

Much to everyone's shock, Davis went right through him, smashing into a tree from the momentum.

"What..." Cody gasped.

Yolei shrieked and hid behind Cody's back. "He's a ghost!" she declared. "I HATE ghosts!"

"If I may continue..." the Emperor growled. "Who do you think you are, sneaking into the Digital World? This isn't a movie theater!"

Davis peeled himself off of the tree. "D... Dammit..." he wheezed, staggering around. "You were solid enough yesterday..."

"Ordinary children can't come to the Digital World," the Emperor went on. "Only the Digidestined can!"

This made Davis forget his injuries and remember his hatred of the tyrant. "Yeah, well, guess what?" he huffed. "We ARE the Digidestined, smart-ass!"

The Emperor laughed. "The Digidestined? YOU? Stop lying," he snapped.

"Lying?" TK yelled; now the Emperor accused THEM of being the impostor Digidestined? It was too much. "We're not lying!"

"Yeah!" Kari argued. "Why can't we be Digidestined?"

The Emperor chuckled deeply. "It's all quite logical," he said. "This is a hidden realm, far different from reality. Only special human beings- perfect human beings- should be able to access it... and seeing as how _I'm_ the only perfect human being..." he ran his fingers through his hair for effect.

All five of the kids scowled; now this pig was getting personal. "Yeah?" Davis roared, dashing through the Emperor again and getting in his face. "Well, what the hell makes YOU so special?"

The ghostly figure fizzled out with an electronic noise. Kari looked surprised. "...That doesn't sound like a ghost noise," she remarked.

"It wasn't," TK growled. "That must have been a hologram or something..."

Yolei looked around, embarrassed. "...I knew that," she muttered, backing away from Cody. Cody rolled his eyes.

Gatomon looked grave. "If that was a hologram..." she growled, "then where's the real one?"

A loud growl behind them answered that question; they whirled around to see the Emperor standing atop Greymon. "I don't know what fluke got you Digivices," he said, "but I'll be more than happy to correct it!"

Kari gasped in horror at the sight of Greymon. TK and their partner Digimon looked equally pale. "Kari? What's wrong?" Yolei asked.

"That... that Greymon..." she stammered. "That's my brother's partner!"

Cody frowned. "Just like Tentomon the other day..." he said.

"This world and everything in it is MINE!" the Emperor decreed. "Now, away with you!"

TK snarled at him angrily. "We have just as much right to be here as you!" he shouted.

Yolei balled her fists. "Just try and make us leave!" she huffed. "I'll blast you back to level 1!"

The Emperor shook his head, irritated. "Why must everything turn into such a production?..." he muttered. "General Greymon, get them out of my sight."

Greymon roared angrily and started towards the kids. "The master's orders are absolute," he growled. "Leave or be destroyed."

"Greymon! Stop!" Kari cried out, stepping before him. "Remember who you are!"

Greymon sucked in his breath and spewed a powerful ball of flame at her. As both Davis and TK yanked her away, the spot where she had shoot exploded into a smoldering crater.

"...I don't think he can hear you," TK sighed.

Davis swore and pulled out his Digivice. This asshole had enslaved his mentor's Digimon partner, who in turn had tried to roast Kari. One or both of them was in for some hurt. "Veemon!" he snapped.

Veemon knew exactly what he was thinking. "Ready, Davith!" he lisped. In a split-second, he was Flamedramon again.

"Yolei?" Hawkmon asked.

Yolei nodded. Now was the time to make up for her blunders yesterday. She raised her Digivice and Hawkmon became Halsemon.

"Ready, pardner?" Armadillomon drawled.

Cody needed no further motivation; if he could save Izzy's partner, he could save Tai's. Digmon appeared presently.

The Emperor hopped down from Greymon and laughed. "See, this is why I hate stupid people like you," he chided. "You keep doing the same old thing while I always think up something new." He whistled into the forest.

To everyone's horror, the trees shook. With bloodthirsty roars, four red dinosaurs Greymon's size tore from the greenery. All of them wore the dreaded black rings around their necks.

"...Oh, no," Yolei managed.

"Sh... shit!" Davis growled.

"This is my special Tyrannomon brigade," the Emperor explained. "They're trained solely for the purpose of razing those that oppose me... so kindly let them do their job!"

Greymon roared and pointed at the children, and the Tyrannomon closed in. Flamedramon lobbed fireballs, but they swung their tails and snuffed them. Halsemon sent powerful whirlwinds their way, but they were too heavy to be affected. Digmon knocked big holes in the ground, but they just climbed back out, ignoring their injuries.

"Five big dinosaurs..." TK gulped as all of the children backed against each other. "We're outnumbered!"

"We wouldn't be if we could Digivolve!" Gatomon hissed, snarling at the Emperor. "Why won't you let us fight?"

"Yeah! What are you afraid of?" Patamon snapped.

The Emperor looked disdainfully at Kari and TK. "Is trash-talking all your Digimon can do?" he asked. "You should get a refund."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what they could do!" Kari said.

"Talk is cheap," the Emperor replied, holding up his black Digivice. "As long as I have this, your monsters are useless... and a fate that befits useless Digimon is..."

He snapped his fingers and the Tyrannomon turned all of their attention on Gatomon and Patamon. TK and Kari's eyes widened in terror. The next sounds were those of Patamon and Gatomon screaming as the Tyrannomon swatted them around with their tails and scorched them with their fiery breath. They tried their best to escape, but they were just too weak. Finally, they both collapsed in the grass. Greymon towered over them, flames dancing in his jaws.

"No... Leave them alone!" TK yelled.

"Greymon! STOP!" Kari screamed.

Suddenly, Flamedramon leaped in front of Greymon, scooped up the Rookie Digimon and bounded away as the fire came down. Kicking his way over the Tyrannomon, he landed before the kids and set Gatomon and Patamon down.

"Oh, God..." Kari managed, holding the singed cat in her arms. "Gatomon, speak to me!"

Gatomon coughed up smoke. "St... stupid lizards..." she growled.

Not ready to let the kids off, the Tyrannomon advanced on them. "They just keep coming!" Yolei panicked. "What're we gonna do?"

Cody glanced down at his Digivice. The green and pink dots were still in range. "Perhaps we should go and find those," he suggested. "They could be something helpful."

"They might be worthless, too!" Yolei countered.

The Tyrannomon spewed a storm of fire, sending them scurrying backwards. "We don't have much choice!" Davis snapped. He looked at Kari and TK; along with Cody, they were the most vulnerable ones here. "Go with Cody," he said to them. "We'll hold 'em off."

Kari and TK looked at him. "What?" Kari asked.

"But..." TK tried.

"Just move it, will ya?" Davis ordered, not looking back. "You're no good here!"

He was blunt and hurtful, but at the moment, he was right. TK and Kari turned and ran after Cody, who was already sprinting up the path, staring at his Digivice's screen.

The Emperor, however, was not finished with them. "I didn't say you could leave!" he barked. Two of the Tyrannomon broke off from the rest and went after the runners.

"Dammit!" Davis snarled at the Emperor. "Pickin' off the little ones first... You're even more of an asshole than I thought!"

The Emperor simply chuckled. "The ends justify the means," he replied. "Of course, you won't be around to understand that! Greymon! Tyrannomon!"

As Greymon and the two other Tyrannomon closed in on them, the three armored Digimon braced themselves. "Well, here goes nothin'..." Davis growled.

"Bring it on!" Yolei declared, pumping her fists. "Halsemon's gonna own you guys!"

The Emperor scoffed at the bad slang. "We'll see who 'owns' whom!" he growled.

Davis crossly looked back down the path. Those Tyrannomon were strong, and the three kids unarmed; he hoped that they found something useful, for everyone's sake.

* * *

Kari's heart leaped as she turned and saw the two monsters coming at them. "They're still coming!" she shouted.

TK gulped, then grabbed Kari's arm and shoved her ahead of him. "Don't look; just run!" he ordered.

Cody heard the commotion, but he was still hot on the trail of the odd dots. He glanced at the screen; the dots were now directly to his left. He glanced up; there was a steep hill on his left, plummeting down into the thickest part of the woods. He bit his lip; it looked like they were in for a tumble.

"Here!" he shouted to his friends, then turned and started down the hill. TK and Kari thought he was crazy, but seeing as how two ravenous dinosaurs were on their tails, they saw no other options. Grabbing their Digimon, they hopped off the path and rolled down the slope.

The Tyrannomon, eager to carry out their master's wishes, also started down the grassy hill. However, their tremendous weight made them fall forward, sending them barreling down the slope at breakneck speed. TK yanked Kari to the side as the overgrown lizards rolled past them and disappeared into the dark woods.

TK and Kari slowed to a stop and fell on the ground, gasping and heaving. "Ugh..." TK choked.

"Well..." Kari panted, "I guess we're safe for now..."

"Hey, you two!" Cody's voice came from further down the hill. "Come down here! I found them!"

The four friends walked quickly down the hill, but suddenly dropped with cries. The hill had a large cave opening in it, which they had come upon from the top. Cody stood near the entrance, scratching his head. "Sorry," he apologized. "I should have mentioned the drop."

Patamon lay with Gatomon on top of him. "...I thought cats landed on their feet," he coughed.

"Oh, shut up," Gatomon replied.

The kids got to their feet and looked at the cave. It was tall and wide, but it did not go very far in; the afternoon sunlight lit up its entire interior, even in the dark woods. There was a wide, stone podium at its back, upon which two odd things sat. One was a golden egg with wings and hair jutting out of its top and a yellow badge-like symbol on its front. The other looked like a cat stuffed inside a cylinder with a pink star symbol on its gray middle.

TK looked at them. "Are those... DigiEggs?" he asked.

Kari stared at the symbols. "Hey! That one has the Crest of Light!" she said, pointing at the pink star, "and the other has the Crest of Hope!" TK and she stared at each other, wondering just what it could mean.

Cody looked at them, puzzled. "Is there something special about those?" he asked.

"Cody, those are the Crests that WE were given!" TK exclaimed.

"Really? Then maybe they're for you," Cody concluded.

Kari shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "All three of you guys got DigiEggs with Crests that our friends had..."

"Besides, you got Digimon with those," TK said, looking at Patamon. "We already have ours..."

"Well, they have to belong to SOMEONE..." Cody replied, "and you two are the only ones who don't have them yet."

"But..." Kari tried again.

Gatomon folded her paws and snorted. "Well, what're we gonna do?" she asked. "Wait for more Digidestined to come along and scoop 'em up?"

"Maybe they ARE for you," Patamon piped up. "We won't know until someone tries picking them up."

"But we..." TK started.

"The other Digimon are getting creamed. We don't have much choice," Gatomon went on. "Just do it!"

There was a long, thoughtful pause. TK sighed, thinking of Davis and Yolei, wondering if they were still holding out against those Tyrannomon. They needed help, and this was the only thing he saw around that might be able to give it. Kari stared at the eggs, thinking of Greymon. Tai would be devastated to hear what had become of his old friend, but if she could free him... Maybe these eggs could help her do that.

"...Let's try it," TK finally said, looking at Kari. "We've got nothing to lose, right?"

Kari sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, let's try!" she agreed.

They approached the eggs, but suddenly their ears were ablaze with two ear-splitting, horrifying, metallic shrieks. As everyone covered their ears and cried out in pain, Kari and TK looked down; the noise was coming from their Digivices! As they watched, the small devices flashed a brilliant gold, then reshaped themselves. They became like the Digivices that the newer kids had, Kari's with pink trim and TK's with green. The shrieking ceased abruptly, as if someone had muffled the noise and dragged it out of the room.

"What the heck was THAT?" TK asked, grabbing his Digivice and staring at it with shock.

"I... I don't know..." Kari panted, the noise still ringing in her ears. "But... Our Digivices...?"

Cody was as amazed as they were. "You... They changed?..." he asked aloud. "How?... Why?..."

Gatomon and Patamon were equally shocked, but they had other ideas. "Hey!" Patamon cried. "That means..."

"Grab those DigiEggs!" Gatomon instructed.

Still uncertain of what had happened, Kari and TK put their hands on the DigiEggs. No black energy repelled them like before. "Well, I guess these ARE for us!" TK concluded.

Kari pulled hers up. "Light as a feather..." she murmured.

A green light shot from beneath TK's egg, and a pink one came from under Kari's. Instead of new Digimon appearing, however, the eggs simply broke apart and flew towards Gatomon and Patamon, who were engulfed in light.

"Patamon Armor Digivolve to..." The pig said, and then he was Patamon no more. He doubled in size and grew golden wings. The egg strapped itself to his middle, a shining breastplate. A golden helmet hid his face, and golden gauntlets encased his hooves. A proud, winged horse stood before them. "...Pegasusmon; Flying Hope!" he finished.

"Gatomon Armor Digivolve to..." The cat said, and then she ceased to be Gatomon. She hunched over onto four legs and became twice her size, with white, feathery wings shooting out of her back. The egg plastered itself across her face and chest, creating a human-looking face helmet and a gray breastplate. The light faded, and a mysterious, Egyptian-looking being stood in the cave. "...Nefertimon; the Angel of Light!" she announced.

Cody gawked at the sight. TK and Kari had not received new Digimon; their old ones had been given the power to Armor Digivolve! "...Amazing..." was all that came to him.

Kari and TK were equally delighted. "Pegasusmon, huh?" TK asked, looking his partner over with approval. "Awesome! Now you're just as strong as anybody!"

"Good," Pegasusmon replied, gently nuzzling TK's hair. "I was starting to feel left out."

"Nefertimon..." Kari gasped, hugging her friend. "You're beautiful!"

"Oh, go on..." Nefertimon chuckled. "There'll be more time for that later. Let's get back and save our friends!"

TK's smile became a determined frown. "Right! Let's go show that Emperor!" he huffed. Effortlessly, he leaped onto Pegasusmon's back.

Kari helped Cody onto Nefertimon's back and got on herself. "Don't worry, Greymon... I'm coming!" she whispered.

Nefertimon and Pegasusmon shot into the air like bullets, heading back towards the battlefield.

* * *

It was a good thing that TK, Kari and Cody were headed back, because the battle was not going in the Digidestined's favor. Davis and Yolei had tried to run from the remaining Tyrannomon when the two that had run off had appeared behind them, boxing them in. Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon all lay in the grass before the kids, wounded and helpless.

The Emperor chortled from atop Greymon's helmet. "So... Do you give up now, children?" he asked, folding his arms.

Davis stamped his foot. "Hell no!" he snapped.

The Emperor shook his head, amazed at the goggle-wearing boy's stupidity. "Look around," he said. "You've nowhere to run and your pathetic minions are spent. This is the end for you."

The Tyrannomon started to rev up their fiery breath. Davis and Yolei looked at each other, their stomachs hollow. "Well..." Davis muttered to the reeking girl, "got any last words?"

Yolei leered at him. "Yeah. I hate you," she replied.

Davis swore loudly. "That was what I was gonna say!" he yelled. "You always take the good lines! I freakin' hate you!"

"Oh, how touching... I guess," the Emperor said, somewhat perplexed why they were fuming at each other at a time like this. "Now, goodbye!"

Just as the Tyrannomon were about to spew their wrath, two shadows zipped over their heads. "Davis! Yolei!" Cody's voice came from above.

Everyone looked up to see Pegasusmon and Nefertimon soaring overhead, the other kids perched on their backs. "Sorry we're late!" Kari shouted.

Veemon stared up at them and laughed. "Hey!" he cried. "They got their own DigiEggs!"

"Those look like mighty fine rides..." Armadillomon remarked. "We're saved!"

Davis was not listening; he was ogling Nefertimon and Kari. "She's ridin' that big ol' cat like a champion!" he swooned, clasping his hands and bouncing around. "Ohhh, she's so hot!"

Yolei stared at him, nauseated. "Fine time for thinking about that..." she muttered.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon landed and their riders dismounted. The Emperor snarled at the new intruders; now he had five troublemakers to contend with instead of three, and that made him even angrier. "Phony evolution isn't going to save you!" he snapped. "Tyrannomon!"

Then four Tyrannomon turned towards Nefertimon and Pegasusmon and started at them. "Davis! Yolei! Duck!" Nefertimon ordered as Pegasusmon and she took to the air. They flew beside each other and golden streams of light came from their legs. They flew around the Tyrannomon and the light lashed them all together like a giant lasso. As Davis and Yolei hit the dirt, the new Armor Digimon pulled hard, sending the four beasts to the ground in a struggling, angry heap.

"Wha... What the heck was that?" TK asked.

"I guess they can do combination moves," Kari suggested. "Nefertimon! Get rid of those rings!"

Nefertimon grinned under her mask; now she would be able to show off her Nile Jewelry attack. Her claw armor sparkled, then fired round after round of rubies at the Tyrannomon. The rubies exploded on contact, shattering the rings into dust. The red in the monsters' eyes faded, revealing gentle, blue hues.

The Emperor was furious. "You stupid... N'GRRRGH!" he spat. "General! Let's go!"

Greymon turned and started to retreat, but Pegasusmon hovered before them. "You aren't going anywhere!" TK shouted from behind. "Pegasusmon, save Greymon!"

Pegasusmon nodded, eager to try his Needle Rain attack. He flapped his wings and sprayed dozens of sharp hairs.

The Emperor, however, was ready. He snapped his fingers and both Greymon and he were enveloped in darkness and vanished.

"What the?" Yolei gasped.

"...Bastard knows how to teleport, I guess," Davis growled, scratching his head in frustration.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon glowed, then reverted back to Patamon and Gatomon and fell into the grass, exhausted. Kari sighed sadly; she had failed. "Greymon..." she mumbled.

TK turned to her with a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry; we'll get him back next time," he said.

"We'll have to free the arena next time, too," Cody said as he walked over and patted the wounded Armadillomon. "Our Digimon are completely spent."

"Geez!..." Davis huffed. "We didn't get anything done today! Crap!"

Yolei waved as the Tyrannomon ambled away, happy to be free again. "We did save those guys," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I wouldn't say nothing was done..." TK said, holding up his improved Digivice.

Davis's eyes bugged. "Wha... Where'd you get that?" he asked.

"They changed when we found the DigiEggs," Kari explained.

Yolei chuckled, remembering the amazing new Armor Digimon they had procured. "Well, I guess something good came out of today, after all," she admitted. "Should we get home, then?"

Kari nodded. "Yeah... I guess so..." she said glumly.

She started forward, but stumbled and fell. TK caught her before she hit the ground, but then he fell over, too. "Woah!" Davis cried, running and helping them up. "What's wrong?"

Kari was really tired; she felt like she had just run sixty miles with an anvil on her back. She was far more tired than she had ever become during a fight. "I... I'm OK..." she reassured him. "Just kinda... tired."

TK felt exactly the same way. "Must be all the excitement..." he suggested. "Don't worry... We'll be fine..."

Though they continuously assured the others that they were OK, Davis and Yolei both helped them back to the portal.

* * *

However tired Kari and TK were, the jump back to reality seemed to improve them. "Yeah, that's better..." TK sighed as he plopped down in one of the lab's chairs. "Whew... That really took it outta me!"

"Yeah, me too..." a familiar voice agreed.

Surprised, TK looked down and almost fell out of the chair. Patamon was sitting on the floor, beaming up at him. "What the?" he asked.

Kari was equally surprised to see Gatomon sitting on the desk next to her. "Wha... How?" she asked.

"Dunno," Gatomon answered, shrugging. "We got sucked in with the rest of you."

"Hey, that's awesome!" Yolei laughed, grabbing the half-full sack of goodies from the floor. "Hey, have some snacks! That'll perk you guys up!"

Cody looked at Gatomon and Patamon, and then at his own Digimon; Armadillomon had changed back into Upamon, and Demiveemon and Poromon sat nearby. How strange, he thought; why had Kari's and TK's stayed the same?

"Thanks, Yolei..." TK said, taking a juice box and sucking at it. "That does feel better..."

Davis leaned against the chalkboard, looking cross. He was amazed at what had happened that day, but he was also upset; the Emperor's arena still stood. "Damn Emperor, sidetrackin' us..." he huffed. "Next time we're there, we go straight to the arena!... an' next time I see HIM... THWACK!" He slammed his fist into his palm to emphasize his point.

Kari chuckled at his enthusiasm, then looked at TK. "We can stop him now, right?" she asked.

As Davis cringed, TK frowned and scratched his head. "I don't know... but we'll do our best," he said.

As the four Digimon scarfed down on the rest of the snacks (Gatomon stayed a distance away, disgusted by their table manners), Cody coughed. "I'm still puzzled," he stated.

"What do you mean?" Kari asked.

"Well, I understood why Davis, Yolei and I got our DigiEggs..." he said, looking down at Upamon, "but instead of getting new Digimon when they got their eggs, Gatomon and Patamon simply changed... as did TK's and Kari's Digivices." He looked at them. "Why was that different?" he asked.

Everyone thought for a moment, but nobody could come up with a good reason. "...Well, whatever it was, they can play with the rest of us now!" Yolei laughed. "Heh... This is turning into one big adventure game!"

Davis sneered. "...And this is comin' from the chick who wet herself on the first day," he remarked.

Yolei's red face snarled at him. "Shut the hell up!" she yelled.

Cody just stared at the Digimon again, wondering about what would happen next. He was cold and stern, but he was still just a child, and he had no stomach for violence; violence was what had taken his father from him, after all. He could not understand how Davis or Yolei could take so much pleasure in it. Would he come to use it on a regular basis, too?

* * *

With a small chuckle, the Emperor reviewed his plans for the next day. With five opponents before him, he had to think on a grander scale, and his new plan did just that. Forget the arena; he had better places to fortify.

"Until tomorrow, my friends," he whispered, then shut off his computer.


	4. The Spires

**CHAPTER 4**

**THE SPIRES**

With a well-placed headbutt, Veemon shattered the bars of the arena's last prison cell, sending the three remaining Gotsumon spilling out to join their two comrades.

"OK, let's move!" TK announced, frantically waving everyone out.

Kari, Cody, Davis, TK and Tai, along with their Digimon and the prisoners, tore out of the arena and collapsed in the dirt. The Gotsumon all gasped with relief as they rolled in the dusty grime of freedom.

"Well, congratulations," Tai said to them. "You guys are officially fugitives!"

Davis laughed heartily and stamped around. "Oh, yeah!" he cheered, pumping his fists. "The Emperor's got NOTHIN' on us!"

TK scratched his chin. After the mess they had gotten into yesterday, it was a relief that liberating the arena was so easy... but that in itself didn't feel right. "It's weird..." he said.

"What is?" Patamon asked.

"There weren't any guards here," TK elaborated. "Yesterday, the Emperor himself came after us with a slew of troops, but today... nothing..."

Cody frowned. "Do you suppose he wanted us to do this?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," TK said, shaking his head. "This was too easy."

"Aww, quit worryin', TJ," Davis cackled, slapping TK on the back. "The Emperor took off 'cuz he's scared of us!" He flashed Kari a proud grin. "Ain't that right, Kari?"

Kari frowned and shook her head. "Sorry, Davis, but I think TK's right," she said. "The Emperor doesn't seem to scare easy."

Davis gnashed his teeth in dismay. Tai glanced at him, then shrugged and chuckled. "Well, we'd better get home," he said. "It doesn't look like there's much else happening right now."

"But what about the Emperor?" TK objected.

"It'd be better to be in the real world when he makes his next move; that way we won't get ambushed..." Tai said, then sighed. "Besides, I can't fight if we get caught..."

Kari nodded in understanding. Tai could have stayed back in the lab, but even without Agumon at his side, nothing could keep him from returning; he was still their leader. "OK, let's go home..." she agreed. "The portal's back in the woods; let's go."

Gatomon turned and looked up at the black obelisk over the arena. She had seen a lot of those lately; they popped up wherever the Emperor did. Her ears folded down as she thought of that despicable child; she hated him with a hatred she had only felt one other time. Nobody who sought to enslave the Digital World would get any mercy from her.

"Hey, wait!" Veemon piped up. "Davith, what do we do 'bout the Gotsumon? If we leave 'em here, the Emperor'll catch 'em all again!"

Cody looked at the frightened rock creatures, thought for a moment, then smiled. "I have an idea," he said.

* * *

The peaceful Gazimon residents of Santa Geria jumped in surprise as the earth shook. To their horror, a tall, black obelisk burst from the tallest hill and rose into the sky. It was met with horrified screams and panic. They knew this meant only one thing; the Digimon Emperor had laid claim to the city.

The obelisk's entrance was followed with a ghastly silence as the blue-robed Emperor appeared at the gates of town, riding atop a large, blue wolf with a dark ring around its hind leg. Dozens of yellow, vile-smelling plant Digimon slithered behind him, each with a ring around its stomach. With a crack of his whip, the plants bounded all across town, capturing every villager and hauling them before him.

"Now that I have your attention..." the Emperor said, pushing his shades up on his face, "this town falls under my jurisdiction, as the Dark Spire indicates. All of you are now citizens of my realm. Congratulations!"

"Why are you doing this?" one Gazimon yelled, fighting against the plant's restraints. "We didn't do anything to you!"

The Emperor frowned at the dissident and snapped his fingers. Half a moment later, the resident was coated in the plants' foul, pink excrement. "That was the only warning for all of you," he said. "Anyone who thinks he can contest my power shall answer to my Vegiemon soldiers... and General Garurumon."

The wolf snarled hatefully, cementing the Emperor's point. The boy smiled as the Vegiemon lined up the miserable Gazimon and marched them to the town prison; it was another well-deserved conquest for him.

* * *

Izzy and Yolei almost fainted when they saw who reappeared in the computer lab. Their friends come through the gate, but under their arms each carried a rocky Gotsumon. "What... the... hell?" Yolei shrieked.

"We, uh, brought company," Davis chuckled.

"Are you insane?" she vented at him. "You can't bring those things in here!"

Davis glanced around, looking for a quick way to get Yolei off of his back. "...Cody's idea," he said.

"Cody!" Yolei snarled. Davis grinned; the crisis was averted.

"If we left them there, they'd have been captured again," Upamon argued.

"You wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you?" Cody asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yolei sputtered a second more, then quieted. Cody always kept his cool when she lost hers... and he could always stop her in her tracks.

"But... how did you get them here?" Izzy asked. After reading Kari's dispatch from the other day, he had resolved to check things out himself. Hearing about the mutating Digivices had shocked him, but this was just as much of a surprise.

"The Digivices carry us in and out," Cody said, taking one Gotsumon by the hand. "I thought that if we held onto them, they'd come with us... and they did."

Izzy scratched his chin, impressed by the boy's reasoning. "Very interesting..." he murmured.

"Those new Digivices can do lots of things ours can't," Tai pointed out. "They can bring the Digimon here, and only they can open the gate..."

"I guess that would explain why Tentomon didn't come with us, and why Gatomon and Patamon could only come after Kari's and TK's Digivices were upgraded," Yolei said.

Izzy nodded, but stayed quiet. Once again, he had more questions that he had no clues for. What made the new Digivices so special? Why did TK and Kari get DigiEggs when the older kids didn't? Why did Gatomon and Patamon stay at their Digivolutionary level when the others didn't? His brain burned within his skull; he had to figure these things out, or he would go insane.

"OK, getting back to the snafu of the day..." Yolei broke in, "what are we going to do with these Gotsumon? We can't let Mr. Fujiyama see them!"

Cody smiled at her. "Don't worry; I've got that covered as well." He turned to the rock creatures and nodded. All five of them struck artistic poses and froze.

"Damn..." Davis laughed, wondering why he hadn't thought of that. "It's like I'm at the Barbados Googleheim!"

Yolei was not convinced; she knew exactly why she hadn't thought of that.

"What? It IS called the Barbados Googleheim, right?" Davis asked.

"...Bilbao Guggenheim," Cody grumbled.

"Err..." TK piped up, scratching his head, "let me talk to my brother. Maybe we can hide them with his band's stuff until we go back tomorrow." With that, he raced out of the room.

Yolei slammed her head on the desk. Of the three new Digidestined, why did she have to be the only one who saw what a big problem this was? She thought she was safe with her age group, but these two could be loonier than her siblings. How did she get stuck in such a band of nut jobs?

Just then, a warm hand touched her shoulder. "Yolei," Izzy's voice came.

Instantly all was right with the world again. "Um... yes, Izzy?" she asked with pink cheeks.

"May I borrow your Digivice, please?" he asked. "I'd like to analyze it... see if I can figure out what makes it different from mine."

Her stomach jumped. Izzy touching something of hers? Probing its insides with the same knowledge and care with which he probed his computers? How could she say no to that? "OK!" she agreed, gleefully slapping it into his hand.

"Yolei!" Poromon objected.

"Relax; Izzy knows what he's doing," she assured the pink ball. "Don't you, Izzy?"

A bit put off by her behavior, Izzy chuckled. "Yeah, uh... I'll get it back to you as soon as I can," he said.

"Take all the time you need!" she giggled.

He nodded and left the room, staring at the red-rimmed gizmo with great interest; perhaps now all of his questions would be answered, and his friends and he could finally join the fight against the Emperor.

He stared at it a moment more, then cringed and jammed it in his pocket. In the few days that it had been in Yolei's possession, it had taken on the same odor that she had. This wouldn't hamper his analysis, though; he would just leave a window open.

* * *

The long, black lash cracked the ground before the Vegiemon, making pink splutter from their surprised bottoms. "Let's move," the Emperor declared, pulling the whip back. "I've more territory to gain today."

With lots of grunting and groaning, the Vegiemon lifted his gilded throne and carried him out of town. A group of Gazimon watched them leave from their prison cell, their hearts thick with rage.

"That monster..." one growled. "He thinks he can just take our town?"

"I don't know about that, but we're almost through," the second said, motioning to the prison wall. Two other Gazimon were hammering away at it with rocks, and it had already gained lots of cracks. "We're bustin' out!"

"Yeah," a third said as he banged harder, "rumor is that the Digidestined are back... We're gonna go find them!"

"Looking for Digidestined?" a familiar voice asked. The Gazimon looked up and saw Tentomon floating in the window. "You guys look like you need some help!"

"Tentomon!" they cried. A few days before, they had feared him as one of the Emperor's Generals, but seeing him in his less-Digivolved state was more than enough truth to the rumors.

The rabbit Digimon stepped back, and the wall collapsed in a hail of dust and sparks. "Quickly!" Tentomon urged, pointing for the town gate. "I'll get you to safety!"

Tentomon and the ten Gazimon tore across the dirt for the gate, but quicker than anything, the terrifying General Garurumon appeared before them, stopping them dead. A large, red plant Digimon leaped off of its back and leered at them, its roots lined with deadly thorns and its whole body giving off a horrid stench. "Apparently, you don't listen to instructions!" it snapped at them.

"Ugh! Who are you?" Tentomon asked, trying to hold his lunch.

"I'm the reddest and ripest of all Vegiemon; Redvegiemon!" Redvegiemon huffed, bouncing up and down on his roots. "I'm General Garurumon's second in command!... not to mention the warden!"

Tentomon buzzed crossly. That Redvegiemon was a Champion-level Digimon, at least; unless he became Kabuterimon, he didn't stand a chance... and with the Emperor's power, he had no way of doing that.

Redvegiemon cackled and raised his nasty roots. "For attempting to escape, you all get a hundred lashes..." he snarled, "and I've got ROOT ROT!"

Tentomon flew out of the way as the maces came down, but the Gazimon weren't so lucky. One after another, the blows came mercilessly down on them, with Redvegiemon laughing every time. The Gazimon finally collapsed in a heap, bleeding and gasping in agony.

"You... you won't get away with this..." one Gazimon coughed, glaring at the wolf and his pet plant. "The Digidestined will come..."

"Digidestined?" Redvegiemon roared, raising his roots again. "For even mentioning them, it's a THOUSAND lashes!"

Tentomon could not stand it any longer. With the sounds of more lashes in his ears, he flew from the village. He couldn't leave the Gazimon to this fate; he had to find a portal.

With one last lash, the Gazimon who had insulted Redvegiemon burst into data and faded away. The remaining Digimon shrank back, defeated.

Redvegiemon raised his roots in triumph. "Death to all who oppose the Emperor!" he shouted.

Garurumon gave a bone-chilling howl behind him.

* * *

As the pianist faded out his keys, Matt gave a rapid flourish on his sax, finishing the upbeat melody. He looked up to the nearly empty auditorium and his heart sank; how in the world was he going to become a famous musician when nobody came to his concerts? There were only two people sitting there: a girl with spiky, strawberry-red hair (she had been at most of their concerts) and his little brother. They both clapped excitedly and his spirits lifted a bit; he must have been doing something right.

He placed his saxophone on his stand and hopped off of the stage as TK came up to him. "Hey, Matt! Great song!" the younger Ishida boy said. "Did you guys write that?"

"Yeah, Kenji really knows how to write," Matt replied, then sighed. "I just wish more people could hear it..."

TK smiled sympathetically as he turned to the rows of empty seats. "Yeah, I noticed..." he said. "Don't people know about your band?"

"Yeah, they do," Matt replied, scowling, "but they'd all rather see the Teenage Werewolves."

TK nodded slowly. The Teenage Werewolves were another high school band, but they performed modern, popular music; this always attracted the majority of teenage fans, especially girls. Matt absolutely hated that band not only for dominating the audience, but also for their choice of music itself. TK knew Matt could not stand modern music; he said many times that it had no soul, and thus was not worth playing. No matter how many times he said this, though, he never got much of a crowd at his gigs.

"Well, don't worry too much," TK reassured him. "I'm sure the Icy Tunes will get some fans sooner or later."

Just then, the red-haired girl ran up to them. "Excuse me!" she panted, grinning at Matt excitedly, "I just love your music! Will you sign my shirt?"

TK grinned. "See? What did I tell you?" he asked.

Flattered, Matt took the marker she offered. "Sure; what's your name?" he asked as she turned around, exposing the cream-colored back of her garment.

"It's Jun Motomiya," she replied, flashing her wild grin again. It was friendly, but a little scary at the same time.

TK jumped. Motomiya? Could this be... "Wait... are you Davis's sister?" he asked.

Jun blinked a few times, wondering just where he had come from. "Uh... I guess so..." she said, confused. "Who're you?"

"Oh, sorry; that's TK, my little brother," Matt introduced her as he finished signing.

"I'm in the same class as Davis," TK added. He'd heard Davis grumble about her a few times, but she didn't seem so bad to him. "Nice to meet you, Jun."

"Oh! Matt's brother?" Jun asked, turning her beaming grin on him. "Will you sign my shirt, too? I get all the cute boys to sign!"

He chuckled awkwardly as revealed her canvas. "Daisuke is such a jerk..." she muttered. "I mean, with that nickname and all... Why couldn't I have had a nice kid like you for a brother?"

He stared at the shirt. It was already covered in the names of boys; he knew many of them from school, and he even saw Tai's and Izzy's names on there as well. "There's... not a lot of room back here..." he admitted as he found a blank spot and jotted down his initials.

"Yeah... I think a lot of boys are cute," she admitted. "Well, except for my idiot brother, but that's a given, right?"

Just then, the auditorium door flung open. "TK!" Cody's voice came.

The three of them looked up as the little boy raced down the aisle. "Cody?" TK asked. "What's up?"

"Oh, you're cute, too!" Jun smiled at him. "You wanna sign my shirt?"

Cody caught his breath. "Sorry, ma'am, but I'm... in a hurry..." he gasped. "TK... Gotta get back... to school! Tentomon... Emperor... General Garurumon..."

Matt's eyes widened at the mention of his old partner. TK's fingers clasped his Digivice. "All right, I'm coming," he said.

"Hang on, you two," Matt said, glancing at the rest of his band. "Sorry, guys, but there's an emergency. I've gotta take off."

The drummer nodded. "No problem, Squeals," he said. "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do."

Matt smiled and looked at his brother. "I'm coming, too."

He was surprised to see TK stifle a laugh. "...'Squeals?'" the boy snickered.

Matt blushed and looked away. "Every band member's gotta have a nickname..." he mumbled.

"Are we leaving or not?" Cody huffed, his breath and impatience replenished. "Come on!"

The three boys took off, leaving Jun staring after them. To say that she wasn't curious would be untrue, but they were gone now, and she was left with her new keepsake.

She pulled her shirt around to look at Matt's autograph and squealed with delight. "Oooh, I'm NEVER gonna wash this shirt!" she giggled.

* * *

His window open to the cool September air, Izzy sat down at his computer with Yolei's Digivice in hand. He cracked his knuckles and reached for his trusty laptop; he could hardly wait to see what this new gift from the Digital World had inside of it. Five years prior, his laptop had been upgraded to interface with his Digivice. Yolei's model looked different, but he figured that it was close enough to work with the port as well.

He stuck one end of the Digivice into the port, then opened his Digivice Analysis program; over the past few years, he had coded an interface with which to analyze his own Digivice, and he figured that Yolei's had to be similar enough to work with it. "Now, my friend..." he murmured as his fingers danced on the keyboard, "let's see what you're all about..."

The analysis started... and almost instantly failed. His jaw dropped as he gawked at the screen; this new Digivice was coated in the most advanced security code that he had ever seen! It looked nothing like what protected his own model. His heart sank as he stared at the numbers and letters; it had taken him months to figure out his own Digivice's codes; how long would this take?

He stared crossly at the analysis readout; it had only analyzed two percent before it had been scrambled. Not seeing anything else he could do, he played devil's advocate and pulled up the readout. Maybe there was a clue to shutting off the security in there; who knew?

This outcome was more promising. He was met with a smattering of the security coding that he recognized from his own Digivice, and he immediately ordered its analysis. This perked him up a bit, but also puzzled him. There was a whole program in only two percent of this new software? Who knew how many things this one could do?

* * *

"Ugh... Back off, Davis; you're makin' me nervous!" Yolei huffed as she stared at the computer screen. The gate was open and peering in on the small town that Tentomon had come from, and she was furious that all she could do was look at it. Without her Digivice, there was no way for her to get in.

Davis hovered over her, partly to see what was going on in the Digital World, and partly to annoy her. "Believe me, this ain't no picnic for me, either," he remarked, her odor in his nostrils, "but I wanna see what's going on."

Kari paced back and forth on the far end of the room. "I just hope the others get back quickly," she said. "We have to go and help!"

"Keep your shirt on, Kari," Gatomon said from her place on the bookshelf. "You won't be on top of things if you're all worked up. Chill out and look at the Gotsumon gallery or something."

Kari sighed and stared at the rock creatures. They hadn't moved since they had posed an hour ago. She had thought it was a good idea, too, but Yolei was right; Mr. Fujiyama would go insane if he came in and saw them. They had to get them back to the Digital World right away.

Davis noticed her worry and moved away from Yolei, eager to earn some points with his dream girl. "Hey, I know what'll make you feel better," he said, reaching into his blazer pockets. "I think I've got some candy in here somewhere... That always cheers ME up!"

As she watched, he yanked out a lot of stuff: paper clips, pens, paper scraps, a small spray can of black model paint, three flavorless throat lozenges, and a half-eaten peanut-butter-and-jellybean sandwich. He jammed his hands in one more time, then groaned; no candy was to be found. "Well, crap," he admitted. "Uh... you like peanut butter?"

She glanced at the greenish-brown bread heels and laughed awkwardly. "Err... no thanks, Davis..." she said.

He sighed and stuffed it all back in. So much for that idea.

"Don't worry!" Upamon chirped, hopping up and down on the desk. "Cody'll be back before you know it! He's got really fast feet!"

As if Upamon were a prophet, at that moment the door opened and Cody, TK and Matt stumbled in, all out of breath. "OK, we're here!" TK panted. "What's the problem?"

"We don't know much," Demiveemon said, hopping on Davis's shoulder. "Tentomon called us an' said a town was under attack by General Garurumon."

"...And that's why I'm here," Matt added, setting his saxophone down. "When do we leave?"

Yolei's turned to the new person and her eyes lit up. "Well, hello, there!" she managed. "Who are you?"

"Yolei, this is my big brother, Matt," TK introduced her. "He's in the jazz band, remember?"

"Oh! Right, right!" Yolei said, awkwardly grabbing Matt's hand and shaking it. Matt wondered where that unusual smell was coming from.

"Skip the intros!" Davis huffed, pointing at the screen. "We've gotta get rollin'!"

"Tentomon's waiting for us," Patamon explained. "Let's hurry and go."

"Right, then!" TK said, yanking out his Digivice. "Off we go!"

The computer room filled with light, and TK found himself standing on the dusty bank of a grungy, red river that lay before the village. The wet air was thick with the reek of sewage. Matt, Davis, Kari, Cody and their freshly evolved Digimon were all nearby, but someone was missing.

Kari noticed it, too. "Hey... where's Yolei?" she asked.

There was a burst of static behind them, and they turned to find another television portal. It sparked for a moment more, then Yolei's annoyed face appeared on it. "Well, crap," she grumbled. "I forgot Izzy has my Digivice! You guys go on ahead; I'll get it." With that, she was gone.

Poromon's pink form took up the screen. "Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on things here," he chirped, and then the screen went black.

Gatomon stared at the monitor for a moment. "I wonder why these always appear," she said. "It wasn't so easy to leave the Digital World before..."

"Maybe it's part of the new Digivice," Kari suggested, holding hers up. "Maybe it can remember where we came in so we can leave easily... like a bookmark to a website."

Gatomon was about to ask what a bookmark was doing on a computer and not in a book when Tentomon flew down amongst them, panting and out of breath. "Oh, thank goodness you're here!" he wheezed.

"Tentomon!" TK said as everyone crowded around the bug. "What's going on?"

Cody wrinkled his nose at the foul air. "Don't tell me the Emperor has enslaved a water treatment plant," he grumbled.

"No, it's far worse than that," Tentomon said, pointing to the village. "See that? That's Santa Geria, a peaceful little mountain town."

"Town?" TK asked, scratching his head. They had hardly seen any types of Digimon settlements on their first adventure; this was new.

"It's been around for ten years... but I guess that's a lot less time to you guys," Tentomon went on. "Anyway, it was a nice place until just an hour ago, when the Emperor walked in... and his Vegiemon soldiers ruined the whole thing! It doesn't always smell like this!"

Gatomon glanced at the mountains and spotted the obelisk. "Let me guess..." she grumbled. "He decided it was his."

Tentomon nodded solemnly. "I've learned that everywhere he goes, those pop up," he said, motioning to the obelisk. "They're called 'Control Spires.'"

Matt looked at the bug gravely. "I heard that he has Gabumon," he said.

"Well, technically it's 'General Garurumon' now, but yes," Tentomon admitted, "and he's in control of the village."

"What? So they're controllin' TJ's big brother's Digimon just like they're controllin' Tai's?" Davis snapped. "This guy is REALLY workin' my nerves!"

"The Gazimon that live there are all locked up while the Vegiemon wreck the buildings," Tentomon sighed. "They've already polluted the river; I can't even imagine how it is in there..."

Veemon stared unpleasantly at the murky water. "No kiddin'," he said. "It looks like they're gonna start a toxic waste dump!"

Davis scratched his head, then grabbed a stick and fished around in the water. When he pulled it up, it was coated with dripping, vile-smelling pink glop. "Disgusting! What IS this stuff?" he asked.

After what Upamon had done the first night, Cody knew exactly what it was. "...It's Digimon excrement," he said, shuddering.

Now Davis was really confused. "Digimon excrement?" he asked. "I thought it was toxic waste."

Patamon shook his head. "...It's poop, Davis," he explained. "Vegiemon attack by throwing poop."

Half a second later, the stick sailed through the air and sank into the murk. Davis staggered backwards, trying hard to keep his lunch down; now he wished that it really was toxic waste.

"Not very pleasant, is it," Cody remarked.

Davis stamped his foot; things as disgusting as these Vegiemon weren't going to get any mercy from him. "OK, that's the last straw!" he said. "Let's get in there and clobber 'em!"

He started forward, but Matt grabbed his shoulder. "No, wait," he said. "We can't just go barging in there."

Davis gave him a furious look. With everything that had happened, this guy was backing off? What was his problem? Maybe he didn't know how strong they were, Davis thought. "Don't worry about it, man," he said, showing his Digivice. "If there's any trouble, we'll just Armor Digivolve and blow 'em apart!"

"No, wait, Davis," TK broke in behind him. "Matt's got a point... If there are hostages, the Emperor's guards might use them as shields..."

"Yeah, we can't just go in with guns blazing," Kari agreed. "We don't want anyone getting hurt!"

Davis's jaw dropped. Was everyone chickening out now? How could nobody else see how easy this was? They were strong enough to take care of these crap-chucking clowns before they could lift their tentacles.

"Now, listen," Matt said as TK, Kari and the Digimon turned to him, "I've got a plan..."

Davis snorted angrily. "Come on!" he huffed. "Doesn't ANYONE see my point?" He looked at Cody, who was just standing there. "C'mon, Cody, you agree with me, right?" he asked.

"When do I ever agree with you?" Cody muttered, then moved closer to Matt to listen.

The four of them muttered amongst each other for a moment, then looked up. "Yeah, that might work," TK said. "OK, let's try it!"

"There's a bridge a little north," Tentomon said. "We can cross there."

The kids started to walk, but Davis had one more idea. "Hey, wait!" he urged, running in front of them. "If they're throwin' crap, we can't let Kari go in there!"

Kari shrugged. "It's no big deal, Davis," she said.

TK chuckled. "We've dealt with worse than a few Digiturds, haven't we?" he asked.

Davis's eye gleamed. "Hah!" he snapped. "I can't believe you don't care about Kari's well-being, TK! Where's your sense of chicanery?"

Confused silence took the group. "...Chicanery?" Matt asked.

Cody snickered. "He means 'chivalry,'" he chuckled.

TK, Kari and Matt all started laughing and kept walking, their Digimon at their heels. Davis bit his lip, cursing his vocabulary mess-up. Was there anything so cruel as the derisive laughter of one's peers?

"Oh, wait, wait... Davis!" he heard Kari's voice approaching him again. Revitalized instantly, he looked up. Maybe she had reconsidered what he had said.

"...Yeah, Kari?" he asked, beaming.

"Back in the lab, I noticed you had some black spray paint," she said, motioning to his pockets. "Can I borrow it? It would be perfect for the plan."

His hopes punctured again, he sighed and shuffled around in his pockets for the canister.

* * *

The Vegiemon guards standing outside of town certainly were surprised when a troop of unknown Digimon marched up to them, dragging five humans and the escaped Tentomon along in vine restraints. "Halt!" the lead one yelled, bouncing up to them. "Who're you?"

A white cat- apparently the leader- lifted her paw to reveal a dark ring. "It's OK," she said. "We caught the Digidestined and we're bringing 'em in."

The leader scratched his hair, then hopped aside; he had never seen these Digimon before, but if they were wearing the Emperor's rings, then that was proof enough for him. "OK, then," he said. "The cells're on the third tier."

Gatomon signaled, and the Digimon pushed the humans towards the entrance. "Hey, no pushin'! We're going, already!" Matt snarled.

"You aren't gonna get away with this!" Kari huffed.

"Shut it, younguns!" Armadillomon snapped, headbutting Cody's back. "Yer all goin' to jail, where ya belong!"

They marched into town and an even stronger stench enveloped them. The Vegiemon's disgusting evidence lay all across the cobblestones and buildings like some sort of modern art piece. Even the town fountain bubbled a sickening pink froth. The sewer-slime reek mixed with the Vegiemon's own rotten-potato odor, which made them all cringe. Davis fought to keep from ralphing; he'd never thought something could smell worse than Yolei did, but now he knew better.

As they trudged up the steps to the second tier, TK noticed that there were no guards about. "Well, we're in," he said.

Patamon giggled and tugged at his dark ring. "Those guys didn't even notice these're painted vines!" he laughed.

"Don't relax yet," Matt warned. "We still have to get the prisoners out... so let's keep moving."

Davis grumbled to himself as they kept walking. He was the one who could fight; why was everyone listening to this two-toned jazz man?

* * *

With a crash and a yelp, the humans and Tentomon were chucked into the prison with the Gazimon residents. "Well, that's the end of that!" the Vegiemon guard said, slapping his roots together and chuckling. "Now the Emperor reigns supreme! Thanks, you guys."

No response came. He turned around and screamed. The mystery Digimon had pulled off their rings. "No... let US thank YOU," Gatomon snarled, her claws jutting out.

Everyone in the cells watched the ensuing violence. Within a minute, all of the Vegiemon guards were piled against the wall, the only sign of life their dribbling bottoms. "NOW that's the end of that," Armadillomon concluded. "OK, let's get y'all outta that cage."

TK turned to see only ten or eleven Gazimon, hardly enough for a village. "Are you... all the prisoners?" he asked.

One Gazimon sighed and nodded. "Yeah..." it said. "Redvegiemon executed the rest... for fun."

Kari gasped. "What? That's awful!" she cried.

Davis stamped his foot again; so much for saving hostages. "That does it!" he growled. "I'm gonna teach those stinkin' jerks a lesson!"

Matt shook his head. "No. First we have to get these guys out," he said.

Davis leered at him. "What? But-" he started.

"We came to save the hostages," TK broke in. "Every life is important."

Gatomon stuck her head out the door. "You guys wanna escape, or do you just wanna flap your jaws all day?" she hissed. "The coast is clear!"

Suspending their dispute, everyone fled the prison and started back down towards the exit. They had only gone down one tier, however, when Patamon turned a corner and reeled back, shouting for them to stop. "The guards are coming!" he warned.

Everyone peered around the corner. Sure enough, about ten Vegiemon were standing around the bottom of the steps. "Right, then!" Davis laughed, pulling out his Digivice. He was fed up with all of the sneaking around. The hostages were free; it was time to kick ass.

A strong hand clenched his shoulder. "No!" Matt barked again. "We have to get the hostages out of here!"

"Whaddya think I'm doin'?" Davis huffed. "It'll be easy to leave when the guards are history!"

Matt shook his head. "We have to get the Gazimon somewhere safe," he said. "If we fight, they could get hurt."

"...So where do we go instead?" Kari asked.

TK looked around, but all he could see were more stairs. "I guess... we go up," he concluded.

Everyone started back up the stairs... everyone except Davis and Veemon. He angrily spat and glared after them. Why would nobody support his plan? It wasn't like they were weak; Flamedramon, Digmon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon could definitely swat down those reeking vegetables. What was Matt's problem? How could the others doubt their power?

"Uh, Davith..." Veemon gulped, tugging at his partner's jacket.

Davis heard the guards starting up the stairs behind him and tore off after his friends.

* * *

The party hiked up the town's tiers until they reached the rocky path that led to the summit. The air was cleaner there, and they all sighed with relief. "I guess the Vegiemon haven't gotten up here yet," Armadillomon commented.

"Yeah, but where do we go once we get to the top?" Tentomon asked, looking up. "It's not like there's a helicopter waiting for us..."

"There's a rope ladder on the summit," one of the Gazimon said. "We can use that to climb down into the forest."

Matt nodded. "Good plan," he said. "Let's go."

Davis kicked at the dirt as they walked. "I don't get why you won't let me fight!" he argued. "We whupped the jail guards no problem; we can waste the others, too!"

"Because fighting should only be your last resort," Matt replied, frowning at him. "You have a lot to learn, kid."

Davis muttered something under his breath, but kept walking anyway.

TK scratched his head. He didn't like seeing his brother argue with his friends; maybe he should try to calm Davis down. "By the way, Davis," he remarked, "I ran into your sister today."

Davis stopped. "Yeah? So?" he huffed.

TK winced; that didn't sound like the reaction he had hoped for. "Err... nothing," he said, trying to drop it. "I just saw her; that's all."

Davis scowled. "What'd she say about me? Huh?" he demanded

Matt scowled back. "Nothing," he repeated.

"Ohhh, no," Davis snapped, waggling his finger. "I KNOW she said somethin' about me. She's ALWAYS gotta say somethin'! What'd she say?"

TK grimaced. She had said that Davis was a jerk, and had also made fun of his nickname; that much was true... but he didn't want Davis any angrier. "Nothing, Davis!" he urged. "Really!"

"Bah!" Davis spat, not buying the lie. "You can't fool me, TJ! I tell you, when I see her again, I'm gonna-"

Matt whirled around. "OK, that's it!" he huffed, strutting up to him. "Your sister hardly mentioned you! As far as I can see, YOU'RE the problem here!"

Davis's eyes flashed; that last crack was too much. "You got a problem with me?" he snapped, balling his fists. "Then let's settle it, blondie!"

Matt started forward, but TK grabbed him under the arms. "Matt, stop it!" he begged, pulling on his brother. "Don't get so worked up! He's just in a bad mood..."

Matt was tense for a moment more, then unclenched his knuckles. "I don't care how bad a mood he's in," he growled, "he'd better learn some respect." With that, he turned and kept walking.

Davis glowered. "The hell d'you think you are, blondie?" he jeered. "She's always raggin' on me, so I'm just keepin' it even! You'd do the same if you had to deal with a bitch like that!"

"That's ENOUGH, Davis!" another angry voice came from his side. He turned to see Kari glaring at him; her usually smiling mouth was bent into a frown, and that alone struck terror in his heart.

"...Kari?" he asked.

She shook her head angrily. "I can't stand people who talk about their siblings like that," she huffed.

His hands visibly spasmed as she walked away. She couldn't stand people like that? People like him? She couldn't stand him? His knees froze in place as the rest walked off, and he wondered if his heart was still beating.

Veemon, who had remained at his side the whole time, had no idea what was going on... but his partner looked awful, and that troubled him. "Davith, what's the matter?" he asked.

"...She hates me," Davis replied in a dry-throated, hollow voice. "She hates me..."

Veemon scratched his head. How could anyone hate a swell guy like Davis? He for one thought all of the bad language was funny. Still, Davis looked absolutely devastated. He couldn't let his partner keep looking like that; he had to cheer him up somehow.

"Um... Knock-knock!" he tried.

Davis just groaned.

* * *

Fifteen minutes of steep hiking later, the party arrived at the mountain summit. With an immense forest looming far beneath them and the control spire towering into the heavens, it was certainly a breathtaking sight, albeit not a good one.

Contrary to what the Gazimon had said, though, there was no sign of any rope ladder. TK whistled as he stared down the mountain; there were several rocky outcroppings to stand on, but they were too far to jump to without ending up a pancake. "That's quite a tumble..." he admitted.

"The Gazimon said the mountain is tiered, so climbing down shouldn't be too much trouble..." Tentomon said, then looked down himself and gulped. "On the other hand..."

Kari looked down the slope and sighed. "If only we had some rope or something..." she admitted.

Davis, who stood the farthest back, was lost in his misery. Even if he did have a rope in his pockets, he doubted that anyone would take it. As he started to turn away, though, a noise caught his ear. He looked up and gulped.

"Don't you guys worry!" one of the Gazimon said to Kari. "WE'LL be the rope! All of us can hold onto each other and you can climb down to the next tier; our way of saying thanks!"

Patamon laughed and did a somersault. "That'd be great! Thanks, guys!" he chirped.

"Right," Matt agreed. "Let's get going-"

"GUYS!" Davis's shriek came from behind.

"Ugh... What is it NOW, Dav-" Matt started as they all turned around. They wished that they hadn't.

Completely surrounding them were dozens of Vegiemon, with the terrifying Redvegiemon in the lead. The fearsome General Garurumon loomed behind them, his mouth bent into a murderous snarl. "Nobody is going anywhere," he growled.

Davis scrambled away and collapsed in front of his friends. "Damn... Didn't even see 'em comin'!" he gasped.

Redvegiemon shuffled forward and raised his mace. "Who said you were allowed to escape?" he snapped. "Vegiemon!"

Pink droppings showered the Gazimon and Tentomon, burying them in the sewage.

"Aww, shit!" Davis gagged.

"For once, you're right," Cody mumbled.

Matt's eyes widened in horror as he looked at his old partner. "Gabumon!" he called. "Stop it! Don't you remember me? It's Matt!"

"I am Garurumon, one of the six generals," Garurumon snarled. "Your presence offends the master, and so you must be purged."

Matt shook his head. "No way!" he retorted. "I know you're my best friend down there! Fight that control!"

Garurumon's answer was a blazing spew of blue lightning. Matt was thrown backwards and crashed to the ground. Davis's teeth clenched; this was just like what had happened to Sora with Birdramon.

Veemon growled. "OK, Davith, it's go time!" he huffed, glaring at Redvegiemon; now was his chance to cheer his partner up. "I'm gonna make carnivores around the world proud!"

Davis was confused. "Veemon, what-" he started.

With a cry, Veemon flew at Redvegiemon, but the big plant's maces caught him dead in the face, knocking him to the ground. "I like my meat tenderized," Redvegiemon laughed. "I also like it seasoned with my Chili Pepper Pummel!" He inhaled deeply, then spat dozens of hot peppers at machine-gun speed, hammering the blue Digimon further back.

"Veemon!" he growled, whipping out his Digivice. "Time to Armor Digivolve!"

Garurumon gave a bone-chilling howl and the Vegiemon pounced on the humans, wrapping their vines around and constricting their limbs. Unable to move, none of them could use their Digivices.

"Oh... this isn't good," Cody groused.

"Get off! Get OFF, dammit!" Matt hollered.

"Hey, watch where you stick those vines!" Kari snapped.

"That does it!" Patamon growled, flying over their heads and going for Redvegiemon. Another blast of chili peppers grounded him.

"In case anyone else wants to play hero..." the overgrown weed laughed, then inhaled and exhaled a reeking, olive-green cloud over all of them. The stench paralyzed the rest of the Digimon and more Vegiemon leaped in to hold them.

Redvegiemon grabbed Veemon and held him aloft, but the little lizard was not ready to call it quits. "Put me down, or I'll toss you like a salad!" he threatened.

Redvegiemon slammed him into the ground once, twice, then three times. "In case you haven't noticed..." he laughed, "I have the upper hand!" He released Veemon and raised a mace. "Now, a hundred lashes!"

Davis cringed as he watched the vegetable's maces rhythmically smashed into Veemon's little body. Just like when the Emperor had held him captive, he was helpless to aid his partner. "Dammit..." he cursed, struggling against the jeering Vegiemon, "Veemon!"

Veemon coughed, then got to his feet. His body was bruised all over, but he still looked energetic. He had to keep this up, for Davis's sake. "Is... is that yer best shot?" he taunted.

Redvegiemon was stunned that the little guy was still in such a feisty mood, and that made him even angrier. "No," he snapped. "How d'ya feel about FLYING?" Another mace blow sent Veemon spiraling off of the ground, where he met several more punishing volleys.

Kari tried to turn away from the violence, but the Vegiemon held her fast. "I don't want to watch this anymore..." she choked.

Davis glanced at his friends; none of them were enjoying this. He had to put a stop to it. "Veemon! I'm comin'!" he snarled, pushing against his restrainers. One of them tripped him, however, and he crashed to the ground, immobile.

Redvegiemon was rabid as he shouted off the number of blows. "Ninety-four! Ninety-five! Ninety-six! Ninety-seven!" he shrieked as he swatted Veemon against the side of the spire. "Aren't you dead yet?"

Veemon looked like a worn-out punching bag, but he still staggered to his feet. "You keep throwin' 'em, an' I'll keep catchin' 'em!" he chuckled weakly.

Redvegiemon eyed him, infuriated. "Are you retarded or somethin'?" he demanded. "Why do you keep gettin' up?"

Veemon grinned. "I gotta cheer my pal up," he explained, winking at Davis. "That's all there is to it!"

Davis's blood froze. Veemon was doing this to cheer him up? After seeing what a rotten mood he had been in, the little guy was taking a beating to entertain him? He felt even worse now; he never suspected what kind of an impact his mood was having on those around him. If these were the fruits of his fury, he had to pluck them before they got any riper. "Veemon!" he yelled. "Stop! It's not worth it! I'm happy! You hear? I'm happy, dammit!"

Veemon turned to him. "You are?" he asked. Just then, Redvegiemon's mace collided with his cheek, then embedded itself in the control spire, leaving a small crack.

"Leave him the hell alone!" Davis snarled, forcing himself to stand up. "You wanna punch someone, punch ME!"

"Oh, don't worry, kid," Redvegiemon said as Veemon leaned against the spire to catch his breath. "I'll start on you soon enough; I'm workin' on a record, here! NINETY-NINE!" His maces caught Veemon in the stomach and slammed him against the black tower. More cracks appeared.

Tentomon struggled beneath the crap. "Ohhh, if only Izzy were here, and I could Digivolve..." he lamented.

Matt looked up to see his deranged partner again, who looked alarmed. With one swift motion, the wolf turned and leaped off the cliff, then vanished completely. Matt gasped; where had he gone? Why did he leave?

TK was watching, too, and he could not help but notice all of the cracks in the spire. His mind raced; if that thing collapsed, they would all be history. "Davis!" he called. "The spire!"

Davis looked at TK, then at the cracks. If that thing was going to fall, he just hoped that Veemon could get away.

Veemon coughed and reeled around before the spire, nearly spent. Redvegiemon raised both of his maces. "And here's the record-breaker!" he announced. "Count yourself lucky, kid; you're the first ever to survive ninety-nine lashes... but NOBODY survives a hundred!" With that, he hurled both maces.

"VEEMON! ROLL!" Davis screamed.

Veemon fell to the ground and rolled away as both maces smashed deep into the spire, setting the whole thing alight with arcing, blue electricity. Instantly, all of the Vegiemon lost their holds on the Digidestined and spasmed around on the ground, senseless. Redvegiemon twitched, jerked and gasped as he was electrocuted, then collapsed.

TK looked at them with shock. "What just happened?" he asked.

"Who cares?" Cody asked, yanking out his Digivice. "Now we can stop them!"

The others produced theirs, too, but before anyone could Armor Digivolve, two red blasts came from the sky and struck a Vegiemon. They looked up to see Halsemon shoot down and land before them, Yolei, Izzy, Tai and the Gotsumon on his back. "Hope you saved some for us!" Yolei declared.

"Thank goodness!" Kari laughed.

Izzy looked around, then spotted Tentomon beneath the turd pile. "Oh, geez..." he gulped. "Tentomon!"

Tentomon looked up, and suddenly something amazing happened. For the first time in five years, Izzy's Digivice started to flash and whir. Tentomon was enveloped in a bright light and the crap exploded, freeing everyone beneath it. As everyone watched in amazement, the little bug became the powerful Kabuterimon once again.

"What the hell?" Davis exclaimed.

"Kabuterimon..." TK gasped.

Izzy was equally shocked; he thought that his own Digimon couldn't Digivolve under the Emperor's control. "Kabuterimon..." he said. "How...?"

Kabuterimon was just as surprised as they were. "I don't know! Honest!" he said.

"Who cares?" Matt yelled. "Just knock off those rings!"

Kabuterimon whipped around and lobbed a ball of electricity at the kids' captors. After some crackling and popping, the rings vaporized.

Redvegiemon snarled and leaped in front of Kabuterimon. "I don't care HOW big you are, traitor!" he snapped, lifting his maces. "I can take you down anyway!"

Two strong arms clamped onto his vines from behind. He turned and shrieked as he saw Flamedramon grappling him. Davis flashed his Digivice and grinned wickedly. "Forget about us?" he asked.

Though he had Armor Digivolved, Flamedramon still had all the wounds he had sustained as Veemon; he was gasping for air and very tired. "Big whoop!" Redvegiemon cackled. "He's too beat to hurt me!"

"Wanna bet?" Flamedramon growled, fire spouting out of his knuckles. The angry vegetable went up in flames, bouncing about and shrieking.

Tai was still looking at Kabuterimon, baffled. "How did he do that?..." he asked.

Izzy looked around, then noticed how cracked the spire was. He scratched his chin in thought. "Perhaps... Cody! Get Digmon to knock that spire down!"

Cody looked up, then nodded. In a flash, Armadillomon was Digmon, and he used his drills to shatter the spire's foundation. The black tower wavered, then crumbled into a pile of rubble. All of the Vegiemon still wearing rings stopped twitching and started cheering. One by one, they yanked off the rings and threw them on the ground, laughing and celebrating.

Yolei stared at the happy monsters, then at the ruined spire, and her mind clicked. "Oh! NOW I get it!" she announced.

"May I inquire as to what you get?" Halsemon asked.

"That spire was like an amplifier," she said. "The Emperor must have set it up to amplify the energy from his Dark Digivice, allowing him to use its effects over a wider area. That's how he controlled all of these guys!" She beamed at Izzy. "Isn't that right, Izzy?"

Izzy nodded; that was exactly what he had been thinking. "Quite," he said. "We can assume that these spires are in every area that the Emperor controls."

"So... if we destroy the spires, we can Digivolve normally?" Patamon asked, grinning. He relished the thought of becoming the graceful, powerful Angemon once again.

"Seems like it..." Izzy thought. "I'll need more data to be sure, though."

"Here's an idea," Gatomon piped up. "Let's go back to the arena and destroy that spire. That'll be something."

"Good idea," Izzy said. "Kari, Yolei, may I ask for your assistance?"

Kari, Yolei, Izzy and the Gotsumon mounted Halsemon and took off, Kabuterimon flying behind them. Tai and Matt watched them fly off, then sighed. "Well, once again, we can't do anything, huh..." Matt sighed.

Tai was grinning. "Don't think of it like that," he said. "When we get our Digimon back, we'll be able to help out, too!"

Matt sighed and stared at the ground, his mind going back to Garurumon.

Meanwhile, Davis, Cody and TK were overseeing the Digimon relations. Redvegiemon and his compatriots bowed sadly to the Gazimon. "We're sorry about all of this..." he said, true regret in his eyes. "What can we ever do to make it up to you?"

One of the Gazimon shook his head. "Words can't bring back our friends," he said, "but you can clean up the town... and then your group can guard it to make sure the Emperor never comes back."

The Vegiemon bowed again. "We'll do everything we can," Redvegiemon vowed.

"Wow," Davis remarked. "Those veggies were tryin' to kill 'em just a minute ago, an' now they're all chummy?"

"Digimon don't hold many grudges," Patamon said. "They know the Emperor's the real problem."

TK folded his arms and nodded. "It'll take some time, but I think this town is on the mend already," he said.

Flamedramon wavered, then changed back into Veemon. "Davith..." he said as he staggered to his partner's side, "are ya cheered up now?..."

Davis looked at the battered little guy with a sad smile. "...Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, I am... but Veemon, never do that again."

Veemon coughed, then fell forward. "Damn!" Davis cried as he grabbed him. "He's half dead, here!"

"We should go home and get some rest," Cody suggested. "We'll need it for what's to come..."

"Right, then!" Tai said, motioning. "Let's get back to the lab and wait for Izzy."

As they started down the mountain, TK tapped Davis on the shoulder. "Listen, Davis," he said, scratching his head, "sorry about lying to you today. I didn't want you to get any angrier, but..."

Davis waved his free arm. "Ahh, forget it, TJ," he replied, motioning to the wounded Veemon. "We've got bigger problems to worry 'bout."

TK nodded and kept walking. "Well, you're right about that..." he agreed.

Davis sighed. He'd had an awful day; first Kari had snapped at him, and then Veemon had almost killed himself trying to cheer him up. Never again would he let his attitude get in the way of a job like that.

* * *

With a powerful burst of Nile Jewelry, Nefertimon cracked the arena spire to the core. "OK, Tentomon, give it a try!" Izzy announced, holding up his Digivice.

In another flash, Tentomon became Kabuterimon and kicked the spire over with his foot. The Gotsumon cheered loudly; their home was safe once again.

"Well, if that isn't proof, I'm a monkey's uncle!" Yolei remarked.

* * *

As the sun set on Odaiba, everyone crowded around the lab computer for Izzy's recap of the day. Demiveemon lay asleep on a pillow nearby, out cold.

"So, Izzy, what did you find in my Digivice?" Yolei asked.

Izzy sighed. "Not much..." he admitted. "There's way more security on these new ones than on mine. I'll have to borrow it again later for more analysis... but I did find THIS."

He tapped on the keyboard and a large grid of squares appeared on the screen. Some of the squares were black, most of them were gray, and two of them were white. This baffled everyone in the room.

"What is it?" Davis asked. "Some kinda f'd-up checkers game?"

"I believe it's a map of the remodeled Digital World," Izzy explained. "It's in each of your new Digivices, I suppose. Each of these squares represents an area."

"Sheesh..." TK grimaced as he stared at the spots. "I'm guessing nobody in the Digital World studies topography."

"This is interesting," Izzy said, pointing at the white spots. "These spots were black when I first looked at this."

Yolei stared at it. "You think those black squares represent areas with spires?" she asked.

"That's what I was thinking, yes," Izzy agreed. "The black squares are where the Emperor has set up his spires... so the white ones must be liberated areas."

"Then what about the gray ones?" Tai asked.

"They must be neutral areas," Izzy theorized. "Neither the Emperor nor our group has gone there yet."

"Neutral..." Cody repeated. "So the Emperor doesn't control as much as he'd like us to think."

"That figures," Kari said. "He wants to scare us, after all."

Davis looked at the map again, then grinned. "Well, that settles it!" he declared. "We know our three missions!"

Everyone looked at him. "Just three?" Izzy asked.

"Well, I'm summarizin'..." Davis admitted. "Look, we have three main things to do! Free the Generals! Uproot the spires! Kick the Emperor outta town!" He paused and laughed. "We can easily shorten that to the three first letters: F, U-"

"OK, OK, we get it!" Matt cut him off. "Jeez..."

"Well, he does have a point..." Kari said. "Good idea, Davis."

Davis beamed. He was back in business.

"Well, then I guess we should start looking for the Generals," Izzy said. "We saved Tentomon already, so there're just five to go..." He started typing on the computer. "I can't do much, but I can develop a program for this map to show where they are... I just need their digital signatures."

"...Meaning?" Tai asked.

Izzy held out his hand. "Tai, Matt, let me borrow your Digivices for the night."

Confused, the boys handed over their gizmos. "I figure that Agumon and Gabumon have special signatures, and that they're inside your Digivices," Izzy explained. "If I'm right, I can pinpoint their locales based on that."

"Well, good," Matt said, frowning. "The sooner we save them, the better." With that, he grabbed his saxophone case. "I'd better go... Have to catch a bus."

"We'll all go," Tai said, motioning to the oncoming twilight. "It's getting towards dinner time."

"Yes, it is late," Izzy agreed, shutting off the computer. "I can keep this going at my place."

Davis tenderly placed Demiveemon in his backpack and they left the school. On their way, Yolei could not stop blushing and asking Matt questions. He kept wondering where that smell was coming from.

"So, you're in a band?" she asked, getting closer to him as he instinctively pulled back. "What do you play? Written any good songs? Do you have a girlfriend yet? If you do, do you have a little brother?"

TK sheepishly waved. "Um... hello?" he asked.

Despite his mood, Davis could not help but snicker. "Heh... Forget it, TJ," he jeered. "When her hormones kick in, her brain's out to EXTENDED lunch!"

That got her attention. Davis threw his backpack to Kari as she charged him and they barreled down the hill and into the pond, cursing and sputtering all the way.

Cody, TK and Kari laughed at the sight, but Matt shook his head. "These are the new Digidestined?" he asked Tai, pulling him away from the others.

Tai smiled at the skeptical boy. "I know it's kinda weird, but I think they can pull it off," he said.

Matt shook his head and frowned. "We were better off when we started than these clowns," he grumbled. "How did they ever become Digidestined?"

"We don't have all the answers yet, Matt," Tai urged him. "I'm sure we'll find them sooner or later... in the meantime, though, have some faith."

Matt looked on as Yolei struggled to hold the flailing Davis's head under the water. Faith? In someone like Davis? If he couldn't get Garurumon back soon, the Digimon Emperor may just as well have won.

* * *

The Emperor did not like disappointment. General Garurumon learned this as he entered the throne room to see his liege glaring at his largest monitor. "...Master," he said, bowing.

"Garurumon," the Emperor growled, his voice soft and dangerous, "please explain why there are two white spots on this map."

The wolf hung his head. "The Digidestined have learned to destroy spires, master," he said. "They reclaimed Santa Geria and the arena."

The sting of his master's whip burned into his cheek. "They learned to destroy spires!" the Emperor snarled. "If you had done your job, that wouldn't have happened!"

"It was an accident, master," Garurumon tried to explain. "Redvegiemon's lashings cracked the first one... That was why I advised against using him there..."

"Oh, so that's MY fault?" the Emperor yelled. "You were in charge of him, too! Why didn't you call him off?"

"You ordered the Digidestined destroyed, no matter what, master," Garurumon answered quietly. "I was overseeing that order..."

The Emperor swore loudly, then grew silent. Garurumon waited for another lash, but none came. "...Master?" he asked.

"...Get out," the Emperor stated, pointing for the exit.

Garurumon hesitated, then padded out the door. The Emperor glowered at the white spots on the monitor. So, they figured out what the spires did; they were certainly worthy foes. Still, those weren't key areas, and it would be easy enough to put up new spires in the same places. He was also relieved that General Garurumon had retreated before the spire had gone down; it wouldn't do for them to have TWO of his finest soldiers.

He looked over the map and planned for the next day. If they had learned to destroy the spires, then they would probably move to get rid of any new ones first, and two more of his Generals would be lying in wait when they did; that would teach them.

"Don't think you're scaring me, children," he said to himself as he turned the screen off, a smile returning to his lips. "Within a year, everything in this world will serve me... including you."


	5. Flora And Frost

**CHAPTER 5**

**FLORA AND FROST**

The frozen wind bit at the legs of the exhausted laborers as they hopped through the snow, each hauling heavy I-beams and wheezing from their loads beneath the foreboding gaze of the control spire. This was madness; they were Gizamon- frog-type Digimon- and were better suited for water. Why were they out here doing this?

One Gizamon struggled with its load, then collapsed to the ground. It was met with several lashes as the Digimon Emperor closed in, his cape whipping about in the wind. "Get up!" he snapped, lashing it again. "This isn't nap time!"

Wormmon shuffled up behind the Emperor, looking concerned. "Master, don't exert yourself so much..." he warned. "It's cold, and you're not wearing anything warm-"

His counsel was met with a kick to the side. "Leave me alone!" the Emperor yelled. "The new prisons are to be finished on time, no matter what!" He turned back to the downed Gizamon and raised his whip again.

"Please..." the wounded frog gasped, holding its flipper up. "We are tired... and we can't move fast on land... We need rest..."

Some of the other Gizamon dropped their hauls and argued the same complaint. The Emperor's jaw locked at the insolence. "You'll do as I say!" he barked. "Otherwise... General Ikkakumon!"

He slashed his whip against the ground, and a gigantic, black horn thrust through the first Gizamon, destroying it instantly. The others reeled as a titanic ice beast burst from the ice, a ring on its paw and a bloody glow in its eyes. Its roar put them all flat on their faces, terrified.

"You have your argument, but General Ikkakumon has a POINT of his own," the Emperor said, smiling at his own pun. "Now get back to work!"

"...Master, please think," Wormmon spoke up behind him. "If they're tired and you delete them all, nobody will be here to build your prisons..."

The Emperor scowled and lowered his whip. He hated to admit it, but Wormmon was right; without a labor force, he would have nowhere to stick those rotten kids when he finally caught them. "...Well, then I suppose I should do something about their fatigue," he admitted.

The Gizamon looked up hopefully only to be caught in the neck by a volley of dark rings, which had materialized at the snap of his fingers. They struggled, then grew silent, overcome by the dark energy. Their eyes now bore the same hue as the General's.

"See?" the Emperor said, laughing. "Now you won't feel anything! Now, get back to work, all of you!"

Silent and obedient, the Gizamon slaves picked up their materials and kept hopping. The Emperor smiled as he watched them go. Why he had kept them free for so long was beyond him; having them as his obedient slaves was easier on everyone. So much for their discomfort; now they went to the business of building the last place the so-called Digidestined would ever see.

Just then, a chill ran down his spine and he shuddered; Wormmon had also been right about the cold. "...Supervise the building," he ordered the green bug as he stalked off. "I'm going home to get a coat."

Wormmon watched his liege vanish, then sighed and scrambled off the other way.

* * *

The school day had passed in its usual dull way, leaving Davis unprepared for the chain of events that was to follow it. The first of these odd occurances was spotting Cody leaving the building instead of heading for the computer lab. "Cody!" he called. Running to the stairs. "Where're you goin'?"

"Home," Cody replied.

"But you can't go!" Davis reminded him. "We gotta knock down some spires!"

"True, but today I have kendo practice," Cody said. "I always have it once a week at the police precinct where my grandfather teaches. He's my sensei as well... He would be very disappointed if I missed the lesson."

Davis scratched his head; how could exercise be more important than kicking butt? Besides, how could he leave Upamon sitting in the lab like that? "But Upamon-" he started.

Cody shook his head, then bowed slightly. "I'll be back in an hour or so," he said, walking out the doors.

Davis started to go after him, but just then a familiar voice caught his ear. "Davis! What're you doing?" Kari asked as she came up behind him.

Cody ejected from his memory, Davis beamed at her. "Oh, hello, Kari!" he said. "I was just, uh, on my way to the lab! Wanna come?"

Kari nodded. "Sure," she said. "Let's get going."

Davis's cheeks burned as he grinned. It sounded like she had forgiven him his outburst from yesterday; now that they were alone together, he could get her closer to him, and get the threat of TK out of the way completely. "Rockin'!" he laughed at the thought.

Kari looked confused. "What?" she asked.

"Err, uh, errr..." Davis stammered, trying to recover. "I said, uh, 'right, then!' Let's go!"

Beaming all the way, Davis followed Kari to the lab, but when she opened the door, reality hit him in the face. Izzy and Yolei sat hunched over the computer, with Tai, TK and the Digimon looking on. "Hey, guys!" Kari said, walking in to join them.

"Ah, hello, Davis, Kari," Izzy said, not looking up. "What kept you? Come in, quickly."

Davis slumped. He just couldn't win.

Kari walked over to the computer and looked at what they were staring at. It was the grid map of the Digital World, but something was different; one of the white spots they had made the day before was blinking purple. "What's that?" she asked.

"That's Tentomon," Yolei said, beaming at Kari. "Cool, isn't it?"

"I completed the program for tracking our old partners," Izzy explained. "Just as I thought, my Digivice held Tentomon's particular signal... so now I know exactly where he is."

"That means we can keep in touch with them a lot easier," TK said.

Tai nodded, but looked concerned. "The problem is... Tentomon's the only one that's showing up," he said.

Kari and Davis looked perplexed, so Izzy continued. "Tai and Matt gave me their Digivices last night to work on, and Sora gave me hers this morning. I entered their data just like Tentomon's, but nothing's come up... so either the dark rings are tampering with their signatures, or they're somewhere that does the same thing."

"They said they were Generals," Davis remarked. "Ya think he'd keep 'em at his base or somethin'?"

"Maybe..." Izzy admitted, leaning back and looking at his watch. "I need more data, so I asked Joe to come and give me his Digivice... and Mimi, too."

"Wow, you actually got in touch with her?" Tai asked, rolling his eyes.

Izzy looked pained. "I sent them e-mails," he explained. "Joe told me he'd be along today, but I never got a reply from Mimi... and Joe's late; what's taking him?"

"Well, whatever the case, after that, we're headed to take out some spires, right?" Davis asked.

Upamon, who sat alone in a chair by the window, hopped around furiously. "No, no, no! We can't leave without Cody!" he protested.

Davis shook his head. "He ain't comin', man," he said. "He went to kendo practice."

Upamon raised an eyebrow. "What's kendo?" he asked.

Grinning, Davis grabbed a newspaper off of a desk, rolled it up and bopped the little monster three times. Upamon was not amused. "WHAT'D YOU HIT ME FOR?" he yelled.

Davis shrugged. "Hey, you wanted to know what kendo was," he replied.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me next! Me next!" Demiveemon chirped, bouncing up and down.

* * *

The clash of wooden shinai shot through the tiny chamber, deafening to the unshielded ear. Cody held his weapon towards his taller opponent, panting and gasping in his heavy armor. He was slower than usual today, and that feeling made him hot all over, which in turn made him even slower. As he stared at the opponent's shinai, he wondered just what was wrong with him.

He had been preoccupied since the night before, when he had overheard Matt insulting the new Digidestined. That older boy did not seem to think they were capable of defeating the Emperor. Even though both Tai and Izzy had confidence in them, he couldn't soothe the sting of those words. Such things had been in his mind in other practices, but they hadn't affected him as much as this. Something else was wrong.

Then it hit him: Upamon. He had left Upamon at school all by himself. The little guy was probably still in the lab, moping. He could almost see the disappointed monster through his visor, and he had to look away.

Just then, his opponent gave a startling cry of "men," and the shinai smacked the top of his helmet. His senses snapped back, and he staggered in astonishment. It was not often that a blow was landed on him; he had forgotten how humiliating it was.

His opponent paused, then lowered his weapon. "Let us take a break," his gravelly voice said. He removed his helmet to reveal his ancient, whiskered, bald head, then sat cross-legged on the floor with a sigh.

Cody removed his helmet and sat, glad for the stale, sweaty air. He looked over his grandfather anxiously. The noble, strict old man would not have suggested a break unless he had something to say. He braced himself for criticism of his technique.

His grandfather took a breath, then looked hard at him. "You're sloppy today, Iori," he commented. "You aren't concentrating, and your skills suffer because of it."

Cody nodded slowly. "Yes, sensei," he answered.

The old man's hard eyes softened a bit. "Is something wrong?" he asked in a tone less rigid.

Cody stiffened and looked at the floor. "...It's nothing, sensei," he said.

"Iori, you have troubled eyes," his grandfather said, walking to his rucksack and rummaging around in it. "You must be more open with your feelings, as your father was."

The mention of his father tugged at Cody's heart. For the brief time that he had known him, his dad had always been in a cheery mood, and friendly to everyone that he met. Cody was the polar opposite of that, rigidly keeping to himself and only speaking when spoken to. He wondered just what his dad would say about his situation.

"Of course, if you would rather not discuss it, I won't press you," his grandfather went on, finding what he was looking for and laughing to himself. "In the meantime, I'm going to have some prune juice. Want some?"

Cody glanced blankly at the juice pouch that his grandfather offered him. Everybody had a quirk, and his grandfather's was that he was a prune juice nut. He was always going off about its nutritional value and even simply how good it tasted. It was "a warrior's drink;" that phrase was burned into his mind.

"No thank you, grandfather," Cody said, changing his addressing of the old man. Still, he did feel like talking. He could not mention Upamon, but he could discuss what Matt had said. "I suppose my problem is... well, someone said something harsh yesterday, and I've been wondering if I can live up to expectations."

"You don't need to worry about what others say," his grandfather replied.

"But this is important!" Cody replied, thinking of how to phrase things. "It's... about a group assignment."

His grandfather looked up. "A teacher said this?" he asked.

Cody guessed he could call Matt a teacher of sorts. "Yes," he answered.

"Iori, I told your father the same thing I'll tell you," the old man said. "You cannot expect others to depend on you until you can depend on yourself. If you try your hardest, you shall not let anyone down."

Cody thought about the words for a moment. There had to be some truth to them; he had doubted himself, and that had distracted him enough to get beaned in kendo practice. If he got like that in the Digital World, he would end up with more than just a bump on the head. Unless he had faith in himself, his friends and he might...

Just then, he remembered Upamon again. Now that he was the partner of a Digimon, he should show even more responsibility. "Sensei, may we end the lesson early today?" he asked. "It pains me to ask, but I must get back to school..."

His grandfather bowed. "We may," he answered. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," Cody said, returning the bow. He gathered his things, walked to the door, bowed again, and then raced off.

His grandfather looked up at the clock; there was still half an hour left. "Well, I guess it's just the prune juice and me," he said to himself, gleefully opening the pouch. "Might as well give myself a lesson."

* * *

Tai leaned against the wall, tapping his foot irritably. "This is weird..." he said. "Joe said he'd be here fifteen minutes ago! What's keeping him?"

Izzy looked up from the monitor. "He might be wandering around the area somewhere," he suggested. "Maybe someone should go look for him..." He paused, then frowned. "Someone should find Mimi, too."

"I'll go," Davis said, eager to alleviate his boredom. "How hard is it to find a college student in a junior high?"

"Well, Joe'll come, but Mimi might be a hard sell..." Kari pointed out with a sigh.

"Well, then, I'd better go, too!" Yolei said, standing up and beaming. "I know how to handle girls better than Davis."

Davis glared at her. "What does THAT mean?" he snapped.

"Nothing," she retorted. "You just don't have any tact."

"I've got plenty!" he shot back. "They're at home, holdin' stuff up on the board over my dresser!"

"This just helps me," she said, poking him in the chest. "You're not just rude; you're a moron."

"At least I don't smell like I bathe in garlic ramen!" he huffed, "if you even bathe at all!"

Davis and Yolei argued all the way out the door, with Tai's laughter following them; he could never get enough of their antics. Satisfied, he glanced at Izzy. "Why do you think Joe's around?" he asked.

Izzy looked at him slyly. "He's not just here to see us, Tai," he said.

Tai scratched his head, wondering just what that meant.

* * *

The browning grass of the soccer field was almost too brown as Joe leaned against a tree, watching the cheerleaders practice their shouts. He knew that he had to find Tai and the others, but there was someone else he had to see first; it was someone with whom he had some unfinished business. His college uniform was dark and hot, his medical bag heavy, and the backs of his hands sweaty; this was something the timid boy had never done before.

As the cheerleaders gave their final encouraging yells to a phantom sports team, he spotted her. How dynamic her figure looked in that white shirt and red skirt, her caramel, ponytailed hair swaying in the air, he thought. Through all their adventures in the Digital World, she had been a whiny, irritable child... but right at the end, he had become aware that he cared about her... and now that five years had been added to her...

The girls laughed, then scattered; practice was over. She was coming his way; he swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "...Excuse me," he uttered as she walked by, "...Mimi?"

She turned at the mention of her name, seeing the tall, blue-haired college student. At first she was annoyed at being called by a stranger, but then she stared at him for a moment; something about him was familiar. "...Sorry, do I know you?" she ventured.

Put off by that, Joe coughed. "It's, uh... it's me, Joe," he said. "Joe Kido."

She blinked a few times, and then it clicked; she certainly had known him. "Oh! Joe! Of course!" she said, laughing awkwardly while looking around; if any of her friends saw her with this stringy, nerdy-looking college student, her reputation would collapse. "So, uh, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I, uh, was going to see Tai and Izzy," he remarked, his glasses starting to fog, "but, erm, I wanted to talk with you, too."

Mimi frowned, sensing what was about to be asked. She didn't like the look of this sweaty boy, and dreaded what came next. She had been asked on dates by nerds before, and she was well versed in rejecting the unworthy... but Joe was an old acquaintance; she would have to let him down easily.

"Mimi..." he managed, "would you, uh, like to, uh, get lunch some time?" He looked up, hopeful.

Quicker than a nudist leaps off an iceberg, she shook her head. "Oh, I'm sorry, Joe," she said smiling sadly, "but you're just not my type. You see, I'm a cheerleader. I have expectations to live up to, and you're... just a student. It just wouldn't work out."

His heart sank; not only was she rejecting his offer, she had degraded him like a queen did a peasant. He quieted and stared at the ground.

"Yeah, so, bye," she finished, and kept walking. She had to catch up with her fellow cheerleaders for their bi-weekly mall trip.

"...Bye," he replied quietly. Now he didn't even feel like going to see the rest of his friends.

"Hey! You're Joe Kido, right?"

He looked up to see a boy wearing goggles and a girl with purple hair. His eyes widened; these were the new Digidestined that TK had mentioned. "Oh, hello," he said, standing up.

"Hi," Yolei said, beaming at the handsome older boy; she was amazed at how many good-looking friends Izzy had. "I'm Yolei, and that's Davis. Izzy sent us to find you and Mimi."

Joe quieted again at the mention of the girl. "Well, you found me..." he said, then motioned towards the leaving girl. "...That's Mimi."

Yolei nodded and took off after her. Davis stayed behind and snorted disapprovingly at the cheerleader. "...Well, you'd better get to the lab, Mr. Joe," Davis went on, pointing at the junior high building. "Everyone's waitin' on ya."

Joe hesitated, then nodded. With Mimi's rejection, he really didn't have any other reasons to be there. He turned and jogged for the school.

Yolei was having a far more difficult time with Mimi. "Mimi! Hey, Mimi!" she shouted, running up to the cheerleader.

Mimi's nose instantly wrinkled as the funky odor came over her. "Ugh! Who are you, and what do you want?" she demanded.

Yolei frowned. At first glance, she didn't like Mimi; unlike her, Mimi prettied herself up with trendy clothes, facial products and sweet-smelling perfumes, all of which she found phony and repulsive. Overhearing Mimi's refusing of Joe had already put her off, and this reaction to her scent put her in an even worse mood. "I'm Yolei," she said abruptly. "Look, you need to go to the computer lab, and pronto!"

The computer lab? Only the freaks and geeks went there... and from the smell of this girl, Mimi knew she was both. "Sorry," she sniffed, "I'm busy."

"Too busy for the Digital World?" Yolei asked.

Mimi's spine stiffened. Yolei thought she saw her eyes go into a nostalgic trance, but it didn't look like a good one. However, it didn't last; a car honk snapped her out of her nostalgia. Her cheerleader friends were all sitting in a red hot rod on the curb, waving to her. "Come on, Mimi!" one of them shouted. "We'll be late for the shoe rush!"

Mimi glared at Yolei; far be it from her to miss one of those. "I'm busy," she repeated in a colder tone. "Now leave me alone."

She started to walk away, but Yolei demanded satisfaction. She grabbed Mimi's arm and pulled. "Oh, no, you don't! Izzy and Tai need you!" she huffed.

"I don't deal with nerds and weirdoes!" Mimi bellowed, yanking back. "Go away!"

Yolei lurched; for a dopey cheerleader, Mimi knew how to struggle. She would have to get some help. "HEY! DAVIS!" she cried, hardly believing herself.

Davis rushed over. "What?" he asked.

"We've gotta get this one to the lab," Yolei said. "Pick a side an' yank!"

Davis scratched his head, baffled. Why would a Digidestined refuse to come to the others' aid? Well, now wasn't the time to ponder. He quickly grabbed Mimi's other arm. She shrieked and kicked at him, but he jerked away; all of his grappling with Yolei had taught him how girls fought.

"Let me go!" she snarled, but her struggles were useless against two of them. "I'll scream!"

"I don't care," Yolei snapped, furious at the threat; what sort of defensive move was screaming? Did she expect someone to rush in and save her? If this had been Sora, Yolei would have been flat on her back with a twisted arm by now.

"Look, lady, we just wantcha at the lab for a second," Davis said. "Won't take long at all."

"Hey!" one of the cheerleaders shouted, "what are you doing to Mimi?"

"Don't worry!" Yolei shouted back. "We're friends! We're just borrowin' her for a minute!"

"OK, OK!" Mimi snarled, wrenching herself free from their grip; though she still refused to go, it wouldn't do to struggle and mess up her looks. "Fine, I'll go... but Izzy's gonna pay for this..."

"Right, then," Davis said, motioning for the school. "Lab's this way. Come on."

Muttering to herself, Mimi strutted off towards the school, Davis and Yolei at her sides in case she tried to escape. As they walked, Yolei leered at the cheerleader's pretty outfit, her designer shoes, and her spoiled pout. How could this one ever be a Digidestined?

* * *

"Good to see you again, Joe," Izzy said to his old friend. "How's college life?"

"Busy," Joe replied, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Yeah, I hear doctors have to study the longest," Tai said, leaning back in his chair. "How'd you manage to come today?"

"Well, you all sounded so concerned that I finished all my studying last night so I could come," Joe said, rummaging around in his pocket. "OK, Izzy, I think this is what you're looking for?" He pulled out his old Digivice.

"Yes, indeed," Izzy replied, taking the device and inserting it into his laptop. "I'm going to see if I can find Gomamon."

Joe nodded and sighed, looking at the Digimon in the room. Even though he had heard about it, it certainly was strange to see them there. He looked at the new ones and scratched his head; unlike the In-Training Digimon of his friends and himself, these ones were brightly-colored, almost like candy. "So, who do we have here?" he asked.

"Greetings," the pink, beaked ball said. "I am Poromon, Yolei's partner."

"I'm Demiveemon, Davis's partner!" the blue one laughed, jumping around.

The yellow ball seemed a bit down. "Upamon," he answered.

"That's Cody's partner," TK explained. "He hasn't come yet."

"Everyone's found DigiEggs to make their partners Armor Digivolve," Kari explained. "That's the only way around the Emperor's control."

Joe nodded, then stared out the window, a far-off look in his eyes. So, even if they saved Gomamon from the tyrant's control, he couldn't get any stronger. What hope, then, did he have? A sudden wave of despair came over him; this could be worse than not seeing his old friend at all.

His thoughts were jarred, though, by the slam of the door. "OK, I'm here, already!" Mimi's irritated voice came. "Quit shoving!"

"OK... here's the princess," Davis grumbled, slumping down in a chair.

Izzy looked up. "So good to see you again, Mimi," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, well, make it quick," she harrumphed, folding her arms. "I'm totally going to be late for the mall."

Izzy flinched; maybe it wasn't so good to see her again. "Anyway, I need to borrow your Digivice for a second," he said. "I need it so-"

"OK, fine," Mimi snapped, cutting him off, "as long as it gets me out of here."

She reached into her pink bag, pulled it out and handed it to Izzy. He recoiled at the sight; its pale-green exterior had been drowned in a tacky, pink paint, and a golden star sticker covered the monitor.

"...You killed it," Tai gawked.

"It didn't go with my wardrobe," she rebuked.

"I just hope it still works," Izzy mumbled, sticking it in his computer. Fortunately, the data readout went without any problems; she hadn't broken anything during her redecorating.

Demiveemon hopped up to Mimi. "Hi, lady!" he chirped.

Mimi glared at him and shrank back. "Stay away from me," she ordered. "You're creeping me out!"

Demiveemon's ears lowered, and he sadly shuffled back to his spot. Davis glared at Mimi. "Hey, the hell was that for?" he snapped. "He was just sayin' hi!"

Mimi folded her arms and looked away with a high-pitched "humph." Davis scowled; he was liking this chick less and less.

Joe looked at Izzy. "So, what are you doing, anyway?" he asked.

"Trying to locate our Digimon," Izzy replied. "Each of them give off a signal. If we can find them, we can go and knock off the Emperor's rings..."

"...And since all it takes to help them Digivolve is knocking down the control spires, we'll be able to help out a lot more," Tai elaborated.

"Yes," Izzy said. "I just need to enter the data from Mimi and you, and we're set."

Joe's eyes lit up. He hadn't heard about that; maybe there was hope after all. "So maybe..." he started.

"I'm not sure yet, but with your data, it should be-" Izzy started.

Suddenly, his computer gave off a panicked beeping. The Digital World map popped up, its grid showing three blinking spots. One was the purple one from before, but another spot flashed gray, and another sparked green.

"Woah!" Yolei cried as everyone crowded around. "I guess it works!"

"Prodigious!" Izzy said, typing away furiously. "I've located Gomamon and Palmon! This works on ring Digimon after all!"

Kari looked at the grid with a frown. Unlike their previous encounters, the two blinking areas were to the northwest, too far to be on File Island. "I guess the Emperor's gone to the Server continent," she said.

Izzy typed some more, and some text came up. "Let's see... Gomamon's signal is coming from a place called the Queue Tundra, and Palmon's is from the Twin Time Jungle," he explained. "Both areas have spires."

"A two-for-one deal, huh?" TK asked aloud. "Looks like we'll have to split up on this one."

"Well, there're enough of you to do that," Tai remarked. "I don't have Agumon, but Izzy could go with a group."

"That's a good idea," Izzy said, pulling a small headset out of his bag. "I'll contact Tentomon and ask him to meet us there; another feature of my program."

"Well, I'm hardly dressed for the cold," Kari reasoned, glancing at her sleeveless duds. "I'll go to the jungle."

"Me, too!" Davis said quickly; wherever Kari went, he was resolved to follow.

TK chuckled. "I guess I'll go to the tundra with Joe," he decided.

"As will I," Izzy said.

Mimi, however, turned away. "Do what you want," she huffed. "I'm not going!"

"Mimi, what about your partner?" Tai protested. "What about Palmon?"

Mimi froze, then shook her head. "I... I don't care," she snapped. "I've got more important things to do!"

Yolei frowned. What was with this girl?

"So, uh, are we all decided?" Izzy asked.

Just then, the door flew open. Everyone turned in horror, imagining Mr. Fujiyama's shocked looks...

"Sorry I'm late," Cody said as he came in and shut the door. A universal sigh filled the air.

"Cody! About time!" Upamon huffed, hopping off of his seat and bouncing crossly before the boy. "I was about to go off into the Digital World by myself, you know!"

Cody gave him a sad look. "Sorry, Upamon," he said, "but..."

"Oh, hi there," Joe said, walking up. "You're Cody? Nice to meet you."

Cody looked up at him, then started to bow. It wouldn't do to start without a proper introduction. "Hello," he said. "I'm-"

"Hey, skip the intros!" Davis snapped. "We've got double trouble today!"

Izzy quickly filled Cody in on what had happened. "Well, that's certainly big," Cody replied. "All right, I'll go to the tundra as well."

"Right, then," Izzy answered, entering the coordinates. "Let's go!"

Everyone held up their Digivices, and the gate on the lab computer opened.

"You're all crazy!" Mimi snapped, turning to leave. "I'm so out of here!"

She suddenly felt a firm grip on her wrist, and the funky odor intensified. "Oh, no, you don't," Yolei growled, shoving her ickified Digivice into her hand. "You're coming, too!"

"HEY! Let me-" Mimi started, but the Digital light enveloped the room, pulling in everyone but Tai.

The soccer coach closed Izzy's laptop and sighed. "I wonder just how she's going to handle it..." he said.

* * *

Cody found himself on a frozen plain, the icy wind whipping and biting at his body. TK, Izzy and Joe stood nearby, seemingly unaffected by it. Perhaps it was their age, or perhaps they were just used to digital blizzards.

"It's a good thing I got here in time," Tentomon said, fluttering around, "but, goodness, it's cold! Couldn't we have taken down a spire somewhere warmer?"

"Gomamon is here," Joe answered. "We have to save him!"

"Technically, it's General Ikkakumon," Tentomon corrected him, "and I doubt he wants saving."

Joe tried to object, but found that he couldn't.

"Don't worry, Joe; that's where we come in," TK said, motioning to Patamon and his new Digivice. "We'll knock that spire down and give him a change of heart. Right, Cody?"

Cody nodded. "Right, Armadillomon?" he asked.

Armadillomon was strangely quiet, and turned away with a snort. The boy scratched his head, confused.

* * *

When the light faded, Yolei found herself standing in a hot, steamy jungle, its air thick with the stench of humid earth. Though the sun was blazing down and lighting every inch, she didn't see any control spires. Baffled, she wiped the fresh sweat from her brow. "Does anyone see a spire?" she asked, turning around.

Davis, Kari and the Digimon looked just as uncomfortable as she was, but Mimi took the cake. She had landed on her behind in the emerald-green grass, and her eyes were wild. "AGH!" she shrieked, leaping up and swatting the extra blades away. "Grass stains all over my skirt!"

"Mimi, come on," Kari tried to reassure her. "You're back in the Digital World! Isn't that great?"

Not seeming to hear her, Mimi's eyes widened. "Is this humidity?" she wailed, grabbing at her hair. "Agh! This is going to ruin my hair!" She turned a furious glare on Yolei. "This is your fault! You're gonna pay for cleaning my skirt and re-styling my hair!" she snapped.

Yolei's mouth dropped open. "What?" she cried, her fists balling up.

"Yolei, please control your temper," Hawkmon urged, glancing at her warily. "Remember, we came here to topple spires, not each other."

Yolei couldn't believe what he was saying. Mimi had just insulted her; justice had to be dispensed. "But... but... but..." she blabbered, pointing at the offender.

"Hey, come on, I'm the one with the potty mouth, here," Davis broke in. "Why don't we-"

"Well, YOU grabbed me, too!" Mimi said, turning on him. "Maybe YOU should pay, too!"

Davis's expression went from stunned to enraged in no time flat. "I ain't payin' for yer goddamn rags!" he snarled.

Mimi noticed his changed clothing and snorted. "No kidding," she said. "Was the thrift store having a clearance sale?"

Davis snarled and started for her, but Veemon grabbed his arm. "Davith, cool it," the Digimon said gently. "Ya don't wanna get mad at a girl!"

Davis hesitated, glancing at the nervous Kari; he certainly didn't want to look like a jerk when she was around. He shot one more angry look at Mimi, then turned away.

Gatomon broke the tension with an uncomfortable sigh. "My fur's not doing me any favors here," she said, starting to walk. "Let's destroy the spire and beat it."

"Right," Kari said. "Let's start looking for it, Gatomon."

"Well, forget about it!" Mimi huffed, stamping her foot. "I'm staying right here until one of you takes me home!"

Yolei fumed; what a pain in the ass this girl was. "Fine, then," she said. "C'mon, Hawkmon."

Kari and Gatomon set off through the lush grass, looking this way and that for any sign of the Emperor's handiwork. Davis, Yolei, and their partners jogged after her.

"I mean it!" Mimi yelled after them. "I'm staying right here!"

"Ya see any of us disagreein'?" Davis called back, then turned back to the search. "God... What's her problem?"

"Yeah, she's about as irritating as you," Yolei remarked.

Davis whirled on her to spew his rage, but hesitated, and then lowered his fist. "Look, don't piss me off," he said. "Not while Mimi's here; she's a pain enough."

Yolei looked at him thoughtfully; Mimi's self-absorbed screeching made Davis seem tolerable in comparison. "You know... I won't," she said, offering a hand and a wry grin. "Truce?"

He looked at her hand for a moment. He couldn't stand Yolei under most conditions; was this a special case?

"WAIIIIIIT!" Mimi's scream came from behind as she charged up the path and landed in front of them. "How could you leave me alone in this icky jungle? You're all horrible!"

He clenched Yolei's hand with his own. "Truce," he agreed.

"OK, Mimi, then come along with us," Kari offered, her ears ringing from the scream. "It'll be more... um... active with you along."

Mimi harrumphed and looked away. "Don't think you're off the hook," she sniffed, "you're still paying for this."

Davis and Yolei leered at her as they walked, then exchanged half-humored looks. "Well, at least it's only one annoyance today," Yolei said.

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "I mean, with the reek in this jungle, I can hardly smell-"

He caught Yolei's glower and shut up.

* * *

Another frigid gale blew, and TK grabbed himself. "Brrr..." he shuddered. "Was it this cold when we came before?..."

"I thought this might happen..." Joe said, rummaging around in his bag. "That's why I brought these." He yanked out four packages of orange liquid and handed them out. "Give them a squeeze."

Cody squeezed his pack and instantly his hands were awash with soothing heat; it felt wonderful. With a happy sigh, he looked across the frozen tundra. Through the low-hanging storm clouds, he spotted a control spire far in the distance, towering above what looked like the beginnings of a town. "Hey," he alerted the others, pointing.

They turned and regarded it. "Good work, Cody," Izzy said. "Now we know where to go."

"Yes, but may I suggest NOT walking all that way?" Tentomon asked, flitting around. "There's no protection from the wind out there, and none of you are polar bears!"

"He's right," Patamon said, landing on TK's hat. "I'M better equipped to be out there than you guys."

"Well, then..." TK said, glancing at their surroundings. They were only on the edge of the tundra; a tall forest of snow-capped pines stood behind them. His eyes twinkled. "We'll just have to find some transport," he finished.

Cody looked at the trees, then at TK. "Good idea, TK," he said. "We can have the Digimon cut down a few trees... and..." He paused, scratching his head; how would they lash the logs together?

Joe reached into his pack and yanked out some rope. "Looks like I was right to bring this, too," he said.

"Joe, you anticipate every situation," Izzy said, grinning. "Prodigious!"

"...Does he always carry rope around?" Patamon asked.

"Armadillomon," Cody addressed his partner, "would you please knock down a few trees for us?"

"Hmmph... I guess," the yellow monster grumbled, shuffling over to the pines and stabbing at them with his claws.

TK scratched his head. It might have just been him, but he thought that Armadillomon was pretty grumpy today. What was up?

With Tentomon and Patamon's help, Armadillomon felled enough trees to make a toboggan big enough for the four humans. Joe lashed them together with his rope, and then tied the three Digimon to it. "I hate to do this, but this is how we'll move the fastest," he explained.

Patamon scratched at the bindings; that rope made him itch. "I'm not a dog!" he protested.

"True, but you guys move faster than we do," Izzy explained. "It's only until we get across the tundra."

"Oh, the things I do to please my partner..." Tentomon sighed, lifting into the air. He swayed a bit from the rope's weight, but he looked fit to fly.

The boys got on the sled. "OK, let's go," TK said.

"Armadillomon, I'm counting on you," Cody said to his friend. The armadillo just looked away and muttered to himself.

"OK! One! Two! THREE!" Patamon shouted, and the three Digimon tore across the snow as fast as they could, yanking the sled along with them. Joe and Izzy had been right; they zipped along at a fantastic speed.

Joe bit his lip as the spire grew taller by the moment. Soon he would see Gomamon again... but it would hardly be the reunion he had hoped for. What could he do against a General of the Emperor?

* * *

"Hmm... Yes, that's much better," the Digimon Emperor said, glad of his warm, new midnight-blue jacket. He had fashioned it to look just like his robe and cape, so he lost none of his imposing air. This was especially helpful as he oversaw the building. "All right! Get these prisons built! Faster!" he bellowed into a megaphone, cracking his whip against the ice; the device let him scream at the workers louder, which made them work faster, which made him more satisfied.

Wormmon sighed and looked away. At that moment, his eye caught something moving out on the ice field. Squinting, he could make out the enemy Digimon and the sled that they pulled. "...Master..." he said, pulling at the Emperor's leg.

"Ugh, what is it now?" the Emperor snapped, whirling around. His eyes fell on the approaching Digidestined and he snarled. Those kids were fast; he would have to call up some extra soldiers.

"Wormmon, keep the Gizamon building," the Emperor said, raising his whip and striking the snow before him. "I'm going to put them on ice... literally."

* * *

"This is great!" TK called to the Digimon as they whizzed across the snow, hauling the sled behind them. "I didn't know you guys could move so fast!"

The spire loomed ahead; it stood on a steep mesa, the highest place in the area. "Looks like we'll reach it in about five minutes," Izzy calculated, "provided we keep going at our present rate."

Almost as soon as he had spoken, the plain in front of them erupted with snow. About twelve large bear-looking snow creatures emerged from the ground, standing in a defensive line between the spire and them.

Joe groaned. "You just HAD to say something..." he muttered to Izzy.

"What are the Frigimon doing?" TK asked aloud.

Cody squinted and caught the gleam of dark rings on the Frigimon's legs. "I know what they're doing..." he hissed.

An imposing, shaggy-furred, tusked creature burst from the snow behind them, a deadly gleam in his eyes. Joe's blood froze as he looked upon it. "Ikkakumon!" he cried.

"Subzero Ice Punch, all of you!" General Ikkakumon roared. "Destroy them!"

Without hesitation, all twelve Frigimon swung their arms, and a barrage of concentrated cold blasts burst around the sled. The Digimon partners panicked and swerved the sled left and right, the kids almost tumbling off.

"Waaaagh!" TK yelled. "Patamon, take it easy!"

"How are we supposed to fight that?" Cody demanded.

Joe looked at the Frigimon again. They each had a fair distance between each other ; maybe they could slip through. "Charge right through," he said. "We can go between them!"

Cody looked at him like he had just said something obscene. "What?" he asked.

"Frigimon are slow," Joe said. "They won't be able to hit us in time."

TK and Izzy nodded. "You heard him, Tentomon!" Izzy called to his partner.

"OK... but if this doesn't work, it isn't my fault!" Tentomon answered, anxiously increasing speed.

"Hold on tight!" Patamon yelled.

Their speed almost doubling in moments, the sled and its tuggers tore past the Frigimon before they could launch another volley. Cody sighed with relief; he was not sure if that would really work.

General Ikkakumon was not ready to call it quits. "About face!" he ordered. "The mesa's cliffs!"

The Frigimon turned around and fired their punches at the cliffside. After a horrible silence, there was a huge rumbling, and the snow tumbled forward off of the rocks, a titanic avalanche coming right for the kids.

Panic was not lost on the sledders. Joe, Izzy and TK screamed. Cody could almost hear Davis yelling "SHIT!"

The Digimon turned sharply left and floored it, the boys' knuckles going white as they held on for dear life. They escaped the shadow of the snowy wave just as it broke and smashed into the ground.

At first, the boys cheered their Digimon for the speed, but then started screaming again. A river that nobody had seen was coming up fast. If they ran into that ice-cold water, they would freeze to death. Running too fast to slow in time, the Digimon swerved and dug their appendages into the ground, and the sled flipped over. Joe, TK and Izzy got faces full of snow, but since Cody was light, he flew right into the water.

"CODY!" TK yelled, rushing to the water's edge. The boy shot up, spluttering and flailing.

Joe ripped open his bag and yanked out more rope. "Grab ahold!" he ordered, pitching one end into the drink.

Cody gripped the rope, the boys hauled him in, and he collapsed in the snow, shuddering and gasping.

"Pardner? Cody? What's wrong with him?" Armadillomon asked, starting to panic.

Joe snarled; Cody might catch hypothermia if he stayed like this for long. "We have to get him warmed up!" he yelled.

Izzy turned and noticed a small cave down on the riverbank. "Over there," he said, pointing.

Joe hoisted Cody onto TK's back, and the whole group ran off for the cave.

* * *

The afternoon sun and the jungle's humidity made the Digidestined feel as if they were hiking through a giant sauna, and their attitudes weren't helped any by the absence of the spire they had detected. "Ugh..." Gatomon gasped, swatting the sweat off of her ears with her paws, "where is it?"

"Oh..." Kari sighed, fanning herself with her hands, "I hope we find it soon..."

"Boy... I feel like a pork chop," Veemon muttered.

"Man... Veemon, this ain't no time to be eatin' hot, salty stuff..." Davis wheezed.

"No, I mean an actual pork chop," Veemon replied. "Gettin' baked."

Davis tried to laugh, but he was too hot and sweaty. The thick stench of the body was in his nostrils, and he knew that it wasn't his; contrary to how it was earlier, the heat was making Yolei smell even worse. He would have said something, but he had already called a truce with the purple-haired girl, and from the looks of her, she could smell it, too.

She caught his glimpse and fumed. "OK... OK, you win," she groused. "Tonight... I take a bath."

"I think we'll all need to bathe," Hawkmon panted. His puffed-out feathers made Yolei think of cooked chicken.

Of course, this was all mild speech compared to what Mimi had been ranting the whole time. "I can't believe this!" she yelled from the back of the group. "The heat's ruining my hair, I'm so sweaty my nail polish is running, and my clothes stink!"

"...ALL of our clothes stink, Mimi," Kari replied with irritation. Even she was getting fed up with the cheerleader's whining. "It's part of walking in a jungle."

"Well!" Mimi huffed, folding her arms. "How dare you speak to me that way! When did you turn into such a brat?"

Kari sucked in her breath. Davis turned around, a vein in his forehead throbbing. It was bad enough that she complained about everything, but he would be damned if he let anyone badmouth Kari like that. "Shut up, lady," he growled. "Kari isn't the problem here!"

Mimi's glare matched his. "You're right; it's YOU," she snapped. "Who do you think you are, calling me 'lady' and swearing all the time? You'll be sorry if you don't learn my name!"

Davis snorted. "What're you gonna do? Sic the jocks on me?" he asked.

Mimi stifled a laugh and ruffled her hair. "You know I could," she warned. "I just have to be sweet to them, and you'll be buried under a mountain of juniors and seniors."

Yolei's eye twitched, and she whirled around. "I've had enough of you!" she yelled. "Always going on about your stupid looks! I'm sick of it!"

Mimi held her nose as Yolei got closer. "You're just jealous that you don't look like me," she said, leering. "Admit it!"

Yolei reddened; it was true that she often wished she was more attractive (especially when a cute boy was around), and Mimi was the epitome of attractiveness. Still, she refused to admit any of that. "You look like a piece of plastic!" she snapped.

"You smell funny," Mimi retorted.

Yolei tried to respond, but couldn't; Mimi had her there. That made her even angrier.

"You know, this is why I stopped hanging out with you people," Mimi said, folding her arms and looking away. "You're rude and selfish, and I've got better things to do than run around in a fake world!"

Gatomon glared at her. "Oh, yeah? What about Palmon?" she demanded.

At the mentioning of that name, a change came over Mimi. Her eyes widened and she gripped her arms tightly; Yolei could almost say that the name scared her.

"Palmon's in trouble," Gatomon urged. "I know she's your best friend in the world; don't you wanna save her?"

"You know she'd do the same for you," Kari pointed out. "Let's go and help her."

Contrary to what she had hoped for, Mimi's expression shot back to angry. "I don't want to go anywhere but home!" she snapped, stamping her foot. "NOW!" With that, she turned and stomped off into the jungle.

Davis scratched his head. "Geez... What's her problem?" he asked.

Kari couldn't understand it, either. Mimi and Palmon were inseparable during their first adventure; they even had the hardest time parting ways. What was wrong?

Hawkmon tugged at Yolei's shirt. "Pardon me, Yolei," he said, "but I don't believe that Mimi went in the right direction."

"Yeah? So?" Yolei harrumphed; she could care less if that spoiled girl got into trouble. "Let the earth swallow her up for all I care!"

Just then, they all jumped at Mimi's bloodcurdling shriek. "Aww, shit!" Davis swore.

Kari and Yolei exchanged worried looks, and the kids took off in the direction Mimi had gone, their Digimon in tow. They had only gone a few yards when a gaping, black mass loomed up before them... or rather, they tumbled into it. With their own surprised cries, they vanished into the darkness.

"Kari!" Davis cried as Veemon and he ran into the clearing, but he noticed the hazard and skidded to a stop. A tremendous hole lay in the jungle floor, descending into endless black. Mimi, Kari, Yolei and the Digimon must have fallen in. He called their names into the hole, but no answer came. He swore and leaned against a tree, gazing into the black pit.

"So, Davith, uh..." Veemon said, scratching his head, "what're we gonna do?"

He had no idea what was down there, but if Kari had gone, he had to go, too. He stared at the inky shaft a moment longer, then sighed. "...Oh, what the hell," he reasoned, then grabbed Veemon and leaped in himself.

No sooner had he leaped into the hole, however, than he found himself bounding out of another. He landed in the jungle grass with a grunt, completely stupefied as to what had just happened. "What..." he started, getting up and looking around. He was in exactly the same place as he had been before, but something was very different. The burning, stinking heat of daylight changed to a heaven full of glittering stars and lush, cool trees; his hole-jumping had turned day into night.

Mimi, Kari, Yolei, Hawkmon and Gatomon all lay in a groaning, jumbled pile nearby. "Agh! You guys all right?" he asked as he ran over to them. "Kari, speak to me!"

Kari's hand shot out from under Yolei's stomach, and her foot wriggled near Hawkmon's head. "Davis! Help us out!" she yelled.

With some pulling and pushing, Davis helped the human ball untangle itself. "Ooogh..." Yolei gasped as she flopped into the grass. "That was horrible..."

"YOU think that was awful?" Gatomon sniffed. "I had my face in your armpit for thirty whole seconds!"

"My skirt..." Mimi whispered, leering at the spot where Kari's sweaty forehead had grazed it.

Kari got to her feet first. "...Where are we?" she asked.

"Same place," Davis said, looking around. "We jumped in the hole and came right back out... but it's night now."

"That's why they call this the Twin Time Jungle, I suppose," Hawkmon suggested.

Yolei sat up and stared at the treetops; something in the night sky had caught her eye. She wiped her glasses on her shirt, then stood up and peered harder. Against the stars, a tall, spiked object loomed. "Guys!" she exclaimed, pointing at it. "The spire! It's here!"

Davis, Kari and the Digimon looked where she pointed and frowned. "So he stuck it in the night part," Davis growled. "That is one sneaky-ass Emperor."

Kari gulped. "So if the Spire is here..." she said, "maybe the reason we didn't see any Digimon before was..."

Mimi got up and furiously brushed the grass off of her skirt. Two green washes in one day was more than enough for her; she was through with all of this. "That does it!" she announced. "One of you, take me home, right now!"

Everyone glared at her, and they were all about to tell her to shut up when they stopped dead, their eyes widening with fear. "...That's more like it," Mimi said, smirking, "and you're all paying for my clothes' cleaning, too!"

"...Mimi..." Kari whispered, pointing. Mimi turned around and shrieked.

All throughout the trees were rows of blood-red eyes. They shuffled into the moonlight and revealed themselves to be dozens of small, blue tadpoles and walking, bug-eyed frogs with hollow tongues and musical horns around their necks. They eyed the kids with malicious, hungry looks, growling and cackling amongst themselves. Mimi recognized them immediately and shrank back.

"What... What are they?" Yolei cried, hiding behind Davis and Kari.

"Geckomon and Otamamon," Gatomon explained, her claws appearing. "The Emperor must've imported them to protect this spire."

Davis glowered at the rings on the monsters' legs. "Well, then..." he said, pulling out his Digivice. "Veemon! Time to cook some frog's legs!"

"Are you retarded?" Yolei yelled. "There're too many of them!"

Kari glanced at Mimi, who was staring at the Geckomon and Otamamon with shock. She knew that Mimi had known these creatures before; Tai had told her that Mimi was a princess at their palace for a time. She only hoped that Mimi realized that, under the control of those rings, those Digimon were no longer her friends. She didn't worry for long; Mimi didn't look happy to see them.

One of the Geckmon peered at her, cocking its head to one side and fixing its red eyes on her face. "Prin... Princhessh Mimi?" it asked in a slurred, drunk-sounding voice.

Another one looked at her the same way. "Yesh! That ISH Princhessh Mimi!" it answered.

The mob quieted. Mimi bit her lip, paralyzed. The other kids tensed, wondering just what would happen. If the Digimon recognized her, maybe they would not attack, and they would be safe.

"...GET HER!" the Geckomon shrieked, pointing at them. On the word, the whole battalion spilled out of the woods, cutting off all means of escape. The monsters closed in, shrieking: "kill the tyrant! Kill the tyrant!"

"Tyrant?" Yolei asked, glaring at Mimi. "Boy, you sure have a way with people..."

Mimi started bawling and sank to her knees.

"...Yeah, that's really helpful," Davis growled as the monsters closed in. Suddenly he wished that Cody and TK were there; would their three Digimon be able to handle all of these?

* * *

Hesitant to lose warmth by extending his limbs, the shivering Cody slowly pulled his arms from his chest and held them before the crackling fire. "That's right," he heard Joe say from his side, "dry yourself off. You'll catch cold staying soggy."

He glanced across the fire and saw Armadillomon sitting there. The Digimon's crabby expression had melted into one of worry, but that did little to make him feel better; if Armadillomon had stayed crabby, that would have meant that things were fine.

"Well, he's out of danger..." Joe told Izzy and TK, who hovered in the cave entrance. "He should stay here and keep warm, though."

"Right," Izzy said, nodding. "We'll leave him to you while we dismantle the spire, Joe."

Joe nodded. "Good luck," he said.

They turned to leave. Cody could not believe his ears; they were abandoning him? "W-wait!" he huffed, staggering to his feet, his teeth chattering. "I'm c-coming, too!"

"Cody, forget it," TK said, shaking his head. "You're sick. You have to rest."

Matt's discouraging words echoed through his brain, but he shook his head; he was not about to be proven useless. "I cut kendo practice early to get here," he argued. "I can't just sit here!"

Just then, his knees caved in and he fell down, only to land on something hard and smooth. "Simmer down, buckaroo," Armadillomon grunted as he scooted out from under Cody. "You gotta take care of yer own body!"

Izzy smiled at him sympathetically. "We'll return when we've felled the spire," he said. "Until then, keep cool..." he paused and looked at the icy cave, "...so to speak."

With that, TK and Izzy were gone. Joe and Cody heard the sled taking off across the ice again.

Cody sighed heavily as he scooted closer to the fire; another chance to prove himself to the older kids, and he had mucked it up. How was he ever going to show them that he could be a useful, strong Digidestined?

"...Hey, Cody," Armadillomon's voice came to him. He looked over to see Armadillomon looking at him. "...I didn't realize ya cut class to get here..." he said, scratching his head in an embarrassed way. "I thought ya liked yer kendo practice more than me... Sorry."

Cody smiled weakly, then stared at the fire. "I go to practice every week; I don't want to let my sensei down by not going..." he explained, "but I ended up letting you down by going... and now I've screwed up here... I just can't seem to be useful to anyone..."

Joe looked over and smiled. "Is that what this is about?" he asked. "You're trying to show you're reliable?"

Cody hesitated, then frowned. "I'm not doing a very good job..." he said.

"You're doing the best you can, right?" Joe asked. "That's fine."

"But Yamato said-" Cody started.

Joe chuckled. "Matt has some pretty stellar expectations," he admitted. "I don't know what he would say, but if you ask me, doing your best is just fine."

Cody quieted, lost in thought. His grandfather had told him the exact same thing when he left practice; if two people were telling him the same thing, perhaps there was some truth in it.

Joe noticed his contemplative look and chuckled. "If you need more convincing... well... look at me," he offered. Cody looked up. "I'm the most awkward, most cowardly person in our group... and I always have been... I was always afraid I was going to mess everyone else up, too... but when it got right down to it, I worked my hardest. Nobody thought badly of me for it... and I ended up with seven new friends. That was the most I had ever had."

Cody listened intently, nodding. "So... they never criticized you?" he asked.

Joe laughed, embarrassed. "Oh, I caught plenty of flak," he admitted. "I just kept trying, though, and things turned out fine. They knew they could always count on me. That's probably why I earned the Crest of Reliability."

Cody raised an eyebrow. "Crest?... Reliability?" he asked.

"...Oh, right! I forgot; you guys don't know what Crests are..." Joe exclaimed. "Sorry. We all found Crests that helped our Digimon Digivolve to higher levels... and those Crests drew their power from our strongest traits. Mine was always being dependable, so I got the Crest of Reliability. It's like how you got the DigiEgg of Knowledge."

Cody glanced at his Digivice, and then at Armadillomon. It sounded simple enough, but he was still concerned about being a liability. He vowed that, the next chance he got, he would prove his worth.

Just then, a loud explosion rocked the cave, and the fire went out. "Whaaaagh!" Joe freaked out, grabbing his bag. "Cave-in!"

Though he was still cold and shivering, Cody leaped to his feet. "Outside, quickly!" he urged.

The boys and Armadillomon fled the shaking cave. No sooner had they emerged, though, when they saw what had been making the quakes. Standing before them was the Digimon Emperor, a triumphant sneer on his lips. The titanic General Ikkakkumon stood behind him, growling ferociously. Next to him was the diminutive, green Wormmon.

"Good afternoon," the Emperor said, giving them a mock-salute. "I thought I'd drop by for your cave-warming party."

"So, YOU'RE the Digimon Emperor..." Joe said, balling his fists. "Funny... I thought you'd be taller."

The Emperor frowned. "I'd watch that tongue, old man," he snapped, "or someone might pull it out!"

"Don't you speak to him that way!" Cody yelled. "He's... he's..." The rest of his defense shot out in a snotty sneeze.

"Well, well, well..." the Emperor snickered. "Looks like the little one caught a cold... You know what happens to the sick young ones in the pack; they get picked off. General Ikkakkumon?"

With a guttural laugh, the woolly, white monster lumbered towards them. Joe was paralyzed with fear. "I... Ikkakkumon?..." he asked.

Cody glared at the beast, biting his lip. Without TK or the others, only he could fight; would he be able to pull it off?

* * *

"Damn that Emperor..." Davis growled as he looked around. About two hundred Geckomon and Otamamon now surrounded the four kids and three Digimon. The odds were slim, but they did not have much choice; they would have to fight their way out. "Kari! Yolei!" he called, lifting his Digivice.

Convinced, the girls lifted their devices. Veemon, Hawkmon and Gatomon became Flamedramon, Halsemon and Nefertimon, respectively, and set to work clearing a path. Frogs and tadpoles flew over the treetops as fireballs, tornadoes and stone tablets rained down upon them, and others scattered in fear.

"Now's our chance!" Kari cried, pointing to the opening in the throng and running. The Digimon fired off a few more shots, then retreated as well.

Davis took off after her quickly. Yolei looked at the still-sobbing Mimi and grabbed her arm. "Come on," she growled, pulling her up and charging after her friends. This time, Mimi didn't resist; her limb was like a wet noodle.

"What... what..." Mimi sniffled as she looked back at the pursuing Digimon, "what... happened to them?..."

"The Digimon Emperor happened to 'em," Yolei snapped. "What, don't you keep up with current events?"

Mimi just sniffled and looked at the ground.

They raced through the jungle, the Geckomon and Otamamon in hot pursuit. Davis bit his lip; for a bunch of deformed amphibians, they ran fast.

"Great plan, Davis!" Yolei yelled. "Now what?"

"Lay off, will ya? We called a goddamn truce!" Davis reminded her. "Just lemme think!"

"The spire!" Kari ordered. "Let's take out the spire!"

Davis grinned at her, blushing. Of course! Without the spire, the Emperor's rings would have no effect, just like before. What a genius Kari was!

"It's that way," Flamedramon said, pointing off to the right. "Let's go!"

Ignoring the beaten path, everyone leaped into the underbrush. The enemy Digimon may have been numerous, but they weren't smart; they stampeded past without another thought.

Cutting through the dark foliage, the Digidestined made their way directly to the foot of the spire. "Whew... We made it..." Yolei panted.

"Ugh! Yuck! Uggghhh!" Mimi complained as she swatted numerous leaves from her clothes, then leered at Halsemon and Nefertimon. "Why didn't you just fly us over the trees? Don't you ever think?"

Yolei fumed. "Nice to see you're back in a good mood..." she grumbled.

"...Let's just get this over with," Davis grumbled. The sooner that spire was gone, the sooner they could go home, and the sooner he would be free of the pain in his tush. "Flamedramon!"

Flamedramon was about to strike the spire when a rain of sharp, black needles fell in front of him. "Who dares attack the master's spire?" a low voice bellowed from behind them.

The crew whirled around. Standing on the path was a tall, two-legged prickly cactus with giant, red boxing gloves on its hands. Its hollow eyes and mouth glowed an eerie red. It thumped its gloves and started towards them.

"Shit..." Davis growled. "That's what I get for thinkin' this would be easy..."

Mimi, however, looked delighted. "Togemon!" she cried, her frown becoming a huge smile. "Is that you? Oh, it's been so long!"

Yolei gawked at her. First she was impossible, and now she was jumping for joy over finding this giant cactus? How many times was her mood going to flip today?

Kari noticed the dark ring around the monster's left glove. "Mimi, I don't-" she started to warn.

Not listening, Mimi started forward. "You've got to help us!" she pleaded. "All these Digimon are trying to-"

Togemon's arm pulled back. Davis and Yolei grabbed Mimi and pulled her to the ground as a powerful punch sailed over them. Mimi could hardly believe what had happened. "...Togemon?" she asked, her eyes widening and watering.

"I am General Togemon, one of the Digimon Emperor's six Generals!" the giant cactus roared as the slew of Geckomon and Otamamon came up behind her. "My army has just taken this area; I won't let you topple such a new spire!" With that, she threw her fist again.

Mimi screamed and covered her face, but the blow never landed; Flamedramon leaped in and caught the gloved knuckle. "Davis! Get out of the way!" he ordered.

Davis and Yolei pulled the sobbing Mimi out of the way while Halsemon and Nefertimon flew into attack position. "Go for it, Halsemon!" Yolei shouted to her partner.

"You're all going to be pincushions when I'm through with you!" Togemon cackled. "Bring it on!"

"T... Togemon... Toge..." Mimi hiccuped, covering her face.

Yolei looked down at her, then up at the bloodthirsty cactus. Even if Mimi was a spoiled brat, she was genuinely heartbroken about Togemon's enslavement. She had promised Sora that she would free Birdramon and had failed so far; should she make the same promise to Mimi?

* * *

The snow erupted with ring-controlled Frigimon as the sled came up to the spire. "Here we go again!" TK growled.

"TK, you'll have to do most of the work," Izzy reminded him. "Topple the spire first, and then Tentomon can Digivolve to help more."

TK fished a knife from his pocket and cut the Digimon loose from the sled. "Ready, Patamon?" he asked, raising his Digivice.

Patamon became Pegasusmon and flew towards the black tower as the sled skidded to a halt before the Frigimon. Like snow-coated robots, they pulled back their fists simultaneously.

Tentomon flew between the kids and the enemies. He might have been at a lower strength than these things, but he would fight his hardest while Pegasusmon worked on the spire. "All right, snow cones," he buzzed, "let's see what you've got!"

As the Frigimon hurled their Subzero Ice Punches, Izzy was struck with an oddity; why were there only Frigimon protecting the spire, and not General Ikkakumon? Where was he?

* * *

"Ikkakumon!" Joe called to the menacing walrus. "Fight it! You're not the Emperor's slave!"

His answer came in the form of the General's woolly claw. He crashed into the snow, gasping and clutching at his chest.

"The General disagrees," the Emperor cackled.

Cody fumed and whipped out his Digivice; he had no choice but to fight now. "Armadillomon!" he coughed.

"All over it, Cody," Armadillomon said, then became Digmon and rushed at Ikkakumon.

"Again with the phony Digivolving?" the Emperor asked, looking bored.

Ikkakumon did not look too excited, either. Digmon thrust his drills at the beast's ring, but the furry claw came down on him just as it had on Joe. Stunned, Digmon couldn't dodge as Ikkakumon's horn jabbed him repeatedly.

Cody was furious. If Digmon couldn't get that ring off, they would lose to the Emperor; he had to do something himself, but what could he do? If he had a long tool like his kendo sword, maybe he could distract Ikkakumon long enough... but all he had was the start of a cold.

Cold? His eyes fell on the snow around him and his brain sparked. Of course! Now was the perfect time for the most juvenile weapon of all. "Joe!" he huffed.

"That's right..." the Emperor laughed as Ikkakumon stabbed Digmon again. "Show them who's boss here!"

Suddenly, a snowball exploded right between his eyes and he toppled over. He shot back up fuming; Joe and Cody were making and pitching the white projectiles at Ikkakumon. The big beast growled with irritation, then fumbled when Digmon tackled him. "How DARE you!" he shrieked. "General, forget that Digimon and attack those kids!"

Wormmon looked up at him. "Master-" he started.

Ikkakumon was already performing the order. Growling at Cody, he raised his horn and it shot into the air. The horn itself dissolved, revealing a long, green missile. Cody watched it terror as it honed in on him and flew downwards.

"Cody!" Joe cried. "Run!"

Cody started to move, but slipped and fell. Cringing at the thought of what would come next, he covered his head with his hands. He wondered just what would happen to him if he died in this world; would he respawn, like a game, or...?

He did not have to think about it long. Digmon threw himself over him and the missile exploded on his back, making him cry out in agony. "...Don't even think about it!" he hissed at the Emperor. "I'm gonna protect my partner, no matter what!"

Cody looked up at the big bug; he did not know what to say. "Digmon..." he started.

Wormmon sighed at the sight, casting a forlorn glance at the Emperor.

"Fine," the Emperor snapped, "then I'll do you both! General Ikkakumon, CRUSH them!"

Ikkakumon loomed above Digmon, laughing darkly. "Cody, you feel like sleddin'?" Digmon whispered to his partner.

Before Cody could ask what he meant, he felt Digmon's smaller arms grab him and push. He slid out from under Digmon and collided with Joe's legs as Digmon flipped onto his back and launched his drills. Totally surprised, Ikkakumon could only roar as the drills hit his dark ring and destroyed it.

"WHAT?" the Emperor shrieked, stamping his feet. "NO!"

With an exhausted groan, Ikkakumon wavered, then reverted to a small, white, seal-like Digimon. Joe's eyes watered with joy; his little buddy Gomamon was free again! "Gomamon!" he yelled, running up to the Digimon.

Gomamon coughed a few times, then looked up at him. "Joe?..." he asked, then brightened up. "Oh, boy, you're a sight fer sore-" before he could wisecrack, Joe caught him in a giant bear hug.

Cody smiled faintly from the sight, then turned a scowl on the Emperor. "Your General is gone," he said, "and your spire will fall shortly. Do you think you can still fight?"

The Emperor's face reddened with hatred, but he still wore a vicious leer. "I'll ask YOU a question instead, kid," he said. "How long can your digger tool hold his breath?"

At that moment, a huge, brown crawfish Digimon leaped out of the river, grabbed Digmon by the nose and dragged him in. "What the? DIGMON!" Cody cried.

"I brought along Ebidramon for just such a situation," the Emperor laughed, "and those Frigimon at the spire should be more than enough to off your friends! YES, I DO think I can still fight!"

Completely out of options, Cody, Joe and Gomamon could only watch as Digmon and Ebidramon thrashed about in the frozen river.

* * *

Shaking Flamedramon off of her knuckle, Togemon sprayed her opponents with needles, sending them into cries of pain. Laughing at the simplicity of it all, she punched Flamedramon into the ground, forcing the needles in even further.

"Togemon, remember yourself!" Nefertimon pleaded as she flew in front of Togemon, trying to reason with the mad plant. "You are the partner of a Digidestined! You're not-"

Togemon punched her dead in the face. She smashed into a tree and reverted to Gatomon, too weak to keep going.

"Oh, no! Gatomon!" Kari cried, running to her partner. "Are you OK?"

Gatomon coughed. "I'll never hug a tree again..." she groused.

"Dammit!" Davis swore; with one down, he had to work harder to win this. "Flamedramon! You've gotta get up!"

Togemon turned back to the downed dragon and raised her foot to crush him. Suddenly, Halsemon dove underneath, tripping her.

Davis looked over at Yolei, who gave him a cocky thumbs-up. "You can thank us later," she said.

Togemon growled angrily and started to get up. Davis looked around frantically; she had to have some sort of weak point he could hit... but what?

His eyes fell on Flamedramon, who was just barely keeping on his feet. Small flecks of fire spurted from his claws, and when they touched the grass it ignited. His eyes lit up; he had his weak point. "Flamedramon!" he yelled. "Use your fire on Togemon!"

"What? NO!" Mimi shrieked.

Flamedramon lobbed three fireballs into Togemon's face, and the cutthroat cactus burst into flame like a helium blimp. Shrieking wildly, she flailed around, flames jumping off of her and onto the surrounding trees. The dark forest turned as bright as day as flames towered over everything.

Even Davis and Flamedramon were shocked at the effect. "Damn..." Davis gasped. "Maybe that was too much..."

"We'll be burned alive!" Kari screamed as she narrowly escaped a burning branch.

"Togemon!" Mimi wailed.

Yolei bit her lip. This fire had to be put out before they were all deep fried... but how? Her eyes met Halsemon's, and she suddenly jumped in excitement. "Halsemon!" she yelled.

Halsemon nodded and flew high into the air, then spun around like a top, crafting a huge tornado. As soon as it touched the ground it tore through the jungle, instantly snuffing the fire. It picked up the burning Togemon and threw her against the control spire, smashing it. Togemon hit the ground and glowed for a moment, then shrank down to a small, green plant with a pink flower on its head.

"YES!" Davis laughed, jumping for joy.

Halsemon landed before Yolei and became Hawkmon again. "I hope that was to your liking?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," Yolei said with a grin. She was ecstatic; she had saved Togemon! Even Mimi had to be grateful for that.

She turned to ask Mimi, but she wasn't there; she was at the downed Digimon's side, shaking it. "Palmon! Palmon!" she urged. "Wake up... Palmon!"

The little plant opened its green eyes and looked up at her. "...Mimi?" it asked, the eyes starting to spill over. "Mimi, is it you?..."

Sobbing and clutching each other tightly, Mimi and Palmon blubbered about how good it was to see each other. The others just watched, glad for the change.

"...I guess she ain't so heartless after all," Davis suggested, scratching his head.

"Mimi and Palmon love each other a lot," Kari pointed out. "I knew she'd be happy to see her."

Yolei walked up to Mimi and patted her shoulder. "I guess we did good, huh?" she asked, beaming. She was sure she would get thanks out of the teenager now.

To her surprise, Mimi frowned at her. "Good?" she yelled. "THAT idiot set Palmon on fire... and then YOU threw her against a building! How dare you treat her so badly! You're horrible!"

Yolei's grin flipped instantly. "What?" she snarled. "After what we just went through for your partner?"

Palmon groaned and rubbed at her flower. "Oh... That's right..." she groaned. "The Digimon Emperor caught me... I guess I was under his control..." She looked up at Yolei. "Did you save me? Thank you so much!... but who are you?"

Yolei looked down at the friendly plant and her snarl subsided. "...I'm Yolei," she said, offering her hand. "Nice to meet you, Palmon."

Watching the two shake hands, Mimi looked away and groused. "...Well, I guess you DID fix whatever was wrong..." she mumbled.

Yolei gave her a wry smile. "...You're welcome," she said. That was as good a thanks as she was going to get, and she knew it.

* * *

Izzy and TK yelled as a Subzero Ice Punch destroyed their sled, knocking them into the snow. They had held off for as long as they could, but Tentomon's little Super Shocker attack could do little against the Champion-level Frigimon. They only hoped that they had bought Pegasusmon enough time.

Indeed, they had. At that moment, a rain of golden stars came from Pegasusmon's wings. They crashed into the spire at its midway point, severing it neatly in half. As it toppled, the gleam in the Frigimon's eyes faded, and they all cheered joyously.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed.

TK nodded, but then looked back. "Let's get back to Cody and Joe," he said. "I don't like how the General wasn't here."

"Right, then," Izzy agreed, pulling out his Digivice. "Tentomon, are you up for it?"

Tentomon flashed and became Kabuterimon. "Ready when you are, Izzy!" he announced.

* * *

Joe and Cody jumped with relief as they saw the distant spire crumble, but they quickly lost their excitement; Ebidramon was still active, and Digmon was still drowning. "What the...?" Joe asked.

Cody glanced at the Emperor, whose Digivice was gleaming. Even with the spire gone, Ebidramon's dark ring was close enough to still control the beast, he reasoned. The Emperor, seemingly reading his thoughts, flashed a wicked grin. "That's right; even without my spire, you're still history!" he barked.

Joe turned a defiant eye on him. "I wouldn't say that," he said. "It's two against one!"

The Emperor laughed. "What? How do you think you can help?" he asked.

Joe smiled and pulled out his own Digivice. "Gomamon!" he called.

"Hit it!" Gomamon laughed, leaping into the water. When he emerged, he was the powerful Ikkakumon once again, this time free of any influence. As the Emperor screamed in frustration, Ikkakumon rammed Ebidramon, freeing Digmon from its pincers. Digmon quickly climbed to dry land and launched his drills, shattering the ring. Confused and disoriented, Ebidramon dropped beneath the water and swam away.

Joe and Cody both glared at the Emperor, who was as red as a beet. "Now turn yourself in!" Cody demanded. "You've nowhere to run!" Digmon and Ikkakumon also turned on him, brandishing their weapons.

"And yet again, you're wrong," the Emperor said, snapping his fingers. "I've EVERYWHERE to run." In an instant, both Wormmon and he vanished in a dark poof of mist.

Cody ran to the spot, but there was nothing to be found but snow. "Not again!" he growled, stamping his foot. "We had him this time!"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Joe's grin. "Don't worry about it," he said. "You showed him that you're strong even without your friends."

"But... I couldn't help Digmon," Cody objected. "I just got in the way..."

"You tried," Joe said, "and you tried pretty well, if you ask me; you got him good with that snowball."

Cody blushed at the comment, but Joe went on. "I don't think you have anything to worry about," he said. "You're certainly someone I can depend on; I'm sure you'll be the same for your friends."

Just then, they heard someone call their names. They looked up to see Pegasusmon and Kabuterimon flying towards them, their partners on their backs. "Are you guys OK?" TK asked as they landed.

"We're just fine!" Digmon answered. "The Emperor's down another General!"

Izzy smiled at seeing Joe reunited with Ikkakumon. "Glad to hear it," he said.

"So, Joe, what's going on with you?" Ikkakumon asked. "We don't talk enough any more."

Joe laughed heartily. His day had started out kind of crummy, but now, it seemed as if things were just about back to normal.

* * *

"Thank you tho much for thaving uth!" a Geckomon cheered. With the spire felled, the swarm of Geckomon and Otamamon had returned to their usual, zany selves, and surrounded the Digidestined in the daytime portion of the jungle to sing their praises.

Davis grinned. "No problem, no problem," he said. "It was just a swell combo!"

Yolei gave him a wry look. "Yeah, you set the jungle on fire, and I put it out," she jeered. "Swell combo."

Davis glared at her. "...Just you wait until we get home..." he growled.

The Digimon turned their gazes on Mimi, who was nervously fidgeting next to Palmon. "Thanks to Princess Mimi and her friends, we can all go home!" an Otamamon said. "We all knew you would help us!"

Mimi stared at the Digimon for a moment, then slowly backed away and took off down the path. Yolei's mouth dropped. "What the...?"

"Mimi!" Palmon cried, racing after her.

The Geckomon and Otamamon were equally confused. "...What'th wrong with the printhethth?" one Geckomon asked. "Ith thhe thick?"

Kari thought fast. "Um... She's, uh, she's just overcome with joy that she could help you," she said. "Don't worry about it!"

"We have to get going," Gatomon piped up. "You guys know your way home, right?"

The kids ran the way Mimi had gone and found her back in front of the television warp point. She was kneeling on the ground, staring into the set. Palmon was shaking her back, trying to get her attention. "Mimi?... Mimi, what's wrong?" she asked. "Are you OK?..."

"Yo, Mimi, the plant's talkin' to you," Davis said. "You gonna answer?"

Yolei walked around and knelt down to Mimi's eye level. The cheerleader's eyes stared straight ahead, a hollow, haunted look in them; she looked like she had just watched a murder. "...Mimi?" she asked softly.

Mimi's eyes shifted to her and the look vanished, replaced with anger and resentment. "Take me home," she growled, grabbing Yolei's shirt. "NOW."

Palmon looked at her partner, confused and hurt. "Mimi?" she asked.

Gatomon shook her head. "Sorry, Palmon. She's... not herself," she said.

Palmon scratched her head; what was wrong with her partner? "Can I do anything?" she asked.

"Well..." Kari said, kneeling to the plant, "I don't know, but... are you up for protecting the Digital World from the Digimon Emperor?"

Palmon looked back at Mimi, then up at Kari. "Sure, I am," she said, "but what about..."

"Ahh, don'tcha worry, Palmon," Veemon laughed, slapping Palmon on the back. "She'll be a lot happier the next time she sees ya!... I hope."

Yolei wanted to say something, too, but it was difficult with Mimi's surprisingly iron grip on her collar. "OK, OK, I guess we're leavin' now..." she gasped.

Before Palmon could say anything else, the kids and their Digimon vanished into the warp. She was left alone, staring sadly at the blank screen.

* * *

"So... are you sure you'll be all right?" Joe asked Gomamon. The party had hiked back to the place where they had arrived. Just like before, a television set stood where they had emerged, depicting the classroom. Tentomon and Gomamon were seeing them off before they returned to reality.

"You worry too much, Joe," Gomamon laughed. "I'll be fine! Tentomon and I are gonna help the Gizamon and Frigimon disassemble the prisons, and then I'm goin' globetrotting with him."

"What?" Tentomon objected; this was the first he had heard of it. "What if we come to water? You can't fly!"

Gomamon looked at Tentomon for a moment, then raised his claw. "Dude. Swim," he answered.

Tentomon was not convinced. "What about a jungle?" he asked.

This caught Gomamon off guard. "Um... make like... Tarzan?" he ventured.

Joe laughed at his silly partner's antics, then turned to his human friends. "Well, this was quite a day," he commented. "I hope I can hang with you guys again."

Suddenly, Cody realized something important. "Oh... I almost forgot," he said, facing Joe and bowing. "My name is Iori Hida, but you can call me Cody," he said.

Joe looked humored. Izzy scratched his head. "Uh, Cody..." TK said, "Joe already knows who you are."

"Yes, but I never finished my introduction when we first met," Cody pointed out. "It would be rude not to finish."

Joe laughed. "Well, it's good to meet you, Cody," he said. "Thanks for being so reliable today."

TK smiled. "That's Cody for you," he said. "Always wants to do the right thing at the right time."

"Yes," Izzy said. "He's a bit like Joe in that way, don't you think?"

"And he's clever, like Izzy," Joe pointed out. "That's quite a combination."

Cody scratched his head, suddenly embarrassed at all the compliments. "Let's... just get back to the lab," he mumbled, holding up his Digivice.

In a flash of light, the four kids and two Digimon vanished into the television. After a moment, Tentomon glanced at Gomamon. "I'm NOT carrying you," he stated.

"I'm not that fat!" Gomamon protested. "I'll have you know this is my ideal weight!"

Trading barbs with each other, they turned and started back towards the prisons.

* * *

Cody and the others found Tai and Sora waiting for them when they returned to the lab. "Hey, guys!" Tai said.

"Afternoon, Tai," Izzy said. "Oh, hello, Sora. When did you get here?"

"Just now," Sora answered. "I heard some cheerleaders talking, and I just had to come." She paused and grinned mischievously. "You guys really got Mimi in here?"

Joe blushed and looked away. Izzy was about to say something when the computer lit up again. A moment later, Davis, Kari, Yolei, Mimi and their three Digimon were piled on top of everyone else. "Aww... Son of a bitch..." Davis swore.

"Ugh! If it's not grass, it's a people pile!" Mimi snapped, forcing her way out of the mess. and looking around worriedly. "...Palmon? Where are you?"

"Sorry... Forgot to mention..." Yolei panted as she crawled out. "Only OUR Digimon can come to the real world..."

"What?" Mimi yelled, and ran to the computer to check. The gate, however, was already closed.

"Yeah, we have to leave them there," Tai said. "We don't have the tools to bring 'em here."

Mimi kept looking at the screen. "...Will she be all right?" she asked softly.

Yolei scratched her head. A moment ago, Mimi couldn't have cared less about Palmon; she went through more mood swings than her older sisters.

"I'm sure she will be," Izzy said. "The Emperor never appears at night... and I'll ask Tentomon to rondevous with her when I can."

"It's Tentomon AND Gomamon now," Cody pointed out. "We managed to save him."

"Awesome!" Davis laughed, swatting Cody in the elbow. "So that's a double whammy today!"

Tai nodded with enthusiasm; now the Emperor was down to only three of their Digimon. "That's great!" he said.

"Well, since we're all done for the day..." TK said, stifling a yawn, "can we go? I'm worn out..."

"Urrgh... Me, too..." Kari groaned, stretching her arms. "That Armor Digivolving takes a lot out of you, doesn't it?..."

Patamon sighed wearily. "...You think that's tough? WE'RE the ones doin' it!" he said.

Izzy shut down the computers and the group left the lab. As they left the school, Yolei leered at Davis. "Well, we're free," Yolei said.

"Yeah," he jeered. "You gonna take that bath now?"

"Actually, no," she said, getting closer and lifting her arms. "I think I'm gonna give you a personal tour of my armpits!"

"JUST a minute!" Mimi's voice cut them off. Looking as pissy as she had been before the ordeal had started, she marched up to them. "Don't think I'm finished with you! Who's going to pay for cleaning my clothes?"

Her mood had shifted once again. The two exchanged wicked, knowing looks. "Actually, neither of us..." Yolei cackled.

Before Mimi knew what was happening, both of them had grabbed her arms. "Yeah; we're doin' it for free!" Davis laughed.

With Mimi screaming all the way, the three of them tumbled down the hill and splashed in the pond. Everyone on top, humans and Digimon alike, burst into laughter.

Joe ran down to the pond, where Davis and Yolei were wringing themselves out, laughing. Mimi was on her knees in the water, her clothes sopping wet and her hair drooping like a willow tree. He smiled sympathetically and offered his hand. "You, uh... you need some help?" he asked.

If looks could kill, he would have been dead and buried. With a snarl, she slapped his hand away and stomped out of the pond. "You... stay away from me! ALL of you!" she screeched in an inhuman tone.

The laughter died. Joe's mouth dropped. "But Mimi-" he started.

His only answer a furious snarl, she turned and marched off down the sidewalk, her shoes squelching as she went.

Joe watched her go, then sighed sadly. Davis came up behind him, wringing out his goggle strap. "...Man, what a bitch," he stated.

The blue-haired boy turned on him. "No, she's not!" he snapped crossly.

Davis was surprised by the mild-mannered kid's outburst, but he held his ground. "Dude, she shot you down 'cuz you don't make her look good," he said, summarizing the afternoon's confrontation. "Bitch."

"Really," Yolei agreed, wiping off her glasses. "How could she ever be a Digidestined?"

After this display, Cody was equally curious about her. "Does she have... problems?" he asked Izzy.

Izzy frowned and gravely stared after her. "She wasn't always like this," he said. "When we were in the Digital World five years ago, she was a kind and empathetic person."

"She was one of my best friends back then," Sora explained, "but after we came home, I didn't see her for a long time... Five years later, she hardly talks to us any more; would rather hang out with her cheerleader friends. I don't know why..."

Joe just sighed again.

Yolei scratched her head. She might have seen this kind, sweet Mimi that they mentioned when they had met Palmon today. Still, it was hard to believe that she had been like that all the time. Something else occurred to her, too; all of her resistance to going and being in the Digital World could not have been just out of fear of breaking her nails. She had seemed afraid of something; very afraid. "...Will she ever change, you think?" she asked.

Sora shook her head slowly. "I don't know..." she answered.

Yolei glanced at Sora again, then returned her eyes to the sunset. Off in the distance, she could still see Mimi stamping away, wringing out her hair.

* * *

"Are you telling me that I've lost not ONE," the Digimon Emperor snarled at Wormmon, "but TWO of my Generals today?"

"Y-yes, master," Wormmon stammered. "General Togemon didn't report back from the jungle... and the spire was knocked down."

"DAMMIT!" the Emperor shrieked, pulling off his sunglasses and hurling them at the monitor. Wormmon scampered into a corner, hoping his master would not take out his anger on him.

The Emperor rose from his throne and paced around the chamber, fuming. "How did they know? Those were new areas! The Generals had just finished conquering them when..."

His mouth stopped moving, his mind in full control. Those five children with the Armor Digivolving Digimon were his chief problem, but when those high schoolers showed up, he lost Generals... and the blue-haired one he had met today had a Digivice as well, and had made Gomamon become Ikkakumon. He had chosen those six Digimon as his Generals because his equipment had sensed something special about them, and they were by far the strongest Digimon he had come across... but was there another reason besides their power? Did these Generals mean something to the older ones?

As he considered this, a new plan emerged in his mind. "Wormmon, I'm going home," he declared, starting for the door. "Have Birdramon meet me first thing in the morning."

As the door closed, the Emperor's lips curled into a victorious sneer. If they were after his Generals, then he would give them to them... in a horribly fun way.


	6. Metal City

**CHAPTER 6**

**METAL CITY**

The next day's adventure started off too good to be true. With incredible speed, Flamedramon, Digmon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon scattered across the known Digital World map, toppling control spires wherever they went. Within two hours, twelve spires lay in ruin and the Digimon Emperor was nowhere in sight.

Davis delivered a victorious war whoop as the party returned to the computer lab, where Tai, Matt and Yolei waited for them. "Oh, man! We kick ASS!" he declared.

"Looks like it," Tai remarked, looking at the amount of squares that had changed from black to white on the map. "Nice work."

Matt frowned and folded his arms; he still believed that his friends and he could do a far better job. "Don't get cocky," he muttered.

Yolei sighed and glanced at the screen. She wished that she could have come along for the ride, but Izzy had borrowed her Digivice for further analysis. He had also taken the odd, rectangular box that she had also received when she had met Hawkmon. For the moment, all that Poromon and she could do was look at the map. "Lucky bums..." she muttered. "And here I showered and everything."

"Oh, yeah?" Davis asked, leering at her and sniffing, "you might wanna get a refund on the water bill!"

"Why, you..." she snarled, shooting out of her chair.

She was about to give him a black eye when Cody stepped between them. "Stop," he said. "We've had a pleasant day so far; let's not ruin it."

She sighed and turned away. Cody could speak for himself; she was miserable just sitting there while the others got to raise cain in the Digital World.

"I suppose we should go home, then," Tai pointed out. "It's a bit early, but I think you guys earned a break."

Kari sighed. "No argument there," she agreed, yawning. "I could use a nap..."

Davis scratched his head. Kari always seemed worn out after they had been in the Digital World; what was up? "Whaddya mean?" he asked.

Kari gave him a confused look. "It seems like whenever Gatomon Armor Digivolves, I get worn out..." she said. "Doesn't that happen to you with Veemon?"

He looked at Demiveemon and thought for a moment, but he couldn't say that was the case; he was just as charged as before. "...Nope," he answered. "That's kinda weird..."

Cody scratched his head. "I've never felt different," he pointed out.

"Me neither," Yolei added.

TK sighed. "I get tired, too," he said. "I wonder why?"

Kari looked like she was going to say something else, but then shook her head. "Well, maybe it's just me..." she said. "Never mind."

Just then, the computer sounded an alarm, surprising everyone. "Agh! Fire!" Davis yelled.

"No, no, that's the locator," Yolei said, quickly turning to the console. "Izzy uploaded his program onto this computer, too... One of the partner Digimon is out!"

Everyone crowded around the computer, then caught Yolei's odor and withdrew. "Uh... Who is it?" Cody asked from afar.

Yolei looked and her eyes widened. "...Birdramon..." she mumbled.

"Birdramon?" Tai asked, leaning in again. "Then you guys have to go back!"

Cody frowned. "It took all afternoon to save Gomamon and Palmon yesterday," he said. "We don't have the time for it."

"Time?" Davis scoffed. "Come on! All we have to do is frag the spire and she'll be free! Piece of cake!"

Demiveemon scratched his head. "What's cake?" he asked.

Yolei sighed sadly; she had promised Sora that she would save Birdramon, and wanted to be the one to do it... but without her Digivice, she could not help. "This sucks..." she muttered.

Poromon flitted about. "But Yolei," he chirped, "Sora will be happy if Birdramon is free!"

"That's a good point," TK mentioned. "No matter who does it, things'll be fine."

Yolei muttered crossly and typed at the keyboard. "...Fine. The signal's coming from this spot," she said, pointing to a patch. "That's a place called Metal City, on File Island."

Tai threw his backpack over his shoulders. "I gotta go, but I'll tell Sora about this," he said. "I'll be back as soon as my homework's done!" With that, he was gone.

Matt picked his saxophone up. "I have band practice," he stated, then walked out the door.

Davis stuck his tongue out as Matt left, then turned to the computer screen. "Right!" he said, holding up his Digivice. "Then let's get crackin'!"

Cody, TK and Kari raised their Digivices and they were sucked into the monitor, their Digimon in tow. Yolei slumped in her chair. Why did Izzy have to take her Digivice on a day like this?

* * *

As soon as they arrived in Metal City, the Digidestined realized that this mission was anything but a piece of cake. The moment they set foot into the domed, futuristic city, they were assailed in the street by a battalion of brown, blocky robots.

"What are those?" TK asked. "We didn't step into a video game, did we?"

"Those're Gardromon!" Armadillomon growled. "Every last one of 'em is a Champion-level!"

With continuous, soulless croaks of "INTRUDER," the first row of Gardromon raised their arms, revealing missile launchers that blanketed the kids with fire, smoke and the reek of burning steel.

"Arrgh!" Davis snarled, flipping his goggles down. "Flamedramon!"

Armor Digivolved and ready, Flamedramon, Digmon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon took on the swarm, but with each robot disabled, their troubles grew; whenever they struck one, the Gardromon simply shut down, and two more appeared to take its place.

Cody bit his lip. "This is impossible..." he growled.

Davis swore; the Gardromon they had struck should have been free of the Emperor's influence and fighting alongside them; why had they just shut down? "Flamedramon!" he yelled, "why aren't you hitting the dark rings?"

Kari stared at the approaching Gardromon, then her eyes widened in terror. "Davis..." she started.

Davis looked one over and recoiled as well. These Digimon had no rings; they were attacking of their own will. How were they supposed to deal with that?

"Let's just find Birdramon and the spire, and then we'll get out of here," TK said, lifting his Digivice. A small, red dot on the left side of its screen beckoned to him. "She's that way!" he said, pointing.

"Flamedramon! Forget these guys!" Davis ordered. "Gotta find Birdramon!"

The Digidestined ran down a side street with TK up front, following his Digivice's lead. "She's close..." he reported.

Cody's eyebrow arched in suspicion. "If this is Birdramon we're talking about, why hasn't she attacked us from the air yet?" he asked.

TK hesitated; that was a good question. Before he could answer, though, they rounded one last corner and his Digivice trilled; the signal was coming from this place.

They stood in a grubby, dead-end alley where nothing could be seen but the steel walls of the buildings, and on the ground lay a small, black box. He walked to it and held his Digivice over it; the signal was coming from the box.

Everyone closed in to look at the odd sight. "...Uh..." Davis muttered.

"If she's in there, it's mighty uncomfortable, I'd reckon," Digmon remarked.

Kari did not like the look of the box. It had holes all over it, like a speaker. "This has to be a-" she started.

Before she could say "trap," the box went off with a horrible wailing screech, as if they had just robbed a bank. Everyone covered their ears in agony, but there was more to the box than just making them go deaf; legions of Gardromon appeared on the rooftops and started firing.

As fast as they could, the Digidestined tore out of the tight alley. "Damn Emperor tricked us!" Davis snarled. "Wait'll I get my hands on-"

Explosions sent them flying as they stepped out of the alley. Gaggles of Gardromon stood at the entrance, waiting for them like disgruntled fans. Another hail of missile fire and all of the Armor Digimon smashed into the ground, reverting to their lower levels. "Guhh... Too many..." Patamon wheezed.

Kari turned to the others, panic in her eyes. "Let's get out of here!" she yelled.

"No argument here," Cody said, starting to run.

Davis looked at the approaching throng of robots with frustration. He hated to run, but this was a whole new situation; if the others were running, he wasn't going to stick around. "Damn!" he swore. "Veemon, retreat!"

Running as quickly and as erratically as they could to screw up the Gardromon's fire, the kids and their Digimon rushed across the street to the alley where the warp was. Cody raised his Digivice as he saw the little television, and it sucked Armadillomon and him in to safety. Davis rounded the corner next and vanished with Veemon.

TK and Kari, already strangely exhausted from the rest of the day's ventures, were far slower than the others. Gasping and wheezing, TK reached the warp just as a Gardromon appeared on the top of the building above.

"TK!..." Kari panted as the Gardromon raised its weapons. TK lifted his Digivice, and Patamon and he vanished just as two missiles destroyed the television.

Kari watched the shrapnel scatter across the alley, a plume of smoke all that remained. Her spine became an icicle; what was she going to do now?

* * *

With a loud cry, Yolei was buried in friends. "Dammit!" she yelled, squirming under them, "can't you guys give me some warning next time?"

"Sorry..." TK apologized as everyone unscrambled themselves. "We had to get out of there, and fast."

Davis looked around the room, and then his blood stopped. "Where's Kari?" he demanded.

Yolei, TK and Cody exchanged glances, then stared back at him, wide-eyed. "...She couldn't be...?" Cody started.

Knowing the answer but afraid to say it, everyone stared up at the computer screen. The gate to the Digital World was closed.

* * *

To say that Kari was not afraid would be untrue, but she had the positive mental energy to hightail it away from there as fast as she could, and hid in a dark, tight alley nearby. Until help arrived, she would just have to sit tight.

She held her breath as Gardromon marched past her nook, but none of them seemed to be looking for her. "...With the warp gone, I guess they think the job's done," she whispered to Gatomon.

"I don't get these guys," Gatomon replied, frowning. "They're not wearing rings; why did they attack us?"

Kari had other things to think about. She knew that the others would be worried sick about now; she could see Davis pulling his hair out, or Yolei pulling it for him. She wished there was some way that she could contact them, at least to show them she was OK.

As she propped herself up against the wall, something fell out of her pocket with a clunk. She looked down and saw the odd, gray box that she'd received with her new Digivice. "...What IS this thing, anyway?" she asked herself, picking it up.

"Looks pretty flashy for a paperweight," Gatomon remarked. "Maybe it's time you played around with it."

It had a few buttons on one side, and with all the time in the world, she didn't see why not. She pushed one and part of the box flipped open, revealing a monitor with a layout like a computer's. Amazed, her eyes fell on an icon labeled "e-mail." Her mind raced; maybe she could use that to contact the others?

She figured out which button did what and opened the e-mail program. To her delight, she saw that it already had a sort of address book installed; in the message's "to" section were the familiar symbols of Digidestined crests. She figured that the four symbols there each represented the other kids with the weird boxes. She swallowed hard; she may have figured out a really handy way to communicate.

She slowly punched out a message (without a keyboard, it was hard to do) and sent it to all four symbols. "I hope that actually does something," she mumbled, putting the box away.

Gatomon poked her head out of the alley. Some Gardromon were patrolling nearby, but they were not headed in their direction. "Kari," she said, "if you're up for it, I can Armor Digivolve..."

Kari shook her head; she was still worn out from earlier. "Let's... save that for an emergency," she decided. "We just have to lay low until the others get here."

Gatomon sighed, then sat down next to her partner. "If you say so," she answered, "but they'd better not take too long... I'm getting hungry!"

Kari laughed at her enthusiasm, then looked away with worry. Would her friends come in time?

* * *

The windows again opened, Izzy pored over his computer screen, eager to break into Yolei's mysterious Digivice. He had synthesized some new techniques since his last bout with it, but though he was getting further than before, it was going horrendously slowly.

"Fifteen percent..." he grumbled, glaring at his laptop. "That's thirteen percent more than last time, but..." He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering just what he could be doing wrong. He was the Digidestined of Knowledge; this should have been a cakewalk for him. As much as he hated to admit it, perhaps he needed help.

Crossly, he brought up his e-mail program and jotted down a short message explaining his situation, then sent it off with a copy of the program data. Maybe that would get him some more answers; he would just have to wait. Frazzled, he leaned back in his swivel chair and stared at his ceiling. With all of these strange new codes, he wondered just what was in store for the new kids.

Just then, Yolei's gray box gave a surprised beep. Puzzled, he rolled the chair over to it and examined it. Its lid popped open, revealing the little screen. Amazed, Izzy started pushing buttons; if he could not figure out the new Digivices, he would try his hand with this thing.

* * *

"C'mon! Open up! OPEN UP!" Davis yelled, furiously smacking the top of the computer. The Digital World gate, however, remained its shade of forbidding red.

Yolei, Cody and TK watched him from behind. "That isn't gonna work, Davis," TK said. "Tai tried that with Izzy's once, and all it got him was a smack in the head."

Cody looked at Yolei, who was oddly calm; usually she threw a hissy if anyone mistreated her computer. "Doesn't that bother you?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's school property," she said. "It's not my problem if he breaks it."

Upon that reminder, Davis eased off of the machine, his cheeks flushed. He whirled around and glared at TK. "Hey, TJ, Kari was right behind you, right?" he asked.

TK scratched his head. "Well, um, yes..." he admitted.

"Then this is all YOUR fault!" Davis snarled, getting in his face. "Why didn't you let her go first?"

Sensing an oncoming brawl, Cody stepped between them. "Stop that," he instructed. "It isn't his fault."

"The hell do you know?" Davis turned on him. "You're just a stupid little kid!"

Cody's gaze was cold. "I know you're being a jerk," he hissed.

Davis was about to retort when TK sighed. "The fact is..." he said, looking up with regret, "Davis is right... I should've been looking out for her..."

That stopped the argument. Davis's anger dissolved as he thought about it himself. "Ugh... Maybe I shoulda been, too..." he mumbled.

"As should I," Cody said. "It's nobody's fault; it was just an unfortunate coincidence. Who here knew that the warp would be destroyed?"

Everyone fell silent. The Digimon solemnly stared at their partners' legs. TK's stomach burned; even with Cody's words, he felt guilty.

Just then, there were three beeps. Surprised, Davis pulled out his gray box, which flipped open. "Woah!" he exclaimed. "These things have e-mail!"

Cody and TK found their boxes, which opened to reveal screens as well. On all three was a message that read as follows:

_Don't worry; I'm all right._

_I'm going to try to get out of Metal City._

_-Kari_

"Wow..." Yolei said, looking their boxes over. "All this time, we had personal e-mail systems, and we didn't know it!"

TK bit his lip as he read it. That city was crawling with seemingly endless Gardromon; there was no way she could get out of there with only Gatomon. He had to help her. He rushed to the computer and brought up the Digital World map.

"TK, what're you doing?" Patamon asked, flying over to him.

"If I can warp into an area next to Metal City, I can go get her!" TK explained, ogling the grid.

Cody was about to say that was a great idea, but then his eyes caught the clock. "TK, wait a second..." he began.

His eyes fell on a gray square to the west of the black one; there was no influence in that area, so he would be safe. He had to hurry; the longer he waited, the more danger Kari was in.

"But TK-" Patamon started to object, but TK held up his Digivice and they both vanished.

Davis snarled angrily. "Ohh, if he thinks I'm gonna let him be the goddamn hero... Demiveemon!"

Before the others could object, Demiveemon hopped on Davis's shoulder and they both warped in.

"Hah! Never waits for anything..." Yolei snorted, reaching into her pocket. Just then, she remembered that she did not have her Digivice. "Crap!" she huffed.

"That's the least of our problems," Cody said, turning to her. "It's nearly 6:00. Somewhere between dinner and dessert, their families will wonder where they are. We have to tell Tai and Matt; they can help us."

She blinked a few times, then slapped her forehead in embarrassment. "Right, RIGHT!" she laughed at herself. "Oh, geez... Cody, you may be a kid, but you have the wisdom of an old man of twenty!"

He scratched his head. "Thanks... I think," he said.

"Well, what're we waitin' for?" Upamon asked, hopping out the door. "Let's get 'em!"

"Izzy's house!" Poromon chirped, fluttering after him. "We must get to Izzy's house!"

"Hey, woah, wait a sec!" Yolei yelled, Cody and she chasing after them. "You guys can't go out like that! What if-"

There was a bloodcurdling shriek from the hall, followed by a loud whump. They exchanged looks and rushed out.

* * *

For a few moments, Davis wondered just why he had come along with TK. If he had known that they would trek across a desert to get to where Kari was, he would have argued for a different route. Though the sun was setting and there was no wind, the sand's retained heat flashed over their bodies, making sweat run.

"Damn..." he groused, wiping his brow. "The hell couldn't we take another warp?"

TK shrugged. "Sorry," he apologized. "It was the first square I saw."

"Then why can't you have Patamon Armor Digivolve and fly us there?" Davis pushed.

"He's tired enough," TK reasoned. "We'll need all of our strength to get Kari out of Metal City."

They kept walking in silence, Veemon and Patamon trudging along behind them. Davis leered at the blonde boy; just how much was he into Kari, anyway? He should size up his competition. "So, TJ," he started, "how long you known Kari?"

TK scratched his head, wondering what brought on the topic change. "Hmm... Well, I guess about five years," he said. "I met her after summer camp was canceled; Tai introduced us. We got to be pretty good friends for that summer, when we met the Digimon. Of course, I hadn't seen her since then..."

Davis grinned; the upper hand was his. "Oh, yeah?" he asked. "Well, I met her three years ago at soccer camp, and Tai introduced us, too! We hang out lots!"

"Oh... that's neat," TK replied, staring at the sand. Why was Davis so hostile when it came to Kari? He just didn't understand.

"I bet Kari's changed a lot in five years," Davis said, continuing his offensive. "Sure ya still know 'er?"

TK stopped, ensnared by the words and the questions that they brought. What did Davis mean by that? Was there something here that he wasn't seeing? Patamon fluttered up to his partner, concerned.

Davis looked at his puzzled eyes with triumph. "Heh... Don't stop now, tiger; we've gotta get to the city, right?" he pressed.

As if waking from a trance, TK's gaze shot up again. "...Right," he answered. "It shouldn't be much farther."

He was certainly right about that; as they scaled the next dune, the domed, gray top of Metal City emerged from the sands. His chest spasmed as he imagined Kari trapped in there, a Gardromon's targeting sensors lighting up her forehead. He had to save her, or he would never forgive himself.

Davis, however, was busy fishing around in his pockets. "Well, now..." he cackled, leering at TK again, "Why don'tcha just head home, TJ?"

TK looked at him. "What?" he asked, shocked. "Just go home?"

"It's late; yer folks must be worryin'," Davis went on, shrugging. "Kari doesn't need both of us comin' to her rescue."

TK frowned. Being told to go home now was like being told to flee a murder scene. "No," he stated. "I'm going to help Kari."

Davis snorted crossly, then fished around in his pocket. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh?" he said. "Then I've got another idea." With a grin, he pulled out an American quarter. "I'll flip this, and whoever calls it gets to save her. Got it?"

Before TK could object, Davis flicked it into the air with a shout of "tails!" He slapped it down on the back of his hand, revealing the eagle-adorned side. "Well, then," he said with a sly grin, "I'll tell her you were worried, and-"

TK snatched the coin and held it up; both sides bore the same emblem. "...Right," he said, grinning right back.

Davis's face fell, and he kicked the sand in front of him. So much for that plan.

Though annoyed by the trick, TK was still willing to work together with the goggle-headed boy. "Tell you what, Davis; let's both go," he suggested. "There are plenty of Gardromon for the both of us."

Davis leered at TK for a moment, then sighed. He was certainly right about that; it would be smarter to go in with two Digimon instead of one. "...Fine," he surrendered.

The two boys continued over the sand, their Digimon following behind. "Why is Davis always arguing with TK?" Patamon asked his companion.

"...Somethin' about Kari," Veemon said, shrugging. "Human girls make human boys act kinda weird..."

* * *

Quietly peering around her little nook's corner, Kari observed two Gardromon. Though they stood close by, they didn't see or hear her, nor were they actively searching. Though it made things boring, she was thankful for it; all she had to do was keep quiet, and she wouldn't be found.

Something touched her leg and she jumped with a gasp. Gatomon stood in front of her, her claw out. "Sorry..." she apologized. "Just wanted to tell you, I don't think there're any more warps in this city..."

"Gatomon!..." Kari hissed, but then heard slow, metallic thumps; the Gardromon must have heard her and were coming to investigate! She grabbed Gatomon and pressed herself against the wall as best as she could, covering the cat's mouth. The Gardromon stomped to the alleyway and stood still, their audio sensors alert to anything. Dead silence enveloped the scene.

Suddenly, Kari felt a tickle in her nose; Gatomon's tail was twitching against it. Before she could even think about it, she sneezed. Alarms blared, and the Gardromon turned into the alley, their weapons out.

"You and your big nose..." Gatomon snarled, leaping out of her arms. "Let's beat it!"

Kari raised her Digivice and Gatomon became Nefertimon, and the two flew over the mechanical sentries' heads into the heart of the city. To their dismay, every single Gardromon was out, ready for them. Kari's hands dug into Nefertimon's fur as missiles flew at them.

Nefertimon shot down as many of the troopers as she could, but she knew a hopeless fight when she saw one. "We have to get out of here!" she said.

Kari looked around, but all she saw were buildings and streets; she did not know which way to go, or if there even was an exit. "...Try to reach an edge of the dome," she instructed. "At least we'll know we're not in the center!"

Nefertimon flew towards the dome's edge, but more and more Gardomon appeared, polluting the air with the sound and smoke of their missiles. Kari grimaced as a projectile exploded by her ear; would she ever get out of there?

* * *

Laughing heartily at his handiwork, the Digimon Emperor leaned back in his throne. On every one of his monitors was an image of Kari, whizzing through the air of Metal City in a panic. "You see, Wormmon?" he asked, pointing at the screen. "The plan was a total success!"

He chuckled at his genius. Because they were so strong as a team, these children had to be picked off one by one. Because they put so much emphasis on freeing his Generals, he imprinted Birdramon's digital signal on an alarm system, a trap which they fell for brilliantly. Because of that, this one was isolated in his grasp and fading fast against his Gardromon onslaught. The plan certainly was a success.

Wormmon was not marveling at its genius, though. "It's getting late..." his worrisome mumble came from behind the throne. "Shouldn't you be getting home, Ken?"

The Emperor turned a cruel eye on the green bug. "NEVER call me ANYTHING but MASTER!" he shrieked, sending the Digimon scurrying.

He turned back to the screens, then sighed. As annoying as it was, Wormmon was right; he had to hurry this up and go home. He thought for a moment, then brought up his slave roster. "Well, let's try something new..." he muttered as he made a selection. He had been meaning to test that particular slave for a while now.

Wormmon's eyes widened in horror as the silhouette of the soldier appeared on the screen. "Oh, no... Anyone but him!..." he pleaded.

Cackling at the thought of what this one could do, the Emperor ordered him dispatched.

* * *

Stuffing the juice packs and candy bars into a plastic sack, Yolei beamed at her mother. "Thanks a lot, Mom," she said. "This is perfect!"

Her mother scratched her head. Every other day, it seemed, Yolei would empty the goodie bins in the I-Mart. Where was it all going? "I swear, Miyako," she said, "with what you take, it's a wonder we have any profit at all."

"Just put it on my tab," Yolei replied. "I'll pay it all back, I swear!"

Her mother frowned. "Yeah?" she asked. "When?"

Yolei's mind raced. She hated running up a bill like this, but like TK said, their little Digimon partners were bottomless pits. Right now they needed all the energy they could get to prepare for another assault on Metal City. Her eyes shifted out the window, where she could see Cody and the Digimon at the pay phone; they were calling Tai for help while she got the fuel.

"Uh... gotta go!" Yolei said, grabbing the sack and heading out the door, ignoring her mom's disgusted look. "Later!"

She raced outside to Cody. "Is he there?" she asked.

Cody hung up the phone and nodded. "He'll call Matt, and then he'll come to the school," he reported.

She laughed awkwardly. She hoped that they would be able to get back into the school; if that janitor the Digimon had spooked was still there, they were history.

He frowned. "Shouldn't you get your Digivice?" he asked.

She jumped in surprise; once again, she had forgotten that Izzy had her Digivice. "Right!" she said, grabbing Poromon out of the phone booth. "You get Tai, I'll get my tools, and we'll meet back at school."

Cody nodded silently, then took off into the night. Yolei ran towards Izzy's apartment, squealing with delight; this was the first time she had ever been to his place. She knew she wasn't expected, but how could he ever shut the door on a pretty girl such as herself? "Poromon, quick! How's my breath?" she asked, breathing on him.

Poromon visibly teetered in his flight. She paused for a moment, then grabbed a strawberry juice pack from her bag. "Maybe this'll help," she said, downing it as she ran.

* * *

Tai put the phone down with a grim look, but changed it into a smile for his curious mother. "Kari's doing a science project at a friend's house, and they need me to see how long I can stand on my head," he said. "We'll be back later."

Not seeing any rebuttal, he quickly left his apartment building. Matt was down on the sidewalk, waiting for him. "What's the news?" he asked.

Tai was certainly puzzled. "What? How did you-" he started.

"I saw the purple-haired girl running by my place," Matt cut him off. "She looked freaked, so I figured you would know what was up. Now tell me."

Tai repeated what Cody had told him and Matt snorted in disgust. "I knew these guys would screw it up," he said.

"Can we save that for later?" Tai huffed. "Kari- and TK, too- are in big trouble!"

At the mention of his little brother, Matt sobered up. "Right. Tell me what to do," he said.

"I've gotta tell Davis's parents he'll be late," Tai said, "and then I'm doubling back to meet Cody at the school."

Matt thought for a moment, then shook his head; he knew where Davis's place was, and it was pretty far from the school. "I'll talk with Davis's parents; you go find Kari," he said.

Tai smiled with relief. "Great! Thanks," he said, then took off down the street.

Matt started to walk when he was seized by a thought; that red-haired girl, Jun, was Davis's sister. If he went there, he would have to see her. Still, this was important enough that he would just have to suck it up. With an irritated growl, he took off up the pavement.

* * *

Peering over a dune on their bellies, Davis and TK looked over the Metal City entrance. One Gardromon stood in the sand at the doorway, marching back and forth in its mechanical gait.

"Just one..." TK muttered.

"We don't off 'im fast, he'll call for help," Davis growled, turning to Veemon. "Flamedramon can take him out! Ready, Veemon?"

Veemon was about to say that he was when Patamon piped up. "Wait!" he urged. "TK, can I try something?"

"What?" TK asked.

Patamon beamed and looked around. "There's no spire here," he hinted.

His partner's eyes lit up. "Hey!" TK exclaimed. "Maybe you can..."

Davis scratched his head, wondering just what TK was blabbering about.

TK held up his Digivice. "Give it a try, then!" he declared.

The Digivice glowed, but it was not the flashy glow of Armor Digivolution. A long strand of glowing DNA shot out of the screen and wrapped itself around Patamon, who floated up into the air. "Patamon Digivolve to..." he said, and then he was no longer himself. He became something almost human with six white wings and flowing, golden hair. His eyes were hidden beneath a steel helmet, and he carried a long, golden rod. "Angemon," he spoke in a valiant, masculine voice.

TK grinned. It was good to see that Patamon hadn't forgotten how to change his form even after five years of dormancy. "Good to have you back, Angemon," he said. "Now, take out that guard!"

With hardly any noise, Angemon flew over the dunes towards Metal City. When the guard turned on him, he hurled his rod and knocked it out cold. "Quickly!" he called, motioning to the others.

"Good," TK said, turning to Davis. "Now we can... uh..."

Davis and Veemon stared boggle-eyed in Angemon's direction. If Davis's jaw had gone any lower, he would have been eating sand. "A... Angemon?" he demanded.

"Man," Veemon murmured. "Just... Man."

TK paused, then smiled. This would be a total surprise to Davis; he had never seen Digivolution outside of using Armor. Still, time was precious, so he grabbed the kid's shoulder and pulled. "C'mon, we're going in," he urged.

They ran to the entrance and Angemon kicked the doors down, exposing Metal City. As he marched inside, though, he groaned and black sparks shot around him. After a few moments, he changed back to Patamon. The pig Digimon turned to TK with an annoyed look. "Those control spires just ruin my day," he huffed.

"Well, good job, anyway," TK congratulated him. "Let's find Kari!"

"Hey, wait a second!" Davis objected, getting everyone's attention. "What the hell was that? Angemon?"

"I guess I should've told you," TK apologized. "Patamon can Digivolve without any DigiEggs. It's the same with Tai and the others; that's how we fought before."

Davis got even more excited. "No way!" he said. "So Kari's Digimon can Digivolve, too?"

"Well, she's already at her Champion level," TK admitted, "but there was a time when she could become Angewomon."

Davis gave a gurgly gasp. "Angemon... and Angewomon?" he managed.

"Yep," Patamon said, sitting on TK's head. "We're one heck of a pair!"

Davis made another unpleasant noise, then turned on his partner. "Veemon!" he snapped. "Tell me you can Digivolve like them!"

Veemon's mouth dropped. "Well, I, uh..." he stammered.

"Come ON!" Davis snarled, grabbing and shaking him furiously. "Ange-dinosaur-mon, Ange-soccer-player-mon, Ange-out-of-work-plumber-mon, ANYTHING!"

Patamon blinked at the display. "...What'd I say?" he asked.

TK just scratched his head.

* * *

Practically bursting with excitement, Izzy jotted down the last sentence in his notebook and stabbed in a period. What a miraculous thing this gray box was! He had to tell the young Digidestined just what it could do.

Satisfied as he was, however, he wasn't about to let the new Digivice's analysis go unfinished. With a weary sigh, he swiveled back and reached for it.

Suddenly, his door flew open and another hand shot under his nose and snatched it. "Hey,Izzy!SorryIcan'ttalk,!" a familiar voice rattled, and the door slammed again. The air stank of rotten strawberries.

Stupefied as to what had just happened, he lay in his chair. Slowly, though, he put the pieces together; only one person gave off a smell that bad. Grumbling about not finishing his work, he grabbed his notebook and got up to follow.

His computer beeped; a new e-mail was waiting for him. Curious, he turned back. As he read over the first few lines, his eyes went as wide as dinner plates. With a victorious war whoop, he mashed the laptop's buttons and the printer vomited what was on the screen. Grinning like a psycho, he jammed the pages into his notebook and charged out the door.

* * *

As thankful as he was to see her at his jazz concerts, standing in front of Jun Motomiya outside of her apartment did something to Matt's stomach. She beamed at him with that creepy ear-to-ear grin that she always had. What made it even more uncomfortable was that she had changed from her roadie look to her military-style school uniform, and yet the smile was still there. He cleared his throat to steady himself. "...Came over to say Davis'll be kinda late tonight," he muttered, trying not to look at the smile. "He's at my brother's place, studying for a test."

Jun only giggled, the smile unwavering.

He frowned. "What?" he asked.

"You're lying," she stated.

His jaw clenched inside his mouth. "No, I'm not," he said.

"Yes, you are," she said. "You won't look at me."

There was a different reason for that, not that it was any better. "...Well, uh..." he tried.

She leaned against the door frame, enjoying this immensely. "Tell you what, Mr. Matt," she said playfully, "I'll promise not to tell my folks you're lying, but only if we go on a date! OK? See you Friday at eight!"

With a wink and a snap of her fingers, she shut the door. Matt stared at it for the longest time, wondering what the hell had just happened.

* * *

"Hey, how come he gets more candy than I do?" Poromon argued as Upamon and he fought over the contents of Yolei's bag.

"Ahh, shaddap, I got enough for both of ya," she muttered, tossing her Digivice up and down. Her sugar high had not ended yet, and she was going to walk on the ceiling if Cody did not get back soon.

"Well, you sure helped yourself to a lot of it," Upamon muttered. "Why'd you drink all the juice packs?"

"Because I needed better breath," she argued. "I was going to Izzy's!"

Poromon shuddered, remembering how it smelled now. "Perhaps a mint would have worked better," he mumbled.

The door opened and Cody walked in with Tai behind him. "All right, we're here," he said.

"Finally!" Yolei snapped, getting up and grabbing his shoulders. "You know how long I had to wait? Huh? Do ya?" she demanded.

Cody frowned. "...Just how much sugar have you had?" he asked.

"Let's worry about that later," Tai said, focusing them back on the mission. "Let's get to work!"

* * *

"Three of them are in Metal City right now," the Emperor said to a shadowy figure on one of his monitors. "Take no prisoners."

"I shall carry out orders," a cold, metallic voice answered, and the screen went black. The Emperor leaned back in his throne and chuckled. So a few more of the pests had gotten back into the city; big deal. Now he would see just what an Ultimate-level Digimon would do to them.

* * *

Done with sneaking around, TK and Davis unleashed Flamedramon and Pegasusmon upon the denizens of the city. Compared to before, only a few Gardromon came after them, but that only made the boys more worried about Kari.

TK hopped on Pegasusmon's back and took to the air. Flamedramon shut down two Gardromon and bounded over them with ease. "Davis! This way!" he called through the downed machines.

Davis folded his arms and gave an annoyed look. "Dammit, I ain't got springs in my legs!" he snapped back.

While TK shot more robots from the air, Flamedramon sheepishly hopped back over to his partner. "Sorry," he said, grabbing him around the waist. "Ready to fly?"

Before Davis could object, Flamedramon was bouncing between the building walls, swinging off lampposts and sailing over streets like a rabbit on a sugar high. His heart leaped into his throat; Flamedramon may not have been able to fly, but this was just as amazing. He conveyed this to Flamedramon with a psyched war whoop.

His joy was cut short, though, when he noticed a white blur zip past on a parallel street. "Flamedramon! Get on that street!" he yelled. Pegasusmon was yellow, so that couldn't have been him. It had to be...

TK had noticed it as well, and ordered Pegasusmon to flip around and follow. They crossed onto the same road just in time to see Gardromon missiles fly up and shatter Nefertimon's wings, and the Armor Digimon spun downwards towards the ground. A scream exploded in his brain as Kari's body bounced across the pavement, Gatomon rolling alongside her.

Groaning, Kari sat up, her body swaying uneasily. Something warm and wet was coming off of her forehead, but aside from that, she didn't feel much pain. Before she could realize how miraculous it was that she was still alive, Gatomon hissed at something. Two more salvos of Gardromon were stomping down the road towards her, their guns out. Unable to bring herself to stand, she could only stare at them as they came.

Suddenly, though, orange and yellow shots came from behind her, shutting the robots down. Flamedramon landed in front of her, his claws burning. "Are you all right?" he asked.

A familiar voice called her name from behind. She twisted herself around to see Davis running down the street, while TK and Pegasusmon came down from overhead. Her eyes spilled over. "Davis! TK!" she cried. "Thank God!"

"No worries, Kari," Davis laughed, giving her a thumbs-up, "we're here to get you out!" With that, he smirked at TK. "She called MY name first. Suck on THAT!" he huffed.

TK hardly heard the insult; he was just glad that Kari was OK. To ensure that, he ordered Pegasusmon to sail overhead and shoot the second troop of Gardromon, which he did with gusto.

Davis helped Kari to her feet, and she took a few wobbly steps. Aside from the bloody gash on her forehead, he thought she looked just fine. "Can ya walk OK?" he asked.

"I... I think I'll be fine," she said, her gait steadying.

"Good," he answered. "Now let's get the hell outta here!"

TK and Pegasusmon landed nearby. "Is she OK?" TK asked, then saw her wound and winced. "Look at that gash! Where's Joe when you need him?"

"I'm OK, TK," she reassured him. "Let's go."

"...OK, but you're riding on Pegasusmon," TK replied.

"You're ALL riding on Pegasusmon if we want to bail fast," Flamedramon pointed out. "Now, hurry!"

Kari was about to mount the majestic horse when a heavy THUNK came from down the road. The kids looked up to see another Digimon standing there. It was a tall, thin, shining skeleton with sharp claws and wires hanging down from its back. The hair on the back of Davis's neck shot up as he looked at it; he thought he had seen something like it in a nightmare. "The... hell is that?" he managed.

Kari, however, had a very different reaction. She forgot about getting on Pegasusmon and staggered towards the creature, smiling brightly. "Andromon!" she cried.

TK looked up, surprised by the name. "Andromon?..." he asked.

Davis looked at her, then back at the creature. How many weird monsters did Kari know?

Andromon, however, did not seem to recognize her. "I must terminate all enemies," he croaked in a low, hollow voice. "You are an enemy."

For a moment, Kari wondered why he did not know who she was... and then she saw the ring around his neck. "Oh, no..." she murmured. "Andromon, don't you remember? We're your friends!"

Andromon's hand vanished, and a sparking, spinning needle replaced it.

"You're hangin' with the wrong crowd, Kari," Davis growled, turning to his partner. "Flamedramon!"

Flamedramon leaped into the air and came down in a Fire Rocket attack, but Andromon swung his limb and the needle shot a wide arc of white electricity. The second it hit the Armor Digimon, he reverted to Veemon and fell to earth. Davis was horrified; how could a Digimon be that strong?

TK's jaw locked. "Pegasusmon! Your turn!" he ordered.

Pegasusmon flew over Andromon and unleashed his Star Shower attack, but it bounced off of the machine without repercussion. Another electric arc sent Patamon rolling across the pavement. "Ohhh..." he groaned as TK scooped him up, "Armor can't do anything to Ultimate..."

"Ultimate?" Davis asked. "That ain't sounding good..."

"It isn't," TK growled. "We have to get out of here!"

Kari was not through yet. "Andromon!" she appealed, stepping forward. "Don't you remember how we fought together before?"

TK grabbed her shoulder. "Forget it, Kari," he warned. "We don't even know if that's the same Andromon!"

Davis looked at Andromon, who had started towards them, his needle arm sparking again. "Err, guys..." he said.

"I know it is..." she replied. She wasn't just throwing TK off; something inside her told her that it was. It was another of those odd feelings that she couldn't explain.

The machine Digimon was getting closer. "Guys..." Davis growled.

"Even if it is, he's got a ring," he pressed, shaking her arm. "He can't even hear your voice!"

"You don't know that," she argued. "I think he can!"

"DAMMIT, GUYS!" Davis yelled.

Kari and TK looked up just as Andromon's needle came down. They all scattered in terror as it struck the pavement, spattering gravel everywhere and making a terrible grinding sound.

Fed up with this monster movie reject, Davis grabbed a concrete chunk and pitched it at Andromon's head. The robot whirled and dove at him, but Davis managed to grab his arm first. Andromon hoisted him into the air and raised his drill to him. Davis's legs kicked around furiously as he tried to free himself. "Ugh... That ain't... what I was hopin' for!..." he swore.

"Davis!" Veemon cried.

TK ran up to Andromon and kicked his leg. "Andromon! Stop it!" he yelled.

The robot stared at him with bloody eyes, but suddenly something happened. His facial expression softened and he grew silent. His drill weapon vanished, replaced with a hand. TK thought he saw some far-off spark in Andromon's eyes, as if he were trying to remember something. Could this really be the same one, as Kari had thought?

Davis took that moment to kick himself loose and scramble to Veemon's side. "Damn! He yells stop, and the thing stops!" he said to his partner. "Now THAT's something!"

"Wow..." Gatomon said, scratching her head. "TK's a lot more assertive than I thought."

TK and Andromon stared at each other a moment more. TK looked over his shining form. Maybe Kari was right; maybe this really was the same Andromon who had helped them years before. "...Andromon," he began, "are you-"

Suddenly, a red blast came down from the sky and knocked Andromon back. TK and the others looked up to see Halsemon come out of the sky, Yolei in tow. "I'm glad I'm not too late," he said as he landed.

The pavement nearby shook, and Digmon burst out of it. "Hey, y'all," he said, "thought I'd give this city a subway while I was here!"

Andromon was not amused, and turned on Digmon with his needle.

"Hold still, ya pile of scrap!" Digmon snarled, launching his drills. Though they were going at a speed fast enough to go through concrete, they ricocheted off of Andromon's metal chest plate without even a ding. Digmon could hardly believe his eyes. "Err... that 'scrap' thing? Just a joke, partner!..." he gulped.

Just then, Kari heard a familiar voice call her name. She turned to see Tai and Cody running down the street towards them. "Kari!" her big brother gasped as they arrived, "are you OK? Oh! What happened to your-"

"Forget about that for now! Look!" she said, pointing at Andromon.

Tai did a double take at the metallic skeleton. "A... Andromon?" he asked.

Upon mention of his name, Andromon looked at the older boy. He hesitated, staring intently. "...You are..." he said.

"Do you recognize me, Andromon?" Tai asked. "It's me, Tai!"

Andromon stared at him, his head tilting and twitching this way and that. "Tai?... T-ai?... T-a-i?..." he asked, his voice fizzling like a radio on a windy day. Suddenly, the ring around his neck sparked violently, sending him into a violent spasm.

"Oh, no!" Kari cried. "Andromon!"

"What the hell's happening?" Davis asked.

"I think he's trying to recall old data, but that ring's screwin' with his memory banks," Yolei said. "I've seen this happen with my computer."

With an unearthly shriek, Andromon lurched forward, his arms spinning like saw blades. Everyone panicked and ran... everyone but Kari. He stumbled up, grabbed her in his claws and hoisted her high in the air, much to everyone's dismay.

"Kari!" Tai cried.

"Put her down, you...!" Gatomon hissed.

"Damn tin can!" Davis growled, grabbing another concrete chunk. TK knocked it out of his hands before he could throw it, though; there was too much chance that he would hit Kari.

Kari was the calmest of the group. "Do you remember me?" she asked Andromon quietly. "It's Kari..."

Andromon stared at her, his red eyes burning her face into his mind. "K... ar... i..." his voice rumbled.

She slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out her new Digivice. "We stopped Apocalymon... We took a picture together..." she said. "Remember?..."

Andromon's ring sparked again, making him shriek and squeeze her hard. She cried out and her Digivice fell from her grip. It hit his ring and clattered to the ground. Gatomon winced. If she was in trouble, now she couldn't Armor Digivolve.

"Andromon! Put Kari down!" Tai ordered, running up to the android. Suddenly, his Digivice glowed. Surprised, he held it up. The sparking ring calmed, then cracked in several places.

Andromon's memory banks raced to reformat themselves. He suddenly recalled eight humans and their partner Digimon, and an epic battle that he had helped finish. The red world around him faded, and he found himself staring at the girl he held in the air. "...Kari," he said.

She looked at him and smiled. His eyes had changed back to their old hues. He gently set her down and lifted his claws to his neck. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused," he said, and ripped the ring off himself.

TK sighed with relief. "Thank God..." he said.

Davis scratched his head. "Man... Anyone ever seen that happen before?" he asked.

"I guess those rings aren't as strong as we've been led to believe," Cody suggested.

"Well, I'm just glad this is over," Kari sighed. "Thanks, everyone..."

"Hey, it isn't over yet!" Tai objected. "Since we're all here, why don't we get rid of the spire?"

Yolei's eyes lit up. "Oh, right!" she exclaimed. "But what about the Gardromon?"

"They don't have rings," Cody pointed out. "That's why we've had trouble. We're fighting Digimon who aren't controlled."

"Actually..." Andromon rumbled, getting everyone's attention. He started to walk towards a large building in the distance. "There is something you must all know," he said, motioning for them to follow.

They followed the hulking machine inside and were surprised to see that it was hollow. The control spire stood inside, connected to a large computer at its base. "Goodness," Hawkmon exclaimed, "the Emperor certainly didn't want us to find this one."

Andromon pointed to the computer. "All of the Gardromon in Metal City are run by the central computer," he said. "The Emperor did not need to waste rings on each one when he just had to take it over."

Yolei ran to the computer and looked it over, bouncing on her heels. "Oh, I see!" she exclaimed. "So he wired it into the spire! That's really smart!"

"I was attempting to reprogram it when I was enslaved," Andromon explained. "Even if I had not been captured, the program is far too advanced for me..."

"Well, it's a good thing we're here, then," Kari said, smiling at Yolei. "Yolei's a whiz at programs. Maybe she can help."

Yolei almost fainted. "WHAT?" she asked. "Me? Go bit to byte with the Emperor?"

"You're our best bet," TK said. "Why not help Andromon?"

Yolei smiled wickedly. "I wasn't saying that like it was a bad thing," she said, then raced to the control panel. "OK, Andy, let's crash some hard drives!"

Andromon lumbered over and held his arm out to the computer. Several wires shot from his limb and plugged themselves in. As he scanned the software, Yolei looked over the monitor's readout. It was a crafty program, all right, but she had a feeling that she could mess it up pretty well. "Right!" she exclaimed. "Time for some pwnage!"

Like a concert pianist plays his instrument, Yolei's fingers danced on the keys. As the others watched in amazement, the spire sparked and fizzled, then cracked all over, foul-smelling smoke pouring from the ruptures. Yolei and Andromon turned around, their faces showing triumph. "Win!" Yolei announced.

"We overloaded the spire and broke it from the inside," Andromon reported. "The Gardromon's programs have been repaired."

"Well, whatever that means, we're good," Davis concluded. "Awesome! Let's get outta here!"

"I shall remain in Metal City and protect the computer system," Andromon resolved. "If you are ever in need, though, do not hesitate to come for me."

Kari hugged Andromon. "Thank you, Andromon," she said. "I knew you the Emperor couldn't control you!"

Andromon nodded. "Your form has changed, but your inside has not," he stated. "That was what helped me. I thank you."

They said their goodbyes and left the city. As they hiked across the dark desert, the events of the day replayed in TK's mind. For a mission that had been just a trap, they certainly had learned a lot; Armor Digimon were almost useless against Ultimate-level Digimon, but Ultimates could break free of the Emperor's rings on their own. He wondered, though, why Tai's Digivice had cracked the ring when Kari's hadn't done a thing.

He glanced at Kari worriedly. "Kari? Are you OK?" he asked.

She rubbed at the gash on her forehead, but gave him a smile. "I'll have to come up with a story for Mom and Dad..." she said, "but I'll be fine. Thanks for coming to help, TK."

TK smiled back, but then Davis got in his face. "Hey, hey, hey!" he said. "Credit where it's due! BOTH of us came in after ya!"

"Yeah, but TK went in first, and because he was worried," Yolei pointed out. "YOU just followed him to show off."

"Why, I oughta-" Davis snarled, turning on her.

"Easy, Davis," Cody grumbled. "No ponds around here to fall into."

Kari laughed at their antics. "OK... thank you, everyone," she said. "I'm lucky I have friends like you."

"Wait until you feed that whopper to Mom and Dad," Tai corrected her. "Then we'll see if you're really lucky!"

Laughing merrily, the party hopped over the last dune towards the portal.

* * *

The Digidestined had not expected anyone to be waiting up for them in the computer lab at that hour, but seeing Izzy was especially surprising. The genius boy sat with his arms folded, looking very irritated. "Izzy?" Tai whispered. "What are you..."

Izzy shushed him with his finger, then signaled for them to leave. Once the group had quietly filed out of the school, though, he really let loose. "Matt just called me. How could you all go charging in there?" he demanded. "Nobody thought to close the door? Someone could have shut that computer off, and then where would you have been?"

Davis, Yolei and Cody exchanged panicked looks. Was it possible to get stranded in the Digital World?

"I swear, you should have called me," Izzy went on. "At the very least, I could have kept watch..."

Tai flashed an embarrassed smile. "Hey, don't be like that, Izzy," he pushed. "There wasn't any time to call you!"

"Oh, yeah?" Izzy snapped. "I can't believe you'd leave me out of the loop like this! Cody calls Tai, and Tai gets Matt in on it, but nobody tells me about this until everything's in full swing! And even then, I only get a half-assed explanation and a face full of strawberry breath." Here he glared at Yolei, who blushed and giggled stupidly.

"Izzy, it's not like any of us knew what was going on..." TK tried. "You're as much a Digidestined as the rest of us!"

"Yes!" Izzy huffed. "As part of the team, I should get the same kind of respect! I might not be as strong as the rest of you, but I've got my own skills!"

Tai sighed with exasperation. "OK... I'm sorry I didn't call you," he surrendered. "We'll make sure you know next time."

That seemed to be enough. Izzy's frown went back into his usual smile. "OK, then," he said. "Now, as for what I came here for..."

"What, chewin' us out wasn't it?" Davis asked.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that..." Izzy growled. "Anyway, I got a little help analyzing the new Digivices, and the boxes that came with them..."

"HELP?" Yolei cried. "YOU needed HELP?"

"I was only getting 15% of it analyzed; I needed inspiration," he dodged the accusation. "Anyway, thanks to my American friend, I've analyzed 25% of it, and that's enough to tell you guys that they have three settings: Digital, for combat; Detect, for the map; and Discover, for finding DigiEggs."

"Three settings..." Cody repeated.

"Yeah," Izzy said. "Since they all start with the letter D, we can call these 'D3s' for short!"

"Not very creative, but it works," Tai agreed.

Snorting at the dig, Izzy raised Yolei's gray box. "I also figured out what these are," he said. "Firstly, they have e-mail programs in them that you guys can use to talk to each other..."

"Oh, yeah, I figured that out in Metal City," Kari piped up, holding hers up. "That was handy!"

"I also found this," Izzy said, holding up Yolei's device and pushing a red button. The monitor showed a gray egg with the reading '100%' beneath it. "I think this is storing the DigiEgg that Yolei found."

"You mean, that's where those DigiEggs went after we used them?" TK asked. "I was wondering about that..."

"Yes, and it also has a map of the Digital World," Izzy finished, "but they're far from complete; they only show areas where you've been before. Anyway, these things are way more helpful than I thought. Since they hold the DigiEggs, why don't we call them D-Terminals? That's because-"

He was cut off by Demiveemon's stomach growling. "Oooogh..." the little monster groaned, "tell me about it after we eat..."

Davis's stomach growled as well. He chuckled embarrassedly. "Guess none of us got any dinner..." he admitted.

Tai gasped, remembering the time. "Our parents must be freaking out by now!" he said. "We've gotta get home!"

"I'll write it all up in a report tomorrow," Izzy said, handing Yolei her D-Terminal. "See you then."

With quick goodbyes, the group scattered for their homes.

* * *

After the hand he had been dealt, the last person that Matt wanted to hear about was Davis's sister. Unfortunately, those troubles were just beginning.

"Hey, Matt," Matt's father said, leaning back in his chair with a glass of scotch in his hand, "some girl Jun called for you while you were out. Good thing you've finally started dating; I was startin' to worry."

"I'll bet..." Matt grumbled, stirring at the mixture on the stove. With his mother gone, all cooking duties fell to him, though he still didn't know why.

"Well, she said she made Friday reservations for you two at Moriali's," his dad went on.

Matt glanced at him. "What's that?" he asked.

"Only the most expensive Italian restaurant in town," his father finished, sipping his drink. "You must really like her."

Matt saw red. It was bad enough that Jun had tricked him into taking her out, but to bleed him dry at the priciest eatery around!...

Suddenly, he only saw black, and a funky smell filled the kitchen. "Woah, Matt! Somethin' burning?" his dad's voice came.

Matt looked down to see nothing but toxic waste in the pan. "Aww, SHIT!" was all he could say.

* * *

Across the river in Tomachi, Ken Ichijouji's dutiful mother pushed a tray with a hearty meal to his door. "Ken, honey, dinner's ready..." she said. "I know you're busy, so I'm just leaving it outside." She walked away, beaming at how hard her son worked.

The inside of the room was completely dark, save the bright computer screen. The boy genius sat hunched in front of it, his face a mask of cold hatred towards anything that moved. His mind raced with infuriating questions. Why had the Ultimate removed its own ring? What was that light from that older kids' Digivice? Did that have anything to do with it? Did the younger snots' Digivices have that power, too? If they did, then those children could not be allowed to keep them.

Not willing to let this go, he grabbed a notebook and quickly jotted down notes on the day's events. Isolating one of the brats worked very well, but he would have to improve upon the trap to keep the others from helping. He would have to keep those older goons from popping up, too. As he wrote, his sneer became a wicked grin. He would get them the next time, all right; tomorrow would be his ultimate triumph.


	7. The Emperor Unmasked

**CHAPTER 7**

**THE EMPEROR UNMASKED**

After the rescue of Kari from Metal City, the rest of the week passed with little incident. With the help of Izzy and Joe, the new Digidestined traversed File Island, destroying every spire that they saw. By Friday, every spire on the island was in pieces. The Digimon Emperor didn't show his face at all.

While most of the kids found this strange, Davis found the easier workload a blessing because of one reason: soccer. The season was about to begin, so Tai had the team drilling longer and harder in preparation for the scrimmages. Almost every day after school, the boys' team and the girls' team went head to head, both trying new and faster tricks to get the ball in the net.

Just as eager for victory as his coach, Davis perfected a powerful sliding tackle to give himself an edge, and that day he was ready to try it out. Sora watched in amazement as he skidded right under the girl with the ball and put her flat on her face. The boys reclaimed the ball and sent it whizzing into the goal. "Whew! You walk much, Motomiya?" she called to him.

He laughed; praise from the opponent always got him embarrassed.

The game over and the boys triumphant, Tai called his team in. "Nice work out there, guys," he said, pulling out a clipboard. "Now, I have an important announcement. Our first scrimmage is this Sunday, against Tamachi Middle School. We're on our playing field, but let me know if you need directions there."

"That's the team that won the championship last year!" someone cried.

Davis's eyes lit up. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "Isn't that the team that kid genius is on?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, it is," he answered. "The team captain is Ken 'The Rocket' Ichijouji. That means I want you all to be at the top of your game! Don't stay up too late, drink lots of water, and don't break anything before Sunday, got it?"

Davis hardly heard his mentor. His mind was already at the soccer field, awaiting Ken Ichijouji.

* * *

Reconvening with his friends to walk home, Davis was surprised when Yolei shoved a pamphlet at him. "You'd better read that," she said. "That's all the stats I pulled on Ken Ichijouji! You'd better be ready!"

Cody nodded. "Last season, Mr. Ichijouji practically gave his team the title. Of the sixty goals the team made, he did forty-five of them himself."

"Yeah, I heard about this last year," Davis said, glancing over the papers. "Man, it woulda been so cool to go up against him!"

"...If our team hadn't been knocked out in the first round of the semifinals," Tai reminded him.

Davis fumed and stamped his foot. "It's gonna be different this year!" he declared.

"You really think you can take on Ken?" Kari asked.

Davis winced. After seeing the stats, even he couldn't deny that Ken was a god of soccer. "Well..." he meandered, forcing a defiant look, "if I can score on him, I'll be a living legend!" He grinned at Kari. "Chicks dig living legends, don't they?"

Kari smiled awkwardly. Suddenly, Yolei grabbed his hands. "Oh, Davis..." she said softly.

Davis's expression contorted. "Ugh, I was hopin' for somethin' better..." he grumbled.

Yolei squeezed his hands painfully. "Shut up, I wantcha to do me a favor!" She hesitated, then lost her hostile twinge. "When you see Ken, could you get his autograph for me?"

Everyone gave her puzzled looks. "I thought you hated him for being as smart as you," Cody pointed out.

Yolei's face became a strawberry. "Ahh, you should know by now that's just bull," Davis laughed, forgetting that Yolei still gripped him. "She jumps on anything with a hot face and a wang!"

After a few moments of swearing and struggling, Davis and Yolei were in their usual places in the pond. The others walked down to them. "Maybe you should go to the game and ask him yourself," TK suggested. "It'd be cooler for you."

Yolei spat water, then beamed. "Yeah, that's perfect!" she agreed.

"Why don't we all go?" Kari asked. "It's been a while since I've seen Davis play."

TK nodded; that did sound like fun.

"Yolei needs her feet kept on the ground, so I'll come along," Cody said with a shrug. "Besides... there might be kettle corn or something."

"I'm sure the whole team would appreciate it," Tai said.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Demiveemon yipped, hopping up and down. "Davis, can I come to your game, too?"

Davis raised an eyebrow; that was something he had not thought of. "I dunno, little guy..." he said. "I mean, if other people see Digimon..."

"Oh, it won't be a problem," Poromon said as he fluttered around Yolei. "We Digimon are excellent at looking just like plush toys. Observe." He ceased movement and crashed into the ground. "...Ow," he finished.

"Uh... Might wanna wait until I'm holding you," Yolei suggested, scooping up the pink bird.

"Well, then this'll be fun!" Kari said. "We'll all see Davis go head-to-head with Ken Ichijouji!"

"Well, then," Cody said, turning to leave, "see you all on Sunday."

TK, Cody and Yolei headed off for their apartment while Tai and Kari started off for theirs. Davis lingered by the school gate, waving goodbye to them. "Yeah..." he chuckled, "...on Sunday."

Demiveemon pushed at his friend's hand. "Davis, I'm gonna fall down!" he protested. "What's wrong?"

Davis looked down and saw that his arms were trembling. He swallowed and steadied them. "...Nothin', little guy," he said. "Don't worry 'bout it."

* * *

A lovely Sunday afternoon sun shone upon the Odaiba practice field. The sky was bright blue without a cloud in sight, and the grass was freshly cut and emerald green. The stands were already full of fans come to see the first game of the season and its star player. The portable snack stands were pumping out their fried, messy sports food at full steam, and their intermingled scents made the air over the field smell of extra-crispy, curried, rotisserie ice cream.

First to arrive, the Odaiba team warmed up on their side of the field. Davis went through his usual stretches, but he was just going through the motions; his mind was full of worry. It was true that he was the best shot on the team, but boasting that he could score against Ken Ichijouji could have been the dumbest thing he had ever done. If this guy was as good as the charts said he was, he would be lucky to even get the ball for a few moments.

He glanced over into the nearby stands and swallowed. TK, Kari, Cody and Yolei were sitting right next to Tai. Upamon and Poromon were in their own partner's laps, but Demiveemon had perched himself on Kari's. He saw no sign of Patamon or Gatomon; where had they gone?

"Go for it, Davis!" TK called.

"We're all rooting for you!" Kari cheered.

"Don't forget about my autograph!" Yolei yelled.

He cringed. Having his friends here actually made things even worse; now he couldn't embellish the game's story later. He looked at Kari's hopeful face and sighed. He would just have to play his best and only his best.

* * *

"Davis looks pretty nervous, doesn't he?" Cody remarked to the others.

"Of course he's nervous!" Yolei laughed. "He's about to get his butt whooped by Ken Ichijouji!" She squealed and squeezed Poromon.

Cody sighed. "You're going to enjoy this, aren't you..." he mumbled.

"Fweee," said Poromon.

"As long as Davis keeps his cool, he'll have nothing to be ashamed of," Tai said, folding his arms. "Prodigy or no, Davis has to have an edge somewhere..."

Just then, he recognized someone else and he stood up in surprise. Sora stood on the edge of the field, scribbling in a notebook and glancing at her watch. "Hey! Sora!" he called, waving to her.

She looked his way, smiled and walked over. "Hi, Tai," she said. "How's the team?"

"They're all looking forward to the game today," he replied, glancing at Davis again. "What about you, though? What're you doing here?"

Sora held up her notebook. "I thought I'd watch both teams and see if I can learn some tricks," she said. "That's so my team can benefit from this, too."

Tai nodded. That was Sora; always one step ahead of the competition. "Well, why don't you sit with us?" he offered, motioning to her. "It might help the team if two coaches are watching."

Sora hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "I'd like that," she agreed, and sat down next to him.

Kari giggled from her end of the bench. TK looked at her, puzzled. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, never mind..." she said, her smile still present.

TK was about to press her further, but a bus rolled up on the street next to the field. Its doors opened, and the green-clad Tamachi team members started out, surrounded by zealous, squealing girls.

Yolei's face went red and she squeezed Poromon even harder. "Omigod, omigod, OMIGOD, he's here!" she wheezed. "Somebody pinch me!"

Cody gladly obliged. She jumped in surprise.

Tai watched the opposing team start down onto the field, then looked over at Davis. How would he fare now that they were here?

* * *

Davis's spine and stomach traded places as the Tamachi team appeared, but like a deer caught in headlights, he could not take his eyes away from the bus's doors. Ken would come from there, and then the biggest game of his life would start. His throat ran dry as he recalled the stats that Yolei had shoved at him and saw the boy's flawless face from the news report. He swallowed again, but it didn't help. He could have been awaiting the grim reaper.

One more player emerged from the doors, and then they closed and the bus drove off for a parking space. Davis blinked a few times, his breath caught in his throat; where was Ken?

* * *

"What the...? N'gahhh!" Yolei shrieked as the bus drove away. Where was the sex machine that she'd been waiting for? She fumed and squeezed Poromon even harder. "Ken's not coming! Ken's not coming, is he, Cody?" she demanded.

Cody rolled his eyes. "If I say 'yes,' will you stop asking me?" he asked.

"No!" she retorted, and furiously pulled and pushed Poromon like a harmonica.

"It's times like this," the bird gasped, "when I'm glad I have no spine..."

* * *

"Excuse me!" Davis called as he ran over to the Tamachi team. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. "Is that Ichijouji kid playing today?"

Two of the Tamachi players glanced at him. Despite their champion status, they looked friendly enough. "We don't really know, man," the first one said.

"Ken's barely shown up to play with us this season," the other said. "He must be really busy."

Davis's eyes went to the ground. Though the danger was past, he couldn't help but feel let down. "Oh... well, thanks," he replied. He looked over the rest of the opponents; they didn't look too tough. His self-confidence bounced right back; at least he could start off the season with a victory.

"Davis!" Tai's voice came to him. He ran back to his coach and the older boy clapped his shoulder. "Look, even without Ken, those guys are still champions," he warned. "Take them lightly and they'll use YOU as the soccer ball."

Davis flashed his usual smile. "Don't worry about me, coach!" he laughed. "I can handle it!"

"Arrrgh!" Yolei snarled, stretching Poromon like taffy. "This isn't fair! If Ken's not here, why should I stay? I've got other stuff to do, ya know!"

"What about Davis?" Cody asked.

She snorted and smashed both fists into Poromon's head. "I don't think she's thinking about that..." he wheezed.

* * *

The starter's whistle blew and the game went into full swing. Free of worry, Davis tore across the field and leaped into the frenzy for the ball.

As Tai had warned, though, the Tamachi team was still a force to be reckoned with; he had never seen such a coordinated offense, nor such a tight defense. The moment an Odaiba player got the ball, one of the boys in green zipped in and got it away from him. Whenever he could, Davis snatched the ball from his enemies and headed for the goal. After a few trips and slips, though, he was considering a different strategy.

Well aware that time was almost up, he saw one of his comrades get the ball, but the Tamachi players were closing in like wolves. He whistled to him, and the boy kicked it into the air. Sucking in his breath, Davis leaped up and planted the ball right between the Tamachi goalie's legs with a headbutt. The whistle blew. Davis sighed from exhaustion, then shot a wide grin at his friends in the stands. That was how he did things on the soccer field.

* * *

"And at the half, Odaiba leads Tamachi one to nothing," the announcer called through his megaphone. "It's time for a brief intermission, so stretch those legs and grab a snack!"

"Let's see... There!" Kari said, holding up her camera. An awesome shot of Davis's headbutt made everyone gasp in awe.

"Wow... you could be a sports photographer some day," Cody remarked, munching on his kettle corn.

"Yeah, that's how I like it," Davis laughed. "These guys know I rock now!"

"Don't get too cocky, Davis," Tai warned.

"It's only one point, and you've got the whole second half to go," Sora said.

Davis laughed, completely back to his old self. "Hah! Then I'll tack on some more points!" he declared. "I tell you, there's nothing in the world that can stop-"

An excited gaggle of girls' shrieks cut him off. Everyone looked towards the noise and saw a taxi on the side of the road. Davis's blood stopped dead; he knew who that was.

A boy clad in the Tamachi uniform stepped out of the cab, a duffel bag on his arm. He had pale skin, a handsome face, smooth, midnight-blue hair and purplish-blue eyes with black dots in their centers. He smiled quietly as he made his way through the giggling girls. Ken Ichijouji had arrived.

Yolei almost died. "It's HIM!" she shrieked, crushing Poromon. "It's really HIM! Oh, God! I- OW!"

She rubbed at her side and glared at Cody. He shrugged. "You asked before," he pointed out.

Amidst the screaming fans, Ken started down the steps towards the field. Suddenly, though, he stopped, looking at something. Wondering what had caught his eye, Davis followed his gaze. He was staring at his friends, and the Digimon in their hands. Davis looked at him again and recoiled; his strange eyes were fixed on them with rage, maybe even hatred. His spine tingled even more when Ken's scowl swiveled to him. The look was only there for a moment, and then the boy genius went back to walking. He found his arms were trembling again.

Ken ran over to the Tamachi coach and they talked for a moment. "Well, it looks like we'll be having a substitution for the second half," the announcer called. "Substituting in, number 7: Ken 'The Rocket' Ichijouji!"

The referee signaled that it was time to begin the second half. Davis went back to his usual position and froze. Ken stood right in front of him, playing the same position for his team. He was not sure what he should say to such a person; an introduction might be best, but how would it be received?

He scratched his head and grinned at Ken awkwardly. "Uh... how's it goin'?" he said. "You're, uh, you're Ken, right? Name's Davis. Nice t'meetcha..."

Ken stared at him for a moment, that quiet smile never leaving his lips, then glanced over into the stands. From two shrieks that he heard, Davis guessed Ken had looked at his friends again (and then Cody had pinched Yolei again).

"Do your best!" TK's voice came.

"Just remember, have fun!" Kari shouted.

"Cool head, fast feet!" Tai reminded.

Ken turned back to Davis. "Nice to meet you, too," he said calmly, his expression unchanged. "Some nice friends you've got there, Davis."

The whistle blew again; the second half had begun. Davis took one step forward and Ken _teleported_ right past him. That was how fast he was going; he didn't even seem to touch the ground. A teammate kicked him the ball and he shot down the field, dodging every red-clad kid in his way. Within ten seconds of the whistle being blown, Ken had put that ball into the Odaiba net and tied up the score.

Davis stared after him and every ounce of his confidence melted away. "Oh... shit," was all he could say.

Those were the exact same words that Tai had uttered in the stands. Every one of the smiles of Davis's friends had flipped completely... well, every one except Yolei's. "Waaaahhh!" she shrieked, burying her face in Poromon's fur. "Did you see that? He's amazing! Absolutely awesomely amazing! Ohhh, I want his bod so bad- OWWW!"

She glared at Cody, who still had a gob of her thigh between his fingers. "...Have some kettle corn," he offered, pushing the bag at her.

"What'll happen now?" Sora asked, leaning in closer to Tai for a better view.

Tai wiped his brow. "God only knows," he admitted.

The second half of the game turned into a bloodbath for the Odaiba players. Ken wove around and over them as if they were all tree stumps. Davis could only stand there while Ken kicked the ball over his head, then tore past him and reclaimed it before knocking it into the net. If anyone happened to get the ball, it was not any better. As the team captain, Ken also ordered his team into formations impossible to penetrate, and the ball soon returned to The Rocket. By the time Davis had gotten his act together again, Tamachi led by a dominating 9 goals to 1.

"It's like Davis isn't even there..." Kari gulped. "It's like NOBODY's there besides Ken."

"His team's sure there," TK growled. "Their formations have our team trussed up like turkeys!"

Even Yolei was starting to feel bad. "Nine to one..." she said, scratching her head. "Isn't that a little overkill?"

"He's not afraid to show who's in charge," Cody grumbled, reaching into his bag. Instead of more kettle corn, though, he found a sticky, jumpy Upamon. "Agh! Did you eat the whole thing?" he asked. "I said you could have half!"

"Um..." Upamon stammered, "my half... was on the bottom?"

With thirty seconds remaining, Ken was not letting up. "All right! One more time, team!" he ordered. "Formation F!"

The Tamachi team scrambled and each one covered one of the Odaiba players as Ken took the ball towards the goal himself.

Davis was left undefended by the green-clad team. He was in a completely hopeless situation, but as he saw Ken running for the goal, something in him snapped. He had to shut this guy down. Locking his jaw, he charged for the running boy.

Ken paused at the goal to wind up a powerful kick, and Davis took his chance. With a furious yell, he dove into his devastating sliding tackle. His cleats sank through something soft, and with a cry, Ken was on his face in the grass. The ball rolled into the foul area, and the whistle blew. The game was over.

"And that wraps up the game. Tamachi wins nine to one!" the announcer called.

There was muted applause from the stands. "Oh, man..." TK said, staring at the score, "that was brutal."

"That's Ken!" Yolei cheered, squeezing Poromon again. "He rolls 'em up and punts 'em into the- AGH!"

"He certainly put Davis in his place..." Cody agreed, releasing his grip on Yolei's arm.

"I wouldn't say that," Tai replied. "Davis managed to keep the score from becoming ten to one with that last tackle. If he had just been able to play like that for the whole second half..." He paused and turned to Sora, who was scribbling on her clipboard. "Did you learn anything useful?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Sora muttered. "Don't play Ken Ichijouji's team."

* * *

Davis's last-ditch move had left him in a daze, and by the time he had come out of it, everyone else was off the field. He spotted the Tamachi team on their side and got up; though it was important to regroup with his own crew, he wanted to see how Ken was doing.

"Hey! Yo!" he called, racing over to them. "Ken!"

Ken stood near the coach, a cloth wrapped over the ankle wound. Splashes of red were intermingling with its white threads; Davis had sliced him pretty well. Davis grimaced as he looked at it, then scratched his head. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized. "You doin' OK?"

Ken glanced at the wound, then smiled his usual smile. "I barely felt it," he said calmly. "Too busy thinking of scoring."

"Heh. No doubt 'bout that," Davis agreed, trying to find some way of conversing. "Man, you're... Wow. You trashed us damn good. I couldn't do nothin'!"

"I wouldn't say that," Ken replied. "That tackle was very effective."

Davis blushed a bit. "Well, we were screwed either way... I just freaked and went for it," he admitted.

"Really?" Ken asked, intrigued. "That's the first time someone has stopped that play. With a tackle like that, I'd say you have potential."

Davis looked at him, surprised; wasn't that what Tai was always telling him, too? "You think so?" he asked.

"Certainly," Ken said. "Davis, am I right?" He offered his hand. "I hope we can meet again some time, friend."

Davis gawked at the hand; had 'the Rocket' just called him a friend? He grabbed it and shook it vigorously. "Sure thing!" he laughed.

* * *

"An' then he called me a friend and we shook hands!" Davis said, his chest swelling. "Can you believe that? 'The Rocket' called me his friend! AND he used my nickname!"

The sun was setting, and the group was headed back to their homes from the practice field. Davis looked like he was walking on air. Kari giggled. "I've never seen you that happy about losing before," she said.

"Yeah, usually you cuss and kick stuff and blame everyone but yourself," Sora remarked.

Davis blushed. "These're... special circumstances," he grumbled.

The only one who wasn't cheerful was Yolei. "Ohhh... I can't believe you didn't get Ken's autograph!" she fumed, yanking Poromon's cheek like a fat aunt does to a child. "Now how am I gonna- OWWW!" She turned on Cody. "Why are you still pinching me?"

Cody smiled wryly. "It's fun," he replied.

"Careful, Cody," Kari chuckled. "Davis isn't the only one she can throw into ponds."

"Anyway, that sliding tackle you did was great," TK said to Davis. "You really caught him off guard."

"Yeah!" Demiveemon laughed from atop his head, "it was like, BOOM! And WHAM! And SLAM! And JAM!"

"Oh, don't say 'jam...'" Upamon groaned. "I'm hungry..."

"Even after eating most of my kettle corn?" Cody growled.

"Bad move, Upamon," Yolei chuckled. "Never get between Cody and kettle corn."

Upamon gulped.

Davis hardly heard the barbs being traded; he was still bursting with pride. "You know what?" he said as they passed under a walkway, "I think some day, Ken and I'll be on the same champion team!"

Tai scoffed. "Try playing a decent game first," he said. "Aside from that one tackle, they massacred us."

Davis's smile died. "Man, coach..." he grumbled, "that's harsh..."

The others laughed.

Unbeknownst to any of them, someone watched them from atop that walkway. Ken Ichijouji glared down at the chuckling party with raw hatred. With a snarl, he fervently wiped the hand that shook Davis's on his pant leg. These brats had angered him before, but none so much as that pretentious, goggle-wearing buffoon. Not one person on this lifeless rock was worthy of calling him 'friend.' That insect would suffer dearly for even thinking such a thing.

* * *

Davis walked into the computer lab on Monday afternoon and Demiveemon hopped onto his head. Now that the soccer game was over, he was ready to get back to knocking down the Emperor's handiwork. "'Sup, Cody?" he asked the little boy.

"I'm just turning on the program," Cody reported, "but we're going to be short-handed today. None of the older kids can make it to help."

"Huh... Yeah, Tai told me that," Davis remembered, but it didn't bother him much. Even without his mentor around, he was sure the five of them could take down a few spires easily.

He was about to ask where TK and Kari were when Yolei stomped up to him. "Give me your hand," she barked.

He looked at her like she had asked him for a bottle of green ketchup. "...What?" he asked.

"Hold it out!" she snapped.

Confused, he held out his hand. Her own hovered over it, twitching. "What's the big deal?" he asked her.

"That hand touched Ken," she said. "If I touch it, then by the transitive property, I'll get some Ken!"

He rolled his eyes; only Yolei would employ algebra for sexual fantasies. "Fine," he grumbled, "just make it quick."

Her fingers drifted closer to his, but then stopped. She stood there for about ten seconds, staring at it. Her aura was drifting into his nostrils, making him wish he hadn't eaten such a large lunch. Cody and Upamon sat and watched, mildly amused.

Yolei's eye twitched, and she yanked her hand away. "Aww, I can't do it!" she huffed. "Even if I get some Ken, I have to touch YOU."

Davis folded his arms, insulted. "You shook my hand before," he pointed out.

"That's when Mimi was here," she countered. "She's the only thing I find more disgusting."

"Wow," he chuckled. "I ain't as disgusting as Mimi? I'll take that."

The door opened and Kari and TK entered, their Digimon in tow. "Hi, guys," Kari said. "Sorry we're late."

"Patamon! Gatomon!" Demiveemon laughed as he hopped to his friends.

"Why weren't you at the game yesterday?" Poromon asked.

"Sorry about that," Gatomon said. "I was in the middle of a nap."

"TK forgot to tell me he was going," Patamon said, frowning at his partner. "I ended up sitting in Matt's apartment all afternoon. It stinks in there!"

TK sighed. "I said I was sorry..." he mumbled.

Anxious to change the subject, Kari turned to Cody. "Well, where are we headed today?" she asked. "We cleaned up File Island last time, right?"

Cody turned to the screen, but he did not make a pleased noise. "Urgh... Not quite," he growled.

Confused, everyone crowded around the monitor. The Digital World map showed one black area amidst all of the white.

"Was that there on Saturday?" Yolei asked.

"I think it was gray then," Kari said. "I've never been there before..."

"That's the Valley of Death," Upamon chirped. "It's a rocky desert surrounded by mountains. Really empty place!"

Gatomon turned to the yellow ball. "How'd you know that?" she asked.

Upamon thought for a moment, then shrugged, equally puzzled. "Dunno," he said. "Maybe I just did 'cuz I'm a new Digimon."

"Valley of Death..." TK repeated. "Well, the Emperor sure picked an appropriate place."

Cody harrumphed. "Even if this place were called the Valley of Duckies and Bunnies, the spire means trouble," he said crossly. "If we don't take it down, he could expand and reclaim the island."

"Well, we can't have THAT," Patamon huffed. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Right!" Kari agreed, turning to Davis and Yolei. "Is everyone ready?"

Yolei's hand was hovering over Davis's again, her face contorting every which way. "...Thank GOD," Davis sighed and pulled away.

* * *

With a familiar flash, the children and their Rookie-level Digimon stood in an empty place. As far as they could see there was nothing besides sand, rocks, and a solitary control spire towering over everything else. High, sharp mountains rose up on all sides like monster fangs, preventing any escape. The only sound was howling wind.

"Damn..." Davis swore, pulling his goggles down over his eyes, "this place really IS dead."

"A coupla duckies an' bunnies might spruce it up," Veemon cackled.

Ignoring the remark, Cody scanned the horizon. "Keep alert," he warned. "Where there's a spire, the Emperor isn't far behind."

Seeing nothing to bar their way, the party warily started towards the control spire. The lack of noise was awful. Though the Emperor had left his mark, silence was the true ruler of this area.

Davis, annoyed with the quiet, decided to make conversation. "Yo, why is that?" he asked. "Why's the Emperor around one of his spires when we come to knock it down?"

Though he had pointed it out, Cody found he had no answer. "I... don't know," he admitted.

"Maybe he's one of those types that have to do everything themselves," Yolei suggested. "Y'know, he doesn't trust anyone else to do it right."

"Maybe, but then why does he have slaves?" TK asked. "If he wouldn't trust people, he wouldn't trust Digimon."

"He doesn't see them as Digimon," Gatomon growled. "They're just weapons for him."

With that thought, Davis looked around. In his other adventures, the Emperor had sent out a few of his servants to fight them, but today, there was nothing. "So where are they?" he asked aloud.

"Maybe he's changed his strategy," Kari said.

"Probably," Cody agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ditched the force plan and set up some kind of-"

Before he could say "trap," there was a scream, and Yolei and Hawkmon were gone. Everyone whirled around to see only puffs of sand where they had stood. "...Figures..." he mumbled.

"Yolei!" TK called.

"Where are you?" Kari cried.

Suddenly, the sand gave way and Cody, TK, Kari and their Digimon were swallowed up as well. Alone in the wasteland, Davis and Veemon freaked. "Shit!" Davis yelled, and drove his hands into the sand. "Veemon! Help me dig!"

They dug like dogs, but neither of them came up with anything. Their friends had vanished into the earth. Davis fell back on his rear, a cold sweat on his face. He had seen a horror film like this once, and it had not ended well; what had happened to them?

"We need help!" Veemon declared. "Davith, we gotta get Tai or somethin'!"

Davis shook his head angrily. "Can't! He doesn't have a D-Terminal! Besides, he can't help today!" he snapped, a numb feeling coming over him. He had never felt more alone than right then. "D... Damn Emperor!..." he swore in shaky breath.

"Did someone call my name?" a familiar voice reached his ears and made fingers clench. He looked around angrily, but he couldn't see anyone.

"Hmm... You seem to be in some trouble," the Emperor's voice said, "unless you enjoy looking like a fool."

"YOU!" Davis roared, rearing up. "Did you do this? Where're my pals?"

The voice chuckled. "Your precious 'friends' are here with me," he said, the sound now clearly coming from the direction of the control spire. "Why don't you come and see for yourself?"

Davis did just that; he broke into an enraged sprint towards the spire, Veemon barely keeping up with him. His lips spat numerous curses as he ran. That snot-nosed brat was in for it when he got his hands on-

A large mesa reared up between the spire and him, the blue-caped Emperor atop it. He skidded to a halt and glared at the fiend. The Emperor chuckled. "Welcome," he said. "So, again we face each other."

Davis was in no mood for theatrics. "Where the hell are my friends?" he barked. "What'd you do to them?"

"Nothing..." the Emperor said, making a sweeping gesture to Davis's left. "At least, not yet."

Davis turned and his breath snagged. A natural bridge jutted from the mesa, and from it dangled eight familiar beings in tight ropes. "Dammit... You guys!" he yelled to them.

"Davis!" Kari called.

"We blew it..." TK sighed.

"What're you waiting for?" Yolei snarled, struggling. "Save us, you moron!"

"Don't look at us!" Cody barked. "Keep your eyes on the Emperor!"

"Don't worry, you guys!" Davis growled. "I'll get you outta there! Veemon! Time to-"

Before he could finish, something hard struck his side. He looked down to see a black lash around his D3 before both of them flew in the Emperor's direction. The tyrant scooped up the D3 and recoiled his whip, smiling with triumph.

"You BASTARD!" Davis swore.

"This just isn't your day, is it?" the Emperor asked. "Well, if you think that's bad..." His lips pulled back to reveal a violent, wild smile. "DELTAMON!"

The ground shook, and the cliff face under the spire exploded. In its place stood a gigantic, two-tailed, purple dinosaur with bulging muscles and razor-sharp fangs. If that was not bad enough, its limbs gave an even bigger shock; one was a mechanical dragon's head and the other was an empty-eyed dragon skull. All three heads had murder in their eyes.

Veemon took a step back, gulping. "I was hopin' for a ducky or a bunny..." he muttered.

"You big wuss!" Davis snapped. "What kind of loser rigs a fight?"

"A genius, of course," the Emperor replied, running his fingers through his hair again.

Davis spat. "Ain't the word I was gonna use..." he growled.

"You're not in any position to be snippy, boy," the Emperor growled, pointing to Deltamon. "It's feeding time for my Deltamon... and those children would satisfy him quite nicely."

Deltamon stomped forward until he was just under the bridge, his three heads gnashing at the prisoners. Davis's eyes narrowed at the Emperor, his teeth clenched. "You sick son of a...!" he snarled. "I'm gonna-"

The Emperor tossed Davis's D3 in the air and caught it again as a reminder. "You're going to what?" he jeered.

Veemon looked at his partner, whose arms were trembling again. "Davith..." he said.

Davis's brain crashed around in a frustrated fit. Without his Digivice, he could do nothing against such a gigantic monster. If this had happened earlier on, maybe he would have felt braver, but after seeing that the gash Kari had got in Metal City had come back with her, he shuddered at what would happen if Deltamon actually ate them. Even at such a young age, the Digimon Emperor was a cold-blooded killer. He had to stop this somehow. He swallowed hard, then looked at the Emperor. "Let them go..." he said.

The Emperor's smile lengthened. "Oh? You want mercy?" he asked. "I don't know... You did just call me quite a few names... You'd practically have to beg for it, I'd think."

Cursing his curses, Davis slowly got down on his hands and knees. "Well?" he asked.

"Oh, that isn't enough," the Emperor scoffed. "You'll have to say something, too. How about this: 'please, master, spare my friends.'"

Veemon was appalled. "Davith, don't..." he started.

Davis bit his lip, then swallowed again. "Please, master, spare my friends," he said.

The Emperor wasn't satisfied. "Let's change that a bit..." he said. "'Please, master, spare my WORTHLESS friends.'"

Swearing up a storm in his mind, Davis formed the words. "Please, master... spare my... worthless friends," he managed.

The Emperor stood there, drinking in the humiliation like a fine wine. "Very good..." he said. "Now, Veemon, restrain him. Step on his head."

Veemon recoiled. "What? Never!" he snarled.

"Veemon..." Davis said, his eyes still on the ground, "do it."

Veemon looked at his partner, horrified. "But Davith..."

"DO it, dammit!" Davis snapped.

Veemon stared at him. If he couldn't become Flamedramon, then he would have to obey the tyrant to save the others. He whimpered sadly and put his foot in Davis's hair.

The Emperor laughed loudly. "That's a position I like to see from you two!" he said. "Well, for a show like that, perhaps I will show leniency."

With a relieved sigh, Davis sat up. "You're gonna let 'em go?" he asked.

The Emperor feigned an awkward cough, then resumed his grin. "Well, unfortunately, I kept Deltamon waiting for a long time for this trap, and all of his heads are simply ravenous... so, since you have four pairs of friends and he only has three heads... I'm afraid I can only spare one set."

Veemon gasped. Davis's heart lurched. "WHAT?" he yelled.

Deltamon sprang up, his three maws snapping at the children's heels. Davis stared at his tied-up friends. What kind of decision was this?

"Of course, when Deltamon gets this hungry, I really can't control him," the Emperor cackled, holding up a small hourglass. "If you don't make a choice soon, he'll eat them all anyway."

With eyes as wide as saucers, Davis looked up at his friends again.

"Don't worry about me!" Kari said. "Save someone else!"

"Do what you think is right!" TK shouted.

"God, you're all makin' me look bad..." Yolei fumed. "Fine! DON'T save me! Sheesh!"

"You're the only one who can do anything," Cody growled, "so do SOMETHING!"

"Davith..." Veemon gulped. "What do we do?"

Davis's throat was devoid of any moisture. Who should he pick? Forget that; if this world was just like reality, he would be responsible for three dead children. How could he live with any choice he could make? He looked at them, then at Deltamon, and then at the Emperor. His eyes darted back and forth between them many times, his breathing almost wild.

"The sand's almost gone," the Emperor smirked. "Will you let them ALL die?"

Davis bit his lip so hard, he tasted blood. He could not make this choice. He couldn't stand to see anyone get eaten by that monster; not sweet Kari, not friendly TK, not crabby Cody, and not even stinky old Yolei. The only answers he could give the Emperor were a frustrated yell and furious tearing at his own hair.

The Emperor laughed as he watched the tormented boy. That low-grade imbecile had humiliated him in front of everyone; he deserved every second of this. Why couldn't the sand fall slower so he could relish it longer?

The last grain of sand fell through to the bottom. Davis watched it tumble slowly, like someone jumping off of a building.

"Oh... what a shame," the Emperor said, showing Davis the empty hourglass again, then turned to the others. "Well, Digidestined, he could have saved one of you... but he's let you all die. Remember that the next time you choose your team!"

The screams of his friends and the roars of Deltamon in his ears, Davis could only watch open-mouthed as the beast raised its mouths towards them.

The Emperor noticed his horrified look and smiled even wider. "No... wait," he said, signaling for Deltamon to stop.

Miraculously, the monster stopped. Davis looked up at him, baffled.

"I can't stand to see people suffer," the Emperor cooed. "Eat HIM first, and then his friends."

Another furious roar in his throat, Deltamon ducked under the bridge and lumbered towards Davis. The goggle-headed boy, stunned by the sudden turn for the worst, couldn't move. He just sat on his knees, staring at the giant, purple beast.

Veemon could move, though, and he frantically shook his partner's shoulder. "Davith," he squeaked, "if you've been waitin' to make a surprise move... well, now would be a good time!"

The Emperor grinned again. He had been wrong about the hourglass; watching the rat get eaten would be far more satisfying than watching him suffer. Unable to contain his glee, he threw his head back in a triumphant laugh.

As Deltamon took the last step towards Davis, though, the ground gave away and he stumbled, unleashing a massive cloud of dust. Veemon blinked a few times, then looked at Davis. "...Nice," he said.

Davis looked just as confused as Deltamon. "...I didn't do that..." he said.

The Emperor stopped laughing as quickly as he had started. "WHAT?" he roared.

From out of the cloud of dust jumped Digmon, his drills shining in the dusty air. "Surpriiiise!" he laughed.

Davis's eyes couldn't have gone further out of his skull without falling out. What was Digmon doing down there?

"Davis! Veemon!" a familiar voice came from behind them. They both looked up to see Pegasusmon, Halsemon and Nefertimon fly low over their heads. Kari, TK, Yolei and Cody hopped off and landed in the sand next to them. "Are you OK?" TK asked.

Davis was more flummoxed than relieved. "What... What happened?" he managed.

"Somehow we fell into a warp that took us clear to the other side of the island," Cody harrumphed. "We had to find a TV, go back to the lab, and then warp back in to get here."

"We're just glad we got back in time," Kari said.

Davis slowly pointed at the children who still dangled from the bridge. "Then... who are...?" he started.

What happened next almost made him hurl. All eight beings snapped their ropes and floated in the air, then mutated into white-sheeted, red-eyed ghosts with dark rings around their midsections. Yolei shrieked at the sight. "What the hell?" she yelled.

Veemon growled. "Those are Bakemon!" he said. "They can impersonate anything!"

The Emperor spat and stamped his foot as Wormmon came up behind him. "ARRGH!" he yelled. "You couldn't have made that warp bigger? Why didn't you put them on the continent or something?"

Wormmon looked pained. "I just..." he started.

"Forget it!" the Emperor snarled. "Bakemon! Formation A!"

Davis looked up as the eight ghosts went after the Armored Digimon. "So..." he murmured, a white-hot rage forming in his chest, "the Emperor was just..." He couldn't finish the sentence. He took off up the mountainside.

"Davis! Where're you going?" TK called.

"Forget about him," Yolei gulped, pointing at the Bakemon. "We have bigger problems..."

The Bakemon went at Pegasusmon, Nefertimon and Halsemon in one large group. "Now, Formation C!" the Emperor ordered, cracking his whip. Instantly the ghosts split up and smaller groups went for each one of them. They sailed around and around, disorienting the flying Digimon.

"ATTACK!" the Emperor screeched, and the ghosts stopped. Each one of them shot a long, blue fist from beneath their sheets, pummeling the Armor Digimon before they could move.

"Oh!" Kari gasped. "Nefertimon!"

TK looked at the attacking ghosts, puzzled; there was something familiar about those 'formations.' Had he seen them before?

"Digmon!" Cody yelled. "Give them air support!"

"Got it, pardner!" Digmon said, then raised his drills and fired them at the ghosts.

"Formation F!" the Emperor yelled, swinging his arm. The ghosts zipped out of the path of the drills, then came in behind the flying Digimon and attacked again.

Cody growled. "Digmon, again!" he ordered.

Digmon was about to launch another set, but Deltamon came up behind him. With one swipe of his skull head, the digging Digimon was buried in the wall, helpless.

The Emperor laughed at the sight, then turned back to the Bakemon. "Now!" he yelled. "Finish-"

An angry yell came from behind, and he whirled around just as Davis crashed into him. The two of them tumbled down the mesa, rocks and curses spitting everywhere in their wake.

"Oh, no!" Wormmon cried, looking after them. "Master!"

"Goddamn bastard!" Davis snarled as he grappled with the tyrant. "I'll fix you good!"

"You don't hold a candle to me!" the Emperor declared, his grip tightening on Davis's knuckles. "I am a genius!"

Though they were tumbling at breakneck speed, Davis managed to free one of his hands. "Genius THIS!" he roared, and socked the Emperor right between the eyes.

The blue-robed boy yelled angrily, and Davis felt the grip get even tighter. He could tell the Emperor had some sort of fighting training, but he didn't want to stick around to find out what. He kicked him square in the ankle and the Emperor shrieked in agony. The grip snapped open, letting him roll away to safety. His D3 clattered to the ground next to him.

Davis rolled to a sitting-up position in time to see the Emperor glowering at him, a giant crack down his purple shades. "Looks like I win anyway," he cackled. "DELTAMON!"

A hot gust of air came down on him and Davis looked up. Deltamon towered over him, an eerie, purple beam charging in his three mouths. He grabbed his D3 and held it up. "Oh, yeah?" he snapped. "Veemon! DigiArmor Energize!"

Something flashed red on the other side of the mesa, and then Flamedramon soared down next to him. Deltamon fired its beam, but Flamedramon engulfed himself in fire and dove right into it. Cutting through the purple blast like a snow plow, he zipped under and smashed the ring on Deltamon's stomach. The beast gurgled, then fell to its knees.

Davis sighed with relief; that had been too close.

* * *

Up in the air, the flying Digimon had been given an opportunity as well. Without the Emperor ordering them into formations, the Bakemon floated about aimlessly, flailing their arms like drunken dancers.

"I guess he never taught them to think for themselves," Nefertimon remarked.

"Halsemon, Nefertimon, take out the spire," Pegasusmon ordered, flapping his wings. "I can handle this."

While the other two took off for the spire, Pegasusmon launched a volley of brilliant stars from beneath his wings, shattering all of the ghosts' rings at once. With a drilling Tempest Wing from Halsemon and a quick Rosetta Stone from Nefertimon, the spire teetered, then snapped in half.

"YES!" Yolei yelled from the ground, pumping her fist. "All your spires are belong to us!"

Cody looked up at the mesa, then frowned. "Where's the Emperor?" he asked.

Kari also looked around nervously. "Never mind that; where's Davis?" she asked.

* * *

On the other side of the mesa, Davis and Flamedramon laughed as they saw the spire fall. "You like that?" Davis declared, turning to the Emperor. "Yer spire's squashed!"

The Emperor's snarling teeth subsided and he grew deathly calm. He rubbed at the ankle that Davis kicked, wincing. "You're lucky you hit the same place," he hissed, "otherwise I would've..."

"Same place?" Davis asked, then looked closer; a lot of blood was coming from the surprisingly deep ankle wound. He was just thinking that he hadn't kicked the Emperor that hard when another thought made his eyes widen. That wound looked like it was in the same place as... He recoiled. "No way!" he uttered. "Hell no! It ain't..."

There was a snap, and the Emperor's shades fell to the ground in pieces. Davis found himself staring into two purplish eyes with black dots in their centers... the eyes of Ken Ichijouji. His mouth dropped, and he could only stare.

Ken cackled and stood up, stumbling a bit from the wound. "It took you that long to figure it out?" he asked as Wormmon crawled up next to him. "You're dumber than I thought!"

He whistled and an Airdramon spiraled down out of the sky. "I won't be holding back anymore," he said as Wormmon and he got on it. "See you next time, Davis!" With that, he took off and disappeared into the clouds.

"Well, this just got a lot messier," Flamedramon growled. "What do we do, Davis? Davis?"

Davis just knelt there, staring into the sky. The boy genius of Japan was a heartless tyrant. The championship soccer captain was a bloodthirsty conqueror. The hero whose hand he had shaken was the Digimon Emperor. As he stared at the red sky, he could only formulate one word. His lips formed it silently, over and over:

"...Why?..."


	8. When Rings Go Wrong

**CHAPTER 8**

**WHEN RINGS GO WRONG**

Kari suddenly realized that her feet were wet. She saw gray, mushy sand between her toes, and the white froth of receding waves flecked around them. The beach? When had she gone to the beach? She didn't remember leaving the apartment... and in her pajamas?

She looked up and fear gripped her. This wasn't the Odaiba beachfront at all. Any signs of life were splintered in ruins across the shore, and the only sound that met her was the breaking of waves. The sky was as gray as the sand; indeed, everything was devoid of any color but some shade of gray... with the exception of the ocean. That was as black as tar. The air was moist like after a rain shower, but it carried an uncanny stink of decay and bodily fluids.

A chilly wind forced a gasp from her lungs. Wherever this was, she didn't want to spend another minute there. She wanted to leave, but couldn't. She tried to move her legs, but they refused to obey, as did her arms and even her neck. Panic set in; she was stuck to the spot.

Something gurgled out on the water and she froze. Something was coming up from the depths... something huge. Creating waves that reached her middle when they broke, a tall, hideously shaped creature rose into the sky, burying her in its shadow. Deep, hollow breathing filled the beach's air, and the stench grew worse. She dug her fingernails into her palms; what was happening?

In the deepest recess of her mind, someone spoke her name. It was a low, soft, dangerous voice that made her think of the inside of a mausoleum. It spoke her name again, beckoning. The voice came from that creature; she didn't know how she knew that, but she did. Slowly, she looked up at it.

Two violent eyes that glowed like melting rubies locked with hers, and her mouth dropped open in a silent scream. The creature raised its... hands... to the sky, ready to grab her. Come, the voice was saying, more demanding than beckoning now; come! Come! COME!

With a cry, Kari shot up. Her blurry, wild eyes met only darkness. She was in her bed, in her room, in her home. Sweat trickled from her hair to her shoulders, dampening the yellow pajama top. She looked around and squeezed her blanket with her hands; it was real. She was safe.

Her whole body shuddered as she sighed with relief. Suddenly, though, two bright eyes leaped onto her bed, making her yelp.

"Kari? It's me," Gatomon's familiar voice came to her ears.

"Gato... Gatomon..." Kari repeated, taking comfort in the name. Yes, she was safe now.

"What's the matter?" the Digimon asked. "You're all sweaty..."

Kari looked at the eyes for a moment. It was all just a dream. That was all. Just a scary dream. "...It's nothing," she said quietly. "Go back to sleep."

Gatomon looked at her for a moment, then yawned. "If you say so..." she mumbled, then jumped off the bed and went back to her cushion.

Kari lay back and pulled up the covers. She had a hard time getting back to sleep.

* * *

The familiar footsteps caught Wormmon off guard, but he was nevertheless happy to hear them. "Master!" he chirped happily as the Digimon Emperor entered the throne room. "What are you doing here? It's late, and-"

His answer was another kick onto the floor. The Emperor strode to his throne and sat down, fiddling with its buttons.

"What are you doing, master?" Wormmon asked, inching up next to him. "It's not like you to come so late..."

Without a word, the Emperor hit a button and all of his monitors turned onto the same thing: a news program from reality. A wide-eyed woman with a big smile and a microphone turned her pearly whites on the camera. "Welcome to 'The Genius Parade!'" she announced. "Today we'll be interviewing our youngest gifted person yet, Ken Ichijouji of Tomachi!"

The camera pulled back to show the midnight-blue-haired boy in the gray uniform that the Emperor recognized so well. "Oh, I haven't done anything special yet..." he admitted shyly.

"Oh, you're so modest!" the reporter laughed. "Tell us, do you spend a lot of time working on problems?"

"No, not really," Ken replied with a shrug. "I can understand some people wanting to, but I'd rather play soccer."

"Ah, an athlete as well!" she went on with a laugh. "You know, they say genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration... What do you think of that?"

"That sounds about right," he replied with a smile, "though sometimes I think mine is two percent."

She laughed again. "You know, in America they allow gifted kids to skip grades. I've heard that some at your age are in college. Would you like to do something like that?"

He shrugged. "Since we can't do that in Japan, is that really worth talking about?" he posed.

"Well, if you COULD do it..." she pressed, "would you like to?"

He thought for a second, then smiled. "I guess it would be nice," he said. "I would enjoy a challenge."

"Well, I think you're going to be a success in whatever you do, Ken," she said. "I don't see how anything could get in your way! Well, that's all the time we have for today, folks! Thanks for watching!"

The screen changed to an advertisement for some fried chicken restaurant. The Emperor deactivated the monitors and stared at the floor.

* * *

"I think that was really insightful," the reporter said as her camera crew packed their bags. "Thanks for taking time to speak with us, Ken."

"Of course," Ken replied. "Any time."

She beamed and clapped his shoulder. "Good luck!" she said, then turned and walked away with her crew.

"That went well," an older man in a suit behind Ken said. "Thank you, Ken."

Ken turned to him, wiping off his shoulder where the reporter had touched him. "Of course, sir," he said.

"Our school's been getting lots of publicity thanks to you," the man said, approaching him. "You should see how many parents want their kids enrolled here!"

"I'm... glad to be of help," Ken replied, smiling quietly. The school's principal was such a suck-up to anyone that made him look better.

"Of course, there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you," the principal said, leaning in close to Ken's ear. "Would you, perhaps, tutor for my daughter? I could pay handsomely."

Ken's eyes narrowed. So that was his game, eh? If his daughter had any of his genes, she wouldn't even be worth his speaking to. "Oh, I don't think someone as young as I could be an appropriate tutor," he said, smiling politely. "You know, that someone close to her age... It could give the wrong impressions, sir."

The principal gave him a puzzled look, then slapped himself in the forehead. "Of course! You're right, as usual. Couldn't give the wrong impressions, no! Thank you, Ken."

A bell somewhere in town gave six long, low peals. "Oh, look at the time!" the principal laughed. "I really must get home! See you in school Monday morning."

"Of course, sir," Ken said, turning to leave. Thank God that was over. If he stuck around any longer, he could catch idiot germs.

"Oh, one more thing, Ken!" the principal called.

Invisibly gnashing his teeth, he turned back around. "Yes, sir?" he asked.

The principal laughed and sheepishly offered a small book. "...Autograph?" he asked. "For my daughter, I mean."

Ken smiled wryly. Of course it was for his daughter. He scribbled his name in the book along with some encouraging words. "There you go," he said, hoping the big child was satisfied.

"Thank you so much!" the principal said, getting red in the face. "I... She'll be delighted! Thank you, Ken!" With that, he turned and left.

Ken watched him leave the park, then spat angrily into the grass.

* * *

Ken closed the door behind him, but he wasn't quiet enough to stay undetected.

"Welcome home, Ken!" his mother said, poking her head out of the dining room. "You're just in time for dinner!"

He mechanically sat down at the table between his parents and stared at his plate. Liver, squash and lumpy mashed potatoes. Again.

"Saw you on TV just now, tiger," his father said, grinning at him. "Soon enough, you're gonna need a stick to keep the ladies away... just like your old man!"

His mom giggled. "If I had known they were filming it in the park, I would have come and watched," she admitted.

Ken took a few bites of the refuse, then put his utensils down and stood up. "Excuse me, please," he said to them.

His mother looked at him. "Is something wrong, dear?" she asked.

"No..." he said, then turned and left. His parents exchanged curious glances.

He walked out of the apartment and headed up several flights of stairs. The terrace atop the apartment building gave a panoramic view of all of Tomachi and more. The fall wind blew his hair around as he stared out across the gray, rectangular, soulless masses.

Ordinary life assailed his ears from all sides: honking horns, barking dogs, car radios, and other such garbage. He wished he could wave his hand and silence it all.

He walked to the railings and looked down at the people walking on sidewalks below. God knew how many fools were out there, puttering around like rats in mazes, dreaming away their meaningless existences. Not one of them was half of what he was worth. He was a genius. He was the Emperor. He was a god. They made him sick.

Furiously he clamped the rails and leered at the world. "NOTHING BUT FOOLS!" he shrieked.

* * *

Wormmon was surprised when the Emperor rose as suddenly as he had appeared. The caped fiend strode over to one of his computer terminals and silently and furiously started typing.

"Master?" he ventured. "What's going on? Is there something special you're doing tonight?"

He got no response. The Emperor typed on, into the night.

* * *

Izzy stared hard at Davis, trying to wrap his brain around what had just been said. "The Digimon Emperor is... Ken Ichijouji?" he repeated.

"That's what I said!" Davis snapped. "Mr. Brainiac himself!"

Demiveemon, who was perched on the computer desk, nodded vigorously. "Yeah, really!" he chirped. "I was there! It is! It is!"

The afternoon sun gave Cody's face a serious glare... more serious than usual. "I don't understand," he said, folding his arms. "Why would one with so much talent use it to hurt others?"

"Indeed..." Izzy agreed, scratching his chin. He had always been told that knowledge was meant for helping humanity; his own Crest was based in that belief. Why would someone abuse it like this?

"From the news story, he sure sounds clever," TK remarked, adjusting his cap. "What do you think we should do, guys?"

Looking around for ideas, his eyes fell on Kari's pale face and he paused. She had a far-off, scared look in her eyes. He had seen looks like it before, but never from her. "Kari?" he asked, leaning over. "Are you OK?"

Kari looked up with a start, then after a moment, laughed and shook her head. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Don't worry about me... Just spacing out..." She turned to the others. "Anyway, that IS hard to believe! I mean, he was nice enough at the game..."

"Izzy, you have the most experience," Cody said, looking at the red-haired geek. "What should we do?"

Izzy paced, staring at the lab floor. "If he's a child just like us, then he has to have a home here, in the real world," he thought out loud, "and I doubt he has any minions or real power in this world... so..." He stopped pacing and looked at them. "Let's find him. We'll confront him outside of the Digital World."

"Hey, that IS a good idea!" TK agreed.

"But where is he?" Poromon asked, trying to add to the conversation in Yolei's absence.

"All I know is he's from Tomachi," Davis said. "That's a pretty big place to search, and-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Upamon huffed, bouncing up and down. "This is great, but when do we get to eat?"

Cody gave him a stern look. "Be patient," he scolded. "Yolei will be back soon with dinner."

Izzy chuckled at the pair, remembering his days with Tentomon... but Yolei was running later than usual. What could be keeping her?

As soon as he had thought this, the door slid open to reveal a grinning, sweaty, odorous Yolei. "Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late," she said, holding up a big plastic sack of goodies, "but my folks are making me take only expired stuff now!"

The five Digimon ran for the bag, dragged it to the floor and razed its contents. Within fifteen seconds, they were all chowing down on various junk foods and juice pouches.

"Sheesh, tear my arm off, why don'tcha," she grumbled. "Oh, and I found this, too... Excuse me, Patamon!" She reached under TK's partner and pulled up a pop magazine.

"A crapazine?" Davis sneered. "I figured that would be your thing."

"Shut it," she rebuked. "There's an article about Ken-"

"Gimme that!" he huffed, ripping it out of her hands.

"Dammit, Davis, you gave me a paper cut!" she snapped, sucking on her finger.

Davis flipped through the magazine three times before he found the article. He glared daggers at the image that smiled up at him. "Yeah, that's him..." he growled, and slapped it on the desk for all to see.

The kids and Digimon crowded around. In one picture, Ken Ichijouji stood before a humble-looking apartment complex, smiling cheerfully. In another picture, he blushed and laughed as a professor praised him before a computer.

"He certainly doesn't look very bad," Cody remarked. "It's hard to believe Davis's story."

"His smile is so gentle..." Kari agreed.

TK, however, had doubts. Ken's strange eyes gave him the willies. The more he looked at them, the more he couldn't help but think Davis was right.

"So, that's him?" Izzy asked. "Yeah, I've seen him on the news..."

Yolei was beaming again. "Ooh, look at his IQ!" she squealed, pointing at Ken's stat chart. "He can hack my systems any day!"

"Are you retarded?" Davis yelled. "That kid's rotten to the core! How the hell did he get to be a Digidestined, anyway?"

"Maybe they accept on grounds of hotness..." Yolei sighed, daydreaming.

"More likely it's his intellect," Cody said, butting into her fantasies. "It could be his athleticism, too... or a mix of both."

"I didn't want an answer!" Davis snarled. How was he going to kick Ken's ass if his friends were all nuts about him?

Izzy chuckled. "All right, all right... Don't get your knickers in a twist, Davis," he said. "Let's just find him."

Davis's tirade stopped. He looked at Izzy, baffled. "...What're knickers?" he asked.

Izzy sat down at the computer and lay the magazine next to him, looking at the picture of Ken with the apartment building. "I'd assume this is where he lives," he said, typing furiously. "I'll bring up a map of Tomachi and triangulate the location based on the shadows and direction of light..." He grew silent and just typed even faster.

Cody gave Yolei a confused look. "What's he doing?" he asked.

Yolei shrugged. "No idea," she admitted. "Even I get lost when he goes _ber-geek."

"There!" Izzy suddenly announced. A blinking red dot flashed on one of the rectangles on the Tomachi map.

"That's the building?" Kari asked, putting her finger on the screen.

"Yes," Izzy said, frowning. "Ugh, Kari, you smudged the screen!"

"Right," Davis said, making a fist. "We'll get Ken, you get the glass cleaner!"

Cody scribbled down the address and the five kids dashed out with their partners.

* * *

At just that moment, someone else was wondering where Ken was as well. His mother worriedly looked out of the kitchen at his room. Ever since the Sunday soccer game, he had been very quiet, and now he hadn't come out of his room all day. It was only natural she would worry.

"What's up?" his father asked, looking up.

"He hasn't been out at all today," she told him. "I'm getting really worried..."

"He's been doing that a lot," he replied. "I wonder if something's wrong at school?"

She sighed and looked forlornly at the door again. "I feel bad..." she admitted. "I should know what's bothering him; I'm his mother."

Ken's dad got up and went to her side. "Parent-teacher conferences were last week, right?" he asked. "What did they say?"

She bit her lip. "They said that he has to deal with things on his own..." she sighed. "He's so smart, even they can't tell what he's thinking... They've given up."

His mouth dropped. "What?" he asked. "What kind of irresponsible...?" He glared at Ken's shut door; if their son had been forsaken by the school system, then there were only two people that could help him. "I'm breaking it down!" he declared.

"No, don't break it down!" she pleaded.

"Well, I've gotta break SOMETHING!" he snarled. Full of virtuous rage, he charged and crashed into the door. It flew open with a crash; it hadn't even been locked. The room was dark and empty, save the active computer in the corner.

"Ken?" he barked. "Ken!" With no trace of his son in his room, he walked out onto the balcony. There was nothing there except the pile of junk that was usually there. He bit his lip; where could he be?

A cry from his wife jarred his thoughts. "Look!" she gasped, staring horridly at Ken's computer.

He raced back in and looked. The bright, terrible words squirmed before his eyes:

_I have no further use for this world._

_Farewell, little gnats._

_-K. Ichijouji_

His father's throat went dry. "What..." he rasped, "what does this mean?"

Overcome, his mother let out a low wail and sank to the floor.

* * *

The sky was a brilliant orange-purple as Davis stared up at the citadel of his greatest nemesis. This was it. This was where they would shut down the Digimon Emperor once and for all. "Right..." he growled, "let's go get 'im!"

"Is everybody ready?" Kari asked.

"As ready as I can be," Poromon said from Yolei's arms. "It's not like I can do much in this form, though."

"Let's hope he doesn't have any ring Digimon up there," Gatomon agreed. "Things could get ugly."

Cody pulled a notepad from his pocket. "If we must fight, I wrote up a battle plan on the way," he said, leafing through it. "It accounts for what our Digimon can do in their current forms."

A wailing siren caught Yolei's ear, and she turned and gulped. "Does it account for the cops?" she demanded.

Cody looked up in surprise. Sure enough, at least four police cars were pulling up to the apartment, their lights flashing and sirens blaring.

"He has police protection?" Patamon asked aloud.

The group raced around to the front of the building, where residents were scattered around while several police officers asked questions and scribbled on notepads. The kids and Digimon were equally confused; what was going on?

Kari looked up on the apartment steps, where an officer was speaking to a man about her father's age. His wife, presumably, was bawling uncontrollably on his shoulder. "Now, when was the last time you saw your son?" the officer asked.

"I... We thought Ken was in his room all day..." the man said, clearly shaken. "I don't know how he could have left without..." He had to stop; he was crying.

She turned to the others. "Ken's run away," she reported.

"Run away?" Upamon asked. "Like for exercise?"

"No," Cody corrected him. "Left home... Made his parents very sad."

Davis was the only one who did not look worried; he was just as mad as he was before. "Three guesses where he went," he growled.

"The Digital World?" Demiveemon guessed. Davis nodded. "Then let's go!" he chirped, wriggling around in Davis's grip. "Let's clobber 'im!"

Suddenly, the streetlights turned on. Night had officially fallen on Tomachi. "Nuts," TK huffed. "Looks like we have to go home for tonight."

"What?" Davis snapped. "But-"

"If we're out late again, our parents will call the cops on US," Yolei argued. "It took us long enough to get here; we'd better beat it!"

Discouraged, TK, Kari, Cody and Yolei started back the way they had come. Davis leered at the apartment again; once again, Ken had slipped away from him.

* * *

Tomorrow afternoon couldn't have arrived more slowly. Davis rushed into the computer lab to find Izzy and the others poring over the newspaper. "What're you reading?" he asked.

"There's an article on Ken's disappearance," Izzy answered.

"'Forensics have determined that Ichijouji had not been in his room since Sunday night,'" Cody read aloud. "Now it's Tuesday."

"Aww, man... What's happened to the Digital World?" Davis asked.

"I was just about to check," Izzy replied, swiveling around and typing on the computer.

Everyone gasped at the same time. To their horror, almost every square on the known map was black. The Emperor had at least doubled his territory.

"Well!" Davis huffed. "Was I right, or was I right?"

"This is bad..." TK said. "You don't think he's..."

"Moved in permanently?" Izzy asked, looking grave. "That's exactly what I think."

"Are your Digimon OK?" Kari asked, fearful for the safety of Tentomon, Gomamon and Palmon.

"I'll run a scan," Izzy said, hitting some buttons. "In the meantime, we'd better come up with a plan."

"Easy!" Davis argued. "We dive in and knock down spires again!"

"If Ken is now living in the Digital World, he'll rebuild them whenever we leave," Cody said, glaring at the pictures in the magazine from the day before. "He certainly seems an unpleasant being."

"Ohhh..." Yolei groaned, looking over his shoulder. "He just doesn't look capable of it all..."

"He IS, Yolei," Izzy corrected his student. "Don't forget that."

"We can forget about it after we kick his ass!" Davis said, yanking out his D3. "Let's get goin'!"

"Yes," Cody agreed. "He's done enough. We must intervene."

Kari looked at the clock; it was already a quarter to five. "It's getting late..." she noted.

"Scout around and come right back," Izzy instructed. "Don't get into anything sticky."

"Right," TK agreed, producing his own D3. "Give us a location."

Izzy perused the grid and found something on the outer fringe of blackness. "Here's something; Pyro Pit Prairie, on the Server Continent," he said. "Get ready."

"Right," Yolei said, pulling out her D3. "Let's go get that evil cute guy!"

The computer flashed and the five young Digidestined vanished. Agitated, Izzy pulled out his phone. He had some urgent calls to make.

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, the Emperor saw the familiar red dots appear on his map. They were here. He smiled as he looked over the data that he had just finished calculating. What a perfect opportunity to test it.

He pushed a few more buttons and an image of General Greymon appeared on his monitors. As he rose to move to another terminal, he almost tripped and looked down angrily; Wormmon was nuzzling at his legs. With a kick, the green worm was on the ground again.

"But Ken..." the little Digimon whimpered, staggering to right himself, "now I can be with you forever... I'm happy!"

Not listening at all, the Emperor moved to the next terminal and pushed more buttons.

* * *

A sickening wave of heat and the stink of molten methane assaulted the team as they materialized in Pyro Pit Prairie. It was a barren, red land populated only by lava-filled chasms. Every so often, one of them would randomly vomit its contents into the air, forcing the group to stay away from any. The black, cruel control spire towered in the distance. Cody wondered if this is what Hell looked like.

"Check out this land of fire," TK remarked. "It's just like that movie... 'Land of Fire.'"

"No time for shitty jokes, TJ," Davis snapped, looking around. "We've gotta find Ken and chuck him into one of these pits!"

"Hmm. It seems Daisuke is on the warpath, as Yolei might say," Hawkmon remarked to Gatomon.

"He was deceived by someone he looked up to," she rationalized. "I can't blame him."

Davis ran from one lava pit to the next, peering in for some sign that he was on the right path. "H-hey, Davith, you're gettin' awfully close..." Veemon cautioned.

"Davis, be reasonable!" Cody snapped. "Ken probably isn't even in this area!"

Suddenly, the pit Davis was at bubbled. He leaped back as several tall, burning figures leaped out of it and confronted him. They had wide, red eyes and stitched-shut, leering mouths. Dark rings were clamped around their necks.

"Ken ain't, but his thugs are!" Armadillomon growled.

"Meramon..." Kari said.

This was just what Davis was hoping for. "You want a fight?" he snapped, raising his D3. "Fine! Veemon! DigiArmor Energize!"

In a flash, Veemon was Flamedramon. The Meramon took this as their sign to attack and started chucking fireballs. Flamedramon dodged them and lobbing several volleys of his own. Unfortunately, the monsters didn't seem to mind at all; in fact, as the fireballs hit them, the monsters were getting bigger.

"Wha... What?" Davis snapped.

"Davis," Cody growled behind him, "when you fight fire with fire... all you get is more fire."

"Looks like I'm gonna have to save your butt... again," Yolei smirked as she raised her D3. "Hawkmon! DigiArmor Energize!"

Hawkmon became Halsemon and took to the air, spinning up a powerful cyclone and launching it at the Meramon. They seemed welcome to get it; their bodies danced in the wind and grew to twice their original size.

Yolei winced as she saw them grow. "Halsemon, quit it!" she yelled. "That's not helping!"

"We seem... ill equipped for handling fire-types," Cody growled.

The Meramon cackled and advanced on the children. "Well, we'd better come up with something else..." Kari gulped, "and quick!"

* * *

The Emperor looked up with delight as his finest general appeared before him. "You summoned me, master?" Greymon asked, kneeling.

"The children are back," the Emperor replied. "Pyro Pit Prairie."

"They are as good as dead," he replied, rising.

The Emperor, however, raised and hand and stopped him. "No, not yet," he said. "I have an experiment to perform, so I'm coming along. Strap yourself to some Airdramon; I want to make an entrance."

Greymon shuffled off. The Emperor strapped his whip to his belt and adjusted his shades. How dare they show up on his day of triumph! Those vermin were in for it now.

"Master..." Wormmon said meekly behind him.

The Emperor glanced down at him. "What're you waiting for?" he asked, pointing ahead. "Get the Airdramon ready!"

As happy as could be, Wormmon scooted after his master as he left the throne room.

* * *

Cody leered at the approaching fire men. If fire or wind wouldn't hurt them, maybe some good old-fashioned metal drills could take them out. "Armadillomon," he said, raising his D3, "DigiArmor Energize!"

Armadillomon leaped into the air and became Digmon, but as soon as he landed, the ground started to crack. The turf around the Meramon crumbled, sending them all tumbling back into the magma they had come from.

"All right!" Yolei laughed. "Nice one, Cody!"

Cody did not look so happy. "Damn..." he swore.

The Meramon leaped back out of the lava, even bigger than before. Digmon gulped. "Guess I need to go on a diet," he admitted.

Patamon looked up at TK. "My turn?" he asked.

"You know it," TK said, raising his D3. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Within the minute, Pegasusmon was flying overhead, showing the monsters with stars and shattering several of their rings.

"Kari!" Gatomon urged, "let me help!"

Kari raised her D3 and Nefertimon was flying alongside Pegasusmon, dropping stone tablets on the Meramon. They were really cleaning up the enemies.

"Damn... Makes me feel kinda useless..." Davis admitted.

"It's just the type," Cody said. "You'll perform better elsewhere."

Yolei, however, wasn't going to be inadequate. "Halsemon, can you do any other attacks?"

Halsemon took to the air again and dove at the Meramon. His eyes widened and fired brilliant yellow rings of light, which struck them and knocked them over, their rings breaking.

"HA!" Yolei laughed, grinning at Davis and Cody. "MY monster has TWO moves!"

"...Screw you," Davis grumbled.

"Is this really the time for this?" Cody asked crossly.

Just then, Flamedramon spotted something and whirled around. "Davis!" he yelled, pointing.

Davis and the other kids turned around, and what they saw made the volcanic air seem even hotter. Flying in over the control spire was a troupe of Airdramon, hauling a dangerous, familiar cargo. The Emperor was perched on the lead flyer, smiling wickedly.

"Well, you wanted Ken..." Cody growled.

The Meramon ceased their attacks and knelt as the flying menace came close. "Attention, so-called Digidestined!" the Emperor called to them. "You are trespassing on private property! However, today I'm feeling generous!"

"Generous?" Kari asked. "Then get out of here, and take that spire with you!"

"I think not," the Emperor replied. "You shall have the honor of being destroyed by my very first Ultimate-level general, Metalgreymon!"

Greymon roared furiously from his bonds. "Bullshit!" Davis snapped. "That's just plain old Greymon!"

"Not after I use my dark Digivice," the Emperor said, raising his black gadget high, "and make him Digivolve right before your eyes!"

"But master," Wormmon quietly said behind him, "what about the problems we had with Andromon?..."

The Emperor spat. "If I evolve from a lower level, I'll control it!" he retorted. "Now shut up!"

"What?" Yolei asked. "Can he do that?"

TK took a step back, his heart pounding. Forced Digivolution? Tai had tried to force Greymon to Digivolve once before, and... "No, don't do it!" he yelled.

"Get ready to fry, kiddies!" the Emperor laughed, pushing a button on the Digivice. "Greymon, Digivolve to Metalgreymon and serve me even better!"

As the kids watched, something definitely started to happen. A light shot out of Greymon, but it was not the friendly light of Digivolution that they knew. The light was black, and Greymon's roars were pained. His body was consumed in the eerie, purple waves, and it distorted and bent in all directions. "GREYMON, DIGIVOLVE TO..." his venomous voice resounded.

"What the blank?" Davis demanded.

"Oh, no..." TK whispered.

Where Greymon had hung now floated something nothing less than horrid. The remnants of a huge dinosaur glared down at them with burning, dead eyes, bones jutting out everywhere, its open jaw a portal into blackness. A deadly looking missile was lodged in the bones of its back, steaming at its end. "SKULLGREYMON!" a jagged tone screeched from the mouth. The bony beast thrashed and swung his claws around, bouncing the Airdramon around like a marionette in reverse.

"Holy-" Yolei gulped.

Cody didn't even mention that wouldn't be his choice of words. He just stared wide-eyed at the monstrosity.

Under his glasses, the Emperor's eyes were as terror-struck as the children's on the ground. What had gone wrong? What was this awful thing he had created? "Skull... greymon?" he whispered.

With one last thrash, Skullgreymon tore his ropes away and landed on the field. The freed Airdramon shot upwards and back, recoiling. The Emperor grabbed on to his mount tightly, still awestruck. "Suddenly this plan... doesn't seem so good..." Wormmon whimpered next to him.

At his next bloodthirsty call, the Meramon all screamed and ran, but the beast was upon them. Quicker than it looked, he grabbed two of them and crushed them in his palms, scattering pixels every which way. A third one met its end under his right foot. Davis felt sick. He had never seen a Digimon die before; it wasn't a pleasant sight.

"What did he do to Greymon?" Kari asked TK.

"I don't know..." TK admitted, remembering when Skullgreymon had appeared once before. He had come because Tai had acted stupid and deliberately put himself in danger; foolhardy abuse of his Crest of Courage. How Ken had managed to do it, he didn't know... but one thing was for certain. "We've gotta get out of here!" he yelled. "We can't beat that!"

The Meramon vanquished, Skullgreymon's eyes trained on the kids, and instantly their partner Digimon sprang into action. Flamedramon raced up and shot fireballs, but they didn't even burn the bone. With one swipe of the monster's claw, Flamedramon was Veemon again, face-down in the dirt. Digmon was next to come as Skullgreymon kicked him into the air, where he reverted to Armadillomon and crashed down next to Veemon. Halsemon made a brave swoop, but a mid-air punch put Hawkmon on top of his friends.

"Sh... shit!" Davis swore, no other words forming in his brain.

"Hawkmon!..." Yolei cried.

"TK's plan... seems the best course of action," Cody muttered, his body shaking all over.

Unsatisfied with pummeling the pipsqueaks, Skullgreymon stomped towards the humans. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon flew in front of them. "Run, you guys!" Pegasusmon shouted.

"What'll you do?" Kari asked, not wanting to see her friends end up like the Meramon.

"We'll get our friends," Nefertimon said. "You take shelter somewhere."

The kids needed no further motivation. As the remaining armor Digimon hoisted Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon onto their backs, they dove behind a hill.

"Damn that Ken!" Davis swore. "Doing this to Tai's partner... He's gonna get it!"

"Let's worry about saving our own skins first, OK?" Yolei snapped.

Cody peered over the mound and frowned. Skullgreymon had stopped moving. "He's standing still..." he said to the others. Everyone poked their heads up to look.

As Pegasusmon and Nefertimon flew towards them, the undead menace stood still, the missile on his back smoking angrily. "Everyone, get back-" TK started.

Before he could say "down," Skullgreymon doubled over and the missile stood erect. "GROUND... ZERO!" the voice shrieked again, and off it went with a horrible whistle. Looping and spinning like an evil, dislocated roller coaster, it whirled its way right into the control spire.

The whole world went white. A huge gust of atomic wind blew over the prairie, knocking all of the kids down. With anguished cries, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon reverted to Patamon and Gatomon and crashed down beside them, dropping their cargo. The Emperor's Airdamon was blown high into the air. The control spire didn't just break; it disintegrated.

The Emperor had had enough of this. "Miserable failure..." he growled under his breath, then angrily produced a whistle and blew.

The ground shook. As Davis picked himself up, he saw several dark shapes on the horizon. Ten large, black dinosaurs marched onto the scene, all wearing dark rings and heading for Skullgreymon.

"Wha... What're those?" Yolei asked as she joined him in ogling.

"They're Darktyrannomon," Kari said. "What's Ken doing?"

The dinosaurs formed a ring around Skullgreymon and simultaneously belched waves of fire onto him. Now the kids were really confused; why was the Emperor attacking his own monster?

Skullgreymon didn't care about the details. The fire not hurting him at all, he raised his claws and slapped them all away. Just as he had with the Meramon, he scooped the Darktyrannomon up and crushed them into oblivion, stomping on the stragglers. The shrieks were loud, long and chilling.

TK watched helplessly. Davis bit his lip and tried to keep from vomiting. Yolei's breathing went spastic and she started squealing; she couldn't handle this kind of carnage, even if the victims were vanishing from sight. Cody simply stared at Skullgreymon, watching his dance of death with rigid, stony eyes.

Only Kari made any noise. "Stop!" she cried at the top of her lungs. "Stop, Agumon! STOP!"

With a triumphant laugh, Skullgreymon threw the last Darktyrannomon screaming into a lava pit, where it disappeared with a hiss. Suddenly, though, he began to glow with light. It wasn't the vile, purple light that had transformed him, but the graceful yellow light of reversion. As the kids watched, the bony menace steamed, then melted away until all that remained was a small, orange dinosaur with a dark ring around its neck.

Kari's stomach flared up; it was indeed her big brother's Agumon. How could the Emperor- Ken- do something so cruel? "TK! Davis! Let's go save him!" she cried, pointing.

The five kids raced across the fire pits towards the creature, but the Emperor's Airdramon was much faster. It swooped down and clamped its maw around Agumon's tail, hoisting him into the air.

"Ken!" TK yelled, shaking his fist. "Let him go!"

"You forget who you're dealing with, child," the Emperor snarled. "I can't lose my finest general so easily!" He snapped his fingers and the Airdramon took off into the sky, far beyond their reach.

"No..." Kari gasped, falling to her knees.

"Don't sweat it, Kari," Yolei reassured her. "We'll have another chance to get 'im back."

"Yeah, but..." TK sighed, watching the black blotches vanish into the sky, "if Ken can do THAT now..." He turned to Cody. "Cody, write Izzy."

Cody nodded gravely and pulled out his D-Terminal. TK was as white as a sheet; he had better get this sent as quickly as possible.

* * *

Izzy was just calming down as Cody's letter reached him. Thankfully, he had determined that Tentomon, Gomamon and Palmon were all safe from the Emperor's recent land grab. The news of Skullgreymon appearing, though, put his blood pressure right back up. "What?" he gasped, looking it over. Instantly his mind flooded with questions: how did the Emperor get Greymon to Digivolve without a Crest? Why had Greymon become Skullgreymon? What was he planning to do?

He stared at the letter a moment more, then grabbed his cell phone. His questions would have to wait. Right now he had a difficult phone call to make.


	9. Downward Spiral

**CHAPTER 9**

**DOWNWARD SPIRAL**

Yolei shot a sidelong glance at her alarm clock. The green numbers stated that it was 12:36 AM, precisely. She thanked the night for its blessed darkness. At this time, when everyone else was asleep, was when she could feel the most alive.

Tingling hands creeping down her body, she sank back into her dreamy trance and let wave after wave of exotic heat wash over her. Ken was before her. Ken Ichijouji... the country's most prominent genius... the champion soccer star... hers at last. His thin, nimble-handed arms caressed her back. His hairless, finely-sculpted torso gently pressed against hers, as smooth as silk against her navel. She gazed upwards and his gentle, piercing eyes met hers, and a loving smile crossed his lips. The part of his smooth hair that the moonlight touched glowed like sapphires. A satisfied sigh escaped her half-open mouth; this was what she had always wanted. "Ken-chaaaaan..." she whispered to him.

And then Ken's face melted off. Skullgreymon leered down at her with his burning, dead eyes, his mouth wide open in a corpselike laugh.

With a cry, her eyes flew open and she crashed onto her back. She felt hot all over, but it was a vile heat; one of fear and guilt. Why was she doing this? Ever since the soccer game, she hadn't questioned her actions, but after what she had seen the other day... Did she have the right to think like this?

"Yolei?" Poromon's tired voice came from nearby, and the pink fluff ball staggered out from under a pile of semi-clean clothes. "What's... what's wrong?"

In the darkness, she looked at him sadly. Skullgreymon had clobbered him... indeed, everyone. And Ken had been the reason for Skullgreymon. To still be thinking of him in such a way... What was she?

Poromon looked at her scattered bed sheets. "Is that why you woke up?" he asked. "Are you cold?"

She sighed and pulled the covers up to her chin, an insufficient defense against the shame. "Yeah..." she murmured. "...Real cold."

* * *

The next day, it rained. It was one of those all-day October rains that made the world seem a lonely, joyless existence. At least, that's what it seemed like to Tai. He stared out the window at raindrops dancing on the concrete below for a moment more before turning back to the class. "Now, the Pythagorean Theorem can be used many ways in these graphing problems, so take note..." the teacher droned, his back to the class and his face to the blackboard.

He tried to scribble down what was being written, but his concentration escaped him in less than two minutes. His mind was on Agumon. Since Izzy had called him the night before, the little lizard had never left his imagination. How could the Emperor- that little twerp Ken- do something as cruel as forcing Digivolution? He shuddered as he remembered when he stupidly got Agumon to become Skullgreymon; that kind of transformation was not something to be welcomed. Whatever Ken was trying to do, it wasn't working... and Agumon was the one suffering for it. It wasn't fair.

The teacher turned around to talk and Tai feigned interest until he turned back around. He didn't care what Ken's plans were; to get Skullgreymon, he was either very evil... or very stupid.

Suddenly, a folded-up piece of paper landed on his desk. Curious, he opened it to familiar handwriting:

_How're you doing?_

_Don't worry too much; we'll fix it soon._

He glanced over a row to see Sora give him a sympathetic smile, and he couldn't help but return it. It had to be hard for her, too- her partner was still one of Ken's flunkies- and yet she stayed optimistic. She always said something encouraging when he needed it most; where would he be without her?

He tucked the note in his pocket and turned back to his textbook. She was right; after school they would meet Kari and the others in the lab and head for the Digital World. He would show Ken what happened when he messed with Tai Yagami's partner.

* * *

It was still drizzling when Davis, Kari and TK dashed into the lab after class. They were surprised to find quite a crowd in there; Izzy, Cody, Tai, Sora and Matt were all waiting, as were the Digimon. "You're late," Tai pointed out.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Davis apologized, looking sheepish. "I got in trouble in class and had to clean the blackboards..."

"...And we helped him to speed things up," TK added.

Davis folded his arms. "Seriously, that teacher ain't got a funny bone," he grumbled. "Didn't he know how well-made that paper plane was?"

"I don't think quality is what he was thinking of when it landed in his collar," Kari joked.

Matt snorted. Messing around and getting held up, despite knowing what was going on? He still couldn't believe these children could be Digidestined.

"Well, at least you're here..." Sora said, glancing around. "Yolei hasn't shown up at all."

"She's been moving slowly all day," Poromon piped up from the computer counter. "She might be sick."

"We need everyone here today," Izzy said. "Davis, Cody, why don't you go find her?"

Davis was about to protest when a look from Tai stopped him. "...Gotcha," he said.

Davis and Cody rushed out of the lab and instantly skidded to a halt. Yolei was standing next to the door, looking downcast and blue. "Yolei!" Cody exclaimed. "Did you just come?"

"...Hey, howzit goin'..." she mumbled, slinking into the lab with the exuberance of a salted slug.

"It's about time," Tai said irritably. "Now let's get going."

"Yeah!" Davis said. "Let's kick some Ichijouji ass!"

Yolei stayed quiet. Annoyed, he came up closer and quickly clamped his hand over his nose. "Woah! You smell even WORSE today!" he announced. "Did you even brush your teeth?"

Her face didn't change. Davis scratched his head. Usually that comment would have earned him a headlock and an ear box; something must have been really wrong.

"Are you sick, Yolei?" Poromon asked, flitting around her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine..." she answered quietly, wishing they would all stop asking her questions.

"You don't sound fine," Gatomon pointed out.

"Please tell us what's wrong," Demiveemon asked.

Usually Tai would listen to others' problems, but today he was too concerned about Agumon to have the patience. "Look, if you're not up for it, then stay here," he said.

Yolei looked up in shock. Had she just been fired?

"Tai!" Kari exclaimed, shocked at her brother's attitude. "Be nice!"

"Hold on; Tai's got a point," Sora spoke up. "Yolei, if you're not at your best, you could mess up and get hurt... so maybe it would be better if you stayed."

Yolei bit her lip. With her mind steeped in guilt about her little vices, she had hardly concentrated in class that day. She didn't want to be a burden on her friends, but she didn't want to be left out, either... but all the same... but... and yet... Her brain swam in circles, not finding any answer she liked.

"You won't be alone," Sora said. "I'll stay behind, too."

"So will I," Izzy added. "Right now, I'm more useful here."

Matt shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere," he stated. "Our practice got rained out." His eyes, though, showed nothing but disapproval.

Yolei sighed with resignation. If she couldn't make up her mind about this one question, she definitely wouldn't be any help in the Digital World. "...All right, I'll stay," she glumly agreed.

"OK, then," Izzy said, smiling at her before returning to the computer and typing. "Tentomon is waiting for you guys back in Pyro Pit Prairie. He'll clue you in on what he's learned."

"Right," Kari said, raising her D3. "Come on, everyone! Let's get Agumon back!"

Tai, Davis, Cody and TK raised their tools as well, and they vanished into the computer with their Digimon in tow. Poromon flitted down into Yolei's arms as she stared out the rainy window. A warm hand clapped her shoulder and she turned to see Sora. "Now, let's deal with your problem," she said. "Tell me all about it."

Yolei sighed. "...I'd rather not," she mumbled, and walked out of the room.

* * *

The Emperor snarled at the dark ring blueprint on his monitor. The little device had done wonders for him, but as of late it didn't impress him at all; it kept screwing up.

First it had faltered on Andromon when the pink-clothed snot talked to him, and then her meddling brother's ancient Digivice had shattered it... and now it had turned his finest General into a rampaging, insubordinate lunatic. What was wrong? Both times, the Digimon in question were at the Ultimate level. Why couldn't the rings control Digimon at a higher level than Champion? Was there a flaw in the program?

He hit another button and General Greymon appeared on a new monitor, looking ragged and defeated inside a large dome. The Emperor had placed him in a special testing area as soon as they had returned to the base, and now he was going to make sure he didn't get the same mistake again. "Greymon," he barked.

The dinosaur stirred and slowly rose to his feet. "Master..." he croaked.

"It's time," the Emperor said, pulling out his black Digivice. He was going to figure out just what was wrong with his perfect dark rings, even if it killed him... or rather, even if it killed Greymon.

* * *

"Well, it's good to see all you guys again!" Tentomon buzzed cheerfully as he landed on the single branch of the only tree in Pyro Pit Prairie. "When I heard the news from Izzy, I almost shed myself! Is it really true?"

"Yeah, it is," TK admitted. "Ken turned Greymon into Skullgreymon right in this area... You can still smell the fumes from that missile."

Kari rapped her knuckles on the black-colored tree; it was amazingly sturdy. "Hard to believe this tree's still here when the spire dissolved," she said.

Veemon scratched his head. "That's funny..." he said. "There weren't any trees 'round here yesterday... were there, Davith?"

Davis thought for a moment. Veemon was right; there weren't any trees the day before, when Skullgreymon had attacked. Why was this ugly, dead-looking thing here now? "I didn't see any..." he agreed.

"Maybe someone planted it," Kari suggested.

"Or maybe we landed in a different part of the prairie," Gatomon said. "You never know. It all looks the same."

"I'm just glad I wasn't here," Tentomon shuddered. "I remember what Skullgreymon's like... I never want to run into him again..."

Tai shook his head sadly. "None of us did, Tentomon," he sighed, "but somehow Ken managed to do it."

Forgetting all about the tree, Davis huffed and spat. "That thing was psycho!" he snarled. "You coulda clued us in on what he could do, coach!"

Tai stared at the ground. "Davis, stop," TK said. "That's not how Agumon is supposed to Digivolve."

"If the Emperor got Skullgreymon, something went wrong," Tentomon said. "When it happened before, it's because Tai forced Agumon into Digivolving."

Davis looked confused. "Forced?" he asked.

"...If you force Digivolution, the results are never good," Tai said.

Davis scratched his head. This was the first he had heard of this. Didn't he always make Veemon Digivolve when it was time to fight? Wasn't that "forcing," too?

A few dead branches lay strewn about the tree. Cody picked one up and swung it around angrily, almost hitting Armadillomon's nose. "Woah! Cody, what's the matter?" he asked.

"It's unforgivable," Cody growled, swinging the stick around. "Forcing a creature to become something else... and an enslaved one at that! He's dishonorable to the last... a disgrace to mankind! I'm going to personally-"

"Woah, calm down, Cody," TK said, slapping the little boy on the shoulder. "Leave the angry rants to Davis and Tai."

Cody hesitated, then his grip on the stick eased. "...Sorry," he apologized, ashamed at his outburst.

"We can blow our gaskets all we want," Patamon chirped, "but we still don't know where the Emperor is."

Tai sighed at the question and stared at the ground.

"Hey, hey, don't sweat it, coach!" Veemon said, flashing a toothy grin. "We'll find 'im! Won't we, Davith?"

Davis beamed at his little pal. "You know it, buddy," he agreed.

Tai's glare burned into them, and they recoiled in surprise. "Don't make promises you can't keep," he snapped.

Kari gave a sad look. Tai rarely snapped at people, let alone his friends; she hadn't seen him this angry in a long time. "Tai, are you OK?..." she asked.

"Don't worry about it, Kari," Gatomon said, folding her arms. "Remember, I had a wicked master, myself... You feel helpless, and then you get resentful and angry..."

"I'd say he has a right to be, considering..." TK admitted.

"True, but inaction doesn't help," Gatomon finished, walking to her partner's brother and tugging at his pant leg. "Tai, let's start looking."

Tai looked at her for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

"Well, now that that's settled..." Tentomon said, fluttering off of the tree, "I'm going to head south and see if anyone knows anything. How about you guys go west? There's a new spire just past the prairie."

"Gotcha," Armadillomon answered. "We'll knock it down and dig up some clues of our own."

"And stay out of my tree!" Tentomon barked as he disappeared over a lava pool. "I'm thinking of redecorating."

The kids scratched their heads. "Well, that's Tentomon for you..." Gatomon sighed.

* * *

"It's time, General," the Emperor barked. "Are you ready?"

On the monitor, Greymon stared at him with his red, empty eyes. "Yes, master," he growled.

The Emperor raised his Digivice. "Now! Digivolve!" he barked as it glittered with black light.

Once again, Greymon was enveloped in a purplish hue, and once again the mad Skullgreymon burst forth. Furious at the confines of the testing dome, he immediately kicked and slashed at the walls, then slammed his bony head against it, all the while screeching like a banshee.

Rather than watch the repulsive undead mess, the Emperor looked up at the monitor that showed the status of Skullgreymon's ring. He watched it intently as the beast thrashed, ready to spot where the flaw was.

Even angrier at not being able to smash his way out, Skullgreymon ducked and launched his missile. The nuclear force tore a hole in the roof, and he gleefully leaped at it. As he touched the ceiling, though, a hidden electric force field launched his body into violent spasms. The crazy monster crashed back onto the ground and reverted to Greymon. On the ring's status monitor, the black circle twisted and wavered like a wet donut.

The Emperor stood up, staring at it. What was that? Something in the ring's power output had made it lose its shape momentarily. Could that be the flaw? He needed more data.

"Have you figured it out, master?..." Wormmon asked from his place near the throne.

"Maybe..." the Emperor answered, and raised his Digivice again. "Digivolve, Greymon!" he yelled.

Again, the skeletal monstrosity burst forth from Greymon, and the Emperor turned back to the status screen. Wormmon watched all of this with mixed feelings; what Ken was doing to Greymon was simply awful... but why wouldn't he do that with him?

* * *

A lone spire stood unguarded on a gray hill. Davis swore under his breath; he had been hoping there would be minions around that they could grill. Still, they might as well take out the dumb thing. He raised his D3 and Veemon became Flamedramon. "Go get it, pal," he ordered.

As Flamedramon moved in, though, a tall, blocky tree Digimon burst out of the earth, a dark ring strapped to its head. "I am Woodmon, the guardian of this area!" it yelled at them. "I can't be defeated!"

Not even telling him to shut up, Flamedramon slammed into Woodmon and knocked him into the control spire, cracking it.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" Woodmon yelled as he fell back down. "I'm bein' defeated!"

With one salvo of fireballs, Flamedramon brought the spire down right on him. Woodmon raised his spiky hands and caught it just as the ring over his head shattered.

"Woodmon!" Tai yelled to him. "Do you know where the Emperor went?"

Woodmon grunted against the weight of the spire. "Sorry, kid, I don't know nothin'," he panted.

Just then, Cody's D-Terminal beeped. Puzzled, he took it out. Inside was an e-mail from Izzy. He called them over and read the message aloud:

_Greymon's signal briefly appeared a moment ago in Rail Town, SE of you._

_-Izzy_

"Good old Izzy!" TK laughed. "Still has his tracker running!"

"Well, then, off to Rail Town!" Kari said, pointing. "Hurry!"

They all raced off, leaving a confused and flustered Woodmon to be pushed back into the dirt by the spire's weight.

* * *

A glum, greasy face met Yolei as she looked up from the bathroom sink. The rain spattering on the window did nothing to help her mood. She stared at that face, shame welling up in her throat. She wondered if she had another one hidden behind it.

The D3 in her pocket seemed to burn as she pulled it out and looked at it. After everything she had seen Ken do in the Digital World, she had still... But she was also upset that they had left her out of their adventure today... And she definitely didn't want to see something like Skullgreymon again... She groaned and shook her head. There were too many arguments smashing each other in her head. They were right; she was not at her best.

She dropped the device back into her pocket and stared into the sink. Sure, she could tag along with the others in the Digital World, but if they ever found out about what she had done... she didn't know how she could face them, especially Sora. She had been entrusted with something that Sora had a bond with, and...

Not knowing what else to do, she dragged herself back to the lab, where Sora and Matt sat on tables, pensive. Poromon rocked back and forth nearby, bored out of his mind. Izzy was typing on the computer. "All right, " he said, hitting one last button. "Let's hope that helps."

Sora looked up and smiled. "Hi," she said. "Feeling better?"

Yolei couldn't look her in the eyes. "I guess..." she mumbled. "Have they found anything yet?..."

"No, but my locator just went off," Izzy said, pointing at the screen. "I just sent them the coordinates... Some place called Rail Town."

"If you're feeling better," Sora suggested, "maybe you want to catch up to them now?"

She sighed heavily, her mind still torn. "I don't know..." she mumbled.

"You don't know?" Matt's harsh voice stabbed at her. "The Digital World is in danger and _you don't know_ if you want to help?"

Yolei looked up and saw that he looked furious... furious and disgusted at the same time. His face mirrored just what she thought of herself at the moment.

"You think you can take a day off because you _don't feel _like going?" he snapped. "Do you think the Emperor takes days off?"

At the mention of Ken's alter ego, she looked at the floor again. "Yeah, that's right, don't look at me," Matt growled. "With that kind of attitude, you're the last person we should ask for help."

"I..." was all she could say. She wanted to help, but... did she have the right to? Matt certainly wasn't making her feel like she did.

Poromon stared at them, taking in the scolding as if it were his own. Sora began to interject, but Matt cut her off with a wave of his hand. "You made a commitment when you picked that up," he said, pointing to her D3, "but you might as well throw it away and leave. I see you don't honor your commitments."

She suddenly fumed at him, a violent gleam in her eye; that was the last straw. She had said she would free Sora's partner from Ken, and she never went back on a promise. Regardless of how she felt, she had to go back. If not for herself, then for Sora and Birdramon... and also to shut this guy up!

"You want commitment?" she snarled, raising her D3, "I'll GIVE you commitment! Izzy, get outta the way; I'm going in!"

Izzy shifted nervously. "But I haven't pinpointed the coordinates..." he started.

"I'll walk!" she snapped. "Poromon, are you ready?"

Invigorated, the bird fluttered to her side. "Ready when you are," he chirped.

Matt sighed. The kid talked big, but she was hopeless. He would have to babysit her until they found the others. "I'm going, too," he said, pulling out his Digivice.

She shot him an angry glare, but she couldn't stop him from coming if he wanted to. "Digiport, open!" she declared, and Matt and she disappeared into the light.

Izzy and Sora stared at the computer, wondering just what had happened. "...Do you think Matt's too rough?" Sora asked after a moment.

Izzy shrugged. "He got her to go, didn't he?" he replied.

* * *

Screeching loud enough to make ears bleed, Skullgreymon launched another missile from his back. It exploded against the dome's ceiling and giant chunks of concrete crashed down onto him, reverting him all the way back to a worn-out Agumon. The little orange dinosaur collapsed onto the floor, quiet at last.

The Emperor looked over his latest data readouts and smirked; he knew what was wrong. The dark rings could easily control Champion-level Digimon and those beneath, but Ultimate-level Digimon had programs that were too complicated; the rings simply could not keep up with the data processing, and so failed easily.

His fingers raced across the keyboard, typing up a new blueprint. If one ring's power wasn't enough, then perhaps he needed to amplify it somehow... More rings! He had to incorporate more rings into the design... but it would be sloppy and slow trying to put several rings onto one Digimon, let alone an army... Maybe he could find a new shape that would do the same trick as three or four rings. His mind raced, thinking of the best types of shapes and the power output that could come from them. Now that it was just a simple game of "guess the shape," the whole Digital World was on his doorstep. "Impossible" was not a word in his dictionary.

The Emperor was so busy with his deductions that he didn't notice Wormmon slip out the door, the training dome key in his pincers.

* * *

"Tai, please, slow down," Cody panted as he struggled to keep up with the older kids. "My legs aren't as long as yours."

Tai grunted at the request, but still reduced his speed. Now that he knew where to look for his little buddy, he wanted to race like a bullet from a gun to find him... but he didn't want to leave the younger kids in the dust, either; without Agumon, he had to leave all the fighting up to them.

Just then, Patamon spotted something off to the left. "Look, you guys!" he announced, pointing.

They all turned to see a dilapidated village among the overgrown hills, several lines of railroad track crisscrossing and zigzagging around it. A control spire rose above it all.

"Rail Town, I'm guessing," TK said.

"...Looks more like 'Grass And Hill' town," Davis quipped.

"What would General Greymon be doing in a place like this?" Veemon asked.

"It's AGUMON," Tai corrected him harshly, "and I don't know... but Izzy said he was here. Let's get in there and look!"

"Well, you're the boss..." Davis replied. "C'mon, you guys."

Everyone started in, but Kari lingered, puzzled. Izzy had said Greymon's signal had appeared... "briefly." What did that mean?

* * *

Wormmon looked down on the fallen Agumon, a mixture of pity and jealousy in his eyes. This poor creature belonged to someone else... and yet Ken liked it more than him, his own partner. If Agumon escaped, though, then he could go back to his old friend... and Ken would have no choice but to use him for the experiments instead. He could kill two birds with one stone.

He raised one of his claws and grasped the ring around Agumon's neck. He had a responsibility to be Ken's partner, and this was how he could prove it. With one quick motion, his claw cut through the black steel. The ring clattered to the floor, powerless.

"I... hope you find your friends," the little worm said as he turned and scooted out of the chamber.

Unbeknownst to him, Agumon had been conscious enough to see the whole thing. As he got to his feet, his mind filled with questions. Where was he? Who was that? Why had he helped him?

A sharp pain in his side made him realize how injured he was. Not knowing what else to do, he staggered out of the dome. Wherever he was, he had to find Tai... though he didn't know if he was even in this world anymore.

* * *

A spell of giddy laughter escaped the Emperor's chest as he admired his handiwork. By connecting five rings together, the processing power would increase tenfold. With so much power in it, the new structure wouldn't even need a control spire to transfer energy to it. That meant he could have completely independent soldiers that could go anywhere he wanted, including the spots those rotten kids had taken from him! Forget the dark rings... his new Dark Spiral was the future of the Digital World! Chortling, he turned back to the testing dome's monitor; it was time to try his new toy out on his finest General.

His smile flipped upside-down as he stared. Where was his finest General? Why was a broken dark ring on the floor? And why was the dome door open?

"No..." he snarled, staring at the screen. "How?... HOW?"

* * *

The center of town was just as overgrown and abandoned as it had looked from far off. From the holes in the buildings, TK guessed that the Emperor had taken this town by force. He shuddered to think of what had become of the residents, remembering the massacre at Santa Geria.

"Ugh... So much rubble, not enough time!" Davis grunted. "How're we gonna find anything in this mess?"

Kari was about to suggest they split up when her ears caught a rumbling sound. It was close by, but at the same time, quiet... almost muffled. "Does anyone hear that?" she asked.

Gatomon's ears swerved to the source. "I do," she said.

To everyone's shock, a tunnel suddenly appeared in the side of one of the hills, and an ancient locomotive engine leaped out at breakneck speed. They all ducked for cover as it crashed onto a nearby set of tracks and tore around town, making the ruined rails shatter as it rolled over them.

"What the hell's going on?" Davis yelled.

"Is this some kind of attack?" Cody asked.

The train raced by them again, and Gatomon got a brief glimpse of who was driving... or rather, who wasn't driving. Agumon was slumped over the controls, not moving. "It's him!" she announced. "Agumon!"

"Agumon?" Tai yelled, not believing it. "Stop that train!"

Davis reached for his D3, but suddenly realized that Digivolving wouldn't help. Neither Digmon nor Flamedramon had enough strength to stop that thing, and even if they did, it could explode and hurt Agumon. He had to come up with another plan...

Someone else already had one. Gatomon dashed across the tracks to an old switch and yanked on it with all her feline might. The tracks nearby moved, and the train took another route... right into one of the buildings. They all covered their ears as metal collided with earth and wood, and then there was no sound but the hiss of the engine.

"...Oops," was all Gatomon could say.

"AGUMON!" Tai yelled as they raced to the wreckage. Amazingly, Agumon lay in the grass nearby; the crash must have launched him out of harm's way... and even better, his dark ring was gone! Still, he was in bad shape; his body was covered with scratches and bruises.

"We've gotta get him some help, fast," TK said, looking around. "Does anyone see a hospital or something?"

Patamon flew around a corner and saw one other car on the train tracks; a large, white one with a red cross on its side. From his time in the human world, he seemed to remember white cars with that symbol on them... and they had been taking injured people away from the scenes of their fights. "Would that work?" he asked, tugging at TK's sleeve.

"Definitely," Cody said. "Tai, bring him to that car."

Making a stretcher from their arms, Tai and Davis hoisted Agumon up and ran for the car.

* * *

Wormmon couldn't have picked a worse time to come back into the throne room. "He got away!" the boy Emperor ranted, slamming his fist on the chair. "How did he get that ring off?"

"I... Master," Wormmon stammered, rubbing his pincers together humbly, "I want to talk to you..."

"WHAT?" the Emperor snapped, almost making the little Digimon lose his nerve.

"W-well..." he said, scooting forward a little, "You can use ME for your experiments instead... I'm a Digimon, too... I can Digivolve just as well as Greymon can... Why don't you forget about him and use me?"

The Emperor's eyes trained on Wormmon like sniper guns. "YOU LET HIM ESCAPE!" he barked, pointing at him like the angel of death.

"P-please..." Wormmon pleaded. "I know you're angry, but I want to help... I want to evolve for you... I'm your partner! Let me try the Spirals out and let me fight for you! Please..."

The Emperor and Wormmon stared at each other for a tense moment. Something changed in the Emperor's face as Wormmon looked. His eyes... softened. He almost looked... worried.

The change didn't last for long; it quickly jerked back into abhorrence at the suggestion. "And just WHAT would you Digivolve into?" he snapped. "A big, fat butterfly with scary-looking wings? HAH!" He stood up to his full height and glared at the worm. "Get this through your mushy head: the partner of the Digimon Emperor could NEVER be YOU."

Wormmon looked heartbroken. "B-but Ken..." he started.

His plea was answered with a kick to the abdomen, and he fell to the floor. "I AM THE DIGIMON EMPEROR!" the Emperor screeched, producing his whip and raising it. "Now, for letting my General escape..."

Just then, the alarms blared. The Emperor whirled around as his monitor switched to the ruined city of Rail Town. His eyes narrowed as he watched that insect Davis disappear inside a medical train car, carrying the lower half of Agumon. Perhaps the day wouldn't be spoiled after all; he could retake his General and test his dark spiral in one swoop.

"...I'm going after my General," he said, lowering the whip and leering at Wormmon. "He's a USEFUL Digimon." With a swish of his cape, he started out of the room.

"Ken, please-" Wormmon started, but the whip cracked within an inch of his eyes, and he reeled backwards. He could only watch sadly as the Emperor strode into the darkness.

* * *

"There..." Gatomon said, cutting the extra bandages with her claws. "Don't move much, and you'll heal up fine."

"I guess I can get used to being a mummy..." Agumon grumbled. His entire chest and most of his shoulders were wrapped in tight, white bandages. Still, he was smiling brightly at the presence of his friends. "Tai, you came!" he laughed, tears forming in his eyes. "I knew you would..."

"I wouldn't let anyone do this to you," Tai said, his voice cracking a little. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner..."

Davis was surprised; never had he seen his coach this close to crying before, not even when the girls' soccer team had whipped them fifty to nothing that one time. Agumon and he had to have a strong bond if they were shedding water over each other. He wondered if Kari was the same with Gatomon, or TK with Patamon... and whether Veemon and he could ever be like that.

"Hate to break this up," Armadillomon piped up, "but Mr. Agumon, how'd ya get away from the Emperor?"

"Armadillomon, right?" Agumon guessed, then thought hard. "I... I really don't know... All I remember is a little green worm Digimon. I think he took the ring off of me."

Kari scratched her head. "Little green worm?" she asked. Hadn't they seen a Digimon like that before?

Before she could ask everyone else, the whole car shook and started to move. "What the?" Davis demanded.

"Tickets, please!" a familiar, despicable voice came from outside the car. "Everybody out of the car!"

The group ran out of the car to find that it had been hooked up to several long, flat freight cars, which rolled around town at a rickety pace. On top of that, several Darktyrannomon stood on the cars, their eyes glowing from the rings on their necks. Airdramon flew around the train in a similar state.

"Behind you, lamebrains!" the voice came from behind them. They whirled around to see the Digimon Emperor atop the medical car, his cape swishing in the wind. "You have something I want!"

"Ken Ichijouji..." TK growled.

"I no longer go by that name," the Emperor snapped. "I am the Digimon Emperor!"

"HAH!" Davis laughed, seeing a chance to jeer. "My ass you are! Ken goddamn Ichijouji! Ken! Ken! Kenneth! Ken Griffy Junior! Barbie an' Ken! FranKENstein! Oh my God, they killed Kenny!"

If looks could kill, Davis would have been undead. "Keep that up, and I'LL be the one killing YOU," he snarled. "Now, return my General, or else!"

"No way!" Tai yelled, standing in front of Agumon. "Agumon is MY partner, and I won't let you hurt him anymore!"

The Emperor just laughed. "Do you really think you stand a chance against me, old man?" he laughed. "Shame on you, picking on a younger kid! What kind of a role model are you?" He chuckled again.

"A far better one than you," Cody snapped, raising his stick. "I would rather look up to an 'old man' like him than a disgrace to humanity!" With that, he lobbed his stick at the Emperor like a shuriken.

Quicker than they could blink, the Emperor's whip sliced the stick in twain. "The little gnats can complain all they want," he cackled. "At the end of the day, I'M still doing the squashing! GET THEM!"

The Darktyrannomon behind them growled and started for them, and the Airdramon circled in closer. Davis bit his lip; he had never fought on a moving train before. Cody was thinking the same thing.

"Gimme the word, Davith!" Veemon urged.

"I'm rarin' to go!" Armadillomon agreed.

Convinced by their partners, the boys raised their D3s and Flamedramon and Digmon sprang into action. As the black dinosaurs belched their fireballs, Flamedramon charged into them head-on, shattering the rings around their necks and knocking them off of the train. Digmon, though he couldn't cause any earthquakes, fired his drills at their feet, making them trip and roll away into the dust.

As quickly as it takes to write it, the Darktyrannomon were all lying on the sides of the tracks, groaning and rubbing at their eyes. The Emperor swore angrily; how could they be so good on a rickety old train?

The Emperor was wide open; Davis saw he could end this right now. "Flamedramon, get him!" he yelled, pointing at the tyrant.

Flamedramon answered with a burst of fireballs, which exploded all around the Emperor and set the medical car ablaze. Davis was about to cheer and gloat, but then something happened that he could not believe; as the car fell apart and collapsed on the tracks, the Emperor leaped into the air- at least _ten feet_ into the air- and landed on one of the Airdramon! "What the f-" he started.

"Our turn now!" TK said, pulling out his D3.

"Yes!" Kari agreed, and they rode Nefertimon and Pegasusmon into the sky. The Airdramon decided on attacking Nefertimon, and she answered them by shattering their rings with her Rosetta Stones.

TK closed in on the Emperor's ride. Whatever had just happened, he was going to get to the bottom of it. "Pegasusmon, get him!" he cried.

"GET him?" Pegasusmon asked. "But-"

"Do it!" he barked.

Confused but trusting his partner, Pegasusmon flapped his wings and launched a barrage of stars right at the Emperor. Not flinching at all, the boy just raised his cape. The stars bounced off of them like marbles on a brick wall. "What in..." he gasped.

A Rosetta Stone smacked the Airdramon from the back and shattered its ring, causing it to drop like a rock. Now it was Kari's turn to be surprised as the still-grinning Emperor somersaulted off of the falling monster and harmlessly landed back on the train... on his feet, no less! They all stared wide-eyed at him; was this kid even human?

Agumon had seen enough. "That does it!" he snarled, moving towards the Emperor. "You made me do awful things... now you're gonna pay for it!"

"Agumon, no!" Tai warned, running to catch up with his partner. "You're still hurt!"

The Emperor cackled as the little dinosaur came up to him. "Come, now, Agumon. Let's be friends again..." he said, holding up a spindly, black spiral. "I've got a present for you!" With that, he pitched it.

Before Agumon could react, the weird thing landed on his claw and adhered itself to his arm. He cried out in agony and dropped to the floor, then rose up again... but with the blood-red eyes of a slave of the Emperor.

"Agumon!" Tai asked, coming up behind him. "What happened?"

If Davis hadn't knocked Tai out of the way at that moment, he would have been cremated by Agumon's fire breath.

"Behold the Dark Spiral!" the Emperor laughed, pointing at Agumon's arm. "It's the future of my realm... and the end for you!"

"What?" Kari cried. After all that work, Agumon was with the Emperor again! "No!..."

"Now let me demonstrate its power!" the Emperor laughed, raising his dark Digivice. "General! Digivolve!"

With a furious roar, Agumon became engulfed in a sick, blue light and grew ten times his height. When the light faded, the Digidestined beheld a blue-skinned reptile with metallic parts jutting out all over him and jagged, steel wings. The Emperor laughed and leaped on the beast's shoulder. "Meet the new and improved General METALGREYMON!" he announced.

"Holy shit!" was all Davis could say. Was that the true Ultimate form of Tai's partner?

"Blue? Why is he blue?" TK asked.

"...Agumon..." Tai whispered.

Flamedramon was the only one who didn't look horrified. "Ahh, he isn't as scary as Skullgreymon," he chuckled.

"Oh?" the Emperor asked, fuming. "We beg to differ! METALGREYMON!"

Metalgreymon lifted into the air, then came right back down, hitting the train with so much force that it jumped the rails and smashed to bits in the center of town, shrapnel and dust flying all over the place. That would have been the end for the Digidestined if their partners hadn't grabbed them and leaped to safety.

"...OK, he's as scary," Flamedramon gulped.

"Bah!" the Emperor spat. "You're just delaying the inevitable! Now..."

"Metalgreymon!" Tai called, running up to his old partner, almost frantic. He had just found Agumon again... Losing him again was too much. "Please! You have to fight this!"

Metalgreymon stared at him, his mouth gaping. Tai looked pleadingly into his red eyes, hoping against hope.

The Emperor wasn't impressed. "Metalgreymon," he said, folding his arms and looking bored, "crush the old man."

To Tai's horror, Metalgreymon raised his metallic claw. Davis ran up and dragged him away just as it slammed into the ground where he had stood, leaving a crater.

"Face it," the Emperor jeered at Tai. "He's traded up!" He laughed wildly at his triumph.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon flew in overhead, their feet glowing. They crossed each other's flight paths and wove a golden noose, then wrapped it around Metalgreymon's neck and lifted him into the air.

"No!" Tai yelled, trying to break free from Davis's grip. "Stop! What're you doing?"

Flamedramon and Davis were equally puzzled; wasn't that Tai's partner?

The flying Digimon let go and the metal monster crashed to the ground, the noose falling around his arms and restricting the deadly metal claw. "Digmon, can you get at the spiral?" Nefertimon asked.

Digmon stared up at the mammoth, struggling creature and launched his drills at the spiral on its arm. Metalgreymon was struggling so much that the drills bored into his leg instead, making him howl in pain. "He's dancin' around too much!" Digmon growled. "I can't get a fix!"

Flamedramon tried shooting at the ring, but Metalgreymon buckled and the fireballs got him in the face instead. Flamedramon winced. "Sorry..." he growled.

Davis was having a really hard time holding onto Tai now. "Let me GO!" Tai yelled, his eyes wild.

Davis snarled as he tried to keep his grip, but at the same time, he wondered why he was holding Tai. If Metalgreymon was his partner, shouldn't they try to communicate again instead of attacking him?

"Hah! You think a little light will hold this?" the Emperor laughed. "Metalgreymon! Snap this spider web!"

Metalgreymon was struggling even more now, and the Golden Noose was starting to give. "We can't hold him much longer!" Pegasusmon yelled. "Somebody do something!"

"No! Stop!" Tai yelled, yanking his way forward. "STOP!"

"But if we don't get the spiral off..." Cody objected.

"My arms're gonna come off!" Davis yelled, lurching forward as Tai yanked. "If Tai says stop, then, goddammit, STOP!"

As much as Flamedramon hated to admit it, there wasn't much he could do in this mess. He slowly backed away from the raving Metalgreymon. Digmon did as well. Nefertimon and Pegasusmon floated back a ways, knowing that noose was going to break.

With one last violent thrash, the golden light vanished. Metalgreymon raised his arms and laughed triumphantly.

"Now!" the Emperor yelled, still on his shoulder, "Metalgreymon, put them in their graves!"

Metalgreymon's chest opened up to reveal two gray missiles with angry scowls on them. TK knew what came next. "RUN!" he yelled.

The kids hit the dirt as the missiles flew out and exploded. They weren't the atomic fire ball that Skullgreymon had at his disposal, but it was enough to level the town and reduce the Digimon to their Rookie forms, wounded and half-covered in dust.

"That's where you all belong; at my feet!" the Emperor laughed at them. "With Metalgreymon, the whole world is mine!"

"No..." Tai gasped as he got to his feet. "A... Agumon!..."

The Emperor sneered at him. "Do us all a favor and drop dead, old man!" he jeered. "General Metalgreymon! On to the next area!"

With a roar, Metalgreymon took to the air and flew off, smashing the mountaintops with his claw. They soon vanished into the clouds, leaving nothing but the sound of the wind.

Tai just stared at where they had gone. He had been so close... He had his partner- his friend- back for a few fleeting moments... and now the Emperor had an even stronger weapon than before. It was just too much.

Davis came up to him, not knowing what he could say. Never in his life had he seen his hero so crestfallen. "...Tai, I, uh..." he tried, but nothing else came out.

Just then, a shrill whistle caught their ears. Everyone whirled around to see Yolei, Hawkmon and Matt emerge from a dust cloud. "Heyyyyy!" Yolei called. "You guys!"

"Yolei!" TK cried as they ran to greet each other. "Matt!"

"We came as soon as we could," Hawkmon said.

Yolei sighed. "Sorry I didn't come earlier..." she apologized.

"We knew you'd come sooner or later," Cody said, giving a rare smile. "Good to see you."

"Why were you so bummed this morning, anyway?" Armadillomon asked.

Yolei coughed and looked at the ground. "I, uh, I'd rather... not say," she mumbled.

"Well, that's a lot better than earlier," TK said, beaming. "You're here!"

"Hey! Yolei!" Davis said, running up with Veemon. "You showed up!"

She smirked at him. "What? You missed me?" she asked.

"Sure I did," Davis smirked back. "With you gone, I'M the one who smells funny."

"...I'll pretend I didn't hear that," she growled.

Matt looked around at the devastated town and at the control spire. "The town is destroyed... but the spire's still here," he remarked, looking crossly at the new Digidestined.

Cody stared at the ground. "I'm sorry," he said.

"What?" Davis snapped. "Cody, don't apologize to this windbag! He's gonna find something wrong with everything!" He glared at Matt. "Lissen, you, there's a perfectly good reason things look like this!"

"Then enlighten me," Matt answered, folding his arms.

With a lot of hemming and hawing, Davis, TK, Cody and Kari explained about the trains, the Emperor, the new dark spirals and Metalgreymon. Matt listened to it all, then looked over at Tai, who was still staring at the horizon. "...I see," was all he said, then he walked over to Tai. "Tai," he said.

Tai looked over at him. To everybody's shock, he balled up his fist and slugged the wild-haired boy right in the cheek. Tai went down like a ninepin.

"Dude! What the hell?" Davis yelled, running back over. "Coach just had the worst day ever and now you're pounding on him? That's it! I'm gonna-"

A hand touched his shoulder. He turned to see Kari shake her head. "Wait," she simply said.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Matt offered his hand. Tai took it and rose, rubbing his cheek. Strangely enough, there was a familiar, cocky smile on his face. "Thanks, Matt," he said, clapping Matt on the shoulder. "I needed that!"

Matt smiled back at him. Davis was even more confused. "Wha..." he asked.

Tai turned to everyone. "I messed you guys up today, and that was a mistake," he admitted. "If we want to save Agumon- and everyone else- we have to give it our all. No more hesitation. One hundred and ten percent!"

Matt nodded solemnly, the smile already gone from his face. "Agumon would want it that way... He'd rather be destroyed by us than stay under the Emperor. It's the same for Garurumon or Birdramon."

Kari and TK nodded, but the new kids all exchanged worried looks. This sounded awfully harsh.

"Do me a favor, you guys," Tai said, looking at them intently. "The next time you fight Metalgreymon, use all your strength."

"...Is that really OK, Tai?" Cody asked.

"I agree," Gatomon spoke up. "The next time we see Agumon... we trash him! And if you care about him, you fight even harder! Got it?"

The Digimon all nodded in agreement. The kids, though going along with it, didn't look so enthusiastic.

"Well, then," Hawkmon said, folding his wings, "that's decided. Now, how shall we proceed?"

"It's the weekend tomorrow, so we don't really have to do homework tonight..." Kari pointed out. "Let's get after Ken and Metalgreymon before they cause any real problems!"

TK scratched his head. "That's a good idea, but... how?" he asked. "They move so fast..."

Yolei looked around at all the broken metal and parts and her eyes lit up. "We'll rig up a train," she said, smacking her palm in her fist.

Cody looked at her skeptically. "You're kidding us," he said. "This is nothing but slag."

"Cody, Cody, Cody," Yolei chuckled, patting him on the head, "you forget who you're speaking to!"

"Whatever you do," Matt interrupted, "destroy the spire before we leave."

"All right, all right!" she sighed, waving her arms in exasperation. "Sheesh, talk about a buzzkill... Davis! Get over here and help me."

Davis looked surprised. "Me?" he asked.

"You're nutty about planes, right?" she asked. "Give me a hand."

"Well, you sure sound back to normal," he remarked. "Good. Ain't no fun razzing you when you don't fight back."

"When we get home, there's a pond with your name on it," she growled.

"And yours, too!" he laughed.

* * *

After a lot of picking and choosing and constructing some makeshift tools, Yolei managed to salvage what was left of the train's engine and hooked it up to a few boxcars. "OK!" she said, banging on the metal. "All aboard!"

"Wow, Yolei," Kari exclaimed, "I didn't know you could make engines, too."

"It's a lot like a computer," she replied, "but I can't take all the credit... Davis knows his junk."

Davis snickered. "And Jun said reading Flyboy's Monthly would never get me anywhere," he smirked.

They piled into the cars and Yolei revved up the engine. To everyone's delight, they zipped down the tracks at an amazing speed.

"Whoo! Maybe we CAN catch up to 'em," Armadillomon remarked, watching the scenery go by.

"So be prepared," Matt warned them, glaring at the new kids. "This won't be easy."

Tai clapped him on the shoulder again. "Thanks for coming, Matt," he said.

Davis watched them talk and laugh, not knowing what to think. How could Tai call Matt a friend when he talked down to everyone and beat him up? And how could they speak so lightly about fighting his coach's partner? Was he the only one who didn't feel right about this at all? How could he bring himself to do it?


	10. Storm Of Friendship

**CHAPTER 10**

**STORM OF FRIENDSHIP**

Two more missiles from Metalgreymon's chassis and the remainder of the settlement's buildings were gone. A control spire burst out of the ground in its center, unleashing a rain of dark rings on the populace.

The Emperor laughed at the newest triumph. Thanks to Metalgreymon, he had torn through five areas in half an hour and gained hundreds of new minions. It would not be long now before the whole Digital World was his, and it was all thanks to his dark spiral and that bleeding heart upper classman.

He raised his arm and looked down at what seemed to be a watch. "Wormmon," he barked at it, "launch those spires faster next time. I want less casualties when the rings come!"

"Yes, master..." Wormmon's voice came through. "I'll set up some more..."

"Good," the Emperor answered. "How's spiral production?"

"They're already in mass assembly," Wormmon admitted, a hint of regret in his voice.

"Excellent!" he laughed. "Send me one on an Airdramon right away." He paused for a moment, then added: "how's the other project coming along?"

"Well, the design is coming along as planned," Wormmon said, "but we're having trouble with the engines... They're using too much fuel."

"Urgh... Yes, I thought that might happen..." the Emperor admitted crossly. "Check the blueprints in my throne room. There should be one for a more efficient engine."

"Yes, master," Wormmon sighed, and the line went dead. The Emperor resumed his crooked smile. Even if he didn't solve a problem the first time, he always found a way sooner or later.

Just then, Metalgreymon veered violently to the right, snorting and sniffing. A low, angry growl escaped his fangs.

The Emperor wondered just what was wrong, then looked in the distance. A small train was scooting along the tracks through the empty wasteland. Speaking of problems he hadn't solved yet...

"...Wormmon, change of plans," the Emperor said into the communicator. "Send Flymon over with the spiral. We're about to get a replacement General."

* * *

"Whew!" Tai laughed as the train bounced on the track, then kept chugging. "I have to say, Yolei, this is one smooth ride!"

"Aww, ain't it the truth!" Yolei laughed, blushing. Suddenly, her D-Terminal beeped. She pulled it out and looked it over; there was a message from Izzy. "...Guys, Izzy says that Metagreymon's signal is coming from just south of here," she reported.

"Ah, yes, the Arid Expanse," Hawkmon elaborated. "It's an empty place, almost devoid of life... Why would the Emperor go there?"

"No need to question it," Tai said, grabbing the train's controls, "because that's where we're headed!" At the next rail switch, the train veered sharply to the left and they raced towards a dusty-looking plain.

Kari thought for a moment, then looked at Yolei. "Yolei, ask Izzy if he could come and help us with Metalgreymon," she said.

Yolei tapped buttons for a few minutes, then read the response. "...Ugh," she grunted. "He says Kabuterimon's out of practice, and his Electro Shocker isn't precise enough to target a spiral. He wouldn't be any good for this."

"I'm sure we can get Agumon back with what we have," Tai said, looking back. "We're lucky we have another chance today."

Davis still wasn't very cool with what was happening. "Yo, wait a sec..." he said, getting up. "So we're really gonna fight this time?"

Matt frowned at him, annoyed. "We can't hold back," he warned. "We might not get another chance."

"But..." Davis objected. All this talk of Agumon as if he were just another of Ken's goons was getting to him. "He's Tai's best friend!... isn't he?" he asked.

"It can't be helped, Davis," TK muttered behind him.

Davis whirled around angrily. "What?" he snapped.

"Look, if we don't fight, we can't save him," TK answered, frowning at the hotheaded boy. "It's as simple as that."

"But he's Tai's partner!" Davis defended. "Don't you even care?"

Yolei and Cody exchanged looks. That certainly was true; nobody really seemed to care about that. Attacking Agumon did seem rather heartless.

TK stood firm. "All we have to do is get the spiral off," he argued.

"Hello?" Davis yelled. "Were you out to lunch or something last time? He's too freakin' strong, and Ken ain't gonna let us near that spiral! He took every hit on his body! We'd have to KILL him before that thing comes off! Can't be helped? Bullshit!"

"Hey, if Tai says we do it, then we do it," TK said, standing up and glaring. Davis's spewing was starting to get on his nerves. "It can't be-"

"You're full of shit!" Davis snarled, jumping into the car and grabbing him. Everyone scooted back as the boys grappled angrily.

"Hey, stop it!" Kari cried, pulling at TK's arm.

"Knock it off, you meathead!" Yolei snapped, trying to shove Davis back.

"This car isn't big enough for this!" Cody growled, pushing at both of their stomachs.

Veemon looked at Tai and Matt. "Coach, ya gotta stop 'em!" he pleaded.

Tai and Matt exchanged glances, then smiled. "Let 'em fight," Tai replied.

The fight stopped. Everyone looked at him, baffled. He grinned at Matt, who had turned sour-faced again. "We had our share of disagreements," he said, "but if we hadn't, we wouldn't have become such good friends."

Davis and TK glared at each other, then looked away.

Yolei scratched her head. "Friends? Through fighting?" she asked. "I don't get it."

"I don't understand, either..." Cody agreed.

"I don't expect you to," Matt replied coarsely, turning away. "Now be quiet and prepare. There's a battle coming."

They weren't satisfied with that answer, but Matt was not going to give any others. All they could do was sit down and watch the rocks go by.

Davis cursed under his breath. What the hell was wrong with everyone? If they all turned against Agumon so fast, how could they be very good friends? Would they turn on each other just as easily? Some friends they were...

* * *

Though the world through the lab windows was getting darker, rain still spattered the glass. Izzy was hunched over the keyboard, his hands folded in a contemplative position. Sora paced back and forth behind him, a worried expression on her face. They had just received Cody's e-mail detailing the Emperor's new Dark Spirals, and to say they were troubled was an understatement.

"This really is troublesome..." Izzy said, typing. "I'm writing Joe to tell him."

Sora looked out the window at the rain. "Do you suppose he'll use one on Biyomon?" she asked.

"Considering who he is and what he's after, there's no doubt about it," Izzy said, frowning. He noticed her upset expression and softened. "...Sorry," he mumbled.

A chill ran down her spine as she pictured a titanic Garudamon- Birdramon's Ultimate form- tearing through some Digimon town, a zombified look in her eyes and a dark spiral on her muscular arm. "It's... OK," she replied to the computer wiz. "I guess we're all feeling down right now..." she looked at him. "But if Tai has faith in them, then I do, too. Yolei promised she would help Biyomon, and she doesn't seem the type to go back on that."

"Even so, if the new kids are going to be fighting Ultimates now, we'll have to change strategy," Izzy growled, bringing up the map again. "I don't know if Armor Digivolution is going to cut it this time-"

As soon as he said this, though, his computer gave a weird noise and the screen froze up. "What?" he yelled, fruitlessly hitting the keys. "What is this?"

"Quick, reboot it!" Sora suggested, rushing over. If the computer was frozen, the kids couldn't get back to the real world; they had to fix it, and pronto.

Izzy tried to quit the program, but it wouldn't close. He hit the reset button, but nothing happened. Finally, he reached under the machine and pulled the electric plug out of the power strip, then jammed it back in. That did it. The computer booted as normal. "I hope we didn't miss anything important!" Sora admitted as Izzy opened the Digital World program again.

Izzy looked over the map and blinked; something was different. A small, blue dot was blinking in the area where the kids were. He leaned back in his chair, puzzled. "What's that...?" he asked.

Sora scratched her head. "You don't think that caused the freeze-up, do you?" she asked.

"That's impossible," Izzy argued. "Something new popping up on the map wouldn't freeze a whole computer..."

But as they stared at the blinking light, the only things that entered his mind were the worried words: "or _could_ it?..."

* * *

With a thump and a bump, the tiny train entered the Arid Expanse. Like many of the places the new Digidestined had visited in this world, it seemed desolate; aside from the usual control spire in the highest place, there were only canyons as far as they could see.

"Keep an eye out," Kari said, looking around. "They're in here somewhere..."

"Not like a big, crazy dinosaur would be hard to see around here..." Gatomon grumbled.

Cody was going to point out that Ken and Metalgreymon were more likely to just attack instead of hide when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He didn't see any details, but it looked like there was a sudden flash of light a little ways up the track. His chest swelled. "Stop the train!" he ordered.

"What?" Tai asked, turning around.

Cody pointed up ahead. "Something's here!" he stated.

Intrigued, Tai pulled the break and the train skidded to a stop. Cody leaped out and took off for the place he thought he had seen flash. Not knowing what else to do, everyone else followed him as quickly as they could.

He came to a stop at the foot of one of the canyon walls. "Cody!" Armadillomon panted as he scampered up to him. "Ya can't just run off like that, pardner! It's dangerous!"

Cody said nothing. Armadillo looked at what he was staring at and did a double take. "Woah! Izzat what I think it is?" he asked.

The others came up and finally saw what all the fuss was about. Laying in the dirt was a small, black object about the length and shape of a sandal. It was trimmed with blue triangles around its side (like fangs, they thought), and a long, bent yellow spike jutted out of its top. A blue emblem that looked like a frisbee with wings was stamped on its top. It was another DigiEgg.

"Wha?" was all Davis could say.

"There was a flash..." Cody explained. "I ran to where it was, and..."

Tai and Matt recognized the emblem. "Hey, Matt..." Tai said, pointing at it.

Matt folded his arms, cross as usual.

"Another DigiEgg?" Yolei asked, confused. "But we've already got DigiEggs!"

Kari scratched her head. "That's the Crest of Friendship," she said, "Matt's crest."

The three new Digidestined looked over at Matt with disbelief. Friendship? That towhead crab?

"Maybe you should try it, Matt," TK suggested.

"Good," Matt agreed, walking towards it. "Finally, someone will be able to get something done around here..."

Davis was going to snap at him, but it turned out he didn't need to; as soon as Matt put his hands on the egg, black lightning arced all around him. With a scream he reeled backwards, shocked in both body and mind. Davis couldn't help but get some pleasure out of the spectacle.

"What kind of stupid prank is this?" Matt roared.

"Well..." Veemon said, scratching his head, "maybe it's fer someone else, then."

Matt glowered at him furiously. There was no way that one of these younger imbeciles could be the owner of something with his Crest on it.

Tai noticed the glare, but shrugged. "Hey, if they got Sora's, Izzy's and my Crest's eggs, it's worth a shot..." he said.

One by one, the kids walked up to the DigiEgg and tried to grip it, but all got the same shocking result. Kari yelped and danced around, flapping her stinging hands in the air like a ghost without its rattling chains. TK's hat popped off of the top of his hair. Yolei's glasses steamed up. Cody tumbled onto his back like an overturned turtle. Even Tai tried it, but all it did was make his hair even wilder than normal. "I was hoping I'd never have to go through that again..." he wheezed. "OK, who's next?"

He looked around at the frazzled hair of his companions. Everyone had tried to touch the egg... everyone, that is, but Davis. He had quietly stood back from the rest, hoping he wouldn't be noticed. "OK, Davis, you're up," he said, motioning.

Davis grimaced, then shook his head. "Naww, that thing ain't for me, coach," he grumbled.

Tai frowned. "What? Why not?" he asked.

"It's the Crest of Friendship, right?" Davis asked, looking evasive. "I ain't all that friendly."

"That's never stopped you before," Yolei pointed out, rolling her eyes. "C'mon!"

Davis frowned and stared at the ground. "Davith..." Veemon said, tugging at his shirt, "what's wrong?"

Davis sighed and looked at Tai and Matt again. "I just don't think it's for me, man," he said, finally voicing what he had been thinking about the whole day. "You guys've been going on about how we HAVE to fight Metalgreymon, and how it can't be helped... but we're his friends, right? I don't get it! How the hell can friends fight each other?"

"I'd have thought you figured that out a long time ago," Cody replied, "considering your relationship with Yolei."

"WE AREN'T FRIENDS!" both Davis and Yolei snarled at him simultaneously. He bit his lip and kept quiet.

"You're the only one who hasn't tried," Matt said, putting the subject back on track. "Now go and do it."

"But-" Davis tried again.

Angrily, Matt grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him at the egg; he almost stumbled onto it. "Just get it over with," he snapped. "You're wasting our time."

Muttering under his breath, Davis looked down at the DigiEgg. He really didn't think it could be for him. After all, until today he had thought friendship was working together in everything and never fighting, like a championship soccer team... but this whole Metalgreymon incident and the other kids' reactions had twisted him up, and now he didn't know what to think. How could this be for him? Just what the hell were friends, anyway?

With everyone's eyes on him, though, he couldn't walk away. Sighing crossly, he knelt down over the black shape and put his hands on it. Another wave of black lightning ran through him, launching him backwards onto Veemon. "Geeeooowwwwch!" was all he could say.

Matt snorted. "...Figures," he muttered.

Davis halfheartedly knocked the dust from his coat. That was his response, too.

Suddenly, everyone cried out as a horrible noise shot through their ears. It was a horrible screeching buzz, like one of those 'ear rape' sites on the Internet. Davis forced his eyes open and saw a large bee-like Digimon coming down at them from the sky, its stinger pointed right at them. "Look out!" he yelled, hoping the others could hear.

The bee's red stinger shot out like an arrow, and several more came along for the ride. Fortunately, the kids had heard Davis's warning and were able to dodge them... all except Patamon. A stinger struck him in the ear and he went down with a cry. Before TK could grab him, the bee swooped down, caught the little pig in its limbs and took to the sky again.

"Patamon!" TK yelled.

"The hell's that?" Davis asked.

"That's a Flymon," Gatomon said, pointing to its abdomen, "and it's got a ring!"

They knew what that meant. Yolei, Kari and Davis whipped out their D3s, and Nefertimon, Halsemon and Flamedramon appeared. Flamedramon lobbed some fireballs and Halsemon dove at the bug's ring, but it was faster than it looked. Successfully dodging both attacks, its wings lit up and the horrible noise started again. Paralyzed, the Digimon could only watch as it flew across the canyon, Patamon squirming weakly in its grip.

"After him!" TK yelled wildly, and took off across the sand.

Equally determined to rescue their friend, the Digimon and the kids all chased after him. They didn't get very far, though; a shadow fell upon the dirt, and then the giant, blue feet of Metalgreymon crashed down right in front of them. "Now, where do you all think you're going?" a familiar, nasally voice came from his shoulder.

They all stopped and looked up. The Digimon Emperor sat atop his enslaved prize, glowering at them.

Matt glared at him. "You again..." he snarled.

"I rule this land," the Emperor snapped. "You expect me to sit by when I have an infestation?"

Flymon buzzed over to his side and held Patamon to him. "You all have been very bothersome, taking away my Generals," he continued, producing a Dark Spiral from his cape, "so I'm here for a replacement."

"What?" TK yelled, his eyes widening in terror. "No! Leave Patamon out of this!"

"I watched the surveillance tape from Metal City," the Emperor remarked. "I saw your little swine turn into Angemon. This toy is too much for someone like you."

"Why, you..." Flamedramon fumed, raising his claws to shoot.

Davis turned on him suddenly. "WAIT!" he yelled. "What if you hit Patamon?"

Flamedramon paused, then lowered his arms. "But, Davis..." he began.

"The Emperor is too close to Patamon," Halsemon remarked. "We must put some distance between them."

Davis wanted to do just that, but how? He cast another worried look at the little pig. Flamedramon's fireballs could roast him, and Halsemon's tornadoes could rip him to pieces... and Digmon's drills wouldn't paint a pretty picture, either. He couldn't see any way to do it, and that kept him rooted to the spot.

"Davis!" TK yelled angrily, running to him. "What're you doing? Hurry up and attack!"

Davis's mouth dropped. Now TK was asking him to attack, even if it meant hurting his partner? He had always thought TK, though his rival in love, was a nice guy... but this? "What the hell, man?" he snapped. "You WANT me to fry the little porker?"

"At least I'm not just sitting back and watching!" TK huffed.

That was the last straw. Davis grabbed the unfeeling brute by his shirt and they grappled angrily.

"Hey! Hey! HEY!" Yolei yelled, running in and pushing them apart. "Knock it off! We don't have time for this!"

The Emperor laughed with delight. "Discord among the units?" he laughed. "As if you rats didn't look stupid enough! How did you ever manage to win against me?"

Everyone's attention back on the wicked boy, TK scowled. "I'll never let you use Patamon!" he snaps.

"NONE of us will!" Tai agreed.

The Emperor laughed again. "Then why don't you just come up here and get him back?" he crooned. "Oh, that's right... because none of you have wings!" He turned to Patamon and grinned, raising the spiral.

Patamon winced as he tried to break free of Flymon's claws. "You're really... going to use that on me?" he gulped.

"Oh, yes," the Emperor said, grabbing the pig's ear and starting to slip on the accessory. "If Angemon is your Champion form, I can't WAIT to see what your Ultimate can do!"

"NO!" TK screamed, rushing at the scene.

Metalgreymon, statuesque until now, suddenly came to life, thrust his metallic claw at the boy and fired. Tai reacted with his soccer coach speed, grabbing TK and dragging him to the ground just as the claw smashed into the earth behind them.

The jolt was enough to make the Emperor lose his balance for a moment, and that's when two pink lasers shot down and pierced the ring on Flymon's abdomen. The bug screeched and dropped his load, and Nefertimon swooped down and snatched Patamon from harm. "There's more than one way to swat a bug," she said as she glided back towards the Digidestined.

"Yeah!" Kari laughed from behind the boys. "I didn't know you could sharpshoot!"

Nefertimon landed before TK and Patamon leaped into his arms. "Are you OK?" TK asked his little friend.

"It was kinda close, but I'm fine," Patamon chirped. "Thanks for the save!"

Davis looked at the reunion, still not knowing what to think. A second ago, he thought TK didn't care about Patamon, but here he was hugging the little guy. Why had he demanded that Davis attack? Why had he risked his friend's safety like that? And why had he almost killed himself in the process? This was a really messed-up friendship they had...

"Hey, Davis," Flamedramon said from behind him. "Would you do anything to protect ME like that?"

Davis's lungs puffed as he gave his partner a nervous sideways glance. Would he really be able to do something that crazy? "Well, uh..." he stammered, "I, uh, I dunno... Maybe...?"

Flamedramon didn't like that answer. "'Maybe?' 'MAYBE?'" he yelled, making Davis wince. "How about 'definitely?'"

The Emperor didn't take kindly to being ignored. "You still dare to defy me?" he yelled. "Fine! I'll crush all of you humans, and then I'll have a full set of replacement Generals! METALGREYMON!"

With a roar, Metalgreymon started forward, his eyes blazing. Nefertimon, Halsemon and Digmon (freshly Digivolved by Cody) braced themselves for a big fight.

Tai, however, had another plan. "Matt, my Digivice broke Andromon's ring," he said, holding up his old device. "Maybe I can do the same for that spiral!"

Matt nodded, and the two started towards the hulking dinosaur. They had only gone a few feet, though, when another familiar shape landed before them: Garurumon, still wearing his own Dark Ring. "None shall approach the Master," he growled.

Matt's eyes narrowed. His old friend had them cornered.

With yells from Kari, Yolei and Cody, their respective partners charged Metalgreymon and attacked. Digmon launched his drills, but the beast sidestepped them. Nefertimon shot a Rosetta Stone, but he raised his leg and it crashed into the dirt. That was when Halsemon spun a drilling whirlwind right into his chest; he howled in agony and staggered backwards.

"Damn..." Halsemon growled as he landed beside Yolei.

Yolei winced at the pain she was putting Metalgreymon through, but a look from Tai told her not to worry about it. "It's... OK," she reluctantly told her own partner. "Keep it up!"

Nefertimon circled around for another shot at the Dark Spiral, but the Emperor was ready. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" he mocked. "NOW!"

Quicker than it looked like he could move, Metalgreymon swung his claw around and swatted Nefertimon out of the sky. As she fell, she managed to fire another Rosetta Stone, but it hit the monster in the side instead of the spiral, and he cried out again. Kari visibly flinched, but kept her resolve.

Matt was having his own personal battle against Garurumon. "Step aside," he demanded of the General.

"I obey only what comes from the throat of the Emperor," Garurumon snarled, his fangs glistening. "All others... I tear apart." With that, he leaped at the older boys.

"Well, we'll just have to change that!" Tai said, jumping in front of Matt and holding up his Digivice. It glowed and Garurumon screeched violently, crashing down before them and scampering back to a safe distance. Cracks had formed all around the ring's sides. Matt's eyes widened with amazement; was his friend free now, too?

The Emperor noticed and reacted immediately. "General Garurumon, return to base!" he barked. "Wormmon will give you a spiral to replace that!"

Garurumon growled at the boys furiously, then vanished. Matt stamped his foot angrily; so much for that.

In the thick of all of this fighting, one of the Armor Digimon wasn't doing a thing. Flamedramon stood still next to Davis, who just watched as his friends and Metalgreymon squared off with each other. Every roar of pain Metalgreymon gave off tore at his mind. How could they do this? How could they?

"Davis!" Yolei snapped at him. "Give us a hand, for cripe's sake!"

"Come on, Davis," Flamedramon huffed. "Let me fight!"

Davis was still paralyzed. Everyone was telling him to fight... but that was still Tai's partner! How could he ever forgive himself for hurting it? "I... I...!" was all he could manage.

Flamedramon gave him an angry- almost hateful- scowl. "You don't understand about friendship!" he snapped.

Just then, something odd and scary happened. Flamedramon glowed, then reverted to a very confused Veemon. "What the?" Davis yelled, turning to his partner.

The Emperor laughed at his good fortune. "You're first," he declared, pointing at Davis. "NOW!"

Metalgreymon's claw flew down at the puzzled pair. Veemon dove into the dirt, but the claw's impact knocked Davis onto his back. "Davith, ya gotta do somethin'!" Veemon yelled. "We can't just sit here!"

Davis scrambled to his knees, still not knowing what to do. Despite his tough-guy attitude, he really didn't want to actually hurt people. "I... I don't want to..." he managed. "That's..."

Tai grabbed Davis by the arm and put him back on his feet. "It's not about what you WANT to do," he said to his protegé, "it's about what you NEED to do."

Davis just stared at his mentor. Surprisingly, in the thick of this mess, Tai smiled at him. "That's what friendship's all about, isn't it?" he asked.

He looked at Tai for a moment before a shriek from Metalgreymon called his attention back to the fight. Digmon's drills had just pierced the beast's leg, and a murderous gleam lit his eyes. A new idea hit him, then; maybe he had thought about this in completely the wrong way.

Angrily, Metalgreymon launched his claw again. If the wounded Patamon hadn't fluttered out and knocked Veemon down, the blue lizard would have been goo. "Urrgh... Thanks, Patamon, I owe ya," Veemon managed.

"Veemon..." Davis gulped, watching his partner. Nefertimon had risked hurting Patamon to save him, and now Patamon had just risked himself to save Veemon... and everyone was risking his life and Metalgreymon's to save him from Ken. Maybe they hadn't just turned on Agumon like bloodthirsty wolves...

"Davis!" TK yelled, running up to him. "Come on! We've got him distracted; you finish the job!"

Looking at TK's determined scowl suddenly lit a spark in Davis's mind. They _hadn't_ just turned on Agumon; in fact, the others probably felt as bad as he did! Saying that it couldn't be helped, and attacking with all their might must be breaking their hearts. Friendship wasn't about staying away when friends went bad... it was about doing what he could for them, because he knew that they would do the same for him.

To Tai's and TK's surprise, Davis smacked himself upside the head. "Goddammit!" he yelled. "Why didn't I see that sooner? I'm such a jackass!"

Suddenly, his D3 started to beep wildly. "What the..." he muttered, picking it up and looking at the screen.

Cody almost fell over when the DigiEgg of Friendship flew past his ear, zipping along like a giant blackfly until it came to Davis. As gently as a hot air balloon descends, it landed in his outstretched hand.

Yolei blinked. "Well, that's new..." she muttered.

Cody scratched his head. Davis already had the DigiEgg of Courage, but this DigiEgg seemed to be choosing him as well... What did it mean?

Matt was the only one who wore a scowl at the scene. That DigiEgg had HIS crest on it... Why did that hotheaded buffoon, of all of these losers, get it?

"That's your DigiEgg of Friendship, Davith," Veemon said, beaming at his partner once again. "Why don'cha give it a whirl?"

His eyes shining with his newfound knowledge, Davis grinned at his little friend. "You know it, buddy," he said, raising the egg. "DIGIARMOR ENERGIZE!"

There was a bright, blue flash from the black DigiEgg. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." Veemon said, and then he was no longer Veemon. He grew to a lanky, four-legged black-armored creature lined with lightning-bolt-shaped spikes, with a golden one atop his nose. His mouth opened to reveal rows of glistening fangs, and the Crest of Friendship sparkled valiantly on his torso. "Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!" he finished with a roar.

Everyone was amazed. One Digimon could make multiple Armor Digivolutions? Things had just taken an awesome turn.

The Emperor was amazed as well; just what were these little snots capable of? Still, he managed to hide it. "You think a new magic trick will help you?" he asked. "Metalgreymon, squash that thing!"

With a roar, Metalgreymon came at them. "OK, Raidramon, let's see whatcha got!" Davis yelled, pointing at Metalgreymon. "Get that spiral!"

Metalgreymon's claw came down, but Raidramon whizzed under it like a bolt of lightning. Matt was especially surprised; even Garurumon couldn't move that fast.

Frustrated, Metalgreymon stomped around, trying to squish the speedy critter under his feet. Raidramon easily weaved between his toes, making him even angrier. "Time to save you," Raidramon said, skidding to a halt and sparking with blue electricity. "BLUE THUNDER!"

A flash of blue shot from his golden horn and struck the spiral at its lowest rung, but nothing happened. All of the Digidestined gasped.

The Emperor laughed. "So much for that!" he said. "Now, let's finish this! Metalgreymon, ready your Giga Blaster!"

Raidramon raced back to the others. "I can't run and aim at the same time..." he growled.

Davis scratched his head, wondering what he could do. "Hey, Davis," Tai suggested, "how about helping him out? Get on and tell him where to aim."

Davis looked at Raidramon for a moment, then nodded. This was how to prove his friendship. Working together, he was sure they could get that spiral off. With one quick motion, he mounted the beast. "Keep us covered!" he yelled to his friends as Raidramon took off again.

With Nefertimon and Halsemon flying behind him, Raidramon leaped at Metalgreymon and shot another Blue Thunder. The metallic monster swerved violently to the side, and the Digimon Emperor lost his grip. With a furious yell, he tumbled into the dirt. Metalgreymon staggered around, unable to keep his footing as Nefertimon and Halsemon flew around his head.

Davis saw his opening; the spiral was within range. He couldn't just shoot it, though; that hadn't worked before. Maybe it had a weak point. He looked at the shape for a moment, and then he had a brilliant idea. Shooting at the ends wouldn't get it all off. To cause the most damage, he would have to shoot... "Raidramon! Hit the center with everything you've got!" he yelled.

Before Metalgreymon could react, Raidramon lunged at the spiral. This time, white lightning flashed from his horn. With one swift motion, he sent it slashing through the spiral's center ring. The black menace cracked and shattered almost instantly. "YES!" Davis yelled. He could hear the other kids shouting similar words.

Metalgreymon wavered, then collapsed in the dirt, a blue light enveloping him. He shrank down until Agumon remained in his place. "Agumon!" Tai yelled happily, racing towards him.

Suddenly, all the joy was cut short as the Emperor raced over and grabbed the dinosaur. "You didn't think I'm going to let my finest General go, did you?" he snarled, holding up the spiral intended for Patamon.

"What! No!..." Kari cried.

In an instant, Agumon had a spiral around his arm again. "You may have won THIS time," the Emperor growled as an Airdramon came down from the sky, Wormmon on its back, "but next time... Just you wait!" He leaped on with Agumon in tow, and the beast flew off.

Tai watched them go, a distressed look in his eyes. Davis and Raidramon walked up to him, looking forlorn. "Geez, Tai..." Davis said. "Sorry, man."

Tai's despairing look faded as he smiled at Davis. "Don't worry about it..." he said. "I mean, Raidramon's got some great moves... Next time, I know you'll get him back for good."

Davis saw that his mentor was putting on a brave face, so he did his best to do so, too. "You bet," he promised, grinning. "You can count on me!"

"That goes double for me," Raidramon growled, nodding.

"Davis!" Kari yelled as the others ran over to him. "That was awesome!"

"See?" Yolei smirked. "You really can be useful when it counts, heh..."

"The Emperor is afraid now," Cody remarked, "and we have you to thank for that."

TK nodded. "You did good, Davis," he said.

Matt was the only one wearing a frown. How could they be gushing over Davis when he let the Emperor get away with Agumon? He didn't think Davis was any good before, but now that he had the DigiEgg of Friendship, and had screwed up this rescue... well, it was downright insulting.

"Really, you were wonderful," Kari said.

"Yeah!" Yolei agreed. "When we get home, I'm gonna go out of my way NOT to knock you into the pond."

Davis chuckled and was about to gloat when all of his energy just died. Everyone jumped as he fainted dead away. Raidramon reverted to Veemon and collapsed as well.

"Woah!" TK cried. "What happened?"

"Is he OK?" Kari asked, shocked.

Cody put his head to Davis's chest. "He's breathing..." he reported, "but he's out cold."

Tai didn't like this one bit. "Let's go home," he suggested. "We've done enough today."

The day's events leaving a somewhat bittersweet taste in their mouths, the kids picked Davis and Veemon up and started back the way they came.

* * *

The Emperor cursed angrily as the Airdramon flew into the clouds. He couldn't understand it. He had manufactured those spirals to be completely resistant to Armor Digimon attacks. "How the hell did they do it?" he snarled.

"M-master..." Wormmon stammered, looking up at the Emperor. "Those children... They're all friends, aren't they?..." There was silence, so he decided to continue. "M-maybe friendship really does make people stronger..."

The Emperor's eyes burned into him. "Are you telling me that 'friendship' did that?" he yelled, spitting the word like a bad taste.

Wormmon looked at him sadly. He glared a minute longer, then sighed and looked down at Agumon. "I'll go over the specs again when we get back... I'll find the problem," he grumbled. "Friendship... That's just stupid. That can't be right..."

* * *

"Amazing..." Sora said, leaning back on the counter. Half an hour had gone by since the Digidestined had returned from the Digital World. Outside was pitch black, though the rain still ran down the windows. It had become more gentle, but had not stopped. The unconscious Davis and Demiveemon lay on the floor nearby. Tai and Yolei had just relayed the whole story to Izzy and Sora, and both of them were at a loss for words.

"...This just raises even more questions," Izzy admitted, folding his hands again. "How can Ken survive all of these falls... and jump that high? Something's amiss."

"That's not even half of it," Sora agreed. "If Davis found a second DigiEgg, then maybe there are more out there..." she smiled sadly at Tai. "Don't worry. It's just a matter of time before we get Agumon back."

Tai nodded. "And Biyomon and Gabumon, too," he said.

At the mention of his own partner, Matt frowned and looked out the window. They had been so close to rescuing him as well... but at least he knew that their Digivices still served some purpose; they could break rings. He hoped they could do the same for spirals. He wasn't going to rely on these kids to rescue his friend; he would save Gabumon himself when he was ready.

Yolei casually glanced at the clock and did a double take; it read 8:30 PM. "Aww, hell!" she cried. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Cody winced. "Yes," he agreed. "Our parents must be worried sick."

Kari looked down at the sprawled-out Davis. "What do we do about Davis?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it," Tai said. "You guys go on; Matt and I'll take him home."

Matt glared at him. "Now wait a minute..." he began.

"Hey, you're going that way anyway, right?" Tai pointed out. "You live closest to his place."

Matt growled, but Tai was right. His father's apartment was only a few blocks from Davis's... and since he still had to haul his saxophone, having Tai along to carry the kid regrettably made sense.

"OK, then," Izzy agreed. "I guess we'll see you all tomorrow."

* * *

"Urgh... Man, he sure is heavy for a stringy guy!" Tai commented as Matt and he walked down the rainy Odaiba street toward the Motomiya home. Davis's arms were slung loosely across his shoulders as Tai carried him like a worn-out child... which, really, he was. Demiveemon was resting comfortably in Davis's book bag, which Tai also carried.

Matt walked alongside him, his saxophone case in one hand and an umbrella in the other. "This is disgraceful..." he grumbled. "HIM getting something with my crest on it, of all of them..."

"Oh, don't be too sore, Matt," Tai said as they started up the apartment building's steps. "I'm sure he got it for a reason. It took us a while to grow into our crests, too, you know."

Matt just snorted as they reached the door. He stiffly pushed the doorbell.

"By the way..." Tai said, grinning at his friend, "how'd your date with Jun go?"

Matt coughed awkwardly. "Well..." he began.

Just then, the door opened. Jun Motomiya beamed at them both. "Well, hello, Matt!" she exclaimed. "It's great to see you again! Oh, and you're Daisuke's soccer coach? Hi!"

"Hi there," Tai said. "Actually, we're here to, um, deliver Davis." He shifted to show Jun what he meant.

Jun scratched her head. "What happened to him?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing much..." Tai said, trying to think of a quick story. "He wore himself out at soccer practice."

She raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You practice in the rain?" she pointed out. "Kinda cold, isn't it?"

Tai winced; she had him there. "Well, uh..." he started.

"You boys are so bad at lying," she laughed, "but I won't tell Mom and Dad... provided that Matt takes me on another date!"

A noise like a duck being strangled came from Matt's closed lips.

"OK, then! Saturday at seven," she said, pulling Davis off of Tai's back. "Wear something nice; I know just the place!" With that, she dragged Davis inside and shut the door.

Matt turned around and banged his head on a support pillar. "Great..." he growled. "Not only does that kid get the DigiEgg of Friendship, but his sister is impossible to shake off!"

Tai laughed. It had been a long time since he had done that.


	11. Purely Justice

**CHAPTER 11**

**PURELY JUSTICE**

Damp sand. Cold, salty air. The reek of death. The solemn splash of waves. Kari knew where she was, but she had hoped she would never be there again. She stood again on the empty, dark beach, unable to move or speak. She trembled as she knew what was going to happen next.

The sea turned violent and the giant, black creature emerged, closer than before. The dead voice called her name again. She looked into its blood-red eyes and felt her face turn white. _Come_, the voice said.

Not wanting this dream to last any longer, she forced herself to look down. "No," she managed. "No!"

The creature gave what could have been called an annoyed growl, and then five black tentacles burst out of the sand around her, wrapping around each limb and her neck. Trying to struggle and shriek, she was helpless as they dragged her into the sand and forced her to look into its eyes again. _You are mine_, the voice said. _Come!_

Kari screamed at the top of her lungs, but the tentacle around her neck shifted up and clogged her mouth, cutting off her air. She wriggled and gasped, but it was no use; the creature was wading through the sea toward her. One more tentacle burst out of the sand before her, aiming its tip at her like a knife. It raised itself up, and then...

"Kari! Hey, wake up!"

Her eyes flew open and she shot up with a big gasp. In the darkness of the early morning, both Gatomon and Tai stood beside her bed, wearing worried expressions. "Are you OK?" Gatomon asked.

"Ga... Gato... Tai..." she choked.

"Gatomon said you were crying out, but she couldn't wake you," Tai said. "What's wrong?"

Kari took a few more deep breaths and steadied herself. This was the second time she'd had a dream like that. Each time, it got scarier... If she were to have another... She didn't think she could get back to sleep that night.

She looked at her brother and her partner. Whatever it was, it wouldn't do to trouble them, especially since she didn't understand it herself. "I... it was a bad dream, that's all..." she said. "I'll... be fine."

"You need anything?" Tai asked. "Glass of water, maybe?"

Kari got out of bed. "Maybe just some air..." She walked out of her room and stood out on the apartment's balcony, taking in an Odaiba where everyone else slept peacefully. She sighed heavily and leaned on the bars.

Gatomon stared, her worried look not gone. Kari always kept bothersome things to herself because she didn't want to upset anyone... but it always ended up hurting her. When she was younger, she had become ill on many occasions and tried hard to hide it, but twice it had almost killed her. What was she hiding now... and why wouldn't she tell her?

* * *

A lazy Sunday afternoon found Sora in the school's computer lab, typing away at a letter to a friend. Technically, she wasn't supposed to be in the building, as there were no classes that day... but she needed a break from practice with her soccer team and had opted to check her e-mail in the process. Her girls were so good, she figured, she could leave them alone for fifteen minutes while she got the lowdown on her friend's cat's stomach cramps.

Finishing the letter, she sat back and thought of other ways to blow time. It had been a few days since Davis had acquired the DigiEgg of Friendship... and subsequently passed out. Since then, very little had happened in the Digital World, according to Izzy... but the boy genius was at home today, and the Digimon Emperor didn't seem the type to sit on his hands. It wouldn't hurt to look in on things. It was all she really could do, considering...

She brought up the Digital World map and looked around. A few areas beyond where the Emperor had been before had turned black, but that was to be expected. None of the liberated areas had been retaken; that was good. As for Biyomon's signature... well, it wasn't there. She sighed; she had expected that, too, but it didn't make it any less disheartening.

Suddenly, something caught her eye; one of the squares was flashing between green and black. She puzzled at it for a moment, then shot out of her chair. Green was Palmon's signal! Mimi's partner was in an enemy area! For all she knew, the little plant could be in big trouble. She had to do something!

She reached for her Digivice, then sadly remembered that it couldn't open the new gate. Her mind raced, thinking of just what she could do...

Just then, a soccer ball smacked against the window, surprising her into a brilliant idea; Davis! Tai and he were outside with the boys' soccer team! She could get them to help!

With that, she raced out of the lab and made a beeline for the exit. What she didn't know, though, is that as she was running out of the lab, another person was about to go in.

The pink-painted Digivice in Mimi Tachikawa's hand shuddered violently as sharp, red symbols flashed on its screen. "Palmon..." she murmured, staring at it sadly. She looked around to an empty hall, then quietly slipped through the door.

* * *

Moving as fast as she did on the soccer field, Sora raced out of the school and headed for the boys' practice area. To her surprise, though, it was devoid of anyone, save Davis. He was alone on the field, kicking the ball into the air and trying to keep it up. He looked like he had his vigor back. "Davis!" she yelled.

With a yell of surprise, he slipped and the ball launched off of his toe, beaning her right between the eyes. When the stars cleared, Davis and Demiveemon were standing over her. "Sorry, Sora," he apologized. "You scared the hell outta me!"

"What's wrong?" Demiveemon asked.

She got to her feet and knocked the grass from her legs. "We've got trouble," she said. "Where's Tai?"

"He went home," Davis said. "Actually, everyone did. I just wanted to log some extra time on my bicycle kick."

"It's perfect; trust me," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "Palmon's in trouble! We have to tell the others!"

That took Davis's mind off of soccer promptly. "Right!" he said, running to his duffel bag and yanking out his D-Terminal. He knew Kari had used it once before to contact them; he only hoped he could figure it out as quickly as she had.

After a few curses, he found the e-mail program and pounded out an SOS:

_Sora says get over to school right now! Palmon's in trouble!_

_-Davis_

He hit the "send" button and turned to the coach. "Let's hope they get it," he said. "God knows how hard it is to find folks on Sundays..."

Sora bit her lip. Davis had a point; being a day of rest, who knew who would respond?

* * *

The gray box on TK's desk gave a little beep, but neither TK or Patamon heard it; both of them were fast asleep. That was the result of staying up way past their bedtime to help Matt at his jazz session... or more specifically, to keep Jun away from him after their second date. Whatever the case, they were dead to the world, and nothing could reach their ears.

* * *

"Kari, there's a letter from Davis," Gatomon reported, reading the D-Terminal. "We have to get over to school!"

Kari was still on the balcony, staring off into space. Gatomon sighed; whatever that dream had been about, it must have been pretty bad for her to go mannequin like this. "Kari, did you hear me?" she asked.

"No..." Kari mumbled. "Not today."

Gatomon's tail twitched. "Not today?" she asked. "What-"

"I'm going for a walk," Kari said, ignoring her partner's protest. With that, she slid into her shoes at the door and left.

Gatomon was even more baffled. What was going on? She put the D-Terminal down and raced after her friend.

* * *

"Cody! How 'bout this?" Upamon chirped, bouncing up and down in one of Cody's old kendo helmets. Hoping they would learn to share a hobby, Cody had duct taped an old shinai to the helmet's side, and Upamon enjoyed swinging himself around with it. "How'm I doin'?" he asked.

From his chair in the corner, Cody scratched his head. "Well, I can tell you're working hard..." he admitted, "but it's difficult to say how you're doing... Kendo isn't usually practiced by the armless..."

Suddenly, the D-Terminal on his desk beeped. Curious, he opened it and read the message. "Playtime's over, Upamon," he said, grabbing his D3. "We've work to do."

"Right!" Upamon said, "just let me undress!" He rolled onto his head and bounced himself out of the helmet. Cody wished his own armor was that easy to take off.

His mother was in the kitchen and his grandfather was in the living room reading, so Cody had to employ an unconventional method for getting Upamon out of the apartment; he stuffed him under his shirt and walked as fast as he could.

He struggled out of the apartment and down the street. At the Inoue family convenience store, though, he had a nasty encounter with a walking tower of crates. "Arrrgh!" Yolei yelled as she pulled herself out of the mess. "Watch it, will ya?"

"Sorry," he apologized. "Did you get Davis's message?"

Yolei almost thought she was in a dream. One minute ago, she was doing part-time work for the store, and the next minute, Cody was in front of her asking if she had heard from Davis... and he had a beer belly. "What've you been eating?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

He gave her his usual irritated look. "It's Upamon," he grunted.

She raised an eyebrow. "You ate Upamon?" she joked.

Not dignifying that with any response, he gave her the lowdown. "Davis says Palmon is in trouble," he said. "Get Poromon and come with me."

Looking for any excuse to ditch this boring shift, she agreed and dashed back inside. When she came back out, she also bulged around the middle. "Eww," her stomach said, "Yolei, you need to clean your belly button!"

"Well, when in Rome..." she said, looking at Cody's own girth. "Let's boogie!"

* * *

Davis and Sora had to look twice when Cody and Yolei appeared on the school grounds, their guts expanded more than humanly possible. "Sorry we're late," Cody apologized.

Davis couldn't keep from laughing at Yolei's bulge. "Man!" he laughed, pointing. "You've gotta lay off the donuts!"

She yanked Poromon out from under her shirt and clocked the gogglehead with him. "Now, what's the problem?" she asked Sora.

"Palmon's signal is coming from one of the Emperor's areas," Sora explained. "I don't like it... She may be in trouble."

Cody nodded, pulling Upamon out. "Let's go, then," he said.

"Hey, hey, wait!" Davis argued. "We can't go yet! Where're Kari and TK?"

The four of them looked around, but saw no sign of their missing friends. "I guess they didn't get your message..." Sora said.

Yolei grinned wickedly. "I bet they're on a date," she jeered at Davis. "Probably sittin' on a park bench, eating ice cream and makin' out... with tongues!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK! YOU STINKIN'-" he started to roar.

Sora clamped her hand over his mouth. "Shh! We're not even supposed to _be_ here," she scolded.

With Davis fuming and fretting at such an idea, the four kids slipped into the school, taking care to tiptoe past the janitor's office; he was the only one allowed in the building on Sundays, and the punishment for trespassing was severe.

"Man, this is easy!" Yolei said as they sneaked up the stairs. "The teachers make it out like this place is Fort Knox or something!"

"We're not out of danger yet," Cody scolded as they reached the lab door. "Just stay quiet-"

A surprised scream came from inside the lab, which the kids answered with screams of their own. "What are YOU doing here?" Mimi yelled angrily.

Everyone rushed into the lab and shut the door behind them, hoping the janitor hadn't heard. "That's a better question to ask YOU," Davis huffed.

"What the hell, Mimi?" Yolei asked, furious that this pink, perfumed, plastic princess would defile her computer lab with her very presence. "You don't usually come in here! Actually, you NEVER come in here!"

Mimi fumbled for an answer. "Um, I, uh, I was checking my makeup!" she said, folding her arms. "How dare you scare me like that!"

The computer was on, and Mimi's Digivice sat in her hand. Cody wasn't convinced. "...On a computer screen?" he asked.

She snorted and looked away. Sora, though, thought she knew why she had come. "You came because Palmon was in trouble, didn't you?" she asked.

Mimi didn't answer, but her gaze seemed to soften. "We're going in to look for her," Sora went on. "Why don't you come with us?"

"What?" Yolei snapped like a bear trap. "No way am I going to deal with her again!"

"Yes, but..." Cody hemmed, scratching his head, "Palmon's her partner..."

"Without Kari or TJ, we're gonna be short on help," Davis grumbled. He hated to admit it, but another pair of eyes might be a good idea.

Yolei looked at her friends, realizing she was outnumbered. "...Oh, fine," she huffed.

"...I suppose I'll let you come with me," Mimi sniffed. "Now, one of you, open the thing."

Muttering under his breath, Davis raised his D3. "DigiPort open..." he said.

There was a flash, and the kids were gone.

* * *

Burning heat and stinging sand thrashed at the faces of the Digidestined as they rematerialized. Immediately everyone had a fit of coughing and spitting.

Davis quickly pulled down his goggles and peered around. They stood in a sandy desert with wooden buildings on all sides. Junk was strewn all around. Signs swung from poles over the doors, though what they said had long since been eroded away. Windows were broken or boarded up. Broken rocking chairs and overturned barrels lay upon warped wooden porches. The highest thing around was an empty-looking water tower; no control spire was in sight.

The sand died down and the others regained their sight. "Hmm..." Cody remarked, "it looks like the American Old West."

"This is Spaghetti Junction," Veemon said, pointing at a weather-beaten sign near one of the buildings. "It's supposed to be a real nice place on the Server Continent... err... I guess 'was' is a better word..."

"The Emperor ruins everything he touches," Hawkmon growled. "Such a pity."

The pink-dripped Digivice on Mimi's side beeped, and its screen flashed red. Palmon was definitely in the area. "Let's start searching," Sora suggested.

They had only taken a few steps when another sandstorm caught them. "Phlaaaugh!" Mimi retched, spitting sand every which way. "My hair! My skin! This is a disaster!"

"Chill out," Sora replied. "It's the desert; we're all going to get dirty on this one."

"Then forget it!" Mimi huffed. "I want to go home!"

Yolei fumed. "Nobody asked you to come, and now you want to go home?" she snapped. "You're worse than a four-year-old!"

"And YOU smell like a two-year-old!" Mimi retorted. "I want to go home, and now!"

"Come now, miss Mimi," Hawkmon tried to intervene, "your partner is in danger! Don't you want to go to her aid?"

"And tell your pigeon he's not allowed to speak to me!" she yelled at Yolei, not even looking at Hawkmon.

"He's a HAWK, not a pigeon!" Yolei snarled.

The others watched the argument from a distance. "I don't understand..." Cody said.

"I know..." Sora agreed. "I mean, the rest of us would jump to save our partners. I don't know what's wrong with Mimi..."

"No, why must Yolei always return the insults?" he asked. "It just creates a bigger argument... and then we waste time."

"That's Yolei for you," Davis replied. "Besides, ain't Mimi the type ya want to yell at?"

Cody was about to pursue it further, but suddenly something caught everyone's ear and stopped them: a vibrant, bouncy piano tune. It was coming from somewhere inside the town.

"I guess someone's here after all," Armadillomon said. "Ya wanna check it out, Cody?"

Ignoring Mimi's constant complaints about getting sand in her designer shoes, they followed the sound to a large building with the word SALOON written over its door. Once they were inside, though, their hopes were dashed; it was an automatic player piano, and nobody was in sight.

"Well, crap," Davis grunted. "Back to square one, huh?"

"I don't think so," Sora said. "Someone had to start that piano..."

"HEY!" Mimi yelled, out of patience. "IS ANYONE HERE?"

Much to everyone's surprise, she was answered with a laugh. "Well, well, well! Welcome to Spaghetti Junction, buckaroos!" a friendly, bold voice came from behind the bar. A gray, star-shaped Digimon with friendly, blue eyes rose up, a cowboy hat upon his top point. "Howdy! I'm Starmon, the lone star of justice!" he said.

"Starmon, huh? Nice to meet you," Yolei said, relieved. "We didn't think there was anyone here!"

Starmon reached behind the counter and, seemingly out of midair, produced nine glass mugs filled to the brim with a white liquid. "Now why don'cha belly up to the bar an' have some of our famous Spaghetti Junction Welcome Milk!" With expert motions, he slid each mug down the bar, and each landed before one of the kids or their Digimon without spilling a drop.

"Welcome Milk?" Sora asked. "What's that?"

"It's 100 percent ice-cold, homogenized moo juice, little missy," Starmon said. "What with all the dust storms 'round here, every new face in town gets one on the house!" He raised his mug to them, and started chugging.

Davis stared at the milk; it didn't look poisoned. "Well, guess I am kinda thirsty..." he reasoned.

"No kidding," Yolei agreed. "Just five minutes outside and my throat feels like a dryer full of cotton balls."

"Thanks!" everyone said, and started sipping.

Mimi wretched after the first gulp. "Ugh! Is this WHOLE milk?" she huffed, glaring at her mug. "I'd never drink anything fattier than skim!"

"It's rude to refuse an offer of food!" Cody hissed at her. She scowled at him, but took the advice and drank silently.

"Well, y'all sure have an appetite," Starmon chuckled, walking to the edge of the bar. "Now, what brings ya here, if'n ya don't mind my askin'?"

Sora looked at Mimi, but the pampered girl was too busy trying to choke down the milk that she figured she would ask instead. "Well, sir, we're looking for a friend," she said. "Have you seen a little green plant Digimon around? Her name's Palmon."

Starmon didn't turn around, but she saw him scratch his chin. "Palmon, eh?... Name rings a bell..." he mumbled. "Ah, yep, I know who you're talkin' about!"

He snapped his fingers and an image appeared on the back wall, making everyone spit or choke on their drinks. There were dozens of weathered old posters with Palmon's face, each looking uncharacteristically wicked. At the tops of the posters threatening words burned into their eyes: "WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE!"

"What?" Mimi yelled, suddenly taking an interest. "What did she do?"

"That lil' Digi-desperado's on the run from the Emperor; he's got a reward out," Starmon explained. "She wandered into town the other day, so I decided to put 'er up, bein' the sheriff of justice an' all..."

Both Mimi and Sora sighed with relief. "Well, good..." Sora said. "I was afraid she'd gone bad or something..."

"Now why would she do that?" Hawkmon asked. "Palmon seems a respectable type... I doubt she would stoop to crime."

"Unless the Emperor slapped another ring on her," Yolei pointed out. "Then she'd raise hell just for... well, for the hell of it."

Mimi gave a cry of horror, but the reaction that caught everyone's attention was Starmon's; he spewed what was left of his milk across the posters, then coughed wildly.

"Mr. Starmon? You OK?" Armadillomon asked.

To their surprise, he suddenly became angry. "Now lissen," he snapped, "I'm the sheriff in this here town, and I'll deal with anything that disturbs the peace, an' that includes troublemakers like you, so ya'd better watch yer mouths!"

Yolei recoiled a bit. "Woah! Is this about the swearing? Sorry," she apologized.

Sora, however, now wore a suspicious glower. "I don't think so," she said. Before Starmon could react, she yanked off his cowboy hat. Everyone gasped; a dark ring was strapped around his top point!

"Well!" Veemon snorted. "I KNEW that behind that tin star was just another gutless lackey of the Emperor!"

"Sure you did..." Davis growled, rolling his eyes.

"I thought somethin' was fishy, too," Armadillomon said, his usual lax look turning to a frown. "Anyone who spews the word 'justice' as much as this guy can't possibly be good!"

"The Emperor's justice is the only one that matters!" Starmon snapped, his eyes changing to the usual red glow of a controlled monster. "After his troops wrecked this town, he put me in charge! An' he said that if the Digidestined showed up..." he glanced at them and made a slashing motion across where his throat must have been.

The others gulped at their sudden turn in fortune, but Davis just got angrier. "So where's that Earth reject now?" he asked. "Pullin' wings offa butterflies or somethin'?"

Starmon's back was to them again. "You can bet he's up to somethin' really wild, boy!" he said. "Even as we're speakin', he's got Dark Spirals goin' into mass production!" He cackled at the thought.

Sora saw that this was their chance to get away. Signaling the others for silence, she slid off of her stool and picked up a chair from a nearby table.

"With spirals runnin' off the assembly line, it's only a matter of time 'afore the whole Digital World is-" Starmon continued, but Sora didn't let him finish. With a loud yell, she smashed the chair down on him, sending wood splinters everywhere.

"Run!" she ordered. Nobody needed further motivation; they tore out of the saloon as quickly as their legs could take them.

"Whoo!" Davis laughed as Sora caught up to him. "You ever tried out for pro wrestling?"

"I can't believe this!" Mimi ranted as she ran. "These are designer shoes!"

"Don't you ever know when to shut up?" Yolei yelled at her.

Unfortunately for the kids, Starmon recovered quickly from the blow and zipped outside. "Ya can't run from the law!" he yelled, raising his hands to the sky. "METEOR SHOWER!"

The blue sky suddenly twinkled with dozens of lights. To the kids' horror, white-hot asteroids started crashing down around them.

"Son of a...!" Davis snapped, reaching for his D3. "Veemon, Digi-"

One large explosion knocked them all flat on their faces, and everything went black. The last thing Davis remembered was Starmon's triumphant laugh.

* * *

Davis came to at the click of a latch and realized that his arms were tied together. He sat up to see Starmon on the other side of a set of prison bars in a dark, small chamber. His friends were all around him, tied up as well.

"Now y'all sit tight for a while," Starmon said. "Enjoy yer time together, since it won't last much longer!"

"What're you going to do to us?" Sora asked.

"What I do to every lawbreaker I catch," Starmon chuckled. "I dispense justice... Old West style!"

Davis's face paled; he had read about this in American history class. "Aww, shit!" he gulped. "He's gonna make us swing on the bellows!"

"...Swing from the gallows," Cody replied, not taking any pleasure in the correction.

"Got a good head on yer shoulders, youngun," Starmon laughed as he strode away. "Too bad it won't be there much longer!" With that, he slammed the door.

"Damn..." Yolei muttered. "This sucks! This totally, completely sucks!"

"I sure wish Kari or TK were here," Veemon sighed. "They'd know what to do."

"Gee, thanks for the support," Davis grunted.

Mimi was bawling like an infant. "Nooooo!" she wailed. "I can't die now!"

Yolei glared at her. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Is this an 'I'm too cute to die' tirade? Don't even start!"

"How dare you!" Mimi yelled. "And if you really want to know, this is no way for me to die! There'd be no classy funeral!"

Even Armadillomon's face was pale now. "F-funeral?..." he asked.

"Ohhh..." Mimi sobbed, "I always envisioned it... a rose coffin with me laid out in the most beautiful pink dress, and legions of gorgeous boys coming and dropping flowers by it, paying their respects..."

"Is this REALLY the time to discuss this?" Hawkmon asked, struggling against his bindings. "We must escape somehow!"

"SHUT UP!" Mimi shrieked.

Suddenly, something in a dark corner of the cell shifted. "Mi... mi?..." a weak, wispy voice asked.

Everyone turned around. Huddled in a corner, tied up in the same way as they were, lay Palmon. Bruises and scratches covered her body, and several of the petals in her flower had fallen out. "Mimi..." she wheezed, struggling to move.

"Palmon!" Mimi cried, the expression in her eyes again changing to relief and joy.

Palmon struggled to her feet, took a few stumbling steps, then fell down with her head in Mimi's lap. "You came..." she wheezed, tears forming in her green eyes. "You came..."

"What happened to you?" Mimi demanded. "Who did this?"

"The world has changed so much..." Palmon coughed. "I got lost... and I didn't realize that this town was the Emperor's... A star Digimon offered me a drink... but it was a trick... He blasted me and now..." She winced; she couldn't talk any longer.

"Shhh..." Mimi whispered, bending over so they were cheek to cheek. "Don't talk... I'm here now... We're gonna be fine..."

Again, Yolei was flabbergasted. When Palmon was in danger, this self-absorbed bitch changed completely. She almost became... motherly.

"Well, this is wonderful," Sora said, then frowned. "But we still have to get out of here."

Veemon got on his feet and glared at the cement wall opposite the bars. "Leave it to me, Davith!" he said, then launched himself at the wall in a headbutt. There was a crack, but the wall stayed intact. Veemon staggered backwards, his eyes swirls in his head. "Ohhh... Shoulda used less 'vee' an' more 'headbutt...'" he wheezed before falling over.

Cody turned to Armadillomon. "I think we can do it," he said. "Become Digmon and drill us out."

Armadillomon sighed heavily. "Would that I could, pardner, but..." he hung his head. "I got no energy... I'm hungry as all get-out."

Cody thought for a moment, then chided himself harshly; this would be the day he rushed out of the house without breakfast.

Just then, another sound caught their ears; the whinny of a horse and galloping footsteps. As they listened, something skidded to a halt outside of the building, and then jangling, spurred boots made their way towards the door. Everyone braced themselves; what was going to happen to them now?

The door flew open with a crash. "Never fear!" a voice with a thicker cowboy accent than Starmon's called. "Th' defender of justice is here!"

Into the room stepped a man... or was it a pistol with legs? A Digimon with a gun for a body stood before them, pistols in both hands and a ten-gallon cowboy hat over his beady, yellow eyes and a red scarf under them. When he saw the kids, he jumped a little. "Holy guacamole! Just who'n tarnation're YOU?" he asked.

"We'd ask the same of you," Cody replied curtly. He hated it when people didn't introduce themselves.

The Digimon spun his guns around in his hands. "Well, now, folks, you know me, I'm Deputymon! The defender of justice!" he said. Yolei thought she recognized his speech from somewhere, but she just couldn't place it.

Still, his tone of voice did little to impress the kids; they just glared at him. "From the looks on yer faces, ya'd think I squashed yer fav'rite hat," Deputymon said, frowning back. "What's the story?"

"People who talk about justice are usually lousy people," Armadillomon grunted. "Just ask your partner, Starmon!"

"What kind of justice is destroying a town, and then executing people like this?" Cody asked.

"Where's yer ring, deputy?" Davis snarled. "Might as well show it! We know you've got one!"

"What?" Deputymon roared, genuinely offended. He pulled off his hat, and then his scarf; no ring lay beneath either. "Ya little sidewinder! What're ya talkin' about, nobody controls me, not even myself!" He pulled off his boots and showed his ringless socks.

"Yeah? It could be anywhere!" Veemon huffed. "Prove it!"

Deputymon was already way ahead of him. "There!" he declared, tossing his last article of clothing on the ground. "Ya see any rings now?"

"Oh, for-!" Sora cried, covering her eyes. Mimi shrieked. Yolei couldn't take her eyes away, partly from curiosity, partly from horror.

Deputymon hesitated, then started redressing himself. "Got a lil' carried away, there..." he apologized.

Yolei snapped from her stupor. "So, uh, you're here to save us, then?" she asked.

"Tha's right, lil' lady," Deputymon said, restrapping his belt.

Everyone jumped up and cheered. "Thank goodness," Cody sighed. "Luck shines on us again."

"'Course, I'm only freein' the girls," Deputymon went on.

The cheers stopped dead. "What?" Veemon demanded. "Whaddya mean?"

"Great!" Davis yelled. "Of all the people who could've come to save us, we get a goddamn sicko!"

"Get yer mind outta the gutter, ya varmint," Deputymon said, pulling his guns again. "I need card players, only not boys, 'cuz they cheat."

"Card players?" Yolei asked. "What kind of rescue IS this?"

"C'mon, Deputymon," Armadillo urged. "Why don'tcha make an exception and let us all go?"

"I don't cheat at cards!" Davis argued. "I'm too dumb to cheat at cards! Really!"

Cody coughed. "You're a boy, Deputymon," he said. "By only playing with girls, am I right in thinking that you would cheat, and so you would win all the time?"

Deputymon sputtered, then raised his gun. Cody winced, but the only thing that was shot was the lock on the cell door. It swung open loosely. "C'mon, ladies out," he ordered.

"Finally, someone with some taste," Mimi sniffed, walking out of the cell. Palmon, rested enough to manage a walk, followed along closely.

"That's one, now how about the others?" Deputymon asked. "Move!"

Yolei bit her lip. She was glad that she would be free, but she didn't know if she wanted to be if Cody and Davis were left behind. Starmon would be so angry that he'd probably hang them right away... She shuddered at the sudden thought of her friends' bodies swaying in the desert wind. Nobody deserved that; not even Davis!

Sora noticed her worry and gave her a brave look. "Don't worry," she whispered, "we'll find some way to get them out. Just follow along for now."

With a sigh, the girls and their Digimon walked out. Deputymon slammed the door shut and applied several new locks to it, then led his five card players out to a horseless carriage. They got inside and he got in front. With a crack of the reins, an invisible horse neighed and the carriage moved away.

Yolei looked back at the jail, Sora's words not taking hold. How could they possibly save the boys?

* * *

It was almost four o'clock by the time Starmon finished his work. The high, long, wooden gallows rose above the nameless graves in the town cemetery, with nine nooses rigged up: one for each criminal. He beamed at his work; the Emperor would be so pleased with him! He could just see the triumphant smirk on his boss's face as he watched the trapdoors drop away, and-

A growl from his stomach changed his train of thought, and he headed back for the jail. Justice would be served... right after a snack.

Humming to himself, he walked into the jail, sat down at his desk and pulled a box of fruit sandwiches out of the top drawer. "Justice sure works up an appetite!" he said to the prisoners behind him, turning around. "Cryin' shame we don't offer last meals in Spaghetti Junction..."

He stared at the cell door; he hadn't put that many padlocks on it, had he? He had only locked the original lock... which now had a giant bullet hole in it? "What in the name o' Sam Hill Cotton Pickin'-?" he started to yell.

Davis and Cody's worn-out faces appeared at the bars. "Deputymon came and took the girls," Cody grumbled.

"Said boys cheat at cards..." Davis muttered. "Goddamn bastard's a grade-A sicko, I just know it..."

"WHAAAAAAT?" Starmon roared, his silver star body turning reddish-orange from rage. "That lousy...! I'm gonna let that lil' pop-gun have it with BOTH BARRELS!" Spewing various swear words, he raced out and slammed the door behind him.

Davis sighed. "Well, Cody, I reckon we'll be livin' a lil' longer..." he said. "...Dammit, they've got ME talking like that now!"

Elated gasps from Armadillomon and Veemon made Cody look at them. "What is it?" he asked.

"His lunch!" Veemon said, motioning at the sandwiches on the desk. The drool was visible on his mouth.

Armadillomon licked his chops. "If I could wrap my lips 'round one of those sandwiches, I could Armor Digivolve," he murmured.

"That's just swell," Davis muttered, "but we're in here... and it's out there... and we're freakin' tied up! How the hell're we gonna get 'em?"

Cody thought for a moment. Armadillomon looked simply ravenous, like he would eat just about anything... Anything? His brain sparked. "Armadillomon," he said, "Starmon didn't tie me up with rope; he used a giant churro."

"HOT DOG!" Armadillomon yelled, and leaped at Cody's bindings. Within moments, they were ingested and the Digimon sighed with satisfaction. "By the way, what's a churro?" he asked. "Tastes a lot like rope."

Cody untied Armadillomon, Davis and Veemon. "That's part one solved..." he said. "Now, how to get the food..."

Davis beamed. "You leave that to me, bud," he said, grabbing some of the rope. He fashioned a lasso and flicked it through the bars. After a few tries, he snagged the box and dragged it across the floor to the hungry monsters. "Chow down, Armadillomon!" he laughed.

Armadillomon happily started on the munchies. Veemon looked up at Davis, confused. "What about me?" he asked.

"We need Digmon to break the bars," Davis pointed out. "You save your energy for later."

Armadillomon looked at his hungry friend and nudged the box. "Want half?" he asked.

"DO I?" Veemon laughed, grabbing a piece and scarfing it.

Watching the two Digimon eat, Cody and Davis grinned at each other. "Y'know, Cody, we make a pretty good team, huh?" Davis remarked.

"Perhaps..." Cody started, but a burp from Armadillomon told him his partner was ready. He raised his D3 and Digmon appeared. As fast as it takes to write it, the jail wall was gone and they rushed out into the sweet air of freedom.

"Whoo! Free at last!" Davis laughed, stretching his arms. "This must be how Pecos Bill musta felt!"

"...Pecos Bill wasn't an outlaw," Cody objected.

Davis wasn't listening. "OK, we gotta find the girls," he said, raising his D3. "Your turn, Veemon!"

With a flash, Veemon was gone, and in his place was... Raidramon? Davis recoiled in surprise. He had wanted Flamedramon, but instead he got Raidramon. A scary thought hit him: could he control Digivolution, or was this his permanent new partner?

Whatever the answer was, there was no point in worrying about it now; he helped Cody and Armadillomon onto Raidramon's back and hopped on himself. "Giddyap!" he ordered, and the electric beast took off across Spaghetti Junction.

* * *

There was a nice view of the cemetery and its gallows from the hill where Deuptymon's card table was set up. "I jes' love cards! Credit cards, greetin' cards, baseball cards, you name it!" Deputymon chuckled as he rapidly shuffled a deck of playing cards over his head in a spinning parade of paper.

The girls were not impressed. "This isn't tasteful at all!" Mimi whispered to Sora and Yolei. "I want to get out of here!"

"I dunno..." Sora replied, frowning. "You saw how he handled that gun... I wouldn't want to get him mad..."

Deputymon leaped onto the table and raised the deck. "Yahoo! Now, ladies an' gentlemon, I present ta you the world championship Old Maid tournament! Winner take all!" he declared. "Let's hear some applause!"

The girls and their Digimon feebly applauded. "...Look, let's cheat as much as we can," Yolei whispered to the others. "See if he gives up..."

"How do you cheat at Old Maid?" Sora asked.

Yolei grinned wickedly. "Watch me," she replied.

Deputymon dealt everyone a hand and then sat down, but no sooner had he put a finger on one of his cards when a bullet shot through them, scattering paper everywhere. "Hey, what's the big idea?" he demanded, leaping on the table again.

The girls whirled around to see a very angry Starmon. "Playin' with the girls again, Georgie Porgie?" he jeered. "Why'd I ever pick you fer a sidekick?"

"I'd say the same thing!" Deputymon huffed, yanking out his guns. "Why've I gotta deal with some jelly-spined toadie for a boss?"

Starmon came forward, a gleam in his eye. "It's time to settle this, Old West style," he declared.

"I'm fine with that," Deputymon said, hopping off the table. "This town ain't big enough for the both of us."

"Um... Yolei, what's about to happen?" Hawkmon asked.

"Something where we shouldn't be standing around them," Yolei said. "Everybody get to the side!"

A moment later found Starmon and Deputymon back to back. Yolei, Mimi and Sora and their partners stood a little ways away so they wouldn't get hurt.

"Three steps oughta be enough," Starmon declared.

"Fine by me," Deputymon replied.

"An Old West duel..." Sora murmured, watching. "I've never seen this before."

"I saw a movie like it once," Yolei replied.

"Who won?" Palmon asked.

She shrugged. "Beats me; they were talking in Italian," she admitted.

"One!" Starmon announced, taking his first step.

"Two!" Deputymon shouted, taking his second step.

"Three-" Starmon began when a bullet grazed his cheek. He whirled around to see Deputymon with his guns out already. "Hey!" he roared. "Did you even take the third step?"

"I'm impatient, so sue me," Deputymon drawled. "So let's get blastin'! JUSTICE BULLET!"

Firing round after round, Deputymon shot wildly at Starmon, who danced around the field, yelling and cursing in panic.

"Um... Which one's wearing the ring again?" Palmon asked. Yolei just groaned.

Again and again Deputymon fired, closing in on Starmon. Finally, he had the star-shaped monster stuck against the fence. He shot once more... and his gun only spat smoke. "Well, how d'ya like that, I'm clean outta bullets," he grumbled.

Starmon cackled and launched his own Meteor Shower attack. Fiery stars rained down on Deputymon, knocking him to the ground. "Well, so much for that..." Sora mumbled.

"Well, now," Starmon sneered, turning on them, "that's one down, three to go... The gallows're just too downright nasty fer pretty womenfolk like you... so I'll just vaporize you instead!"

Mimi cried out in terror and scrunched up into a ball. "Like heck you will!" Palmon yelped, staggering in front of the girls and putting out her arms. Suddenly, though, she winced and fell over; her wounds were still too severe.

"Palmon!" Hawkmon yelled, helping the plant up. Starmon laughed and raised his arms again.

Suddenly, a black shape landed in front of them. "You wanna fight?" Davis yelled as Cody and Armadillomon hopped off of Raidramon, "I'll give you one!" The beast charged right at Starmon, sparking with electricity.

"Yeah?" Starmon snarled. "We'll see 'bout THAT!"

Another Meteor Shower came down and knocked Raidramon clean into the air, reverting him to Veemon. Davis tumbled out of the light to be caught by something soft; Sora and Yolei both had him. "Whew!" he laughed, grinning wickedly at Yolei. "Never thought I'd be glad YOU were touchin' me."

Yolei's response was to drop him.

"Davith!" Veemon yelled, "use Flamedramon instead! He's a better fighter!"

Rubbing his butt, Davis got up. "How?..." he asked.

"Use the D-Terminal!" Veemon elaborated.

"Like I'm gonna just sit here an' wait!" Starmon growled, advancing. "METEOR-"

With a screech, Hawkmon lunged at him and clawed at his face, stopping the attack and keeping him distracted while Davis fumbled with his D-Terminal. He noticed that there was an icon next to the e-mail function that looked like an egg... what was that? He clicked on it and it showed his two DigiEggs; so that's what Veemon had meant! He highlighted the DigiEgg of Courage, his D3 shone, and Veemon became Flamedramon once again. "Well, that's good to know!" he declared. "OK, get 'em, Flamedramon!"

Flamedramon leaped on the surprised Starmon and they grappled fervently. Despite the power of his Meteor Shower, Starmon couldn't use it if his hands weren't free. Flamedramon had the edge.

"Yeah! Get 'im!" Davis yelled. "Knock that ring off!"

Suddenly, though, the sky grew dark and the wind picked up fiercely. Dust devils swept through the town, shattering more glass and making the more loose buildings take to the air. "What the?" Yolei asked, looking up.

With a quaking screech, down from the clouds descended a gigantic orange being with the legs of a bird, the arms and muscles of a human wrestler, and the head and wings of a bird, like a figure from some Native American folklore. It had a murderous, red hue in its eyes, and a large, dark spiral around its right arm. As it landed, its mammoth feet crushed two buildings apiece, sending up more dust storms.

Sora recognized it immediately. "Oh, no!" she cried.

Even Starmon looked surprised. "Wha... What in tarnation're you?" he yelled.

"I was once Birdramon, but now I am General Garudamon," the bird creature boomed. "The Emperor is not pleased with your ineptitude, Starmon."

"I, I, I," Starmon stammered, "I was just about to dispense justice on these kids..."

"Then allow ME to dispense it in your stead," Garudamon said, raising a fist. Before either Starmon or Flamedramon could reach, she punched them with the force of a bullet train. Screaming, they barreled into the cemetery and smashed right into the gallows, which shattered to reveal the control spire that the Digidestined had been searching for. It cracked, then tumbled to the ground.

"...I do believe we're in trouble..." Hawkmon gulped.

"Garudamon...?" Yolei asked Sora. "Is that your partner?"

"Just like Agumon, the Emperor's made Birdramon turn into her Ultimate level," Armadillomon said. "This ain't gonna be easy..."

Garudamon's eyes turned on the kids. "You seem to be missing a few members..." she remarked. "No matter; they'll be disposed of soon enough. WING BLADE!" She balled her fists and thrust them upwards, and a flaming bird shot out of her. They tried to run, but the blast hit the ground and everything shot into the air. They all crashed down on top of each other, followed by a rain of dirt, wood, and dust.

"Urrgh... That does it!" Yolei growled, pulling herself back up and yanking out her D3. She had a promise to keep to Sora, and now was when she was going to keep it. "Hawkmon!"

Cody was ready to help, too. "Armadillomon!" he commanded, raising his Digivice.

In a flash, Halsemon and Digmon appeared and charged Garudamon. Digmon shot his drills at the spiral, but Garudamon flapped her wings and sent them all back, spiking him back to Armadillomon. Halsemon flew around her shooting his eye ring lasers, but they didn't scratch the beast at all.

"Pesky bird..." Garudamon snarled, raising her fists again. Another Wing Blade descended, barreled into Halsemon and ripped through Spaghetti Junction, launching a geyser of wooden planks and sand. Yolei almost had a heart attack; was her partner even alive after that?

"Shit..." Davis grunted. "This is as bad as Metalgreymon!"

Mimi started bawling again. "I want to go home!" she yelled. "Right now!"

Despite the battle at hand, Yolei whirled around with murder in her eyes. She had heard this girl whine and complain one time too many. "I can't believe you!" she shrieked. "Sora's partner is being controlled by the Emperor! We're all in big trouble! Your partner is lying on the ground, hurt... and ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS YOURSELF!"

"Don't you yell at me!" Mimi shrieked back. "You don't understand! You're just a stupid little girl!... and you smell!"

Yolei's eye twitched violently and her arm shot up to punch Mimi clean in the face. Mimi winced and held up her arms. Suddenly, though, she stopped. Why was she doing this? She had to save Garudamon for Sora; she had promised.

She hesitated, then lowered her knuckle. "I may just be a stupid little girl," she growled, "but I came here today to help Palmon..." She turned and looked at Garudamon, who stomped through what was left of the town in search of Halsemon to finish him off. "...And I made a promise to Sora. I said I was going to save Biyomon... and good God, I'm gonna do it! I always keep my promises, no matter what!"

As if in response to Yolei's words, the cemetery began to glow a vibrant green. As everyone turned to look, one of the graves burst open to reveal a small, glowing object. It whizzed past a surprised Garudamon and stopped before Yolei. It was a green, leafy DigiEgg with a shuriken- a ninja's throwing star- stuck to the bottom. A green marking that resembled a teardrop was flashing on its front.

"How 'bout that?" Davis laughed. "Looks like you've got a new DigiEgg!"

Mimi stared at it. "That's MY Crest!" she yelled, pointing at it. "MY Crest!" She reached out to grab it, but black sparks shot through her arms, making her shriek and fall down.

"Then I guess this is the DigiEgg of Purity," Sora said, smiling at Yolei, "and it must be yours, Yolei."

Yolei stared at it, then grinned. She knew exactly what to do. "Sora, get ready to see your partner again," she said, grabbing it without incident. "DIGIARMOR ENERGIZE!"

From one of the wrecked buildings, a pillar of light shot up, making Garudamon stagger back in surprise. A wounded Hawkmon rose up into the air and suddenly he was completely healed. "Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve to..." he said, and then he was no longer Hawkmon. He became a figure shrouded in a white robe with leafy shoulder blades, his face hidden except for his eyes. All four of his limbs had been replaced with springy vines, each with a shuriken attached to its end. One large shuriken was mounted on his back as well. "Shurimon, the Pure Ninja!" he finished.

Yolei's eye twitched. Then her hands shook. Then she broke into the biggest joygasm that she had experienced since she had learned about file sharing. She had just received what other geeks only dreamed about: her own personal ninja! "WAHOOOOOO!" she screeched, jumping up and down excitedly. "Ninja! Ninja! I'VE GOT A NINJA-HA-HA-HAAAAA!"

"Go for it, Yolei!" Sora encouraged.

Yolei gave a hyper yell and signaled for Shurimon to attack. Garudamon was big and strong, but Shurimon moved like the wind, running circles around her. "HOLD STILL, YOU LITTLE-" the monster bird snarled, throwing a punch. Shurimon dodged it and Garudamon was thrown off balance, hopping on one foot and kicking up more dust.

Yolei could hardly see anything now, but she knew that she had her chance. "Shurimon!" she roared, hopping up and down and flailing her arms wildly. "NOW, NOW, NOW!"

Shurimon sprang into the air and his arm shuriken spun like buzzsaws. "DOUBLE STAR!" he called as he lobbed them at the spiral. As Raidramon had done with Metalgreymon, he struck the center of the spiral and it shattered into pixels. Garudamon let out a pained roar, then disappeared. A pink bird with blue eyes remained in the middle of the ring of devastation that she had made.

"Biyomon!" Sora cried, racing down into the ruined town and scooping the bird up in a bear hug.

"S... Sora?" the little bird managed. "Is... that you?" She winced and shuddered. "I think I've... been having a nightmare..."

"It's OK..." Sora murmured, tears spilling down her cheeks. "That's all it was... Just a bad dream..."

The other kids came down into town. "Is she OK?" Yolei asked.

"Yes..." Sora said, smiling at Yolei. "Thank you, Yolei. Thank you so much..."

There were tears in Yolei's eyes, too; she couldn't help it. "...No problem," she sniffled. "Any... any time!"

In the crowd of smiles, only Mimi wore a frown. How could that stinky... nerd girl get something with _her_ Crest on it? It made no sense!

"I am glad that I could be of service, Yolei," Shurimon said, taking his place beside her. "I hope I can be as useful to you in the future."

He was surprised to see her ogling him. "My very own ninja..." she panted in almost a fervor. "Oooh, this is gonna rock!"

"Err..." he stammered, taking a step back. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Fine!" she said in a half-shriek, drool visible on her lip. "Better than fine! Awesome fine! Super awesome fine, even!"

"Looks like Christmas came early for Yolei," Cody remarked. "Better watch what you say now, Davis; those stars look sharp."

Davis sighed and shook his head wearily.

* * *

With Biyomon free again, all that remained was to find Veemon. They came to the cemetery gates just as he staggered out, with Starmon at his side. The lone star of justice's ring was gone, restoring him to his true self.

"Veemon!" Davis yelled. "You OK?"

"Davith!" Veemon laughed, running up to his partner. "What'd I miss?" He looked at the destroyed city and winced. "Looks like a lot..."

Starmon humbly bowed to the kids. "I guess I just went plum loco, younguns..." he apologized. "I surely hope I can do somethin' to make it up to y'all..."

"I think fixing up the town would be a good start," Sora suggested. "This place is free from the Emperor again, so..."

Starmon laughed. "You got it, little missy!" he said. "This place'll be a shinin' oasis o' commerce again in no time! I'll make sure Spaghetti Junction never goes to the Emperor again!"

"Another glass of Welcome Milk would be nice, too," Armadillomon chuckled. "I'm hungry all over again!"

"Right, then!" Starmon laughed. "Drinks all around, on the house... again!"

Yolei nodded happily, then grew thoughtful. "Why did I get the DigiEgg of Purity, anyway?" she asked, her cheeks reddening a bit. "I'm not exactly pure..."

"I think it's because of your promise," Sora replied. "It takes a lot to keep a promise, and that shows what kind of a person you really are. You never lose sight of your goals... or your true self."

Yolei glanced at Mimi, who snorted and turned away. If that's what having the Crest of Purity meant, then Mimi must have been like her at one point... What had happened? If they were going to share a Crest from now on, she had get to the bottom of it. That was another promise.

They all turned to go, but a voice caught their ears. "Yoo hoo!" Deputymon called as he appeared on top of the spire, "ya didn't think yer were gonna skedaddle without sayin' 'adios' an' playing some more cards, didja?" he laughed cheerfully.

"Oh... great..." Cody gulped.

"Wouldn't dream of it..." Veemon groaned. They were going to be here a while.

* * *

"Master..." Wormmon said weakly as he crawled to the Emperor's throne, "General Garudamon was defeated... her spiral was broken... and Spaghetti Junction is lost, too..."

Contrary to his usual tantrums, the Digimon Emperor did nothing. He sat in his throne, staring at the screens.

"...Master?" Wormmon asked. "Did you hear me?"

"I did," the Emperor answered. "It just isn't important."

"Not important?" Wormmon asked. "But... one of your Generals..."

"Now that the spirals are in mass production, I can make a whole new breed of soldier," the Emperor replied, getting out of his throne. "The only Generals I need now are the ones I have left. Soon I'll command hundreds of Ultimates... and then..."

He snickered. Then he cackled. Then he laughed loudly and wildly. The Digidestined's days were numbered.

* * *

The player piano jamming away, everyone revealed their hands. "Well, I'm out..." Sora muttered, tossing her trash hand on the table. "How about you, Cody?"

"I think I have two pair..." Cody replied, putting down his hand. Sure enough, he did: a pair of aces... and another pair of aces.

"Hot damn!" Davis yelped, taking another swig of his milk. "You sure you've never played poker before?"

"Well, that does it!" Starmon laughed. "We're switchin' to MY favorite game: Go Fish!"

"Fish?" Veemon asked, salivating. "I'm all for that! Where're the poles?"

Mimi sighed miserably. "I want to go home..." she whimpered.

Yolei chuckled weakly and shook her head. For once, Mimi and she agreed on something.

* * *

Somehow the kids managed to leave Spaghetti Junction after the fourth or fifth game of Go Fish. The sun was nearly set by the time they reappeared in the lab.

Sora looked back at the computer screen, where Biyomon and Palmon watched them. "What'll you guys do now?" she asked.

"We'll stay here and help fix the town," Biyomon said. "It's the least I can do."

"Call us if you need us!" Palmon said, waving. The screen then went black.

"And here I thought Sundays were boring," Davis laughed. "Shows what I know!"

Demiveemon looked around. "Where'd Mimi go?" he asked.

A click of a lock was his answer. Mimi was already out the door; the less time she spent with those geeks, the better.

Sora sighed. "Well, it looks like things are back to normal... in more ways than one," she admitted.

Cody glanced at the clock and frowned. "We really should get home," he said. "Coming, Yolei?... Yolei?"

There was a thud, and everyone whirled around. Yolei had collapsed onto the floor, out cold. Poromon lay beside her in a similar fashion.

"Woah! What the hell happened?" Davis yelled.

"This is just like before..." Upamon observed.

"Yeah, it's definitely time to go home..." Sora said.

* * *

Though it was hard to be sneaky when hauling a body, Davis and Sora managed to carry Yolei out of the school without being detected, with Cody carrying the Digimon behind them. "We'd better get her home," Sora said as they reached the gates. "Cody, you help me now."

Suddenly, someone called out "hey!" and they jumped. TK and Patamon came running across the street. "I'm so sorry! I just got the mail!" TK said, then he looked down at the comatose Yolei. "What happened?" he asked.

"Is she OK?" Patamon asked.

"You're just in time," Cody said to him. "Please, help me get her home. I'll tell you on the way."

TK hoisted Yolei onto his back and set off for the apartment, with Cody beside him carrying Poromon. Upamon bounced along beside him and Patamon flew above. Davis and Sora watched them go. "Damn..." Davis grumbled. "Just when I thought it was gonna be a good day..."

Sora shook her head. "She'll be fine; she's just worn out," she said. "It's just like you after the fight with Metalgreymon."

"Oh... Oh, yeah," he replied. He had forgotten about that. Suddenly, though, he yawned loudly; he was actually pretty tired, too. "Maybe I should turn in early tonight, too..." he reasoned. "Catch ya later, Sora."

Sora waved goodbye to him, though her smile vanished as he turned a corner. She was happy that Biyomon was once again safe, but why had Yolei collapsed like that? Come to think of it, why had Davis collapsed before? Here was another mystery they would have to solve...


	12. Call Of The God

**CHAPTER 12**

**CALL OF THE GOD**

"Ohh, man..." Yolei groaned for the fourth time that morning, "did anyone get the license number of that truck...?"

It was Monday morning and school was back in session for the Digidestined. Having experienced her massive energy drain only the day before, Yolei was still groggy and unsteady. She leaned heavily on Cody as they headed into the building.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Cody asked, seemingly unfazed by the extra weight. "I can't stay with you all day, you know."

"I'll be fine," she protested. "Once I'm sitting at a desk, I'll be fine..." She looked around crossly. "Where's TK? I thought he was gonna help me, too..."

"I don't know," he answered as they reached the flight of steps that split their paths, "perhaps he forgot the time. Well, here we are. You're absolutely sure?"

"For the last time, I'm just fine!" she huffed, letting go of him and walking to the railing. "Go on, I'll see you after class."

Cody hesitated a moment longer, then shrugged and descended the stairs. Almost immediately, Yolei's ankles fell away under her. It was going to be a long crawl to her classroom. Where the heck was TK?

* * *

TK would have been on time to help Yolei, had his breakfast not chosen today to burn itself to toxic waste in the microwave. After cooking a whole new bowl of oatmeal, he dashed out the door, late. His teacher might scold him for tardiness, but he was never one to start the day without breakfast.

As he rounded the last block, though, something brought a smile to his face; Kari was walking alone just ahead. Usually he was in class before she showed up; at least he could talk with her for a bit. "Kari! Hey!" he said, running up and clapping a hand on her shoulder.

Kari jerked away like his hand was a taser. "Get away!" she yelled, turning on him with wild, terrified eyes.

TK was as surprised as she was; he jumped at the yell and froze, just staring at her.

Her frightened look only lasted a moment, then her cheeks reddened and she laughed awkwardly. "Sorry..." she apologized. "I, uh..."

She would have said more, but Davis ran up to both of them. "What're ya doin'?" he demanded breathlessly. "Class's startin' any second! Move it!"

Kari snapped out of it and raced after him. TK hesitated, then followed, his mind whirring in befuddlement. What had that been all about?

As the kids ran into the building, their escorts convened in the tree overlooking the entrance. "Wow, Kari seems really excitable today," Patamon remarked.

Gatomon sighed. "I don't understand what's happening to her lately..." she said, ashamed to admit it.

"Well, maybe it's just 'cuz she's growing up," Patamon suggested. "I was listening to the radio the other day, and they said that when girls hit a certain age, they become totally different people!... Of course, they also said it's only for a few days every month. I asked TK what that meant, but he didn't know either..."

She shook her head. "That's not it," she replied. "Lately, she's been having bad dreams... wakes up screaming and sweaty. Two nights ago, I couldn't wake her myself; I had to get Tai... and she was so shaken, she wouldn't answer Davis's SOS."

Patamon's wings fluttered; that didn't sound like Kari at all. "What're the dreams about?" he asked.

"I don't know..." she admitted, looking defeated. "She won't tell me... She won't tell anyone. I don't know what to do."

The bells rang inside the building; school had begun for the day. "Well, why don't we both ask her afterwards?" Patamon proposed. "In the meantime, let's go raid the cafeteria storage rooms; I saw them get more fruit cups!"

She shrugged; it wasn't like she could do anything for now. "Why not?" she asked, following the little pig creature out of the foliage. Maybe some room-temperature fish sticks would cheer her up.

* * *

The day passed as Mondays often do; the fun and leisure of the weekend was stamped out of the children's memory by the drudgery of such things as earth science and composition. For the first time in a long time, the Digidestined almost felt like normal junior high kids again.

Unfortunately, that came to an end all too soon for TK. During the last period of the day- pre-algebra- there was a quiz on negative exponents and the room was locked in silence. Stumped on the third question, he leaned back in his chair. Not surprisingly, his mind was on Kari. Why had she snapped at him that morning? And why had she looked so terrified? He didn't like it when any of his friends were in bad moods, but it really bothered him when it was Kari. He couldn't explain why, but when she felt rotten, he ended up feeling the same way.

He glanced over at her, but what he saw only doubled his worry. Kari just sat at her desk like a dummy, staring straight ahead. His stomach quaked. What was wrong with her?

Kari's world had broken from normalcy as well. As she had worked on her quiz, she grew aware that the air had suddenly become damp. Puzzled, she had put her pencil down and looked up. What she saw froze her blood; the whole classroom was enveloped in fog, and the sounds of rolling waves filled her ears, and the reek of dead fish stung her nose. She shifted her legs and heard a splash, and that's when she saw that there was water up to her ankles... black water. She looked up again and the classroom was gone; she was sitting alone in the middle of a never-ending dark ocean. No word or sounds could describe her terror.

TK's neck hair stood on end as Kari's body wavered and then started to _fade_. It fizzled in and out, like a picture on a defective video tape. "Kari!" he yelled, jumping out of his desk.

This, of course, got everybody's attention. A sea of eyes shot towards TK, then to Kari. Davis whirled around in his seat. What was up? Why had TK called Kari's name?

Almost on cue, Kari groaned and almost fell out of her desk, caught by another student in the nick of time.

"Are you all right, Ms. Yagami?" the teacher asked, ignoring the breach of protocol. "Do you want to go to the nurse?"

"Y-yes, sir..." she managed, and pulled herself out of her desk. Her skin was the color of an embalmed corpse's, and there was a shaky stumble in her gait as she left the room. TK watched her go, almost paralyzed himself. What had just happened to her?

Davis was wondering the exact same thing. He had heard about her nightmares from Tai, but he hadn't paid it much mind... but almost fainting in class? Something was wrong with her, and he'd be damned if he didn't get to the bottom of it.

* * *

Steadying herself with a hand on the wall, Kari made it down to the first floor. It was bad enough that she had to deal with this vile sea when she was asleep, but now that it was bleeding into her conscious mind, too... Something was happening, and she didn't like it at all.

She didn't know what she could do. She suddenly wished that Tai was there. He had always protected her before... she desperately wanted him there with her right at that moment. Whenever he was there, she knew that everything was going to be just fine. Tai, however, was off in his own classes, in high school... Nowadays she only saw him in the evenings. He couldn't come rushing to her aid like in the old days...

Something dripped behind her and her bones locked. The air was damp. The stench was all around. The dripping continued, not just one drip now, but two, and then three, and then four... Something was rasping, breathing heavily behind that dripping.

Slowly, she turned around and looked. For a split-second, her soul leaped out of her body. Crouching behind the staircase was a black, hazy figure with blood red, reptilian eyes. It locked eyes with her and started towards her, its limbs dripping with water.

Her mouth fell open in a silent scream. With all her strength, she turned and fled.

* * *

When classes ended for the day, TK headed for the computer lab. Hopefully, Kari was feeling better and waiting for him there. Maybe a little romp in the Digital World would get her back to her cheerful self... or at least she could tell him what had happened in class. He had to relax... make like everything was normal, if not for Kari, then for himself.

When he walked in, though, his heart sank. Only Cody, Yolei, Davis and their Digimon were there. Kari was nowhere in sight.

"I'm thinking about trying to hack my D-Terminal," Yolei said, typing on a computer with her gray box hooked up. She was definitely back to her plucky self now. "Izzy said he didn't know what was on it, so maybe I can find out..."

"Is that really a good idea?" Cody asked, looking skeptical as usual. "If you break it, you can't use your DigiEggs."

"Yeah, that did occur to me," she said, only half-listening, "but if I COULD hack it, think of what I could do! I want to install a real-time audio communicator! That way, we can use these like walkie-talkies instead of just sending e-mail!"

"Gotta admit, that could be handy," Davis said, his arms folded. "Ken'd have a damn hard time gettin' the drop on us if we could call everyone that fast!"

"But Izzy said he couldn't analyze it," Poromon urged. "Is it really smart to go poking around in something we don't understand?"

Yolei rolled her eyes. "We already go into the Digital World on a regular basis," she pointed out. "Do you know how that place works?"

Cody frowned at her half-logic, but then found a way to get out of the argument. "Hello, TK," he said to the newcomer.

"Hi," TK answered. "Has anyone seen Kari?"

Davis raised an eyebrow. "I was gonna ask you," he said, frowning. He had figured that TK would go right after her when classes had ended... but surprisingly, it looked like he hadn't. Maybe he didn't have as much competition as he'd thought.

"Well... I thought she would come here," TK admitted. "I haven't seen her since..."

Davis sighed. "Damn... I gotta wonder what's goin' on with her, what with the nightmares an' all..."

TK looked at him. "Nightmares?" he asked. "What nightmares?"

"Tai told me," Davis went on. "She's been havin' hella bad nightmares lately. Took both him and Gatomon to wake her up the last time, and she's been real quiet ever since."

Nightmares? This didn't help TK's worry at all. "I'll find her," he said, then dashed out the door before anyone could object.

Davis started after him, but Yolei grabbed him by the collar. "Hold it!" she snapped. "Don't you go running off, too! We've gotta plan for the Digital World!"

He growled at the intervention. Now that TK knew about the nightmares, his edge was gone. Another plan foiled by Yolei's quick fingers.

* * *

TK rushed down to the nurse's office as quickly as he could without crashing into walls. "Excuse me," he inquired to the white-bloused lady at the desk, "is Kari Yagami here?"

The nurse looked up from her handheld blackjack game. "What? Nobody's come in today," she answered.

His forehead got even more wrinkled. "At all?" he asked.

"Nope," she replied. "Sorry, kid."

He left the nurse's and rushed to the library. She spent a fair amount of time there; maybe she had gone to read or something. To his dismay, she wasn't there, either. Running out of ideas, he checked the cafeteria, then the gymnasium, and even dared to peek into the girls' bathroom... but she was in none of those places. Panic setting in, he raced across the skyway that connected the junior high and the high school. Where could she be? Maybe whatever had made her fizzle in class had happened again... She might be in trouble! She might be in danger! She might be...

...Right outside, sitting on a bench. He caught a glimpse of her hair from the skyway and relief melted over him.

* * *

The warm, sunny autumn day seemed monochromatic and chilly as Kari sat quietly, lost in her own thoughts. She almost didn't hear TK walk up beside her. "Kari!" he said. "I've been looking all over for you!"

She didn't answer him, so he tried again. "Um, everyone's waiting in the lab," he said. "You up for a trip?"

Still no response. He was getting very worried. "Are you OK?" he said more gently.

This time, he got a definite response: she shivered. "I..." she said quietly, "I saw... the ocean..."

He scratched his head. There was a small bay and beach across the street from the school, but they saw that every day; what could be so special about that? Or did she mean something else? "What do you mean?" he asked.

She shivered again. "I feel like someone's calling me..." she murmured, "like I'm being summoned... somewhere..."

Summoned? Did this have to do with the Emperor, or the Digital World? "By whom?" he asked. "A Digimon?"

"I... don't know..." she replied, still avoiding his gaze, "but the next time they call... I don't think I'll be able to resist it..."

TK frowned and stared at his feet, not knowing what to make of it. Who would do something like that to Kari? Who _could _do something like that, for that matter? They had never met any Digimon who could yank them out of their own world like that... Ken was crafty, but even he couldn't do that... who or what could be doing it? And, most importantly, why? "Well... you don't want to go, do you?" he asked quietly.

She sighed sadly. "Tai was always here to protect me before..." she whimpered. "I wish he was here now..."

TK bristled, a little hurt. She always wanted Tai in situations like this... like nobody else could measure up. It made him feel a little more than inadequate. "Do you really need Tai to protect you all the time?" he asked suddenly. "You've got other friends, too... who care just as much..."

This remark definitely got a reaction. She locked eyes with him, showing surprise, sadness, and even puzzlement.

Immediately he was sorry he had said it. Not wanting to match her gaze, he slowly backed up, then walked away.

She watched him disappear back into the building, then slumped back into the bench. This day was just not getting any better.

* * *

Not in the mood to see any of her friends, Kari went to her locker and gathered her things. At first she thought a long nap at home might help, but that idea died as she remembered where those things came from. Sleep was the last thing she wanted.

As she walked out of the school gate, a salty breeze caught her hair and she turned toward the bay. It wasn't a big bay; just a little beach that circled until it disappeared beneath the highway bridge. In spite of the warmer weather, the breeze had been cold... just like what she had felt before.

She stared across the street at the steps leading down to the sand. She hated feeling like this; it was wrecking her day, and it was making her friends act weird, too. She had to find a way out of it.

She looked out over the blue waves. The dreams had to be a premonition of some kind. Maybe if they involved the ocean, there was something for her to do or find down there. It wasn't the ocean that she had seen, but... it wouldn't hurt to investigate. Taking a long, low sigh, she plodded across the street.

At that moment, Gatomon popped out of the tree behind the school wall. She had seen Kari leave the building and immediately followed; it wasn't like her partner to go without telling her friends. She watched the girl stand at the steps with nervous curiosity. Just what was she doing?

Then, to her horror, Kari became transparent. Her body fizzled in and out, like a picture from a defective video tape. "Kari!" she yelled, but no response came. Kari became even more faint.

She had seen enough. She leaped out of the tree and made for the crosswalk, but a long truck suddenly appeared and blocked her way. When it passed, Gatomon was presented with a shocking sight. Kari's backpack floated like a balloon in midair for a moment, then fell to the ground with a shallow thud. Kari was gone.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I think I can do it!" Yolei persisted as TK re-entered the lab. "What've we got to lose?"

"Your D-Terminal, for one thing," Cody pointed out, "and that means both Halsemon and your brand new ninja."

She hesitated, then put the gizmo down with a frustrated grunt. "Why do you always have to make sense?" she muttered.

Patamon noticed TK's glum look and fluttered over. "TK, what's wrong?" he asked. "You don't look very good..."

TK sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing..." he murmured.

Davis didn't try to hide his smirk. So, Kari shot him down... That was the best news he'd had in a while. Now was the time for him to make his moves. "Aww, don't feel too bad, TK," he crooned. "We can't all have a happy ending-"

His taunting was cut short by a series of bangs on the window. Everyone whirled around to see Gatomon, wide-eyed and panicked. Demiveemon opened the window and she almost fell in, gasping for air. "Kari... Kari!..." she choked.

TK's eyes widened. "What?" he asked. "What about Kari?"

* * *

The chilly wind. The colorless sky. The lap of waves. Kari knew this place all too well. One moment she had been staring at the blue, friendly beach outside of school, and the next moment, she was back here.

The coastline on which she stood was a long and lonely one. On a small peninsula off to her right stood a weathered lighthouse... but it wasn't like the lighthouses she had seen; the light that emanated from its peak was entirely black.

Was she dreaming again? There was one way to find out. She raised her camera to the lighthouse and pushed its button. The dreary image appeared on the device's screen. She shuddered at it; this meant not only that she was awake... but also that she had just fallen into her nightmare.

* * *

"Nothing..." Yolei said worriedly, scanning the Digital World map. Kari's D3 signature did not show up, no matter how many times she quit and reopened the program. "I can't find her anywhere."

"Why the hell not?" Davis yelled. "And how'd she get to the Digital World without the gate, anyway?"

"Perhaps she was separated from her D3," Cody pointed out darkly. "Or maybe... it was broken."

"All the more reason to get goin'!" Davis huffed. "Yolei, get a gate open!"

"No, wait," Cody objected. "The Digital World is huge. Without knowing what area she's in, it wouldn't be practical. It'd be like... looking for a needle in a haystack, you might say."

Davis bit his lip. Just like Yolei, he hated when Cody made sense.

"Oh, this is bad..." Patamon gulped. "This has never happened before, has it, TK?... TK?"

TK was leaning against the wall, lost in thought. When he had talked to Kari earlier, she hadn't seemed to think that she was being summoned to the Digital World... "Maybe... she isn't in the Digital World," he said.

Everyone looked at him, and Davis got even angrier. "The hell you sayin'?" he demanded. "If she ain't here, where else is there to go?"

TK thought for a moment more, then his eyes lit up. "The ocean..." he muttered, the very words making his stomach churn. Without another word, he turned and raced out of the lab.

"Wha... Hey!" Patamon yelled, taking off after his partner. Gatomon also followed, too anxious to sit still any longer.

TK raced out of the school and crossed the street to the bay. He saw Kari's discarded backpack on the pavement and rushed down to the sand. Kari was nowhere to be seen. The fear in his stomach bounced into his throat. Where could she possibly be?

* * *

Wandering in a daze, Kari suddenly stumbled on a piece of gray wood in the sand. She looked up to see a small seaside village surrounded with broken fence. She walked further inside, but a second look told her there were no inhabitants; the houses' roofs had caved in, and almost every window was broken. Just like the beach, everything was the color of curbside snow in February.

She took another picture and sighed as it appeared on the camera's screen. Like it or not, she was really here... but where was here? The place couldn't be in the Digital World; she couldn't explain it, but the air had a whole different... _feel... _to it... one of regret, despair and even malice.

The wind blew again and she shivered violently. With no other choices before her, she hugged herself and plodded on.

* * *

TK shuffled across the beach as quickly as he could, but he hadn't worn proper shoes for loose sand, so he stumbled every few steps. This just made him even more frustrated, and he kept moving, looking all around for some trace of his friend.

"I dunno..." Patamon said as he flew behind his partner; Gatomon and he were helping in the search. "I don't see anything... Maybe she really is in the Digital World, TK."

TK paused and sighed angrily. "No," he stated. "Not with how she disappeared..."

Patamon and Gatomon came to a halt. "How was that?" the little Digimon asked.

"She fizzled in and out, almost totally losing her color," Gatomon explained. "I agree with TK... That's no way of getting to the Digital World I've seen."

Patamon scratched his back with his wing. They had always entered the Digital World solidly, and in a blaze of bright colors... If Kari was disappearing like that, then maybe she really had been spirited off somewhere else. "But where?" he asked.

Gatomon shook her head. "I don't know..." she admitted crossly, "but it gives me an awful feeling."

TK shared that awful feeling completely. He really wanted to find her, but he didn't have the first clue where to look. The beach was just an idea, and Kari's backpack had gotten him this far... but it looked like they were at a dead end. His fingers clenched the D3 in his pocket and he snarled. That gizmo couldn't help him find her... so what could?

* * *

Kari picked her way over a broken fence and found herself back on the dingy sand. The rubble around the town made passing through it impossible, and steep, jagged cliffs boxed in the shore. She was trapped on that beach.

Another gust of wind made her fingers numb and she cringed; she had to find shelter from those gusts. She glanced back at the village, but none of those houses looked safe enough to enter. She turned back around and looked at the cliffs. They were far too dangerous to climb, but maybe there was an outcropping she could hide under, or...

A dark spot in the cliff face caught her attention; a cave! That would work just as well. As quickly as she could walk across the sand, she headed for it. As she got closer, she saw a faint, orange glow from inside it, and thought she heard whispering. Could someone else be here, too?

* * *

Out of the sand now, TK and his Digimon friends scaled the grassy hill beneath the highway bridge. This was as far as the beach went in this direction, and still they had found no sign of Kari.

"Well, nothing on this end..." Gatomon sighed. "Should we make for the other side, TK?... TK?"

TK felt lower than ever now. His mind drifted back to what he had said to Kari on the bench. "Why did I say that...?" he asked aloud. "She wanted Tai, and I asked her if she really needed him to protect her all the time..." He swallowed, despair starting to take him. "I guess she did..."

He felt a claw on his leg, and he looked down to see Gatomon. "No, TK," she said. "Kari's not weak... but whenever she has a problem, she keeps it to herself so she doesn't bother anyone else with it... and Tai is one of the few people who understands that."

He swallowed again. Is that why she wanted Tai?

"Of course, that's why we have to help her," Gatomon went on. "As much as she wants to, this is something she can't handle alone..."

TK looked at her for a moment, then nodded. Though he still didn't know what he could do, her words made him feel like trying a little bit more.

* * *

A single row of dull light bulbs gave the cave the same murky atmosphere of the outside world, but at least it was a little warmer. Kari was glad for that, but the whispers from deeper inside both drew her and terrified her. Almost against her will, she slowly wandered further in. "H... hello?..." she ventured. "Is... is anyone here?..."

A series of low, pained groans joined the whispers and she suddenly stopped. She couldn't see all that well, but there was a black blotch across the cave floor that moved every so often. Dozens of blood-red eyes slowly opened and gazed in her direction. Her spine froze as she reeled backwards. "Who... ARE you?" she whispered.

The one closest to her slowly rose, though it quivered and shook like a timid newborn. She felt her stomach crunch itself as the creature uttered, in a raspy, wispy voice: "_hellllp ussss..."

* * *

_

"What did he mean, you think?" Yolei asked Cody, both of them still puzzled by TK's dashing out. "The ocean?"

"There's a bay across the street..." Cody pointed out. "Maybe he thinks she went down there?..."

"I don't know what he's thinkin'!" Davis snapped, whipping out his D3. "Kari's gotta be in the Digital World, and I'm gonna go look for her instead of diggin' up clams!"

He raised his Digivice to the Digital World program, but nothing happened. The red light stayed on; the gate was still locked. "What the hell?" he yelled, trying it again.

This got Yolei and Cody's attentions. They both tried their D3s, but the gate refused to open. "No way!" Yolei huffed, rebooting the computer and trying again. "What's happening?"

Cody growled and stuffed his D3 back in his pocket. "How infuriating..." he remarked.

"Davis..." Demiveemon asked nervously, sitting on his partner's shoulder, "what do we do?"

If Kari was in the Digital World, then they had no way to get in to find her. Furious, Davis slammed his fist on the desk and dropped an F-bomb.

* * *

Kari stared at the creatures before her. What had the lead one meant, "help them?" They certainly didn't look like anything she had seen before... "Are you guys Digimon?" she asked.

The leader gave a tired, but confused grunt. "_Digiiii... monnnn?..._" it asked. "_I... don't knowwww... what we arrrre... or howww lonnnng... we've beeeen herrrre..._"

A chorus of groans behind it told her there were a lot of them, whatever they were. "That's terrible..." she said softly.

"_The onnnly thinnnng... we knowww isss..._" the leader went on, "_that we followwww... our go-o-o-od..._"

A god? Kari had never heard of any gods in the Digital World... She didn't even think the digital beings could understand religion.

"_Thennn..._" it continued, "_one dayyy, another god caaame heeere... an eeevil go-o-o-od..._" It raised one of its gangly, webbed limbs to reveal the shine of metal. "_He put theeeese on usss... draining ourrrr powerrrr... and making usss worship himmmm insteeeeaaad..._"

Kari glared at the dark spiral. "The Digimon Emperor..." she murmured quietly. Had he been able to come here, too? How?

"_So-o-o-o... you knowwww of himmmm..._" the lead one said, rasping. "_We thought... you wouuuuld... We haaave... been watchinnng youuu... for some time... With the lassst... of our ssstrength... we called youuu... herrrre..._"

She stiffened. Had these helpless, pitiful creatures been the ones who had given her nightmares for so long? And then they had ripped her out of her own world? "But why?" she asked.

"_You arrrre... the Queeeeeen..._" the leader managed, extending the arm with the spiral. "_You cannn... take themmmm... off... so we maaay... worship our go-o-o-o-od... once morrrre..._"

Kari didn't really know how to answer that. What was special about her? As far as she had seen, only Raidramon had been able to take off a dark spiral; how could a mere human do it?

She was about to refuse, but suddenly she remembered something that happened a long time ago, on her first adventure to the Digital World. She didn't remember much of it- she had been sick and delirious at the time- but she slightly remembered a comforting white light, and a band of Numemon kneeling to her, calling her "Queen Kari." Maybe this power was what this creature meant? Did she still have that power? There was only one way to find out.

"Well... OK, I'll try..." she said, kneeling down and clutching the creature's slimy arm. As she placed a hand over the spiral, it began to glow with a gentle, pink light. The creatures all looked up, their moans suddenly sounding surprised and elated.

Suddenly the whole tunnel shook violently, and big chunks dropped from the ceiling; the place was going to cave in! "Outside, quick!" she shouted at them.

As rubble fell around them, the shadowy creatures staggered to their feet and scrambled for the exit. Kari helped the ones who fell down, then ran out herself. She got out just as the cave fell in on itself. She coughed and sputtered as she looked at the beings that she had saved. In the gray light, she saw that they actually were Digimon. Scubamon, to be precise: small, webby aquatic beings that looked like a cross between a fish and a frog. They weren't like other Scubamon she had seen, though; they were as monochromatic as the rest of this world.

"Is everyone OK?" she started to ask, but a horrible shriek finished her sentence for her. Something huge sailed overhead, sending another frigid gust across her back. She looked up and recoiled. A giant Airdramon was flying overhead with a dark ring around its middle, but it was hellishly large... larger than the ones the Emperor usually had.

The lead Scubamon looked up, pained. "_Thaaaat... is the messssssenger of the eeevil go-o-o-od..._" he managed.

Kari knew exactly what to do... but her fingers didn't find her D3. Her expression changed from determination to horror as she remembered that it was in her backpack... which hadn't come with her!

With another eerie wail, the Airdramon swooped down. Not only was it bigger than other Airdramon, but it had a different attack; it belched a dark pillar of flame over the beach, igniting Scubamon in a sickening black bonfire. The air reeked with burning flesh as the fires stayed burning long after their victims were consumed.

Kari couldn't believe what she was seeing. Just when she thought this nightmare couldn't get any worse, it hit this barbaric new low, and she was helpless to do anything about it.

* * *

TK stared out across the bay, the water turning purplish red in the setting sunlight. He desperately wanted to find Kari, but he could see the whole beach from here, and there was nobody else around.

"TK, what do we do now?" Patamon asked, looking worried.

Gatomon sighed heavily. "What CAN we do?..." she elaborated.

TK gritted his teeth, staring at the grass. Cars raced over the highway above; it was rush hour. Soon, Kari's parents would wonder where she was. How could he ever tell them that she had simply been swallowed up by another world? How could he face Tai... or even himself? He shivered from his neck to his heels. He had to find her... somehow... some way... What else could he do?

He looked out at the water again, its waves lapping at the stones below. There was only one thing he hadn't tried yet... and now seemed as good a time as any. He put his hands to his mouth took a deep breath. "KARIIIIIIIII!" his voice rang out across the bay.

Gatomon and Patamon watched him, not sure of what it all meant. Gatomon especially felt bad; desperation made one do insane things, and this was as insane as she had ever seen one of the Digidestined. "TK, stop," she urged. "That isn't going to help."

Patamon bit his lip. TK's yells sounded so depressing that he wished he would stop... but he also trusted his partner unconditionally, and if he thought that it might reach Kari somehow...

Gatomon was surprised when Patamon left her side and joined TK in calling Kari's name. Their yells echoed across the bay, almost sounding like a wail for the dead.

"You guys, please..." she began to discourage them, but then her whiskers bristled. Something in the air had changed as both of them had called out. Had it become... colder?

* * *

Kari reeled back as another burst of black fire claimed more Scubamon. The shrieks brought tears to her eyes as she sank to her knees, overwhelmed.

She tried to close her eyes to the carnage, but the sounds and smells couldn't be ignored. All of her resolve fell away, and she wanted help. She wanted Tai. She wanted Gatomon. She wanted TK.

* * *

"Do you feel that?..." Gatomon asked, walking up beside TK. "It just got colder..."

TK paused, then shivered a bit. She was right; a weak but chilly wind was blowing over them.

Patamon could feel it, too. "Let's all call together!" he declared.

The other two nodded, sucked in as much air as they could, then let it out in a massive cry: "KARIIIIII!"

As the shout echoed across the bay, silence followed it. For a moment, it seemed like nothing came of it, but then a small, pinkish glow started in the air. As they watched, it grew into a oval, and the image of a gray beach appeared in its center.

TK's fists clenched. That was where Kari was... and where he was going. Without another thought, he charged and leaped off of the hill.

"TK, wait!" Patamon yelled, fluttering after him. Gatomon leaped, too; she wasn't going to be left behind again.

TK's ears filled with an eerie buzzing, and he saw Patamon and Gatomon fizzling in and out of focus, just as Kari had. The next thing he knew, they were all falling through a long, blue, transparent tunnel. He could make out dozens, maybe hundreds of pillars of light all around them, all in different colors. Where were they now?

Wherever they were, they didn't stay there long; As he blinked he crashed down into cold grass, with Patamon and Gatomon landing on top of him. He shot up quickly and looked around. Everything was a shade of gray, and a cold wind blew in his face. An ocean lapped at the cliff beneath him, as black as tar.

Gatomon's ears curled back. "This is NOT the Digital World," she stated bluntly. Nobody questioned her.

TK got to his feet and looked down at the beach. Dozens of small, black fires were burning, and several small, gangly-looking creatures were scrambling around, screaming in terror... and among them was... "Kari!" he yelled to her.

Kari's heart jumped into her throat as she whirled toward the voice, and her face lit up in joy for the first time in a long time. "TK! Gatomon!" she yelled, running and waving to them fervently. "You came!"

TK was about to start down the cliff when a roar caught his ear... and he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the gigantic Airdramon barreling towards him, murder in its eyes.

"I'll protect Kari," Gatomon barked at him, starting down the cliff. "You deal with that one!"

TK needed no further instructions. In an instant, Patamon was Pegasusmon, and TK and he took to the air. The Airdramon, furious that someone would intrude into its sky, gave immediate chase, belching black fire all over the place. As Pegasusmon dodged the blasts, TK couldn't help but be curious; since when did Airdramon attack like that?

Pegasusmon veered to the right as they flew over the beach, and the Airdramon's next volley sent the fleeing Scubamon up in flames. "Dammit!" TK swore, wishing he hadn't done that. "Pegasusmon! Get that thing!"

Pegasusmon dipped under the winged horror at the last moment, then whirled around and spread his wings. Dozens of tiny stars shot upwards and shattered the ring. TK sighed with both relief and regret; if only they had been a little faster...

But the next moment found him hanging on for dear life as Pegasusmon dodged another fiery salvo. Though the ring was gone, the Airdramon was still attacking... and its eyes were still glowing red! "What the?" he yelled aloud, not having any other words. Sensing his surprise, the Airdramon dove at them.

Witnessing all of this on the ground, Gatomon turned to Kari. "Kari, quick!" she huffed. "Make me Armor Digivolve!"

Kari hung her head. "I can't..." she admitted. "My D3 was in my backpack..."

Gatomon's tail frazzled. "What?" she yelled, looking back up at the dogfight. If she couldn't become Nefertimon, who knew what would happen to TK and Pegasusmon?

The Airdramon was right on top of Pegasusmon now, and its blasts were getting more accurate. Pegasusmon cried out as a fireball grazed his right wing, and he went into a tailspin. TK held on as tightly as he could, yanking Pegasusmon back into flight right before they hit the water... but the Airdramon was already closing in for the kill.

"NO!" Kari screamed, jumping to her feet. Her fists clenched as she glared at the Airdramon. She couldn't watch any more people get blasted, especially TK. She had to help him somehow... anyhow!

Suddenly, something even stranger happened. A pink beam of light descended from the gray sky and enveloped Gatomon, making the Scubamon cry out in astonishment. As Kari watched, her shocked little cat rose into the air and transformed. She became a human woman with flowing, golden hair and eight brilliant, white wings, and a shining helmet concealed her eyes.

Kari almost forgot to breathe. Gatomon had Digivolved into Angewomon, her Ultimate form!... but how? Before, Gatomon needed Kari's Crest of Light to become that... and that had been destroyed years ago! What was going on?

"Woah..." TK gasped, equally surprised. "Is that... Angewomon?"

Pegasusmon was so amazed that Angewomon had appeared, he had to lurch suddenly to avoid another blast from Airdramon and remembered his current predicament.

Angewomon, seemingly unsurprised by her transformation, immediately flew to Pegasusmon's aid. As Pegasusmon banked left, Angewomon flew up and intercepted the surprised Airdramon. She crossed her arms, then released them, creating a shining, pink cross. It sailed through the air like a laser, cutting through the beast instantly. Its body burst into black fog, wafting away on the chilly air.

Pegasusmon circled around her. "Thank you, Angewomon," Pegasusmon said. "We wouldn't have lasted much longer."

TK, amazed as he was by Gatomon's transformation, stared at the smoke where the Airdramon had been. Whenever they had destroyed Digimon before, they had dissolved into pixels, not smoke... Though the monster was gone, he felt uneasy. This smoke had a lack of closure.

Kari, glad that the danger was gone, waved to them. "Angewomon!" she called. "Come and help get these spirals off!"

Angewomon descended and extended her hands. A warm, pink light glistened on the five remaining Scubamon, and the rings faded into black smoke, just as the Airdramon had. "There we go!" Kari began, beaming, "you're free... now...?"

Her words and her smile died as she saw what was happening to the Scubamon. Their entire bodies had turned black, and they writhed about, bulging, surging and stretching like taffy in the sun... and from their giddy laughs and shouts, they were _enjoying_ it.

She stepped back as they rose up changed creatures: they now stood hunched over, a good head taller than Kari. Their limbs were long and gangly like a starved frog's, and they had no necks to speak of; their bodies and heads shared the same piece. There was no color in their bodies; in fact, the black seemed to swirl around inside them like trapped smoke. Their eyes, bright, yellow, and reptilian, glowed with their own light.

Kari didn't know what to make of it, and then something even more disturbing happened; the fires that had consumed the other Scubamon wavered and took shape, forming into more of these creatures... as many as there had been in the tunnel. "Wha... what's going on?" she demanded.

The lead... thing... raised his webbed hand and looked it over, then suddenly lunged and grabbed her arm. "_Youuuu... are worrrthy of our god..._" it croaked with no mouth, the voice sending chills down her spine. As slippery as its hand was, its grip was like iron. "_Commmmme..._"

"What?" she cried, trying to wrench free. It looked like her nightmares were coming true. "N... no! NO! Let go! HELP!" she shrieked.

In response to her cry, a pink blast and a rain of stars fell on the creatures and they slid back. Angewomon still floated over them, her finger pointed like a gun. Pegasusmon floated nearby, TK looking furious on his back. "You let her go, or I'll take your arm clean off!" he snarled.

The lead creature gave an angry hiss, but released her. Slowly and silently, all of the shadowy forms glided across the beach and into the sea, all still staring at Kari. "_What... a shaaaame..._" the leader hissed. "_We thought... you would be glaaaad... for thissss... oppor...tunityyyyyy... but... you shalllll... come to want i-i-i-iit... some dayyyy..._" with that, their eyes disappeared beneath the black water. No sounds could be heard except for the chilly wind.

Kari hugged herself against the cold as TK landed Pegasusmon and came to her side. "I want to go home..." she murmured.

TK sighed, both depressed by the events and relieved that Kari was safe. Slowly, unsure, he put his hand on her shoulder. "That's why I came," he said quietly.

She looked over at him. He had looked and sounded so savage when he had threatened that creature, but now he smiled like the TK she knew. His hand was warm on her shoulder, just like her brother's. She couldn't help but give a sad little smile.

"I know we would all love to stay on this beach, freezing our butts off..." Pegasusmon interrupted, stamping his feet, "but how exactly do we get out of here?"

Kari looked upwards and suddenly another ray of pink light shot down from the clouds and lit up where they stood. "That way," Angewomon said, pointing upwards. "Shall we go, Kari?"

TK mounted Pegasusmon and Angewomon scooped up Kari, and they flew up into the light. Almost as soon as they had cleared the clouds, the light changed from pink to a natural white, dazzling all of them. When Kari opened her eyes again, they floated over a bed of colorful flowers under a blue sky. She looked around the landscape and saw a nearby lake with a small island in its center. A rusted old trolley sat upon it. She smiled; they were in the Digital World.

TK rubbed his eyes. "Man..." he said, looking around, "what in the world did we just go through?..."

They flew back down to the ground and both Digimon reverted to their former selves. "That was awesome, Gatomon!" Patamon laughed. "How'd you do turn into Angewomon?"

Gatomon looked down at her gloved claws, deep in thought. "I... don't know..." she admitted.

Kari smiled and patted her partner on the head, then looked at TK. "Hey, TK," she said, "about what you said earlier..."

TK's smile faded as he waited for her to finish.

She hesitated, then shook her head and smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I do have friends who care, don't I?"

His smile returned, glad that she hadn't taken his words badly.

She stared at the ground, her cheeks turning a bit pink. "And thanks... for coming after me," she finished.

His cheeks reddened, too. "Don't worry about it," he said, beaming. "I know you'd do the same for me... Wow! Is that the time? We should really get home... Gotta show everyone that you're OK!"

Kari was about to agree when a familiar yell surprised them. They whirled around to see Davis, Yolei and Cody and their partners all running toward them. "There you guys are!" Yolei panted as they stopped.

"The gate just suddenly opened again," Cody explained. "We came as soon as we could."

Davis laughed. "See? What'd I tell ya?" he said, motioning to Kari. "She was in the Digital World all along!... Wait... TJ, what're YOU doin' here? Didn't you say you were goin' to the beach?"

TK coughed. "Well, actually... Oh, I'll tell you some other time. Let's go home."

They all walked back the way they had come, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Kari couldn't keep from smiling all the way. TK had definitely been right; she had plenty of friends who would protect her... and she would thank them by protecting them, too.

* * *

The whole ocean seemed to drop down a few feet as the black shape rose from the depths, towering as high as a mountain as its red eyes stared up at the dwindling pink light. That girl had the power of Light, just as suspected. The results of today's little test were exceptionally pleasing. It was only a matter of time until she was called back to this world...

And then, she would be his.


	13. Deep Dilemma

**CHAPTER 13**

**DEEP DILEMMA**

"Hey, Izzy, I've got the oranges," Tai said as he re-entered the computer lab with a paper sack. "Peels are kinda hard to get off, but they're really good!"

Izzy sat at the computer, staring at the screen. He didn't seem to notice Tai.

"Boy, I haven't seen Sora this happy in a long time," Tai went on, taking a fruit and stabbing his thumbnail into the peel. In the few days since she got Biyomon back, Sora had been going into the Digital World whenever she could to help the others. Today, though, was Friday, and she had to coach the girls' soccer team. Joe was supposed to have come in her place, but he had a huge midterm exam at his college that he just couldn't afford to miss... so Tai and Izzy were left alone to monitor the new Digidestined's activities.

"You heard anything from them?" Tai asked, managing to rip a sizable chunk of peel off with one jab.

"No, nothing..." Izzy replied, not looking at him.

Wondering just what was so interesting, Tai walked over to the computer. The image of a vast, black ocean and a dreary sky sat on the screen. He looked at Izzy questioningly; he had seen these pictures plenty of times since Kari had told him of her mysterious ordeal, but Izzy showed far more interest than anyone else.

Sensing the question, Izzy sighed. "I've been puzzling about it since she told us," he said. "There were no gates, and she didn't have her Digivice... but somehow she wound up here. How could Kari enter into the Digital World without her D3, let alone another world altogether?"

"I've asked myself that, too," Tai replied, folding his arms, "but I can't come up with an answer... although..."

Izzy looked up at him. "Although what?" he pressed.

Tai frowned. "Do you remember when we fought Machinedramon?" he asked. "What happened with her then?"

Izzy sat back in his chair, pensive. Five years ago, on their first adventure, Tai, Sora, TK, Kari and himself had faced off against a metal monster who kept hundreds of smaller Digimon as his slaves. Kari had become sick, and then started to glow with white light... and all of the Digimon had been invigorated and rose up against Machinedramon. Could whatever that have been be a reason for what had happened now?

"But I'll say one thing," Tai said, pulling out a slice and chewing it, "she came back with a lot more energy than she's had in a while. Usually whenever she comes back from fighting Ken, she's worn out and goes straight to her room for a nap."

Izzy scratched his chin. "Hmm... I wonder why..." he murmured. "Our new recruits all seem fatigued lately."

"Yeah, especially Davis and Yolei," Tai added. "Davis went out like a light after we beat Metalgreymon, and Sora told me Yolei did the same when they saved Biyomon."

Izzy frowned, his eyes lost in thought. Was fighting against Ultimate Digimon too much for the new kids, or was it something else? Maybe there was something they were overlooking...

"I wonder-" he began, but then the computer beeped at him. He looked over to see an e-mail from Yolei. It read as follows:

_No luck yet. We're going to search a little longer._

_-Y_

"Well, nuts," Tai muttered, swallowing another orange slice. "I don't get it; the other two were easy enough!"

Izzy nodded. They had picked up a signal from a new DigiEgg earlier that day and had traced it to a free area known as Somber Harbor... but they had been there for two hours already, and it was starting to get late; their parents would wonder where they were. "How long can we cover for them?" he asked.

Tai looked at the clock. "I can stay another hour, at most," he said. "If I go home without Kari, though..."

Izzy typed out a reply and sent it off, then leaned back in his chair again. "I wonder why Ken hasn't taken over that area yet," he thought out loud. "Being by the sea... You'd think that'd be a prime location for a base."

"Well, maybe they'll tell us when they get back," Tai said, offering him the other orange. Izzy took it gladly; all this pondering was making him hungry.

* * *

"Aww, yuck!" Davis exclaimed, waving the air from his face. "What IS that?"

For once, the others shared Davis's sentiments. They had spent the last few hours searching for a DigiEgg in this dreary, modern-looking port city... and it had not been fun. The place was deserted; they hadn't seen a single Digimon since they had arrived. The buildings were covered in dust, and their broken windows were lined with jagged glass. Large refineries on the water pumped black smoke into the air, making the sky a murky gray. And, as Davis so colorfully pointed out, the whole place reeked of oil and burning tar... among other things.

"...I'm still not picking anything up," Cody muttered, holding up his D3. "Are you sure you saw a signal?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," TK replied. "I mean, it's not like we've ever seen one on the monitor before, but..."

"It was a DigiEgg; I sensed it," Veemon said, "an' I know it's here! Let's keep lookin', Davith!"

Davis sighed. "Well, OK..." he replied, "but let's hurry... This place smells worse than Yolei."

Yolei instantly had his head under her elbow. "How about I pull your nose off, huh?" she snapped, grabbing it and squeezing. "You won't smell anything then!"

Gatomon saw Kari shiver. "What's wrong, Kari?" she asked. "Are you cold?"

"No..." her partner replied, "but... it almost feels like I'm back on that beach..."

TK had to agree. The pollution and the emptiness of the town certainly did make it resemble that mysterious place. Even with the absence of any control spire, the feeling of gloom was as thick as the smog.

Cody looked at Kari questioningly, but then shrugged and turned back to his D3. Kari had not wanted to share whatever experience she'd had, and it would be rude to press her on it. He figured that he would hear the story eventually, and he could wait. "Perhaps we should try down by the wharf," he suggested, pointing.

As they started down towards the docks, they passed a large factory, its doorless openings looking like monsters' mouths. Armadillomon was walking alongside Cody, but as they passed, he stopped and looked inside. Had he heard something inside? It sounded like shuffling feet...

Cody stopped as well, curious. "What is it?" he asked.

Armadillomon frowned. "We ain't alone," he growled.

Before anyone else could react, every window in the area exploded, and dozens of Digimon leaped out with furious cries, surrounding them. There were several types of monsters in the mix: The frog-like Geckomon, the rocky Gotsumon, and the gray rabbit Gazimon, among others. They were all lower-level Digimon, but there were a lot of them... and none of them looked happy to see the kids.

The Digidestined panicked and bunched up back to back. "Dammit!" Davis snarled; of course the Emperor would set a trap for them! "Veemon! Ready?"

He pulled out his D3, but Cody stopped him. "Wait," he said, scowling, "look again."

Davis looked again and swallowed hard. Not one of the Digimon had a dark ring or a dark spiral; they weren't the Emperor's minions.

"Oh..." Kari sighed with relief. "Thank goodness! You guys scared us for a second!"

One of the Gotsumon scowled and pointed at them. "Get them!" he yelled.

In an instant, the Digimon were all over the kids, dragging them to the ground and pounding on them with their fists. "AGH!" Yolei screamed, trying to squirm free. "What the hell?"

"What... what're you doing?" TK tried. His answer was a kick to the jaw from a Gazimon.

"Hey!" Patamon objected, but the crazy creatures beat the Digimon partners into submission, too. Finally, they dragged the Digidestined to their feet, restraining their arms.

"What is the meaning of this?" Cody snapped.

"Shut up and walk," a Gotsumon retorted, pushing him.

Not knowing what had just happened or where they were going, the kids and their partners were led deeper into the murky town.

* * *

Unbeknownst to any of them, the beat down had an audience. The Digimon Emperor laughed with delight as the kids were dragged away. "Oh, I wish I had taped that!" he cackled. "Perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

Wormmon crawled up beside him. "You caught the Digidestined at last, Master?" he guessed.

The Emperor coughed and returned to his usual scowl. "No," he said. "They've been captured by that pesky Resistance."

Wormmon sighed. "Oh..." he answered.

"Those stupid little rats are the reason I haven't been able to take over Somber Harbor," the Emperor went on, starting to type on one of his keyboards. "Now I can kill two birds with one stone! Wormmon, get General Metalgreymon on the line, and-"

Just then, his computer beeped; an e-mail had just arrived for him. He growled as he read the title: "Attn: Digimon Emperor". He didn't like that at all; who else besides those brats knew that he was the Digimon Emperor? Curious and furious, he decided to read it.

As his eyes rolled over the words, though, his anger melted away, replaced with giddy elation. "On second thought..." he said to Wormmon, "I think I'll stay in today..."

He turned to another screen and a large, serpentine creature with glowing red eyes appeared. "The kids are in Somber Harbor," he said. "I don't care how; just make them gone."

The creature hissed and the screen shut off. He turned back to the e-mail and sat down to read more. If what it was proposing what true, then the Digital World could be his in a matter of days.

* * *

"Hey, come on! I'm goin'!" Davis huffed as Veemon, his friends and he were pushed inside a large, ravaged warehouse. "Quit bein' so goddamn pushy!"

"Why are you doing this?" Gatomon demanded. "You don't work for the Emperor!"

"Shut up," a Geckomon snapped, then called out into the room. "Hey, Gargomon! We got 'em!"

A rusty, metal door on the other side opened, and out stepped a fearsome-looking Digimon. It was a large, green rabbit, its only clothing the blue jeans around its legs and the red war paint on its face. Belts of bullets were strapped around its shoulders, probably to complement the two machine gun turrets that were where its hands should have been. It leered at the children, its beady black eyes showing nothing but malice and disgust. "This is a Digimon-only zone!" he yelled at them in a voice like a ticked-off drill sergeant. "No humans in Somber Harbor!"

"Who are you?" TK asked. "Why did you have these guys catch us?"

"You've got some grit, kid," the rabbit huffed, putting one of his gun arms to TK's chest. "I'm Gargomon, and this is the base of the Resistance! Don't tell me you didn't know that!"

"Re... sistance?" Davis asked.

Cody frowned. 'The Resistance' was usually a name used by rebels when there was a tyrannical reign. "Then... you fight the Emperor?" he tried.

Gargomon cackled. "So, you ain't as dumb as you look," he muttered, turning and grinning unpleasantly. "I guess we're lucky you wandered in here," he said. "Saves us the trouble of lookin' for you!"

"Oh... Did you require our assistance?" Hawkmon asked.

"If you're having problems with the Emperor, we can help," Yolei said.

Gargomon suddenly looked furious. "Help?" he yelled. "We've had enough help from the likes of you _humans_!" He spat at their feet after saying it, like it put a bad taste in his mouth.

Davis winced. That didn't seem very friendly. "Uh... What?" he managed.

"You've done enough with your damn rings and spires!" Gargomon snapped, getting in Davis's face. "You humans think you can come in here and do whatever you want? Well, time you remembered whose world this is!"

Despite the Digimon restraining him, Davis just about fell over. "WHAT?" he yelled. "We don't work for the Emperor!"

"Yeah! Only the Emperor works for the Emperor!" Yolei huffed. "We're trying to stop him!"

"HAH!" Gargomon laughed loudly, then glared at them. "Think you can trick me? Humans always lie! And when humans lie, it's the Digimon that pay for it!"

"They're not lying!" Patamon insisted. "TK and the others are here to save Digimon, not hurt them!"

"Oh, yeah?" Gargomon huffed, the little claw in his gun popping out and yanking away TK's D3, "so what's this? This is the same thing the Emperor uses on his slaves!" He pointed the gun at Patamon, who dove behind TK. "And YOU'RE working WITH them? You're traitors to your own race!"

"We don't have those because we work for the Emperor," TK replied, scowling. "We have them because we're Digidestined."

Hushed whispers passed through the Digimon in the room as they looked at each other. Davis thought he felt his captors loosen their grips for a moment.

Gargomon, however, was not impressed. "Listen to this guy!" he yelled, pointing at TK again. "Digi 'destined?' So, you're 'destined' to come to this world, huh? 'Destined' to take it over?"

"We don't want to take over the Digital World!" Kari urged.

"The Emperor wants to take over the Digital World..." Gargomon rebuked, "and HE'S got one of those things, too! That means HE'S a Digidestined, isn't he?" Shouts of agreement from the other Digimon filled the room, and Davis felt squeezed again.

Cody growled. He hated this kind of half-logic arguing; it was just angry people trading barbs, and not anything productive. "Just because HE has a D3 doesn't mean that WE want to hurt you," he stated. "That's a faulty declaration."

Gargomon snarled at him. "Well, then, here's a WORKING one!" he huffed, lifting his gun and pointing at his followers. "Look at my men! See what you've done to them?"

For the first time, the kids looked closer at the angry Digimon that stood around them. Every one of them had scars and scratches on their person somewhere, and some of their limbs even looked mangled. There were world-weary, haunted looks in their eyes as they leered back.

"I've never seen such sullen Digimon in my life," Hawkmon admitted.

"Maybe a joke book would help," Veemon suggested.

"We've been holdin' off the Emperor's slaves for months," Gargomon said, strutting back and forth, his tone changing from angry to concerned. "We can keep the town safe, but they're always just outside... We can't get food or supplies... and I'm down to half of the men I started with." He stopped, collected himself, then became angry again. "That's why we're fighting!" he declared, "to rid our world of monsters like you!"

Everyone was sobered by this explanation. Suddenly, it all made sense; of course some Digimon wouldn't like humans because of what Ken did. "I... I understand..." Kari said quietly, "but, please... we aren't like the Emperor."

To everyone's shock, Gargomon whirled around and slugged her across the face. "LIAR!" he snarled.

Kari crashed to the ground, a bruise forming on her cheek and flecks of blood splashing onto the floor from her mouth. Everyone else went on the offensive, struggling furiously. "Kari!" TK cried. "Are you OK?"

Gatomon wrenched free of her captors and leaped at Gargomon, but another punch knocked her on the floor as well.

"Goddamn you!" Davis yelled at Gargomon. "I'm gonna rip yer ears off and shove 'em up your ass!"

"Red card!" Yolei snapped. "Red card!"

Cody was the most infuriated of them all. It was bad enough that Gargomon was using lousy argument skills, but to use violence in a verbal situation was too much. "How dare you!" he shouted at the big rabbit. "You have no sense of reason!"

This comment seemed to irk Gargomon far more than the others; he turned on Cody in a rage. "What did you say?" he bellowed.

Armadillomon gulped. "Cody, now ain't the time..." he started.

Cody scowled at Gargomon. "If you're going to strike someone during an argument, you can't possibly have good motives," he said. "You just lost all credibility!"

"Oh, yeah?" Gargomon snarled, angrily jamming his gun into Cody's stomach, "well, YOU'RE going to lose your LIFE!" He stood back and pointed out the window. "Throw 'em all in the abandoned rig! Let 'em starve to death as an example to other humans!"

As they were dragged out of the building, Cody's resolve turned to terror and shame. Why did he have to snap like that? Now they were going to be chucked into who knows what, and it was entirely his fault.

* * *

The party was shoved down to the wharf, where three tall, gray offshore platforms stood at the ends of long pathways. Though the two on the ends still pumped out filthy black smoke, the center one was devoid of activity. Cody guessed that was where his blunder would land them.

"Come on, you guys!" Veemon tried as they were pushed closer. "Can't we talk this over?"

"We fight the Emperor, just as you do," Gatomon argued. "Some of us even fought the Dark Masters beforehand!"

"Shut up," a Gotsumon snapped, kicking her behind.

"If you fleshies DID beat the Dark Masters, then it's your fault the Emperor's here!" a Gazimon holding Kari's arms snapped. "They would've taken care of him!"

"Man, you guys sure love arguin', huh?" Davis snarled.

"'Fleshies?'" Yolei asked.

TK glanced at Kari. The bruise that Gargomon had inflicted had turned an ugly purple. "Are you OK?" he asked.

"I'm fine..." she replied, glancing at him, "but boy, am I going to have to cook up a story for this one..."

Cody silently watched the water as he walked. What a fool he was, he thought, to try and argue with a fanatic like Gargomon; not only did they have to find the new DigiEgg, but now they also had to escape this platform AND avoid the Resistance! Things just could not get any worse.

Just then, a wave in the water caught his eye. A large, black shape was moving below the bridge. "Hey..." he began.

Before he could finish his sentence, the walkway behind them exploded, and up reared a huge, red sea serpent with a golden-armored head and a nasty leer. Its eyes glowed blood red, a sure sign of the Emperor's control.

"What the-" a Gotsumon started, but never finished. A bolt of white lightning burst from the monster's jagged horn and blasted several Resistance fighters into dust. The others let go of the Digidestined and fled screaming, but another jolt destroyed them as well.

"Shit!" Davis yelled. He reached for his D3, but the monster was already charging another blast. Everyone tore for the rig and dove in just as a third bolt of lightning destroyed the rest of the path.

There must have been a slope instead of a staircase, for Cody suddenly found himself whizzing downwards at high speed, the others screaming behind him. He finally crashed onto a cold, stone floor, and everyone else crashed on top of him. He couldn't make out much from his position, but it looked like they were at the bottom of the rig; there was only one floor beneath them, accessible by a nearby ramp.

"Whoo..." Yolei gasped. "Safe!"

Kari sighed sadly. "Those poor Digimon..." she murmured.

Suddenly, the whole room shook violently, and warning sirens blared. Lights came on to reveal a wide, cylindrical chamber with portholes on all sides... and that monster was swimming past each one of them. A dark spiral was coiled tightly around the end of its tail, proving what they had guessed.

"What the hell IS that thing?" Davis demanded.

"That's a Megaseadramon," Gatomon growled, "Ultimate level."

Megaseadramon roared angrily, and the chamber shook again. Water gushed down from one of the upper levels; that monster had knocked a hole in the wall!

"Oh, no!" was all TK could say.

Veemon's eye caught a red button near one of the portholes. Over it in big, red letters was the word EMERGENCY. "If this ain't one, I don't know what is!" he declared, and slapped it. Large, fan-blade-like tiles emerged above them and whirled into a solid ceiling, stopping the torrent.

"Well, then, NOW we're safe," Armadillomon affirmed.

"Yes!" Yolei laughed, hugging Veemon tightly. "You're awesome, you little blue wonder!"

Hawkmon folded his arms, still bothered. "Of course, now we're trapped here," he pointed out darkly. "There's water above us, and we only have so much air... I do believe we're going to asphyxiate."

Yolei's hug turned into a wild strangle. "WHAT?" she screeched. "What'd you do, you blasted blue bungle-brain?"

"Da-a-a-a-avi-i-i-ith!" Veemon gagged.

"Hey, knock it off!" Davis yelled, pulling Yolei off of his partner. "It's better than drowning!"

"Speak for yourself!" she snapped, flailing her arms. "Drowning is FAST! This is... ARGH!"

"Yolei, calm down," TK urged. "We'll figure something out."

"Yeah!" Patamon agreed. "We've got plenty of time!"

"Besides, if you work yourself up, you'll use more air..." Kari added. "Please, try to stay calm."

Yolei took a few more panicked breaths, then fell against the wall, exhausted. "I wanna go home..." she groaned.

"Look, as long as we keep our heads, we can come up with an escape plan," Gatomon said.

Davis grinned. "Cody's the brainiac here! He can figure somethin' out! Right, Cody?"

There was no response. Puzzled, he turned around. "...Cody?" he asked again.

Cody was just standing there, staring up at the new ceiling, a mortified look on his face. This was all his fault. He had angered Gargomon and got them thrown in here, and now they were trapped... and running out of air. The one time he decided to voice his objections on something, he had signed everyone's death warrants. "It's... all my fault..." was all he could say.

"Say what?" Armadillomon asked, hopping over. "What's yer fault, pardner?"

"Everything..." Cody said, not looking at him. "Because of me, we're all going to..."

"Don't even THINK of finishing that sentence!" Yolei snapped angrily. When she saw Cody's face, though, she grew sober as well. "Look... It isn't your fault. Who knew Megaseadramon was coming?"

"Yeah, and Gargomon's a hotheaded windbag," Davis agreed. "You can't say this is your fault!"

"But it is!" Cody argued; why didn't they understand? "If I hadn't made him angry, we wouldn't have been brought here... and if we weren't here, then we wouldn't have been trapped by Megaseadramon! Don't you see?"

TK looked out a porthole as Megaseadramon swam by again. "This isn't the time to blame anyone," he said, looking at Cody. "We have to find a way out."

Patamon fluttered down next to his partner, but suddenly jumped up as the floor tile he was on sank. There was a whirring noise, and then a panel in the wall slid upwards. It revealed a small, red, bulb-shaped craft with propellers. "Woah!" Patamon exclaimed. "Looks like we've got one!"

Hawkmon walked over and looked inside the craft. "Hmm..." he said, "it appears to be an emergency evacuation pod."

"Sweet!" Davis laughed, slapping his palm with his fist. "Now we can get outta this dive!"

TK shook his head gravely. "Look again," he said, pointing. The pod was a way to escape, but it was very small... and there was only one seat; it was too small for anyone but a child.

"Man..." Yolei grouched, folding her arms, "what was the designer thinking? Who makes kids work on an oil rig?"

Kari scratched her chin; there was only one solution as far as she could see. "Well, then..." she said, turning around, "Cody, you go."

Cody's jaw locked. Escape? The one who had gotten everyone into this?

"He's the smallest, definitely," Gatomon said. "Besides, with his D3, he can go back to the real world and get help."

"Yeah, that's perfect!" TK admitted.

Davis eyed the pod, unconvinced. "I dunno..." he said, "I bet I could squeeze in there, too!"

"Yeah, you might..." Yolei said, eying him smugly, "but you're gonna agree with Kari, aren't you?"

Kari smiled at him. He sighed; Yolei knew his weaknesses far too well. "OK, OK..." he surrendered, reddening at the cheeks, "Cody's the one to go..."

"You heard 'em, Cody," Armadillomon said, grinning at his partner. "Time for you to hop in!"

Cody frowned and looked away. He was the last person to deserve such an opportunity. "...No," he stated bluntly.

Everyone was shocked. "What?" Davis yelled. "Whaddya mean 'no?'"

"I'm not going," he replied crossly. "Send somebody else."

"Nobody else is gonna fit!" Davis rebuked. "You've got a shot at freedom, here! If I had that, I'd be all over it like flies on-"

"Then YOU go," Cody snapped, not allowing him to finish the vulgar analogy.

"I can't go 'cuz YOU'RE goin'!" Davis yelled.

"I am NOT!" Cody snarled.

The others watched this display with both humor and confusion. It was fun to see Cody and Davis match wits... but why wouldn't Cody go?

Hawkmon nudged Yolei's knee. "Perhaps Cody refuses to go because we haven't given everyone a fair chance," he suggested.

Yolei thought for a second, then grinned. "OK, then, here's what we're gonna do!" she proposed. To everyone's surprise, she grabbed her hair and yanked out an entire fistful. After the pain had subsided, she held up the wad. "We'll draw lots! Whoever gets the marked hair will go! Davis, you still have that black marker?"

Davis handed over the marker and Kari and Yolei turned their backs to everyone, making the gambling game. "Don't bother makin' any fer us Digimon," Veemon pointed out. "Even if we escaped, we can't get into the real world without a D3!"

"No," Gatomon rebuked, "we should include all of us."

"Yeah, that's right," TK agreed. "It has to be fair... Besides, if a Digimon goes, I'll loan my D3."

After a few moments of scuffling and shuffling, Yolei turned back to the group with ten purple hairs in her fist. "Well, who's feeling lucky today?" she asked.

"Hell yeah! Now this I like!" Davis laughed, walking up and reaching for a hair.

To his surprise, Yolei moved past him and offered the fist to Cody. "How about you, Cody?" she asked. "Wanna go first?"

With Davis's grumbling in his ears, Cody solemnly chose a hair and pulled. The end of it was coated in black.

"Wow!" Kari exclaimed. "Congratulations, Cody!"

"Black on the first draw!" Yolei laughed. "I swear, that's gotta break a record!"

Cody's scowl got even darker. With one quick motion, he grabbed Yolei's wrist and twisted it sharply. She cried out in pain and the hairs fell to the ground... each one with a black tip.

"What the?" Davis exclaimed. The whole thing had been a trick? Why hadn't he seen that?

Yolei stammered for an explanation. "Uh... The first one was so pretty I... just couldn't stop?" she offered.

"Cheater!" Cody snarled. "You WANT me to go!"

"Oh, come on, Cody!" Kari huffed, finally losing her patience. "You're the only one that can get in that pod comfortably! Why are you being so stubborn?"

Cody folded his arms and looked away. As much as they wanted him to go, he didn't deserve it, and he didn't care if they didn't understand. "Nothing on this earth will make me get in that pod," he stated.

Two sets of arms grabbed his and lifted him into the air; Davis and TK had him. "Except us, of course," TK corrected him.

"Put me down!" he yelled, flailing his legs. "I'm NOT GOING!"

"Get yer ass in that pod and get the hell outta here!" Davis snapped. With one mighty heave, the boys threw him into the seat and shut the glass windshield. A barrier slid down between the kids and the pod; the launch sequence had begun.

"Cody!" Kari yelled into the glass, "when you get back, find Joe! Ikkakumon can get us out of here!"

The chamber with the pod started filling with seawater. "Let me out!" Cody yelled back, pounding on the windshield. "You idiots! LET ME OUT!"

"Good luck, Cody!" Armadillomon called as his face disappeared into the water. "I know ya can do it!"

There was a clicking noise, and Cody's craft flailed around, spinning every which way like a twisted carnival ride. When he recovered his sense of direction, he was floating just outside of the rig. Megaseadramon's tail disappeared behind the other side of the building; it was the perfect time to flee.

He sighed sadly. How ironic that he, the one who put everyone into that undersea mausoleum, was the only one to escape its fate. He hadn't wanted to go, but now that he was outside... He grabbed the controls and started the engine. He had to get help. Failure was not an option.

Gunning the engine as fast as he could, Cody brought the pod to the docks of Somber Harbor within moments. He leaped out and ran for the TV warp on the edge of town. The Resistance was at the other platforms, fighting an epic battle with Megaseadramon when he surfaced. They weren't doing too well; the serpent was frying them with lightning blasts and swallowing them whole when they fell into the water. He turned away and kept running; he didn't like to think of such carnage, but at least those buffoons were preoccupied.

Not all of them were, though. "Hey!" a Geckomon shouted, pointing from a doorway, "how'd he get away? THTOP HIM!"

Rocks rained down on him as Resistance Gotsumon appeared on every rooftop, but he wouldn't let them stop him. As fast as his little legs could carry him, he raced out of town.

* * *

"Cody! What-" Izzy began, but Cody just ran past him and out of the lab. He would have explained the situation, but he didn't know how much time he had, and to avoid tragedy, every second counted. If he'd had a cell phone, he would have just called Joe from the lab... but his mother had told him he wasn't old enough for one. He had to get home all the more quickly.

Not even removing his shoes, he raced right to the phone and dialed Joe's number... but his heart nearly exploded from horror as he got a recoded message. "Hi, this is Joe Kido," Joe's voice crackled. "I've got a big exam today, so my phone won't be on. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Cody usually frowned upon swearing, but he made an exception at this moment. There was only one other thing he could do. He grabbed the phone book and started leafing through it. Joe had told him what college he was going to; he would have to gun it over there.

His eyes fell on the school name and its address; it was all the way on the other side of town. It was definitely going to be a long run, but he just had to make it. Without any more hesitation, he tore out of the apartment and headed for the elevator.

He pushed the button and waited, fidgeting as the numbers lit up; why did elevators move slower when one was in a hurry? Every moment, his friends were getting closer to... and it was his fault! Why... He shook his head violently. Now wasn't the time to think of that.

There was a ding, and the elevator doors opened. Cody was thrilled... until his mother and grandfather came out. "Oh, Iori! You're home. Good," his mom said. "I have some errands for you to run: we need some groceries for dinner; your new kendo stick is ready at the sporting store; and there are some letters to mail. Now, do you need to write all that down, or will you remember?"

Cody bit his lip. He always helped his mother with her chores- and she expected it of him- but today, there were far more pressing needs; he had to get away. "I..." he managed, then stared at the ground. "I'm sorry. I can't right now," he mumbled, adding one more item to today's list of grievous sins.

"You have something else to do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

He couldn't tell her that his friends were trapped beneath the ocean by a sea serpent; she was a practical woman, and would never swallow that. He sighed sadly. "I... can't say," he admitted.

"Now, Iori," she started, frowning, "what have I said about keeping secrets?"

"I... but... errm..." he stammered. He needed to get out of there; his friends were in danger! But how could he just run off when his mother had him backed into a corner like this?

His grandfather had been watching him pensively, and finally took a deep breath. "Do not pressure him, Fumiko," he spoke up, making them both turn. "If you force him to speak, he may have to lie... even if that's not what he wants to do." He looked at Cody and smiled. "If you don't want to tell us, that's fine... so long as you don't lie. The worst thing you can do is tell a lie..." He paused and took a deep swig from the prune juice pack in his hand, beaming at its flavor.

As always, grandpa had all the answers. Grateful for both the sage advice and the rescue, Cody bowed to his grandfather. "Thank you," he said, then quickly raced into the elevator. He would make it up to them after he saved his friends.

* * *

"D'oh... D'oh... D'oh!..." Davis grunted as his forehead hit the metal railing again and again, as he had done for the past hour. It wasn't the most entertaining thing in the world, but he didn't feel like doing anything else. He had hoped for so many things in life: to design a perfect aircraft; to be on a championship soccer team; and to experience the joys of manhood with Kari once they hit high school. Instead, he was going to rot down in this little chamber, far away from everything he knew. He banged his head to try and forget about it... but it wasn't helping much.

It wasn't helping Yolei much, either. "Will you quit that?" she snapped, furiously tapping her foot. "It's annoying the crap out of me!"

He turned around, furious that anyone would intrude upon his brooding, least of all Yolei. "I'll quit bangin' my head when YOU quit tappin' yer goddamn foot!" he growled.

"I can't help it," she snapped, folding her arms. "It's a nervous tick!"

"I'll tick you!" Davis yelled, charging at her. Grappling with each other, they crashed around the room, shouting vulgarities.

Kari and the Digimon sat nearby, watching the escapade... but it was too much for Hawkmon. "Stop it!" he ordered, clapping his wings together angrily. "Stop this right now!"

Slowly, Davis and Yolei stopped fighting and fell backwards. It wasn't Hawkmon's yelling that had stopped them, however; both of them gasped for air, suddenly feeling like they had been sucking on helium balloons. "Wha... Wha...?" Davis managed. Yolei coughed uncontrollably.

"We mustn't overexert ourselves," Hawkmon went on. "We use up more air that way, and we have little enough already!" He glared at them. "No more fisticuffs!"

Davis and Yolei exchanged angry snorts, then turned away from each other.

"Now then," Armadillomon cut in, smiling as usual, "why don't we all play a nice quiet game? Y'all can use my shell fer tic-tac-toe."

Kari sighed. "I'm not really in the mood..." she admitted.

The other Digimon looked at him like he had said something vile. "How can ya think of games at a time like this?" Veemon asked.

"Easy," Armadillomon said. "I know Cody's gonna save us."

Yolei gave him a sad look. "I know he'll do his best..." she agreed, "but..."

"In case ya haven't noticed, it's gettin' harder to breathe by the minute," Davis said quietly. "Cody's tough, but he's just a kid; he only moves so fast..."

Everyone grew silent as reality dawned on them. There was a time limit on their lives, and if Cody didn't hurry up... They then realized why Cody hadn't wanted to leave. He felt personally responsible for getting them down here; he probably felt he deserved this fate far more than any of them... "...He must feel terrible," Kari spoke up.

"If that's the case, then I guess I see why Armadillomon thinks he'll come," Patamon agreed.

Armadillomon shook his head. "It ain't 'cuz he feels guilty," he objected, "it's 'cuz he's never let me down before."

Yolei sighed. "Let's hope he performs the same this time..." she muttered.

Just then, there was a clunk of metal from a lower level of the chamber. "Hey!" TK's excited voice came up to them. "I found it!"

Surprised, everyone got up and started down. What had he found?

* * *

"I'm sorry, little boy," the man behind the front desk said to the small boy in front of him, "but there's a school-wide exam going on, and I can't allow any interruptions."

"But I must... see Joe... Kido!" Cody repeated, still very much out of breath from the run. Hot acid sizzled at the back of his throat as he tried to speak. "It's... it's very im... portant!"

"Once the test starts, there can't be any stopping until it's finished," the man said. "You're going to have to wait. They should be done in about three hours."

Cody couldn't believe what he was hearing. Three hours? He didn't have that much time! "But... But..." he tried again, but he needed more air.

The man looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry," he said, "but unless it was a family emergency, or someone was hospitalized, I can't do anything."

Cody bit his lip, having a dark epiphany. If he told the man that something had happened to Joe's parents, he could get him out of there, and they could save everyone! But then his grandfather's words burst in his brain; lying was the worst thing anyone could do! He could never go against what his grandfather said... but if he waited for three whole hours... His mouth turned dry as he imagined his friends collapsing in that hellish chamber, the lights going out of their eyes... and Armadillomon's as well. They wouldn't last three hours. To wait would be to condemn them to a fate that he had inflicted on them in the first place!

For the first time in his life, he was seized with dilemma. His knuckles were white as he gripped the counter, staring helplessly at the man. What should he do? What _must_ he do?

* * *

"What's all the yelling about, TK?" Kari asked as everyone reached the bottom floor.

TK had just removed a metal drain grate from the cement tiles. He grinned at them. "I found the DigiEgg!" he announced. "It was down here all along!"

Everyone crowded around the shallow little hole. Sure enough, sitting upright at the bottom was another DigiEgg. It was pear-shaped with one half colored white and the other half colored purple. On the purple side was the mark of a gray cross. Kari recognized it right away; it was Joe's Crest of Reliability. "This must be the last one," TK remarked. "We've got all the other Crests..."

"Who's it for, d'ya think?" Veemon asked.

"Well, Davis and I already have two..." Yolei said, folding her arms. "Maybe it's Cody's."

Kari put one hand out to touch the egg, and a black spark shot up, making her recoil. "It's not mine, obviously..." she admitted.

Davis frowned; had everyone suddenly forgotten their problem? "How can we think 'bout that at a time like this?" he asked.

TK shrugged. "It was better than sitting around doing nothing," he explained.

"Well, now there's one more reason Cody needs to come back," Armadillomon chuckled. "He's got a DigiEgg waitin' for him!"

Kari nodded, but quietly stared out the portholes as Megaseadramon made another pass. The air in the chamber was starting to get stale and warm; how much time did they have left?

* * *

With a panicked gasp, Joe burst out of the school, looking around wildly. He had to get a cab or something; his dad was in the hospital! Where was a taxi when he needed it? Come to think of it, what hospital was he in? Why hadn't anyone told him that?

"Joe!" Cody called, running up to him.

"Not now, Cody!" Joe said, pulling out his phone and starting to push buttons. "My dad's in the hospital!"

Cody sighed sadly. "No... he isn't," he said. "I told them that."

Joe paused, then lowered his phone. "What?" he asked.

Cody quickly told him about everything that had happened. "...We need Ikkakumon, but you were in class..." he finished glumly, "so I lied to get you out." He hung his head. "I'm sorry."

For a moment, Joe was furious that he was told such a terrible thing- and now had a test to retake- but as the situation sank in, the anger died. "Right," he said, starting to push buttons on his phone again. "Let me make a call, and then we'll get over there..."

Cody felt awful. Now he had doomed his friends, disappointed his mother, AND told a horrible lie. "I'm ashamed," he said quietly.

Joe glanced at him and saw his face, and just had to smile sympathetically. "Don't be; you didn't have a choice," he said. Just then, the phone clicked and he put it to his ear. "Izzy? Big trouble; I'll explain everything later. Right now, I need you to find an old friend of ours..."

The smile didn't make Cody feel any better; it was like giving a lollipop to a man in the stocks. His whole life of respectability and honor had been destroyed in one day. How could he face his friends again?

* * *

"Well, if it ain't fer Kari and it ain't fer TK..." Armadillomon said, grinning, "then this DigiEgg must be fer Cody!"

"Looks like it," Yolei agreed.

"I wonder what kinda Digimon you'll get to turn into?" Patamon asked.

Davis cackled. "I bet he'll be a big ol' porcupine with drills comin' up everywhere!" he suggested. "Best friend a dentist could ask for!"

"I bet it's a knight in shining white and purple armor," Yolei suggested, grinning. "Someone to sweep me off my feet and take me far away!"

"Hey, you just got a personal ninja," Kari objected jokingly. "How many do you need?"

The kids all laughed loudly for a few moments, but then it changed to a chorus of coughs. Davis and TK sank to their knees while Kari and Yolei leaned against the wall, all of them gasping loudly.

"I don't get it..." Veemon said, scratching his head. "Why're they all joking around?"

Hawkmon shook his head. "It's foolish..." he said, "a waste of air."

"No, it's not like that..." Gatomon objected, looking sadly at her friends. "Nobody wants to think about the problem, so they're covering it up by laughing... It's sad, really..."

"There are just some times when I don't understand humans," Hawkmon sighed.

"Would you want to spend your last minutes thinking about how you're going to die?" Patamon asked him.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then unfolded his arms. That did make sense, morbid as it was.

Yolei coughed louder than the others, and she started to teeter on her legs. "Yolei? Are you-" Kari started, but couldn't finish before the purple-haired geekette toppled onto Davis.

"N'aagh!" Davis yelled, staggering beneath the extra weight. "You weigh a ton for a beanpole!"

Yolei's head swam as she stared out one of the portholes. The lack of air was really getting to her. She just wanted to be home, watching some crummy sci-fi show on her TV and scarfing ramen packets.

"Yolei, what's wrong?" TK asked.

"It's the air... or lack of it," Hawkmon suggested. "I suppose she's more susceptible to it because she's taller."

"Ugh... C'mon, get up!" Davis snarled, shoving her back up. "You're gonna throw my back out!"

It was bad enough that she was so dizzy, but now she was seeing things. Something big and white outside was coming towards them. "Oh, great..." she slurred sarcastically. "The abdominal snowman's come to save us..."

Perplexed, Kari turned around and looked out the porthole, and cries of joy shot through the chamber. Yolei was almost right; the big, white, shaggy Ikkakumon was barreling through the water towards the rig. "Ikkakumon!" she cheered. Ikkakumon silently mouthed a "stand back," and lowered his horn at the porthole. Everyone ran to the other side of the room and awaited the impact. Freedom at last!... provided they could swim well.

The crash, however, never came. Just as Ikkakumon reached the rig, a big, red tail slapped him back. Megaseadramon slithered into view, determined to let the Emperor's judgment be done.

"Aww, crap!" Davis yelled, running back and mashing his face against the glass. "Ikkakumon! Hit the damn spiral!"

Ikkakumon landed on the sea floor and launched several of his Harpoon Torpedoes, but Megaseadramon's fast, thin body just couldn't be hit. Ikkakumon growled angrily. That monster was an Ultimate, and he was just a Champion; the odds weren't in his favor. Megaseadramon knew it too, and immediately fired a lightning blast. In the water, it traveled in all directions, the voltage intensified. Ikkakumon screamed and flew backwards.

The whole rig chamber shook and shivered. Water burst in from above the back portholes, drenching everyone but Davis. There was a loud cracking. Had Megaseadramon's electricity made the rig collapse?

"Run!" TK yelled.

Just as everyone scrambled over to Davis's side, a huge, gray, shiny, fanged whale face smashed into the chamber.

"Holy shit!" Davis yelled, reeling. "It's Dicky Moe!"

The mouth opened up to reveal lines of fangs and a big, red tongue... with two familiar faces inside. "Whamon's taxi service!" Joe called cheerfully. "Need a lift?"

"Quickly!" Cody yelled. "There's no time!"

Armadillomon shook himself off and grinned. "Aha! See? I knew my little pardner wouldn't let us down!" he declared.

Davis grinned and patted the yellow critter on the head. "Never doubted ya for a second!" he laughed.

Veemon rolled his eyes. "Riiiight..." he muttered.

The big, gray shape that was Whamon strained a bit. "Well, I'm certainly glad to see you all looking well," he boomed in a deep, friendly voice.

"Good to see you again too, Whamon," Kari replied. This big-hearted Digimon had helped them on their first adventure by ferrying them through the ocean, just as he was doing now. "How'd you get here?"

"Tentomon found me and told me what was happening," Whamon replied. "I set sail right away."

"Cody, come down here!" TK called up to them. "We found the DigiEgg... and we think it's for you!"

Cody glanced down at the grate; he could just see the little purple thing sticking out. "Why do you think it's mine?" he asked crossly.

Joe glanced down at the egg, too. The cross on the side was one he knew well; it was HIS Crest of Reliability. He looked over at the solemn little boy and smiled. After what he had done today, that really did suit him.

"That's just like Cody," Gatomon said, voicing Joe's thoughts. "It has to be yours!"

Cody's face darkened. Reliability? He had mouthed off to Gargomon and had them all tossed in here. Then he had escaped the rig while everyone else suffered. Then he had let down his mother when she wanted him to run errands. And then- most heinous of all- he had lied that Joe's father was in the hospital to get him out of the exam. Not one of those events showed 'reliability' of any kind. Even if it was meant for him, how could he take it after all of that? "Let's get out of here," he said to them, looking away.

TK frowned; why was Cody being so stubborn today? "We will... AFTER you come down here and get this egg!" he called. "If you don't, it'll be gone when this place collapses!"

"I want nothing to do with it," Cody stated, getting angry.

"What the hell is up with you?" Davis swore. "Get yer ass down here and take this goddamn egg!"

Yolei coughed wildly again and would have toppled over if Kari hadn't caught her. Cody snarled. Time was of the essence; they shouldn't dawdle like this. "Leave that rotten thing alone and let's get out of here!" he shouted, not even looking at them anymore. "NOW!"

Suddenly, he felt an arm on his shoulder. He looked up to see Joe smiling at him. "Come on, Cody. Let's go down there together," he said, giving a little yank.

Cody didn't want to go to the egg, but in the little time he had known him, he had grown to trust Joe... and he didn't want to disappoint him as well. Surrendering, he hopped out of Whamon's mouth and descended to the egg with Joe. "OK, Cody, give it a try," Joe said, motioning to it.

Cody stared at the egg, despair welling up in his heart. He turned away. "No," he repeated, sounding uncharacteristically down. "I... I won't be able to lift it."

"Ya won't know till ya try, pardner," Armadillomon pointed out.

Cody shook his head. "I'm the reason this happened to all of you," he said. "I snapped at Gargomon over a triviality."

"Gargomon's a nut job," Davis pointed out. "He was pissed off anyway; you were just the straw that smooshed the llama's hump!... or something."

"I got us trapped down here," Cody went on.

"Uh, I hit the shutters," Veemon said. "I'm the one who locked us in, Cody."

"That's right," TK agreed. "None of this is your fault!"

Cody's lower lip trembled, and he was breathing heavily. "And then... I told a horrible lie... to get help..." he managed, his voice getting shaky. "That's the worst thing... anyone can do..."

Davis and TK exchanged worried glances. "Cody..." Armadillomon started.

"My grandfather would be ashamed of me... and my father..." Cody couldn't continue; tears were forming in his eyes, and he had to bite his lip to avoid sobbing.

Joe's hand found his shoulder. "Cody, there are two kinds of lies: the ones meant to hurt; and the ones meant to help," the blue-haired college boy told him. "It's all about intention."

Cody looked at him, puzzled. "But..." he started.

"C'mon, Cody, you weren't tryin' to hurt anybody," Armadillomon said, grinning. "Your lyin' was meant to help!"

Cody was still unconvinced. Nobody had ever challenged his grandfather's wisdom before. "But..." he said again.

"Look at it this way," Joe went on. "If you hadn't lied to get me out of class... God only knows what would have happened down here."

Cody paused. That was true; if he had just waited for the test to end, they would have come to a chamber of corpses instead of his friends. Sometimes, maybe, lying did bring about good results... but his grandfather's words still reached his mind. "My grandfather said-" he started.

"Look, when we get back," Joe said, still smiling, "I'll explain what happened to your grandfather. I'll explain that I wasn't hurt by your lie... In fact, your lie saved lives."

Cody stared at him. Joe had done something very few people could do; spawn a new line of thinking in his mind. "Joe..." he said, blinking away the infant tears, "thank you."

"Hey, that's swell and all..." Davis broke in, "but we oughta get outta here, huh?"

Another shaking of the room backed up his statement. "Right," Cody agreed, resuming his stoic mood. Without any further hesitation, he clasped the DigiEgg and pulled. It came up without any resistance. He smiled inside; the powers that were had forgiven him.

Armadillomon grinned. "Hey, pardner! You know what time it is!" he said.

Cody nodded and raised the DigiEgg up. "DigiArmor Energize!" he declared.

A purple light shone on Armadillomon. "Armadillomon Armor Digivole to..." he said, and then he was no longer Armadillomon. He became engulfed in bubbles that spread out at least five time his length and three times his height. From the bubbles burst two white wings, then a white dorsal fin, and then a black, jagged harpoon. The light faded, and a white submarine with a purple bottom lay before Cody. "...Submarimon; Reliability as pure as the Sea!" he finished.

Everyone was impressed. "Whoo! So much for the porcupine idea..." Davis admitted.

"Great timing!" TK laughed. "Now you can go help Ikkakumon!"

The cockpit slid open. "Get in, Cody," Submarimon said.

Surprised, Cody glanced up at Joe. "I'll get everyone out with Whamon," Joe said. "You take a ride!"

Cody nodded, then leaped into the cockpit. To his amazement, Submarimon seemed more machine than 'mon; his insides were full of buttons and flashing lights... and he had steering controls! Cody got down on his belly and gripped the controls. "Let's go," he said. "Ikkakumon needs our help."

As Whamon shut his mouth and backed out of the hole he had made, Submarimon's harpoon whirred like a drill. He burst through the wall and out into the sea as the rig collapsed in a cloud of bubbles and slag.

* * *

Ikkakumon certainly did need help; he had been getting his shaggy butt handed to him from the first minute he had engaged Megaseadramon. Taking numerous tail slaps in the face and several zaps from his electric attacks, he was almost worn out. He certainly was surprised when a mysterious new Digimon appeared beside him... with Cody _piloting_ him?

"We're here to help," Cody stated.

"Are you all right?" Submarimon asked.

"Barely..." Ikkakumon replied. "Let's double team him!"

With two targets instead of one, Megaseadramon got even angrier and launched a concentrated electric blast at the interloper. Submarimon was very fast, however, and dodged it. "Quickly!" he shouted, and both Ikkakumon and he took off, forcing the sinister serpent to give chase. They swam this way and that, but it managed to keep up. They swam under rock outcroppings, but it just smashed through them like a wild bullet train.

"We'll have to trick him," Cody said to Submarimon.

"You got it," Submarimon agreed. "Can you handle him for a moment, Ikkakumon?"

Ikkakumon nodded and swam into a tunnel while Submarimon veered left. Megaseadramon was going so fast that he could only sail into the tunnel, smashing it to pieces as he went.

Ikkakumon swam up a vertical cliff just as Megaseadramon burst out of the tunnel and swatted at him with his tail. As Ikkakumon crashed against the rocks, Submarimon burst out right next to him.

"We have him now," Cody declared. He had seen Yolei play enough flight simulators to know what to do next; he pushed on the red buttons on the control sticks.

"Oxygen Torpedo!" Submarimon declared, his tubes opening. Several whooshes came from them, but Cody didn't think they had launched anything... until things started exploding on Megaseadramon. The beast reeled backwards, shrieking horribly. It was time to stop this.

"This is for all of my friends!" Cody snarled, thrusting Submarimon right at the beast. With pinpoint precision, Submarimon's harpoon pierced the center of the dark spiral and it shattered. The bloodthirsty glow in Megaseadramon's eyes vanished, it turned and, dazed and confused, swam away. Cody let out a deep sigh of relief.

Ikkakumon pulled himself off of the rocks and reverted to Gomamon. "Whew! Nice work there, 'ace!'" he laughed, swimming over to Submarimon. "How 'bout we go find our friends now?"

"They're probably at Somber Harbor," Submarimon suggested. "Shall we?"

Cody nodded. As thrilled as he was about his new Digimon, he had seen enough ocean for one day.

* * *

Cody surfaced at the docks of a city very much changed. Megaseadramon had done far more damage above the water than below. Half of the dingy buildings were rubble now, smoke blackening the sky even more. The remaining oil platforms were smashed and ravaged just like the one they had been in.

He spotted his friends further up the wharf, but they weren't in the best situation; Gargomon and the Resistance had them tied up again. He quickly rushed towards them. "Stop right there, human!" Gargomon shouted, pointing his gun. "You're still gonna pay for your crimes!"

Cody was no longer ashamed of himself. "YOU back off," he snarled, Armadillomon and Gomamon running up beside him. "I took care of Megaseadramon; I can teach you a thing or two."

There were whispers among the Resistance members, some amazed, others puzzled. Davis saw an opportunity. "That's right!" he declared. "Cody here stopped Megaseadramon! He saved your city!"

"Saved?" a Gazimon snarled, motioning at the destruction. "You call this 'saved?'"

"And how many lives?" Gargomon retorted, looking furious. "Twenty-five of my men killed or eaten! Twenty-five! And if YOU hadn't come here in the first place, Megaseadramon wouldn't have come! They would still be alive now!"

Angry tears were in Gargomon's eyes. Cody's glare softened. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Perhaps if we had been faster..."

"Shut it, waterbag!" Gargomon yelled, seizing Davis and putting his gun to his head. "This is it for all of you!"

The tension was as thick as butter. Cody fingered his D3, but could he react fast enough? Davis's eye twitched wildly as he stared at the black barrels. Escaping from suffocating only to get blasted? Fate had a sick sense of humor.

Just then, though, one of the Gotsumon looked up at Gargomon. "Gargomon," he said, "he did save us..."

Gargomon paused, then leered at him. "What?" he snarled.

"If what that kid said is true, and he stopped Megaseadramon..." the Gotsumon continued, "then he did us a favor... We weren't doing so well against Megaseadramon. Casualties woulda been a lot worse if the fight went on longer."

"You have to believe us this time, Gargomon," Kari said quietly, the bruise from before still visible. "We're not here to hurt you."

Gargomon looked at his men, then at Kari, then at Cody, his brow furrowing in thought. Finally, he lowered his gun and pushed Davis away. "Get out," he growled.

A sigh of relief came from the Digidestined. "Thank you," Kari said, smiling at him.

Gargomon wasn't smiling. "Next time, no mercy," he said, pointing at her. "You'd better hope we never meet again. Now beat it, before I change my mind!"

Untying their ropes as they went, the kids and their Digimon started out of Somber Harbor. "Man, what a grouch!" Veemon huffed.

"I suppose I understand him..." Gatomon admitted. "If some outsiders were wrecking your home, you'd want to fight back too."

"I just hope that someday, he understands we want the same thing," TK sighed.

"Well, we owe a lot of it to Cody," Joe said, turning to his young friend. "You earned that DigiEgg royally."

Cody started to respond, but suddenly he fell to the pavement and didn't get up. "Wha? Cody!" Yolei yelled, running over and shaking him. Armadillomon collapsed in a similar fashion.

Joe quickly put his fingers to Cody's neck. "There's a pulse, but it's really slow..." he said. "I think it's extreme fatigue." He grabbed Cody's arms and hoisted him up onto his back. "Let's take him home," he concluded.

They started on the trek to the portal again, with Yolei carrying Armadillomon and Davis supporting Cody. "Man, I tell ya," Davis cackled, "that Submarimon was freakin' awesome! Can't wait to see that sucker again."

"I'm just glad Cody got us out," Yolei replied. "We all owe him big time."

Joe glanced back at the little boy on his back and smiled. If these new Digidestined all had the kind of spirit that Cody did, then the Digital World was in good hands.

TK and Kari brought up the rear wearing worried glances. First Davis had collapsed, and then Yolei, and now Cody! What was going on?

* * *

Wormmon shuddered as the monitor replayed Submarimon's victory against Megaseadramon. The Digimon Emperor sat in his throne, not even watching. His eyes were glued to the letter he had received.

"M... master?" Wormmon tried. "The... children have escaped..."

"Is that so..." the Emperor mumbled, not looking up.

Wormmon certainly was surprised. Usually, his master would curse and throw things and then whip a few of his slaves to cool off. This silence was... frightening. "You're... not mad?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," the Emperor replied, turning from the letter, a twisted, triumphant sneer on his lips. "I've got a new project to begin."

He moved to another monitor and pushed several buttons. To Wormmon's surprise, there appeared a list of all of the Digimon that they had information on. "Master, what are you planning?" he asked quietly.

The Emperor smirked as he stared up at the list. "It's none of your business," he replied.


	14. Odaiba Memorial

**CHAPTER 14**

**ODAIBA MEMORIAL**

The majority of Japan was in the bliss of sleep at two o'clock in the morning, but in some professions, the workday wasn't even close to finished. The lights never went out at the Odaiba TV station, producer of fantastically adequate television programming. Two in the morning meant nothing to them; their work only ended when their task was done.

Deep in the bowels of the station's spherical hub, two 30-somethings hunched over a computer in a room full of recording equipment. "Ohh, this is gonna be so awesome!" one of them laughed, beaming at his associate. "My first TV show directing job!" He pulled at his red bandanna proudly as his eyes twinkled behind his glasses.

The other, a lanky, unshaven fellow with a blue baseball cap, rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Charlie," he grunted, rewinding the footage and starting it again.

Charlie pulled back in his swivel chair and spun around with zeal. He had worked in this studio since he was 24, but had never been assigned a role like this. He'd had his doubts about working in TV before he came there, but after all the freaky stuff that had happened in town five years ago, his gusto to produce fantastic material had been renewed. Now was his time to shine! "When Parakeets Attack" would be his world debut!

His editor didn't share his vigor; he just stared at the screen, frowning. "Did the cameraman clean his stuff before he shot this?" he asked.

Charlie stopped his swirl and raced back. "What?" he asked. "Whaddya mean?"

The editor pointed at the monitor, and he swallowed hard. A black, shaky form with white eyes was fading in and out of his beautiful footage. "What IS that?" he yelled.

The editor was unnerved as well. Something about that shadow wasn't natural... so what was it?

* * *

A brilliant flash of light, and the empty computer lab was once again occupied by the Digidestined and their Digimon. "Whoo!" Davis cackled as he stuffed his D3 back in his pocket, "chalk up another one for the good guys! Flamedramon kicked major ass today!"

Demiveemon hopped up and down in agreement, but then his stomach grumbled. "Ooh... Davis, it's snack time!" he voiced.

Kari giggled. "Is food all you ever think about?" she asked.

"Well, after how tough it was to liberate that area," TK pointed out. "Maybe we should get something to eat."

Yolei grinned widely. "How 'bout pizza?" she suggested. "I hear there's a swanky new joint by the wharf that whips up a mean pepperoni!"

"Sounds good to me," Davis agreed. "And then we can come back tomorrow and knock down some more uglies!"

"That isn't true," Cody said, frowning. It had been a few days since they had gone to Somber Harbor, and plenty of rest had turned him back into his stiff, logical self. "Tomorrow is the start of the elementary computer club."

Kari looked at him, surprised. "What?" she asked.

"For the next three weeks, elementary school students will be in here after school every day," Cody elaborated, looking grave. "We won't be able to get in."

The good mood dissipated as everyone took this in. They couldn't get into the lab for three weeks? The Digimon Emperor could take back every area they had freed in that time, and more! "What the hell're we gonna do?" Yolei half-shrieked.

TK didn't seem as worried as the others. "I'm sure we can think of something," he said. "There's more than one way to get into the Digital World. Tomorrow, we can..." He stopped for a moment, then looked surprised. "Oh! I completely forgot! We can't go to the Digital World tomorrow; we have other plans after school."

Patamon scratched his head with his ear. "'We?'" he asked.

Kari beamed. "Yeah, we do, don't we?" she replied, walking over to TK. "Did you want to meet at my place, or yours?"

Davis's jaw could have hit the floor, along with his innards. "WHAAAA?" he yelled loudly.

Everyone turned and stared at him, and he got quieter. "D... D'ya mean you're goin' on a date?" he mumbled nervously, playing with his fingers.

Kari blushed and giggled, embarrassed. "No, no!" she said.

"We're just meeting our friends and taking a walk around town," TK added, rubbing at his red cheeks. "There're some things we want to check out. Social day, you know."

"Why don't you come with us?" Kari asked. "It'd be more fun."

Davis exhaled, but he was still freaked at the prospect of TK snatching Kari up before he even got a chance. "I... You promise it ain't a date?" he asked.

"They wouldn't have invited all of us if it was," Cody pointed out dryly.

"Then sure, I'll come!" Davis said, grinning. "Whatever you're doin', I'm up for seein' it!"

"Great," TK agreed, "then we'll all meet at Odaiba park after school, OK?"

Kari glanced at the clock and yawned. "Ooh... I guess we should head home," she said. "I'm worn out..."

Kari and TK left the school first, followed by the rest. As they came out the door, Yolei shot Davis a wicked look. "It IS a date, you know," she jeered.

Davis snarled at her. "They said it wasn't!" he snapped.

"They could be lying, you know," she cackled, jabbing him in the ribs with her finger. "I bet they invited us along so we could all watch you taste _ultimate phail_!"

Cody watched as the two of them tumbled, grappling and swearing, down the hill and into the pond. "...Kids," he muttered, and walked off.

* * *

Wednesday afternoon found the five friends sitting on benches in the riverside Odaiba park. The grass was browning, and the trees were sporting their beautiful fall attire. Across a little inlet of water, there was a large, steel building with a giant sphere built into its blocky form. "What's that place?" Davis asked.

"That's the local TV station," Cody replied, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. It wasn't very cold, but it was enough to stiffen his fingertips.

"Yeah, my Dad works there," TK said, glancing at it. Five years ago, a horrible Digimon battle had ravaged the whole area they stood in, but now it didn't look like anything had happened. People sure recovered quickly.

Kari seemed to know what he was thinking. "Sure doesn't seem like five years, does it?" she asked.

"Is that why we're out here, then?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow. "You guys've had a nostalgia attack?"

"In 7th grade? That's kinda unhealthy, don't you think?" Yolei suggested.

Cody leered at them, then turned back to TK and Kari. "You mention your first adventure so often," he remarked. "Perhaps now would be a good time to tell us what happened?"

TK smiled at the boy. That was a very good idea; it could help the newcomers understand their roles as Digidestined. "OK," he said. "Kari, why don't you start?"

Kari scratched her head. "Um, I wasn't there at the start," she replied.

He thought for a second, then laughed. He had forgotten Kari hadn't been with them at first; she had caught a cold and had to stay home from camp, so the first half of the adventure, there had only been seven of them. "That's right!" he recalled. "OK, then, I'LL start... Well, the seven of us- Matt, Tai, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, and myself- we were having a typical summer camp day up in the mountains, when it started to snow... When that stopped, we had all ended up at the shrine near the campsite... and that's where we got our Digivices."

Davis scratched his head. "There was a computer at a shrine?" he asked.

"No, we got ours in a different way," TK said, pointing upwards. "They all... fell out of the sky like rainbow-colored meteorites."

"The sky?" Yolei exclaimed. "That's just freaky!"

"If you think THAT was freaky," TK went on, "as soon as we had picked up the Digivices, we were sucked up into a huge, bluish-green tunnel, like two waterfalls converging on the same spot. The next thing we knew, we were sitting in a wacky jungle, with these weird little critters standing over us!"

"Hey, come on," Patamon objected from his lap, "YOU guys looked pretty weird to US, you know!"

Yolei chuckled. "I can see that," she said. "Hopping along, minding your own business, and then down comes these big, heavy things... with arms and legs! The horror!"

"So after we had regrouped," TK went on, "wouldn't you know it, but we got attacked by a big, red Kuwagamon clear out of the blue! It chased us all to the edge of a high cliff, and just when we thought we were done for-"

He was interrupted by a yell from nearby. Everyone turned and grinned. Tai, Sora, Matt, Joe and Izzy were all coming towards them. "Don't tell me you started without us!" Tai called, smiling.

"'Sup, coach?" Davis asked, getting up.

"TK and Kari were filling us in on what happened before," Cody reported.

"Oh, really?" Tai replied. "Well, I sure hope he hasn't left anything out... like the rest of us."

TK flushed. "Since when have I ever bragged?" he protested.

"Remember that 'Tall Tales' contest from two years ago?" Matt pointed out. "You won."

TK was about to object, but Kari broke in. "How about all of us tell them?" she suggested. "That way, nobody gets to embellish."

"That seems the most efficient way," Izzy agreed. "I'll go along with that."

Yolei glanced at the older kids and frowned; someone was missing. "No Mimi again?" she asked.

Joe glanced down at the grass. Sora sighed. "Some 'cheerleader emergency' that is far more important, she said," she answered.

"Well, her loss," Tai replied with a shrug. "So, where did TK leave off? Did you get to the Black Gears yet?"

Davis raised an eyebrow. "The what now?" he asked.

Tai laughed. "Guess not..." he said. "OK, then, let's keep it going..."

They found a place under a shady tree, and for the next hour the older kids took turns telling the younger ones about their adventures in the Digital World: Tai regaled them with the story of Devimon and how he broke up an entire island; Izzy explained the Black Gears and how they had learned to destroy them; Joe told them of their queasy trip across the sea to the Server Continent, and the musical misfit Etemon; Matt summarized the hunt for their seven Crests; and Sora talked about when Tai vanished and the party was divided, then reunited. Davis, Cody and Yolei sat there, absorbing each story like a grad student absorbs a work of classic literature.

"Daaaamn..." Davis finally said, leaning back on his hands, "that musta been one wild ride!"

"I thought you guys were good, but geez!" Yolei squealed. "I'm sitting with actual heroes! Yowza!"

Cody was truly impressed, but he wasn't ready to pass judgment yet. "So, what happened after you regrouped?" he asked.

"We learned from Gennai that there was an eighth Digidestined," TK said. "The only problem was that Myotismon knew about it, too... and to keep himself from being defeated by that eighth child, he launched a preemptive attack on the real world. He brought a battalion of high-level Digimon to Japan and assaulted this whole town."

Davis's eyes widened. "Is THAT what that was all about?" he yelled all of a sudden.

Everyone looked at him, surprised. "You were here?" Sora asked.

"Hey, I wasn't born yesterday..." he replied. "I was 8 years old when our house was broken into and we were dragged to the convention center by a bunch of ghost-looking guys... and then I saw some big guy in a cape with fangs looking over the other kids! Then some kinda fog rolled in and I don't remember much after that..."

"That was Myotismon," Joe said. "How about that, Davis? You've seen Digimon before."

Davis scratched his head. "I thought it was some kinda promotion for the newest Frankenstein movie."

Cody shook his head. "You mean Dracula," he corrected him.

"Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Who cares?" Davis rebuked, shrugging impatiently. "At THAT age, any one of 'em makes ya piss yerself!"

Yolei sighed. "Thanks for sharing..." she muttered.

Izzy scratched his chin. "So, Davis was here when Myotismon took over..." he murmured. Could that have been a reason why he had received a Digivice? If so, why hadn't all of those kids received them? More evidence was needed. "Cody, Yolei, where were you that summer?" he asked.

Cody shrugged. "I don't remember anything about that..." he admitted, "but my grandfather told me about something that had happened when I was three. We were on an airplane coming back from somewhere, but suddenly it just dropped out of the sky... and then its descent was slowed. He said we had to evacuate into life rafts on the river, but he noticed that the plane's wing had been mangled... crystallized somehow. He also swears to this day that he saw a giant bird and a giant beetle flying away into the night."

"Oh!" Sora exclaimed. "The airplane! That was the airplane that Garudamon and Kabuterimon rescued!"

Izzy nodded, his mind turning. If Cody couldn't even remember the event himself, how did he become a Digidestined? Was there another factor? Maybe Yolei's story would shed light on that.

"Our whole family went on vacation to America for the whole summer," Yolei said. "I didn't notice anything, really... though I did notice a lot of construction crews around when I came home for school... Davis told me that something crazy had happened, but I didn't believe him; 'just another earthquake,' my parents said."

"So nothing weird happened to you that summer?" Tai asked.

"Not during that summer... but something weird DID happen to me in the spring!" she continued, her eyes lighting up. "I was playing around on my brand new computer when I suddenly got a message from someone; they said to send e-mails to this certain address over and over. I didn't know what 'spam' was at the time, so I did it. I don't know if that explains much, but I always remember the address began with the name 'diaboro...'"

Izzy blinked. So Yolei hadn't had a role in Myotismon's attack on Japan, but she had assisted in the downfall of the mysterious Diaboromon the following spring? Though it was a helpful thing to know, it didn't make sense, either. Why would Yolei receive a Digivice when thousands of other kids didn't, even when they also sent e-mails?

"Wow. Freaky," Davis said. "We've been caught up in this all this time, and we didn't even know it!"

"I don't know about that, but I'm up for some more stories," Yolei said, turning to the older kids again. "So, what happened after you staked Myotismon?"

As Tai began talking about the Dark Masters, Matt fell into a contemplative brood. Not one of the new kids' stories sounded like a decent reason to become a Digidestined. Why had such undeserving people been given such an honor?

* * *

"And there it is AGAIN!" the editor snapped as the mysterious shadow zipped from left to right across his monitor. With baited breath, he rewound the footage and replayed it. The shadow appeared again, but this time jumped from the bottom of the screen to the top of it. "I've watched this stupid tape fifty damn times, and every time, it moves differently!"

Charlie groaned loudly and mashed his face in with his hands. The first time he had a chance at directing, and this had to happen! Did life have it in for him, or what? "Am I cursed?" he asked aloud.

Just then, the door flew open. "You guys!" another editor cried, "have you seen it? It's everywhere!"

"What?" Charlie asked. "What is?"

The three tekkies raced down the hall into the main monitor room. To Charlie's horror, every screen in the room had that black blotch on it, all obscuring each show, and all in different positions. "We're getting tons of complaints from viewers," the newcomer said. "This shadow's on every channel we broadcast!"

Charlie gave a half shriek. "What could be doing this?" he demanded.

The editor looked at him gravely. "The whole station, black shadows on the monitors..." he muttered. "A ghost."

Charlie's mouth dropped. He knew his friend had some superstitions, but this was taking the cake. "How the hell am I supposed to tell the boss that our systems're falling apart because of a ghost?" he wailed. "He'll can me for sure!"

The editor shrugged, then returned to staring at the swirling shadow. Charlie sagged in all parts of his body. Why hadn't he listened to his mother and gone to accounting school?

* * *

A boat drifted lazily on the river as the sun set on Odaiba, its deck awash in lanterns, a sign that it was time to part. The kids all stood on the riverbank watching it, the young ones taking in the stories they had been told.

"You guys sure got plenty on yer plates... Vampire puppets, metal singers and water clowns! Yeesh!" Davis remarked; he had heard so many stories that he couldn't keep them straight.

Cody sighed. "I don't know if we can live up to such expectations," he admitted, looking at Upamon.

"No kidding!" Yolei agreed. "Sure, we knock down spires and break rings, but the Dark Masters are a tough act to follow!"

Matt, his arms folded, kept a smile from his lips. Maybe now these children were realizing how deep the trouble was that they were in.

That hope died when Davis made a defiant fist. "Don't worry 'bout it!" he declared. "I can take care of anything! We'll make our own awesome adventure, and if any crazy Digimon try to stop us, we'll kick their asses!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Demiveemon agreed, bouncing up and down.

Yolei and Cody exchanged worried looks. Despite Davis's enthusiasm, they couldn't help but wonder what fate had in store for them. If they had to go up against something like their mentors had described...

Sora noticed their looks and smiled. "Don't worry about it too much," she said. "I know you'll all do your best."

"Yeah! Just follow Davis!" Joe laughed, slapping the plucky youngster's back.

Caught off guard, Davis tumbled down the hill and almost went off the high wall into the river. "Dammit, Joe!" he roared, scrambling back up.

Everyone laughed. Yolei wondered if knocking Davis down hills was going to become a national sport.

Matt turned from the group. "I'm going home," he stated, and started off.

"Oh, right!" TK exclaimed, running after him. He had almost forgotten that he was spending the night at Matt's; his mother was away on a business trip, which made this get-together even better for him. "See you guys tomorrow!"

"I should go, too," Joe agreed. "I have to take that makeup test tomorrow, but I'll meet up with you guys when it's done." With that, he turned and dashed away.

"Meet up?" Yolei asked. "What's going on tomorrow?"

"Part 2, we'll call it," Sora said. "Yolei, I'll meet you after class, and we can have a little girls-only time."

Yolei beamed. She liked the sound of that.

"Cody, I'd like you to come to Tai's apartment after your classes," Izzy said to the little boy. "I have some tests to run, and your assistance would be appreciated."

Cody didn't see how he could help Izzy- that was usually Yolei's job- but he nodded in agreement nonetheless.

Davis fumed; it seemed like Yolei and Cody always got the attention of the older kids. "Hey, what about me?" he demanded.

Tai smiled. "Why don't you come, too?" he offered. "We could use some more help."

"Right, then," Izzy summarized. "Until after school." He turned and left. Sora, Yolei, Tai and Kari also departed.

Cody shook his head. "Must you always complain?" he asked Davis.

"Aww, shuddup," Davis retorted. After hearing those stories, whatever Izzy's "tests" were, he wanted to be in on them... and he couldn't pass up a chance to be around Kari when TK wasn't.

* * *

The familiar number 202 and the name "Ishida" beneath it were the only things that told TK that he stood in his old home. It was uncomfortably warm in the small apartment, with an odor similar to that of Yolei's, minus the cheap strawberry perfume. Clothes were littered on the floor and draped across chairs, and a fine layer of dust lay on the tops of the TV and the radio. "Woah..." he said, at a loss for words. "It's, uh... It's..."

Patamon grabbed his wings and pressed them over his face. "It stinks!" he complained.

Matt didn't seem to mind; he just kicked off his shoes and tossed his jacket on a chair. "Two men live here," he explained. "What'd you expect?"

"Too much, I guess..." TK said, picking up a gray shirt and biting his lip; it stunk of mildew. Patamon greened slightly.

Matt snatched it away. "Dad's always busy at his job, and I'm either at school or with my band," he snapped. "We don't have time to be maids!"

"OK, OK, sorry," TK said, putting Patamon down. The little pig immediately rushed to the window and forced it open.

Matt hesitated, then sighed. "Sorry," he apologized. "This place does have a distinct scent, doesn't it... I can't remember the last time we cleaned... or used air freshener. Mom would flip if she saw how we lived."

TK smiled. Matt had a gruff exterior to most everybody, but it always softened around him; he hoped that Matt would be able to show that to his new friends someday. "Yeah..." he agreed, "she always cracks the whip on me."

"Anyway, enough of that. Let's have some dinner..." Matt said, walking to the fridge and opening it. Another wave of vile stenches made them both reel. Matt quickly snatched the expired items and pitched them into the garbage. "That'll teach us to save takeout," he grumbled.

"Err... How often do you guys eat out?" TK asked, recovering his balance. From their first adventure, he knew that Matt was the best cook in the group, and it seemed unnatural for him to be without ingredients.

Matt's eyes fell on a few bottles in the back, and he turned a wicked grin on his little brother. "I have an idea..." he said.

Five minutes later, TK almost had a heart attack at his first bite of the hellish gunk Matt had prepared. He grabbed his glass of water and gulped the whole thing in record time, then refilled it and chugged it again. "Agh!" he exclaimed, feeling how red his face had become. "What was IN that?"

"New recipe I've been working on," Matt said, the smirk still on his face. "Some tobasco, some wasabi, a few red peppers... and a piece of mystery meat that had green fuzz on it."

Patamon sniffed at what was left and doubled over, stunned. TK sighed. "Why didn't we just order a pizza?..." he asked.

"You don't visit often," Matt replied, still grinning. "I wanted to do something special."

TK couldn't stand the muck, but it was nice to see his brother smiling again. "It's the thought that counts, I guess," he sighed.

Matt cackled. "Well, joke's over," he said. "After band practice, I'll take you to a nice greasy spoon place. They make a good burger, so..."

Just then, the door clicked open, so Patamon zipped into Matt's room. Hiroaki Ishida, the boys' father, staggered in. He looked far more haggard and worn out than TK remembered. Though his hair was still a rich brown, there were bags beneath his eyes and a severe case of five-o-clock shadow on his chin. His shoulders and limbs sagged, like a puppet with frayed strings. "Hi, Dad!" TK said, trying to keep things positive.

"Oh... Hi, TK. Hi, Matt," Hiroaki muttered, hanging his jacket on a chair and plopping down with a sigh. "Sorry I'm late; hope you've been having a nice time..."

TK smiled sympathetically at his estranged father. "Tough day at work?" he asked.

"It's ALWAYS tough..." Hiroaki mumbled, "but the past few days've been just brutal..."

"What's the matter?" TK asked.

Matt smirked. "Myotismon destroyed the station again, didn't he..." he suggested.

Hiroaki sighed. "I _wish_ that was the problem... At least then I'd have an explanation for this stuff!"

TK and Matt both grew serious as he sighed and ruffled his hair. "All of my staff have been seeing weird things... Hell, even I'VE seen weird things! Half of them are threatening to quit, it's been so creepy!"

"Weird things?" TK asked, frowning. His dad was always truthful, but sometimes it took him a while to get to the main point.

"Well..." Hiroaki said, rising from his chair and shuffling across the floor. "Say I'm walking down the hall, and I hear footsteps behind me... and then something moves in the corner of my eye... but when I turn around," he whirled around to illustrate his story, "nothing."

"Maybe it's someone playing pranks," Matt suggested.

"Well, it's a pretty big prank," Hiroaki scoffed, walking to the TV and turning it on, "if they can pull THIS off."

TK and Matt saw a black, wavy shadow on the screen, obscuring the bright yellow kanji that said 'technical difficulties; pleas stand by.' "This thing is on every screen in the building, and it's bleeding onto the airwaves," Hiroaki growled. "The phones are ringing off the hook with angry viewers."

Matt shrugged. "Maybe it's the equipment," he said. "How old is it?"

"It's as new as the station!" Hiroaki argued. "We got all of it last year when we finished rebuilding!" He shrugged and glowered at the screen. "My tax dollars at work..."

TK stared at the shadow, scratching his chin. Something about it seemed familiar.

"In spite of everything I've learned, I've reached one conclusion..." Hiroaki said, giving them a grave look. "The station is haunted."

Matt scoffed. "There're no such things as ghosts," he said. "You're just tired."

TK wondered about it. The TV station had been leveled by Venommyotismon and then rebuilt in five short years. Could a building so new be haunted? And if so, by whom?

"Yeah, maybe it could be fatigue..." Hiroaki agreed with Matt, producing a CD player with ear buds. "That's why I got one of these relaxation tapes. They play natural sounds to help ease your stress..."

"So what did you get?" TK asked.

"It's a half-hour recording of migrating buffalo," Hiroaki replied. "It was in the discount bin."

TK blinked a few times. "...No kidding," Matt said dryly.

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything," Hiroaki defended himself, popping the ear buds into his ears. "I'm just a happy little buffalo..."

Matt had heard enough. "This is ridiculous..." he muttered, getting up and grabbing his jacket. "I'm going to band practice."

TK smiled at his father. "Don't worry about him, Dad," he said, "he's just not a happy little buffalo." With that, he grabbed his jacket and headed for Matt's room to collect Patamon.

Alone in the house, Hiroaki again slumped into his chair, eying what was left of Matt's meal. His stomach growled voraciously, and he didn't blame it; he had skipped both breakfast and lunch dealing with this "haunting." Certain the boys wouldn't mind if he finished it, he grabbed a spoon and swallowed a big bite.

The wheezy, burning scream rocked the whole building.

* * *

"OK... This is the moment of truth..." the editor rasped. Charlie and he had been working on the new program nonstop for the past 48 hours, trying to rid it of that jumping, swirling shadow. They had cut, pasted, trimmed, reformatted and repaired with every trick their computers could give them, but nothing had worked. This was the very last set of changes they could make without repeating themselves. If this didn't work...

The editor pushed "play" and they both crossed their fingers. "When Parakeets Attack" played just as it should have... until the shadow leaped across the screen in the exact same place. Frustrated shrieks burst from their throats. "What the hell?" was all the editor could say.

"Ohhh, this is the end for me!" Charlie wailed, scrunching his kerchief into his hand. The show was supposed to air the next day, and he was at the end of his rope. "I'll be forever known as 'the Haunted Director!'" he bellowed.

The door opened and in walked a large, bespectacled man with thick lips, a boom box in his hands. "How's it coming?" he asked cheerfully.

Charlie fumed. Jeremiah, their sound expert, had always been pretty slow. "How's it coming?" he snapped, stamping on the tiles. "How's it...? N'gahhh!"

"Woah... Sounds like you need to relax," Jeremiah said, putting the boom box on the table. "I brought a relaxation CD."

"Trust me, that ain't gonna help," the editor mumbled, his face in his hands.

"You never know until you try," Jeremiah replied. "Let me play it; see what you think."

He turned on the boom box, but no sound came out. They waited ten, twenty seconds, but still there was silence. "...So, where is it?" Charlie asked, getting even more impatient.

Baffled, Jeremiah tapped on the speakers. "I just changed the batteries..." he reasoned. "Why isn't it..."

Suddenly, a sound did start up, but it certainly wasn't relaxing. A hollow, whispering voice filled the room, uttering strange half-words. "Ga... ga... ga... to..." it mumbled.

"Ugh," the editor winced. "That isn't relaxing at all! Shut it off!"

"That's not the tape..." Jeremiah said, suddenly looking scared. He turned off his boom box, but the noise continued. "Ga... to... ga... ga... mo..." it went on, seemingly getting louder.

Each of them shot wild looks at the others. "It's the ghost!" the editor yelled. They all flew into a panic, shrieking and racing around the room, knocking things over and crashing into each other.

That was enough to make the director burst in. "HEY!" Hiroaki Ishida yelled at his workers, "calm down! What's wrong with you...?"

His angry words vanished as he saw the shadow on the screen and heard the voice, and he had to bite his lip to keep from panicking himself. What the hell was happening to his TV station?

* * *

With school again done for the day, Yolei met up with Sora and they headed across the river, into downtown Tokyo. "So, what did you mean by 'part 2' yesterday?" she asked the soccer coach as they arrived on the market plaza.

"Just thought you'd like to see some more about our adventure," Sora replied, pointing. "Look up ahead."

Yolei looked where she was pointing and found herself looking at the shining, metallic Tokyo Tower. It almost looked like a red version of the Eiffel Tower, except that there was a storefront at its peak. "Did you fight here?" she asked.

"Yep," Sora replied. "This is where Mimi and I were cornered by Skullmeramon, one of Myotismon's goons. He melted part the tower, and he would've roasted us too if Tai and Izzy hadn't shown up. Metalgreymon, Kabuterimon, Birdramon and Togemon all worked together to bring him down."

Poromon wheezed from his place in Yolei's death grip. Sora looked at him, then at her. "You should take good care of your Digimon; you'll need him some day," she remarked.

"Yes," Poromon choked, "so can you not crush my lungs today?"

Yolei coughed and decided to change the subject. "So, Mimi helped?" she asked. "What was she like back then?"

Sora sighed and stared up at the tower. "She wasn't like she is nowadays," she said. "She was full of kindness, and she thought about other people. She was one of my best friends..." She shook her head. "After we came back from the Digital World, she got more and more distant... I don't know what happened."

Yolei looked at Sora, then back up at the tower. Though Mimi was generally a pain in the butt, she had seen a different side to her when Palmon was involved. Maybe the Mimi that Sora remembered wasn't gone for good. "Maybe I could figure it out," she suggested.

Sora looked at her strangely. "What?" she asked.

"I bet I can get her to spill," Yolei pressed, grinning. "I love a challenge!"

"I don't know..." Sora replied. "You really shouldn't get involved in other people's business..."

"C'mon, Sora!" Yolei protested. "I have the DigiEgg of Purity! That's like saying it's my DUTY to figure out what's eating her!"

Sora thought for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. Yolei had as much moxie as she did odor. "Well, you don't really need my permission..." she pointed out, "but please, be tactful."

Yolei beamed. "'Tact' is my middle name!" she declared. "OK, what's next?"

"We're meeting the others at the TV station at four o'clock, but first I was going to do some shopping," Sora said. "Christmas is coming up, and I saw something Tai might like. C'mon."

As impressed as she was by Sora's thinking ahead, she was even more intrigued by who she had mentioned. "So, you and Tai're pretty friendly, huh?" she asked as they started walking.

Sora nodded. "We've been friends for as long as I can remember," she explained. "We met in preschool, then we went to the same elementary, and then we played on the same soccer team... and then we both went to the Digital World. All the way through, we watched each other's backs." She glanced at Yolei. "Hopefully you'll make a bond as tight as that with Davis and Cody and the others..."

She noticed that Yolei was beaming at her craftily. "...What?" she asked.

"Heh heh," Yolei laughed. "Childhood friends, combat compadr_s and now rival soccer coaches, each showin' off your skills for the other one! If that doesn't scream 'romance,' I don't know what does!"

Sora went beet red and crossly bopped Yolei in the shoulder. "Get your mind out of the gutter!" she snapped.

Yolei would not. "Hey, my brother's got a doujin that starts out just like this," she said. "Wanna know how it ends?"

"NO," Sora refuted.

* * *

"Oh... finally," Joe sighed, staggering out of the college doors. After a lot of last-minute studying and two extra hours, he had managed to make up the exam from which Cody had pulled him... and not a moment too soon. His watch told him he had precisely one hour to rondezvous at the TV station with his friends, and it was a long walk.

With a fast pace, he started down the sidewalk and turned a corner... and crashed into something soft that cried out. He suddenly found Mimi Tachikawa glaring at him, four other cheerleaders behind her. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" she snapped.

Instantly Joe went red. "Oh... Sorry, Mimi," he apologized, bowing profusely.

"Hey! Do you know him, Mimi?" one of the cheerleaders asked.

Mimi panicked. "What? No! No! Hang on a second..." She grabbed Joe by the arm and led him around the corner, where she got even angrier. "What are you doing?" she snarled. "Don't act like you know me in front of them!"

Joe was a bit hurt; he didn't understand why he had to pretend not to know her just because she was with her cheerleader friends... but if that's what she wanted, he wouldn't contest it. He was about to turn and go a different way when he had an idea; maybe she would like to come to the station with him? After all, she had been part of saving the city from Myotismon. "Mimi, the others are meeting at the TV station," he said. "Would you like to come along?"

The reaction that followed wasn't the one he wanted. Her face went pale for a moment, then back to magma red. "Are you crazy?" she yelled, drawing the attention of her friends.

Joe stammered, terrified. "I... I was just wondering..." he tried to defend himself.

"Get this through your nerdy head," she huffed, jabbing his ribs with her finger. "I wouldn't be caught dead with any of those freaks, especially YOU!" She whirled around and strutted off, her posse on her heels.

Joe had to remember to breathe. She might as well have slugged him in the stomach. With a quiet sigh of resignation, he took a different sidewalk.

* * *

"C'mon, TK, hurry it up!" Patamon insisted, poking at his partner's grip. "I hear that ice cream calling my name!"

TK didn't answer him. He was staring into a store window. Matt and he had gone for a walk downtown, and once again he was awash in memories. One night back then, Patamon had gone missing, and Matt, Gabumon and he had gone looking for him only to meet two of Myotismon's goons, Pumpkinmon and a Gotsumon. The two of them weren't really bad, though; they only wanted to play. Unfortunately, Myotismon had found them in the midst of their frolic and vaporized them right in front of the boys. This store was where those goofy Digimon had become ugly mannequins, trying on all sorts of silly clothes.

Matt noticed his brother's attentions and walked up beside him. "It was a real shame," he said. "I wish we could have saved them."

TK sighed. "Yeah..." he admitted.

"Oh..." Patamon said, and quieted. He hadn't been around to meet the two happy-go-lucky Digimon, but he knew that they'd had an impact on the brothers.

Matt stared at the storefront, his eyes hard. "I don't think the new ones can stop the Emperor," he said suddenly.

TK looked at him. He knew Matt didn't have the confidence in his new friends that Tai had, but that was a harsh thing to say. "Come on, Matt," he urged, "We don't work the way we used to- we can't with all those spires- but Davis, Yolei and Cody's hearts are in the right place."

"That's hardly enough," Matt retorted, glaring at TK. "They don't understand what it means to be Digidestined."

"Matt, they're trying their best," TK replied.

"Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon are great Digimon!" Patamon chimed in. "They can take the Emperor!"

"Who's side are you on? You're supposed to be watching them!" Matt snarled, suddenly getting angry. "If they don't grow up, more Digimon are going to die! I swear, if I had Gabumon, we'd..."

TK blinked in confusion as Matt's sentence died and he turned away. His clenched fists loosened, and his shoulders sagged. "...I'm sorry," he apologized.

TK looked sadly at him. Though he didn't show it, Matt was not taking Gabumon's enslavement well. He slapped his older brother on the back. "We'll get him back," he said, smiling. "We got the others back, after all."

Matt scowled at him; he wasn't convinced. "Just remember," he warned, "before it was that," he pointed to the D3 on TK's belt buckle, "it was one of these." He pointed to his own Digivice. With that, he strode off.

"Man..." Patamon said, his ears sagging, "he's talking like there's gonna be a Digidestined civil war!"

TK watched his brother for a moment, then ran to catch up with him. Why did Matt dislike the new Digidestined so much?

* * *

"Mom won't be home for a while; she's at her exotic cooking class," Tai reported, returning to Kari's room. "Whatever you're going to say, now's the time to say it."

Izzy, Cody, Upamon, Davis, Demiveemon, Kari and Gatomon all sighed with relief; the meeting could begin. "All right, then," Izzy said, getting up from the floor, "I asked you all to come because I want to test a theory."

"What's 'atheory,' an' why're we gettin' tested on it?" Demiveemon asked. "Is it spelling? I'm bad at spelling!"

"Shut it, DV," Davis muttered. "A theory's an experiment."

Demiveemon stamped on Kari's bed. "Why do you always answer my questions with another thing I don't get?" he snapped.

"Izzy wants to try doing something because he thinks it could help us," Cody said, frowning at Davis's partner. "Now hush."

"It concerns the Digital Gate," Izzy said, starting to pace. "Since the elementary kids will be in the lab after school, we can't get to that terminal..."

"Yeah, we know that!" Upamon objected. "It's like the vacuum Cody's mom uses; it sucks!"

"Language," Cody warned him. He made a mental note to keep Upamon from hanging around Davis.

"But he's right; it does indeed suck," Izzy pointed out. "Now, I've been analyzing the D3 data ever since Yolei loaned me hers, and I have a hypothesis..."

Now Davis was confused. "Who cares?" he asked. "There're triangles everywhere!"

Deciding to ignore that one, Izzy went on. "I think that we can use the D3 to get into the Digital World from ANY computer; not just the school one," he stated. "After all, it's quite a sophisticated piece of equipment... and what's special about that particular terminal?"

"Well, that computer's the only one that has the Digital Gate program on it," Kari pointed out.

"That's always confused me," Tai broke in. "Why does only that one have the program? Who put it there?"

"It could have been Gennai, I suppose," Izzy suggested, "or another member of The Order... but that's a topic for later."

"Wait, wait, what? Gennai? 'Order?'" Davis asked. "What's that all about? C'mon, clue us in!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Demiveemon agreed.

"We don't know how long we have until Mom gets home," Kari cautioned. "I think we should do Izzy's experiment; we can talk about the rest later."

Davis grumbled and folded his arms, but quieted. He hated being out of the loop.

"Anyway, I did take the program into consideration," Izzy said, producing a small, green, plastic box from his pocket. "That's why I downloaded a copy of it onto this flash drive after Yolei showed me how to hack the school security."

Cody scratched his chin, smiling wryly. "So, who's the master and who's the apprentice?..." he mused.

"Is that it? Copy and paste?" Tai asked, stunned; why hadn't he thought of that?

"I've had this idea for a while, but I never could get enough proof that the computer matters," Izzy said, holding the flash drive between his fingers like a precious stone. "Now that the lab is occupied, we have to try... before Ken can do any serious damage."

"I'm all for that," Gatomon agreed. The thought of that tyrant conquering the Digital World sickened her.

"Having said that, I need to test it," Izzy said. "Kari, may I upload the program to your computer?"

Kari glanced over at the dusty, gray machine on her little desk. She hadn't used it in such a long time that she didn't see a reason not to. "Be my guest," she said.

He booted up the computer and uploaded the program to her desktop, then opened it. "No viruses present, ZIP file opened correctly..." he murmured. "...Everything looks OK. Davis, why don't you try it?"

Davis winced. "Me?" he asked. "But what if it goes nuts and I blow up or something?"

"Then we'll get a mop and notify your next of kin," Cody stated curtly. "Just do it."

"C'mon, Davis!" Demiveemon chirped, hopping on his partner's head. "We gotta stop the Emperor!"

Davis had his reservations, but if this would get him closer to kicking Ken's butt across both worlds, then he might as well do it. He pulled out his D3 and walked over to the computer. "Digiport Open!" he commanded, holding the device up.

The program was silent for a moment, but then they heard the familiar beep of the opening gate. The little screen changed from red to a scenic view of a forest. "Sweet!" Davis announced, tossing the D3 up and catching it again. "Ain't nothin' Davis can't do!"

The others were overjoyed as well. "Nice job, Izzy!" Kari laughed.

"It's not done yet," Izzy pointed out. "We need to go in and come back out to prove that it works."

"Leave it to me!" Davis said, raising his Digivice again.

Suddenly, Tai's head snapped around. Had he just heard the apartment door open? A second later, his fear was confirmed. "I'm home!" his mother's voice came.

Tai and Kari's spines stiffened. "Hold off, Davis!" Tai said, racing over and shutting off the computer. "Mom saw our shoes!"

"Wha?" Davis huffed. "What's that got to do with-"

"She knows we're here!" Kari said. "If she comes in here and we're missing, she'll freak out!"

Cody frowned. "This is going to be far more difficult than the lab..." he reasoned.

"Why?" Upamon asked.

He was about to explain when the door opened and Yuuko Yagami popped her head in, smiling at the visitors. With her short, chocolate-brown hair and friendly look, Davis thought she looked just like Kari, except older and more... developed. "Hey, kids!" she said. "Why didn't you tell me you were having company?"

The Digimon were acting like perfect stuffed toys. "Eh heh..." Kari chuckled, shifting her weight, "hi, Mom... It was a spur-of-the moment thing. We're doing homework."

"Oh, good!" Yuuko said. "Well, let me make you all a snack!"

"Oh, that's OK, Mom!" Tai said quickly. "We were just about done anyway!"

"I'll make some for you to take home, then!" she said, closing the door.

He sighed. "Great... More fungus cookies," he grumbled.

"Fungus...?" Izzy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what she's been learning to make," Kari said, sticking her tongue out. "They say they're healthy, but..."

"I've hocked up stuff that looked more appetizing," Gatomon agreed, rolling her eyes.

"This is exactly what I mean," Cody elaborated. "If we enter the Digital World from our own computers, our parents could walk in at any time... and if we're gone..."

The image of all the commotion and the police cars around the Ichijouji apartment came into Davis's mind. Ken's parents had looked so sad and distraught... He might not listen to his folks most of the time, but he wouldn't want to put them through that. "I hear ya, Cody," he agreed.

"We all heard him," Demiveemon pointed out.

Izzy scratched his chin, frowning. "We need a plan... a cover for when we head back in. Some way to keep our families from worrying..."

Tai glanced over at her wall clock. "We'll have to come up with that later," he pointed out. "We've gotta meet the others!"

"Oh, right," Izzy replied. "Completely slipped my mind."

"Umm, can we stop off at Sora's mom's flower shop first?" Kari asked. "I need to get some roses."

"We can just make it if we hurry," Tai said. "Let's go!"

Davis blushed. Was something good about to happen? "W, whaddya need those for?" he asked.

"You'll see," Kari answered. "C'mon, let's go!"

They scooped up their Digimon and started out. As Izzy turned off the room's light, he noticed how dark and gray the sky had become. "Looks like rain," he called after them. "Somebody get an umbrella!"

* * *

Whatever threat of rain there was, it seemed to hold off as Kari purchased her flowers and they headed for the TV station. "So, what happened at this place?" Cody asked as they walked.

Gatomon looked especially somber. "Something... very important," Kari said.

"This was where Kari first got her Digivice and Crest, and where Gatomon first Digivolved," Tai elaborated. "It's also where we finally defeated Venommyotismon... Oh, here we are."

The big, gray building with the sphere in its center towered over them. At the entrance stood Matt, Sora, Yolei and Joe... and TK as well. "Hey! Kari! Guys!" he called to them, running over with the others.

Davis suddenly had a storm of his own; Kari must have bought those roses for _him_! "Awww, come ON!" he snarled, stamping his foot.

"What's wrong, Davis?" TK asked.

"What's wrong?" he snapped. "What's wrong? The goddamn flowers! That's what's wrong!"

Yolei caught on instantly and laughed. "What did I say?" she cackled. "Ultimate phail!"

Kari blinked, confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. "These are for-"

Before she could finish her sentence, though, a strong wind blew across the concrete, and a few small, cold raindrops spattered their cheeks. "Here it comes!" Izzy said. Tai opened the umbrella, but it was hardly enough to keep all of them dry.

They didn't have to worry about that for long, though. Thunder rumbled overhead, and then one bright bolt of lightning struck the TV station, making a crash so loud that they all jumped backwards. The umbrella flew from Tai's hand and was carried away by the wind. "Oh, Mom's gonna kill me..." he growled. "That was her favorite one!"

"What is this?" Yolei yelled. "El Niño?"

Davis looked up at the station as all of its lights died. First the stupid flowers, then a sudden storm, and now lightning hitting the station... and he didn't even know why they were there! What was going on?

* * *

The storm outside the station was tame compared to the storm inside. As soon as the power went out, all of the employees tore for the exits in blind panic. Hiroaki had to fight the crowd to stay in the same place. "What the hell's going on?" he demanded.

"It's the ghost!" Charlie yelled, dashing past. "That's it! I quit!"

Hiroaki was about to stop him when a TV screen in another room caught his eye. As he watched, the black shadow on it oozed out of the display and sped along the floor, right under his shoes. It crawled up the wall, then the ceiling, and then the other wall back down to the floor, gliding along at a fast pace... right towards his office.

He watched it go under the door and he was alone in the empty hall. What could this be about? He was the head of this station; he had to investigate. Slowly, nervously, he started towards the door.

* * *

"Woah! Hey!" Tai exclaimed as he was almost knocked over by a screaming woman. "Watch it!"

The kids had thought that people would stay indoors during a thunderstorm, so they were caught totally off guard when the station erupted with frantic adults. They had to run for cover or they would have been trampled.

"Sheesh, they coulda stomped us inta toe jam!" Demiveemon remarked.

"What's everyone so worked up about?" Sora asked.

Patamon raised his ears and listened. "They're yelling about a ghost," he reported. "That's funny; I thought only kids celebrated Halloween."

Kari heard her partner give a surprised hiss, and looked down to see Gatomon's ears swiveled back. "Gatomon, what-" she began, but the white cat broke into a sprint and disappeared inside the building.

"What's gotten into that cat?" Yolei asked.

Matt's eyes narrowed. "After her," he advised, and all of the older kids took off for the door. Davis, Yolei and Cody looked at each other, then raced after them.

It was hard to see in the darkened station, but from the rapid pounding of each other's footsteps, all of the kids figured out where they were going. "Gatomon, slow down!" Poromon objected. "The humans can't run as fast as you!"

Gatomon stopped at a door and pressed her ear to it, her eyes wide with both wonder and terror. "...In there," she reported.

Kari looked at the door and a wave of hot fear washed down her spine. That was the door to the director's room, where Myotismon had brought her to kill her.

Davis, however, had no such fear, and immediately threw the door open. "OK, what's spookin' the cat?" he demanded.

He was greeted by a very surprised Hiroaki. "Wha- Matt? TK?" he asked, looking over the large group. What were they all doing here... and who were those three new kids?

"Dad! Are you OK?" TK asked as they all came in.

"You'd better get out of here," Matt warned. "Something weird is happening."

"Don't I know it," Hiroaki replied, pointing ahead of them. "Look!"

Several black shadows were zipping around the room, some on the floor, some on the ceiling, and some in between. Papers flew off of the director's desk, and a swivel chair bounced and clattered around like it was driven by an invisible drunk. The director's computer was on, and blood-red symbols were trailing across its blue screen. A faint, whispy voice filled their ears: "Ga... ga... ga... to... ga..."

"Holy shit!" Davis swore. "It's a grade-A haunting!"

Yolei freaked out. "Garlic! I need garlic!" she yelled. "Where's a cross? I need a freakin' cross!"

Cody stared wide-eyed at the scene, speechless. He had heard his grandfather talk about spirits, but he never thought he'd meet one, let alone one who tossed around a swivel chair.

Only Gatomon seemed calm. Slowly, she walked to the center of the room. "...I'm here," she called out. More shadows slipped in beneath the kids' feet and joined the others in their ghastly dance.

"Wha?" Kari asked. "Gatomon, what're you doing?"

Izzy looked at the symbols on the computer and his eyes widened. Those symbols were the same kind as he had seen in the Digital World! "Is this... a Digimon?" he asked aloud.

"A Digimon?" Demiveemon asked, breaking free of Davis's grip and landing on the ground. "Then lemme at 'im!"

Upamon and Poromon joined him on the ground. "What are you doing?" Cody asked.

"It doesn't look friendly," Upamon said. "We're gonna help Gatomon!"

"Digivolve!" Poromon ordered.

Before anyone could respond, the D3s of Davis, Cody and Yolei started to glow. In a flash, Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon stood where their younger forms had been.

"Woah..." Yolei gasped. "You can do that here?"

Hiroaki watched the Digimon with interest. He had seen plenty of Digimon from before, but never these three.

Hawkmon leered at the shadows. "Servants of the Emperor, perhaps?" he growled.

"OK, let's toast this ghost!" Veemon snapped, balling his fists.

They started forward, but Gatomon stopped them. "Back off," she hissed, then turned around and called again. "I'm here..."

"What're you doin'?" Davis huffed at his partner. "Smack those spooks!"

"No, wait..." TK cautioned him. "Gatomon seems to know what's going on... Let's just watch."

Surely enough, the shadows were growing less frantic, as if they were calmed by Gatomon's words. One of the shadows left the ceiling and glided to a stop before her, wavering and fluttering.

Gatomon recognized the shape immediately. "Wizardmon!" she announced.

The older kids all jumped in surprise. "Wizardmon?" Sora exclaimed.

All of the shadows in the room descended upon the stationary one, creating a black pool. Slowly, a transparent figure rose from it. His face was shrouded by his cloak, and he wore a steepled hat with a skull on it. "...Gatomon..." he said in a hollow voice.

Gatomon's eyes widened with both joy and shock. "What the?" Tai said behind her. "Digimon can have ghosts?"

"Perhaps because he was destroyed here, not all of his data returned to the Digital World to be reborn," Izzy quickly theorized. "This could be all that's left of him."

Davis could hardly believe what he was seeing. If they could become ghostly, there was way more to Digimon than he thought.

"Wizardmon..." Gatomon said, looking at him with pity. "Is that what happened?... You can't go back?"

"The world... weak... so I... come," Wizardmon said, looking at her.

"What?" she asked, confused. Why wasn't he talking coherently? He almost sounded like a broken toy.

"Your enemy... You cannot stop... as you are..." he murmured.

"Enemy?" Davis asked. "D'ya mean the Emperor?"

Not seeming to see anyone but Gatomon, Wizardmon spoke again. "What is king... is knave," he said. "Return... him wrapped in darkness... true form... Truth shall come..."

Gatomon struggled to keep from crying with frustration; none of this made sense. "Knave?" she asked. "Darkness?"

"Golden Radiance... cleanse... wretched soul..." Wizardmon went on, then shook his head sadly. "Though... farce itself..."

"Wha?" Yolei asked, folding her arms. "This doesn't mean jack squat!"

"I've read that ghosts speak in riddles; they can never just come out and say things," Cody recalled.

"Wizardmon, I don't understand..." Gatomon admitted. "Please, can't you tell me more?"

Wizardmon shook his head. "Remember... origins..." he said, "and... origins'... origins."

"Origins?" Armadillomon asked. "That ain't much of a clue..."

Wizardmon suddenly looked up, as if he had heard something. "I... must go..." he said, looking back at Gatomon. "Goodbye... old friend..."

"Wizardmon..." Gatomon said, her voice quivering. She raised her paw to him, and he extended his gloved hand. When they tried to touch, though, his passed right through hers. The sudden cold made her shiver, and tears dribbled down her furry cheeks.

Wizardmon looked at his hand, then hung his head in sorrow. "...I'm sorry..." he whispered, then slowly drifted across the floor, passing through the window into the drizzle.

"Wizardmon!" Gatomon cried, rushing to the window, everyone on her heels.

They all watched as the specter wavered in and out of view, then dissolved into nothing. "...Hurry..." his voice whispered, and then all that could be heard was the rain.

Gatomon sank to her knees, sobs choking in her throat. Kari knelt down and put her arm around her partner. "It's OK..." she whispered.

Yolei didn't want to barge in on such a solemn moment, so she turned to the older kids instead. "Who was that?" she asked quietly.

"He was Gatomon's best friend," Sora replied. "They both came to Japan with Myotismon, but when Gatomon learned she was Kari's partner, he changed his loyalties right along with her."

"Myotismon was furious," Tai went on. "Right up here, on that balcony, he attacked Kari and Gatomon... but Wizardmon got in the way and took the blow for them..."

"If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be here now," Matt said, his frown gone. "We all owed him our lives..."

Gatomon had quieted a little, and Kari got up. She quietly lay the bouquet of roses at the window. "We'll never forget what he did," she said, turning to her friends. "That's why we came today."

"Damn..." Yolei said, looking back out the window. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard..."

Cody stared at the floor, lost in thought. Would their own adventure be stained with bloodshed?

Hiroaki was silent as well. He stared out the window, his face unreadable.

Davis felt like a louse. He had thrown a hissy thinking that she had brought flowers for TK... and they had been for a Digimon with a heart of gold. "...Sorry, Kari," he mumbled.

She shook her head. "You didn't know," she answered.

That wasn't enough to make him feel better. "Izzy, ya think we'll ever see him again?" he asked the genius.

"I honestly can't say..." Izzy said, his own face glum. "Maybe if all of his data somehow finds its way back to the Digital World, he can be reborn... but who knows how long that could take..."

"Radiance..." TK murmured. "Origins... I wish I knew what he meant..."

The group stood in silence, watching the rain patter on the balcony.


	15. Phail

**CHAPTER 15**

**PHAIL**

"Nope... Nothin' here..." Davis grumbled, peering back into the black cavern. "He ain't here, coach."

"I don't get it," Tai muttered, throwing a frustrated glance at the train tunnel. "This is where he came from... so why isn't there anything there?"

Davis shrugged. It had been several days since the Digidestined had encountered the ghostly Wizardmon at Odaiba's TV station, and every day, every kid that could spare time had ventured into the Digital World in search of clues about the strange "Golden Radiance" that he had spoken of, or something just as useful. Since Izzy's mother had gone out shopping, most everyone had been able to investigate today: TK and Matt had returned to Pyro Pit Prairie; Sora and Yolei had gone to the Autumnal Forest; Kari and Joe were in Santa Geria; Izzy and Cody had went to Transport Inlet; and Tai and Davis were in Rail Town. They had all spent the last few days combing File Island and the known parts of Server for some sort of clue, but so far, nothing had turned up.

Tai was currently trying to figure out exactly how Agumon had appeared there before. Since the little dinosaur had come riding in from the cave, they figured there was a path to the Emperor's base... but all they had found was a solid rock wall; the tracks went right up to it and then stopped. Nothing hinted that it went any further. "He HAD to come from here SOMEHOW," he muttered.

"Maybe the Emperor can make solid rock walls?" Veemon suggested.

Tai shook his head. "He's just a kid," he said, "not a magician."

"Yeah, but I was thinkin' 'bout that..." Davis said. "You saw how he jumped so high, an' landed without a scratch... And he's real smart... You think he can hack the Digital World? Then it'd be easy to make walls, right?"

Tai blinked. Maybe Davis was onto something. Ken _was_ a computer genius; maybe he _could_ find a way to set up barriers that looked natural.

At any rate, he didn't feel like sticking around much longer. "We'd better go," he sighed. "There's nothing we can do here."

"Yeah, maybe someone else had better luck," Davis replied as they started walking.

Tai sighed. "We can only hope..." he admitted. How long would it be before the Emperor was defeated, and he had his partner back?

* * *

"Nope, the arena's empty," Izzy reported as Tentomon and he met Cody outside of the Romanesque structure. "It hasn't been used in a while."

Cody frowned with irritation. He had been certain that something there would tell them where the Emperor's base was, but Izzy had been gone for quite a while; it really must have been empty.

"Well, that's no good..." Armadillomon said beside him. "Should we call it a day, Cody?"

He was about to agree when something shiny caught his eye. He glanced over at a nearby steep hill and saw, to his surprise, half of a streetcar sticking out of the side. In fact, there were lots of them jutting out, and the mountain went up quite a ways. He hadn't noticed it on previous adventures because they had never come out of the forest... but now that he saw it, it piqued his interest.

Izzy was curious as well; he had never seen that place before. "Is that new?" he asked Tentomon.

"Yeah, it must be," Tentomon agreed. "I've never been up it..."

"That's Trolley Hill," Armadillomon said. "It's a big ol' bump with a really deep crater on the top, like a dead volcano."

Cody leered at it. If it was like that, then there could be something worthwhile at the summit. "Let's investigate," he said, starting for it.

Izzy nodded, glad to see that Cody was starting to show more initiative. That DigiEgg of Knowledge was doing him good.

As tall as the hill was, it was easy to climb. Picking their way over the rocks and holding onto the trolleys for support, they had almost reached the top five minutes later. "Tentomon, please go and see what's up there," Izzy requested. "I don't want any surprises."

Tentomon fluttered up to the summit, then quickly shot back down, looking panicked. "You're not gonna believe it!" he chirped. "Spires! Tons of 'em!"

"What?" Izzy demanded.

Cody needed no further explanation. He quickly scaled the remainder of the hill and peered over the top. As Armadillomon had said, the top of the hill was wide and deep, like a bowl, save for one toilet-shaped foundation in the center, which had a strange, silver dome on its flat mesa. And, as Tentomon had said, dozens of control spires dotted the landscape, only yards apart. Several large, green dinosaur Digimon with sharp horns were lumbering around, looking confused and disoriented. "What are those?" he asked as his friends joined him.

"Those're Tuskmon," Izzy said. "Champion level, but still dangerous."

"They don't look tough now," Armadillomon remarked, "more like spooked."

Cody was puzzled. None of those Digimon had the blood-red eyes of enslavement, and yet there were dozens of spires around. Why were they here?

The answer became gruesomely apparent a moment later. The side of the huge rock glowed brightly, like a door opening... and then a battalion of Darktyrannomon and red, buggy Kuwagamon marched out, all wearing dark spirals. The immediately attacked the Tuskmon, biting and gnashing into their flesh, tearing it from their bones and devouring the chunks.

"Feedin' time..." Armadillomon grumbled, cringing.

"Oh, God..." Izzy said, turning away. "I can't watch this."

Cody was horrified as well, but he pulled away from the carnage and instead looked at the big rock. The way it had opened like that... and the dome on the top... "I think we're looking at the Emperor's base," he concluded.

"Can we look later?" Tentomon winced, putting his arms over his green eyes.

"He's right," Armadillomon agreed. "Let's get outta here before we're spotted-"

His words were cut off by a loud buzz, and suddenly a Kuwagamon hovered before them, its clicking mandibles dripping with Tuskmon plasma... and it looked ready for dessert.

"Damn!" Izzy swore, reeling. With all those spires around, there was no way Tentomon could Digivolve.

Cody, however, was ready. In a flash, Digmon was there, grappling with the bug. "Go on!" he yelled. "I'll catch up!"

As quickly as they could go without stumbling, Cody, Izzy and Tentomon started down the hill. "Try your Digivice now," Cody suggested. "We need a fast getaway."

Izzy raised his Digivice. "Tentomon!" he ordered.

"Right!" Tentomon buzzed, fluttering higher. "Tentomon, Digivolve to-"

There was a sudden rush of air, and a black shadow fell on them. They all looked up to see a winged, black demon hovering around them, its four eyes glowing with hatred. Izzy recognized it immediately as a Devidramon... and all three of them recognized the figure on its back.

"Sorry," the Digimon Emperor laughed, raising his black D3, "but you're trespassing on private property. Of course, since you went to all the trouble to come and visit me..."

Cody's eyes narrowed. So, that really was the Emperor's base!

"Back off," Izzy growled, raising his Digivice again.

The Emperor's devilish toy flashed with black energy, and Tentomon floundered to the ground. "Sorry, Izzy..." he apologized, "but I can't..."

"My control spires amplify the power of my Digivice, not the other way around," the Emperor said, shaking his finger at them with sadistic glee. "How many times must I tell you that you can't win?"

Izzy scowled at the little twerp. "You're a disgrace to geniuses, Ichijouji," he snapped.

"Hah!" the Emperor laughed. "You're just jealous because I'M the ruler of this world... and YOU'RE obsolete!"

"No human can be obsolete," Cody objected, getting angry; this tyrant was working his last nerve. "We're going to stop you."

"I don't see any proof to back that claim," the Emperor mused, then slapped his Devidramon on the back. "Dinner time!" he commanded.

The winged monster growled hungrily and dove at the kids... but suddenly they weren't there. A gaping hole in the rocks was all that was left. The Emperor snarled angrily; every time he thought he had the little brats, they managed to get away.

Cody, Izzy and Tentomon hadn't expected the earth to swallow them up, but when Digmon caught them all, they were glad for it. "I figured all these trolleys needed a tunnel!" he laughed. "Let's blow!"

Digmon quickly bored through the ground for five minutes, then burst into the fresh air. They were back in the forest surrounding the arena, safe. There were no control spires to be seen.

Izzy raised his Digivice a third time. "Let's try once more," he said.

Tentomon took a deep breath and fluttered into the air, and the big, buzzing Kabuterimon took flight. Cody, Armadillomon and Izzy mounted his back and they took off for an exit portal. "Wait until the others hear about this!" Armadillomon laughed.

"Indeed..." Cody replied. Now that they knew where the Emperor's base was, he could no longer hide from them.

The Emperor, watching them fly off, cackled. Kabuterimon had been a fine general in his employ... but he already had what was needed from the big bug... and when it was put to use, those children would no longer be able to hide from _him.

* * *

_

With a bright flash, Izzy, Cody and Upamon returned to Izzy's small room, made even smaller by the many people in it; everybody else had already come back. "Welcome back," TK said.

"Is my mom back yet?" Izzy asked.

Tai shook his head. "Nope," he said, "but Sora's already gone to coach her team, and Joe had an exam to study for..."

"What'd everyone find?" Davis asked. "Like I said before, we turned up diddly squat."

"There were new control spires all through the prairie," TK reported. "They were all in a straight line, like telephone poles."

"What?" Yolei exclaimed. "No way! That's what was in the forest, too! Loads of 'em!"

"Yeah," Kari agreed, "Joe and I found the same thing just outside of town. The locals were freaking out."

"There were plenty of spires on Trolley Hill, too..." Cody said, "but they weren't in a line... they were surrounding a large rock... which turned out to be the Emperor's headquarters."

Everyone almost fell over in shock. "His base?" Davis yelled. "Holy crap nuggets!"

"That's one way of putting it," Tentomon spoke from inside the computer. "Izzy, I'm going to keep an eye on things here."

"Roger," Izzy replied. "Use extreme caution." With that, the little screen switched to red. Izzy pulled up the Digital World map; the others' reports had intrigued him.

"The Emperor's base was on File Island all along..." Gatomon growled. "Slippery little..."

Matt glanced at the computer screen. "What're you doing?" he asked Izzy.

Izzy turned his screen for all to see, a grave expression on his face. "Look," he said.

Everyone felt sick at what they saw. The grid-like map showed a huge black block of squares in its center, with only a few white spots in it. "Ken's been busy," Izzy went on. "He's conquering areas in a spiral formation, and it looks like he's expanding out from File Island into the sea..."

"What?" Poromon chirped. "But we've been knocking down spires all this time!"

"You didn't do enough, then," Matt growled.

"No, we've all worked hard," Tai argued. "He must've found a way to put them up even faster..."

"Damn..." Davis swore. "Just when we think we've got him on the ropes..."

Yolei frowned and hopped off of Izzy's bed. "It's endgame!" she declared. "Ken's pullin' out all the stops, so I say we should, too! Let's get in there and start knocking 'em down!"

The Digimon cheered with agreement, but Cody wasn't so sure. "There's no way we could destroy so many spires..." he admitted. "We can only do so much..."

"But we have to do something, Cody!" Upamon objected. "Otherwise, our friends'll be..."

Kari, who had been thinking, finally spoke up. "We can't take out all of those spires," she said, "but if we shut down the base, maybe Ken won't be able to make any more."

Gatomon looked at her. "You think so?" she asked.

Izzy scratched his chin. "Perhaps she's right," he said. "Maybe all the procedures for building the spires are done at the base. It's big enough, after all... And Ken's D3 may be transferring its powers through it."

"Well, then, what're we waiting for?" Davis declared, making a fist. "Let's rip that dump up like a bad check!"

Demiveemon made another yell of approval, but TK wasn't convinced. "If it's his main base, it's going to be pretty well guarded," he pointed out. "It might not be a job that can be done quickly..."

"We need a strategy," Cody said, "and we need time to implement it..."

"...And if we leave, he'll just fix it all, and we'll be back where we started!" Patamon added.

The kids all glanced at each other. Kari finally said what they were all thinking. "Then we have to agree..." she said, "we're staying in the Digital World until the base is destroyed."

"Yeah!" Yolei declared loudly, pumping her fist. "Digimon slumber party!"

Cody frowned. "Our parents will worry if we aren't home," he pointed out. "If I miss my mother's sushi platter, she'll know something's wrong..."

Davis didn't seem too worried. "Just spin 'er a tall tale, then!" he suggested. "Tell 'er you won the Publicist's Jeering House award an' you can miss school for as long as you want! Or, uh... Ooh! You've been summoned to a planet with only hot alien women who want to breed a new race! Oh, baby..."

Kari looked at him. "And your parents would believe that?" she asked.

"Nahh," Davis replied, frowning. "They don't believe ANYTHING I say anyway. It's no fair! I oughta be presumed incontinent!"

Cody's eyes rolled instinctively. "'Presumed _innocent,_' you mean," he corrected. "You really have to study your vocabulary better; you always bungle it."

Davis grinned. "That's me!" he declared. "The master of mallard poop!"

"'Malaprop,'" Cody grumbled.

"...Ahh, shuddap," he finished sourly.

"OK, we all know he's not a thesaurus," Tai said, bringing them back to the situation. "If you guys do need to go in, I'm afraid none of us older kids will be able to help. It's all on you."

Matt sighed; he didn't like that all. "Wonderful," he snorted. "Better size Tentomon up for a spiral, Izzy."

Yolei turned the stink eye on him. "Shut it!" she snapped. "Our skills aren't like yours, but we can whip Ken just fine!"

He shook his head. "The Emperor isn't going to surrender to your stinking up his base," he replied coldly.

Yolei's mouth hung limp. Her left eye twitched. Her stomach boiled. Cody held his breath. Kari bit her lip. Davis thought that Matt had her there, but thought better of saying so. Poromon waited for an explosion.

It never came. "Guys, guys, chill," Tai intruded, stepping between the arguing parties. "Look, we might not be able to fight Ken, but we can still do something!"

"What's that?" Izzy asked.

Tai sat down in Izzy's swivel chair and scooted backwards. "Camping!" he finished. "I've got nothing this weekend. Matt! Izzy! Let's go camping tomorrow!"

There was an awkward silence. Everyone stared at him as if he had suggested putting on miniskirts and dancing the Hula. "...How does roasting marshmallows help us?" Gatomon finally asked.

"Easy," he replied, winking. "We'll say that all of YOU are coming, too!"

Izzy thought for a moment, and then the logic clicked. "Ah, I see..." he reasoned. "An excuse for them to stay in the Digital World for a prolonged period..."

"Hey, yeah!" Davis exclaimed, grinning. "That rocks! That's my coach; always got the game plan!"

Cody nodded. "It's a good start, but we need more plans..." he said. "For example, who will drive us? None of us have any license-"

He was cut off by a knock at the door, and all the Digimon fell down as stuffed toys. Yoshie Izumi stepped into the room. "Oh, hello, kids," she said. With her lavender hair, her cheer-filled black eyes and her sweet smile, she was the kind of mother that Davis and Yolei wished they could have.

Everyone grinned happily. "Hi, Mrs. Izumi!" a chorus greeted her.

"What are you all doing inside on such a nice day?" she asked. "Winter's coming soon, you know."

"Ah, yes, we know, Mom," Izzy stammered, thinking of a way to get the spotlight off of them. It was true that both of his adoptive parents had gone through the Digimon attacks of five years ago, but he saw no need to worry them again. "We were just, uh, planning one last camping trip for the weekend. One of the parks around Mount Fuji, maybe?"

The others murmured quick responses of agreement. "Oh, that's good!" Yoshie replied, "but you're going to need a chaperone... Who's taking you?"

Izzy swallowed hard; Cody and his mom must have had some creepy psychic connection. His panic was alleviated, though, when Matt coughed. "My dad has offered to do it," he stated. "He said he needs a vacation anyway."

"Oh, good," she said, smiling. "Well, don't forget your thick coats; it's very cold in the mornings." With that, she closed the door.

Everyone sighed with relief. "Good save, Matt," Patamon complimented him.

Tai scratched his head. "Is that actually going to work?" he asked.

Matt gave him a harsh look. "It was a good idea at the time," he huffed. "TK and I'll just have to be... persuasive."

"Well, provided the persuasion is successful," Izzy said, "let's all meet back here tomorrow after school. Pack up and be ready."

"I'll write Sora and Joe, tell 'em what's going to happen," Tai said, getting up and grabbing his backpack. "C'mon, Kari; Mom'll be waiting for us."

"Let's go, TK," Matt said, motioning for the door, "we have work to do."

Gatomon and Patamon hopped into their respective partners' grips, and the four humans departed. "Well, how 'bout that!" Davis exclaimed. "We're good to go!"

Cody nodded. "Perhaps Matt isn't as unhelpful as we thought," he suggested.

Yolei stared after them, scowling. This was the first time she had ever disagreed with Cody.

* * *

"You did WHAT?" Hiroaki Hida shouted at his sons. "Why did you volunteer me? And tomorrow? I can't just leave for three days!"

TK and Matt winced. When they had met their father on his break at the TV station, they had hoped he would be a bit more receptive to the idea. Still, night was falling, and they had to do some arm twisting. "Come on, Dad!" TK pleaded. "You just had one grueling work week, what with that 'ghost' and all!"

"I'll do all the cooking myself," Matt promised. "You have plenty of paid vacation days to take, you've told me..."

Hiroaki stammered, but their argument didn't have any holes in it. It was true that he was worn out, and they would pay him for a few days off...

"Besides," Matt went on, grinning deviously, "we know how much you love camping."

TK beamed. "Yeah! Tell us about that time you went camping with Mom and burned the tent down!"

Hiroaki sighed. "OK, OK..." he surrendered, raising his hands. "I'll take you... on ONE condition. Matt, you have to make those great omelettes for breakfast each morning."

Matt grinned; his part of this crazy mission was accomplished. "I'll clean my pans," he replied.

* * *

Pocketknife? Check. Flashlight? Check. Sleeping bag? Check. Clean underpants? Check, check, and check. Davis laughed to himself as he crossed the last necessary item off of his list; now he had a little room for some indulgences. With Demiveemon watching hungrily, he dropped six or seven of his favorite chocolate bars into the duffel bag, plus his newest airplane magazine. His mind went to that adult magazine that he hid under his mattress, but he quickly shook his head; he had to stay focused on this trip, and didn't want the others to think worse of him. Besides, with Kari coming along, he didn't see a use for it.

Suddenly, a hand clamped down on his shoulder and he leaped up in shock. "What're you doing?" Jun asked, grinning at how she made him squirm.

He frowned at her, then busied himself shuffling the bag's contents around. "None of yer business," he muttered.

She glanced around and noticed Demiveemon, who had lapsed into "doll mode" on his bed. "Changing from planes to dolls?" she asked, poking at him. "Isn't that growing backwards?"

"I don't criticize YOUR hobbies," Davis snorted.

"Looks like you're going camping," she remarked, turning back to his bag.

"You're hallucinating," he returned.

"Are TK and his friends going?" she asked.

"Can't remember," he snorted.

"So..." she said, smiling wryly, "is Matt going, too?"

He sighed angrily; that would be her angle in this. "Matt moved to Antarctica," he snapped.

"Well, then..." she said, ruffling his hair in the way that pissed him off the most, "if you're going, and the others are going... and MATT is going... then can I go, too?"

Davis turned a wicked eye on her. "Sure, you can go..." he said, then quickly got up and shoved her out of his room. "...Go AWAY!"

"Jun, leave your brother alone," his mother warned from her spot on the couch; the news was on, and she didn't feel like being a referee.

Davis was about to go back into his room when the news anchor caught his ear. "It has been six weeks since the disappearance of boy genius Ken Ichijouji," he was saying, "and the police are still baffled. This, of course, is little consolation to his worried parents."

The screen changed to show the Ichijoujis, his mother sobbing into a handkerchief, and his father looking defeated. "If there's anyone out there who knows anything..." he said, his voice cracking, "then please tell the police right away."

"Ohh, I'm so worried about him..." his mother wept. "I don't want him to be out there lost, cold and scared... He's just a child!..."

Jun and her mother were both surprised when Davis snorted angrily. "Boy, what's with you?" Jun asked. "How about some compassion?"

Davis rolled his eyes and went back into his room. Just a child? If only that bastard's mother knew.

* * *

Yolei sighed as she stared at her alarm clock. 12:30 AM. Usually this was a time she was glad of, but tonight her head swam with fears and worry. She knew she should get to sleep, but Matt's words kept drumming into her mind.

It stabbed at her with a personal edge, and as she thought about it, she got angrier and angrier. With everything she had gone through, that Matt still thought she wasn't any good? She could understand how he could have thought that before, when Ken had Skullgreymon ripping up the turf, but she was stronger now! She had Shurimon! He would kick Ken's imperial ass up and down the Digital World. Matt had no right to put her down like that!

"Yeah, I'll show 'im!" she finally snarled out loud, clenching her fists and bouncing on her bed, her defiance at its peak. "I'll show 'em all! I'll pwn that Emperor 110 percent! Limit Break!"

Poromon grunted and stirred from a pile of sweatpants and game magazines. "Ngrgh..." he mumbled, "you're louder than usual... Go to sleep..."

She quickly quieted her vigor. "Sorry, Poromon," she whispered. "Goodnight."

She put her glasses away, tossed her blanket over her body and closed her eyes. Tomorrow she would show them all who r0x0red the b0x0rs.

* * *

The next afternoon, the Izumis' neighbors were surprised to hear loud yells coming from their apartment. While Tai and the younger kids packed up stuff for the actual camping part, Yolei was working on her nonexistant martial arts, punching and kicking across the floor. "HAH!" she yelled, whirling about like a tornado, "HYAH! Take that, ya rat-bastard Emperor! Eagle Dive! Burning Punch! FATALITY!"

The Digimon were all sitting on Izzy's bed, watching her with fascination. "Boy... she's pretty hyped for this," Patamon remarked to Poromon.

Poromon looked worn out, like he hadn't had much sleep. "She was like this all morning..." he groaned.

Izzy opened the room's door and just missed being kicked in the face; he reeled from the aroma of Yolei's socks. "OK, OK!" he huffed, regaining his balance. "Save some for Ken!"

Matt came in behind him and quickly clamped his hand over his face. "The van is ready," he stated, muffled.

Izzy pulled out his old, yellow laptop. The ancient box had gone with him to the Digital World... and now it would play a prominent role once again. He booted it up, amazed that it still worked, and installed the Digital Gate program. "Laptop is fully functional," he said, giving the others a thumbs-up.

"Oh, good," TK said, pulling out his D3. "Is everyone ready?"

Cody slung a shapeless, gray medical bag over his shoulder; Joe had stopped off and given it to him the night before, along with plenty of bandages and ointments. "Yes," he replied.

"All right, then," Tai said, looking over his young friends. "I want to wish you all the best of luck. Give Ken a whupping for all of us!"

Kari beamed at her big brother. "You bet!" she pledged.

"You can count on us, coach!" Davis agreed.

Matt looked at Kari and TK and sighed. "Yes, good luck," he said, frowning at the new kids. "You're going to need it."

Yolei fumed as she jammed her feet back into her ratty shoes and grabbed her orange duffel bag. That would be the last dig he would throw at her. "All right, troops!" she declared, raising her D3. "1P Start! Battle Ready!"

Gatomon coughed. "Yolei, are you feeling all right?" she asked.

"...Yeeeah," Davis grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Just open the damn gate already."

In a flash, only Tai, Izzy and Matt remained in the room. Izzy shut the laptop and carefully tucked it into his pack. "Right, then," he said. "On our merry way."

The three older boys grabbed their things and closed the door behind them. After a brief sendoff from Izzy's parents, they walked out onto the pavement. Hiroaki was there, with a big, gray van. He shot them a dry grin. "Well, are you rugged gentlemen ready for the great outdoors?" he asked.

"Thanks for taking us, Mr. Ishida," Tai said as he got in the back.

"The others have already gone," Izzy added, getting next to Tai. "No need to wait any longer."

"Right, then," Hiroaki said, an unreadable gleam in his eye. "Off to camp we go."

Matt was about to remind him not to burn the tent down again when he noticed that someone was watching them... someone that made him feel sick. Jun Motomiya was standing a few feet from the car, smiling... and she had a backpack. "Hi, Matt!" she called in a sweet voice.

Izzy and Tai looked over at him. "Matt... did you invite her along?" Izzy asked, frowning.

"No, I did NOT," Matt hissed, his face turning green. It was bad enough that she kept tricking him into going out with her, but to show up unannounced to a trip that she wasn't supposed to know about... with a backpack!... Of all the pretentious...

Tai broke him out of his fuming with a jab in the shoulder. "Get rid of her," he warned. "We can't have her along today."

Matt sighed angrily, then resumed his cool stance and stepped out of the car. "...Hello, Jun," he said, trying not to think about throttling her, "fancy meeting you here."

Jun giggled and reddened. "This is a great idea!" she said. "This trip'll be a great time for us to get closer!"

Matt got even greener. "I see..." he grumbled.

Watching from the car, Izzy scratched his head, confused. "I don't get it," he said. "Jun's attractive enough... Why doesn't Matt respond to that affection?"

Tai just shrugged. It puzzled him, too, but that was beside the point at the moment; with the younger kids in the Digital World, they couldn't risk a liability like Jun learning about this whole computerized mess.

"So, where am I sitting?" Jun asked as she peered past Matt's broad shoulder, then hesitated; something was amiss. "Where's Daisuke?" she changed her question.

"Oh, errm..." Matt fumbled, grasping for a lie, "the younger kids took another car... Friend of my dad's... They didn't want to be with us boring older folks, you know."

Jun's response wasn't the one he was hoping for. "Great!" she said, getting even happier. "Then we can be together without Daisuke butting in! This is gonna be the best weekend trip ever!"

Matt's teeth could have broken on each other. He had no patience for this pesky girl, who appreciated nothing about him but his looks. What could stall her long enough for them to get away? He sped through dozens of excuses in his mind, then decided to appeal to her delusion. "Before we go," he said, turning away and trying to sound cheerful, "I, erm... have a present for you."

Jun's cheeks went crimson. A present! Finally, she was getting somewhere! "Really?" she asked.

"...It's in the car... but I didn't have time to wrap it," he went on. "Now, close your eyes and count to ten, and I'll be right back with it."

Almost bursting with girlish joy, Jun turned around and put her hands over her face. "OK, Matt!" she said. "One... two..."

Matt was back in his seat as she reached three. "Drive," he ordered his father. "Now."

Hiroaki looked at him questioningly. "You're just going to leave her here?" he asked.

Jun's count of "five" burst in Matt's ears. "Exactly," he snapped.

Hiroaki stared at his son with disappointment. "You've got a lot to learn about women, Matt," he scolded.

At the word "eight", Matt's stomach twisted into a pretzel. "Look who's talking," he snarled. "Now, go. GO!"

Hiroaki sighed and put his foot on the accelerator. At the count of "ten," all that awaited Jun was a cloud of exhaust and four tire skidmarks. As she watched the van zip around a corner two blocks away, her whole body froze up; what had just happened here?

The neighborhood reverberated with a loud scream of "MA-A-A-A-A-A-ATT!"

* * *

Once the kids had seen Trolley Hill, all of them wondered why they had never checked it out before. "The base is on top, in the basin," Cody told his friends, pointing upwards. "The way up is rocky, but as long as we take it slowly-"

A foul-smelling gust of wind blew past him, followed by a smaller one with shouts of "Yolei! Slow down!" By the time he realized what was going on, Yolei was halfway up the hill, Hawkmon dogging her all the way.

"Woah..." TK murmured. Yolei seemed oddly envigorated today; he wondered why?

"Whatever it is, I'm all for it!" Davis said, hiking up his bag. "Veemon! Race ya!"

Moving quickly to catch up to Yolei, the rest of them hiked up to the summit, where a very flustered Tentomon was waiting for them. "Ohh, you guys!" he groaned, fluttering around. "It's awful!"

"What is?" Patamon asked.

"The Emperor's base!" Tentomon fretted. "It's... it's gone!"

Kari blinked. "Gone?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

Cody reached the summit and looked down into the basin. All of the control spires were still there, but to his shock, the large rock had vanished; where it had been there remained only a deep, dark crater. "Impossible..." he murmured, shaking his head.

"Is that where you were talking about, Cody?" Gatomon asked, pointing at the crater.

"It was there yesterday..." he replied, waving his arm worriedly; would they believe him now? "A large rock with a silver dome... They ate all the Tuskmon..."

"We ain't gonna learn much just standin' here," Davis said. "Let's get down there and look into that hole!"

Yolei needed no further motivation; she raced down the rocks for the basin, hooting loudly and kicking up a trail of pebbles and dust. "Couldn't we take the scenic route?" Hawkmon demanded, struggling to keep up with his partner.

"Whew!" Armadillomon spoke up. "She's got more pep today than a sugar-coated jalapeno!"

Not knowing what else to do, the others made their way down the hill and to the crater, where Yolei greeted them with folded arms. "What took you so long?" she snapped. "I was growing a beard!"

Davis would have said that would be an improvement, but the way she was acting today, he decided not to chance it. "Are you sure there was somethin' here?" he asked Cody, looking down into the hole. The bottom could not be seen; a dense cloud of dark fog swirled around inside. "You sure it wasn't a garage?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "'Mirage,'" he corrected, "and yes, I'm sure. Izzy and our Digimon saw it, too. Ken even said it was his."

TK folded his arms, still puzzled. "Then how could something so big just... vanish into thin air?" he asked.

"Um..." Veemon mumbled, scratching his head, "a wizard did it?"

"Well, if it was here, it isn't now," Kari deduced. "What should we do? We have two days to find it, and not one clue..."

They all thought for a moment, then Davis smacked his fist into his palm. "I've got it!" he announced. "We follow the tracks!"

Cody scowled at him. That had to be the single stupidest thing that had ever come out of this kid's mouth. "Does anyone have a USEFUL suggestion?" he asked.

"Hey, hey, c'mon!" Davis snapped. "Lissen to me! Tanks leave tracks... and maybe Ken's got a base that's like a tank! Maybe it moves!"

TK blinked. A moving base? That actually made sense. "Hey... He's got a point," he agreed. "Are there any tracks around?"

The kids slowly walked around the edge of the crater, but none of the dust and dirt showed any marks aside from their own footprints. "Well, shit," Davis swore. "I thought it sounded good..."

"Sorry, Davis," Kari apologized. "It was a good idea, though. Any other ideas? Yolei?... Yolei?"

Once again, Yolei had vanished. "Oh, not again..." Hawkmon groaned, taking to the air.

"Where'd she..." Patamon began, but a cry from Gatomon gave him an answer. Like a frantic spider, Yolei scooted up a nearby control spire and perched on the top. "Come down from there!" Hawkmon scolded. "What if you fall?"

The kids on the ground looked up. "Good God," Davis remarked, "it's Queen Kong."

"You can climb those things?" TK asked. "I thought they'd be too slippery."

"Oh, my..." Tentomon muttered. He was glad Izzy never acted like this.

"I've got it!" Yolei shouted at them, pointing up at the sky. "If it didn't DRIVE away, then it must've FLOWN away!"

"That's preposterous!" Hawkmon objected, flying around her head. "If it could do that, someone would have seen it leaving! Now get down!"

Her mind sparked. Of course; someone HAD to have seen something! And who was the person who told them the base was gone?... She slid back down the spire and immediately accosted Tentomon. "It was YOU, wasn't it?" she asked. "What're you hiding from us, bug boy?"

"I- what?" Tentomon objected. "I didn't-"

"You were supposed to be watching!" she snapped. "Did Ken pay you off? Spill it!"

"Will you stop that?" Hawkmon objected, stepping between his partner and Tentomon. "Tentomon is our friend! He's trying his best, and you're completely irrational!"

"Yeah?" she asked. "Well, he shoulda tried HARDER!"

Hawkmon sighed and rolled his eyes, then bowed apologetically to Tentomon. "I'm so sorry, Tentomon. I don't know what's come over her."

Tentomon shuddered, then hung his head. "Well, I guess I did nod off for a bit last night..." he admitted sadly. "When I woke up, it was gone..."

"Ugh..." Gatomon grunted. "He must've known you were watching, then..."

"This is getting us nowhere," Cody suggested, tired of all the arguing. "We need more information."

Yolei nodded fervently. "Yes! Less talk, more action!" she agreed.

Cody sighed; finally, she sounded less erratic. "All right," he began. "Now, perhaps some other Digimon saw what happened. Let's go and-"

Several loud whacks stopped him, and he looked in their direction. Yolei's duffel bag was open near the crater's lip, and she was busy hammering a stake into the ground around a coil of rope. "What are you doing?" TK asked.

Yolei turned around and saluted with a grin. "OK, troops! I'm off to investigate the bowels of the earth!" she reported. "The Emperor could have left something down there we can use!" With that, she grabbed the rope and started rappelling into the hole.

The rest were rendered speechless. With all the crazy stuff she was doing today, Davis wondered if she had skipped some kind of medication.

"Yolei!" Hawkmon objected, flying after her; he'd had enough of this sporadic mood she was in, and he was going to put a stop to it. "What has gotten into you today?"

"Shut it, Hawkmon," she replied, continuing her descent. "This is the big time!"

"What does that mean?" he pressed. "You're being horrendously reckless! You could break your neck!"

Normally, that would have been enough to deter her, but today, Yolei scoffed. "I know what I'm doing!" she replied. "Now either help me out or buzz off!"

Hawkmon continued to protest, but it fell on deaf ears. Yolei dropped beneath the black haze and touched the bottom ten feet later. The fog was much thicker than she had thought; she could hardly see the rope she had climbed down on. There was no way she could explore with this amount of haze. She would have to get Hawkmon to blow it all away. "Hawkmon!" she called.

"What is it now?..." Hawkmon sighed wearily.

"We're going back up," she said. "Get ready to become Halsemon and-"

A swooping noise behind her caught her ear. She turned around, but saw only fog. Another noise came from her right, and she whirled towards it... but there was nothing. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

Hawkmon nodded gravely. "We are not alone..." he growled.

"How right you are..." a low, gravelly voice said, seemingly coming from the fog itself. The haze thinned a little to reveal something out of a horror movie: a wolf-looking Digimon that stood tall and wiry on two legs. Aside from torn, tan jeans that covered his nether regions, he was covered in dark gray fur, and his eyes were a piercing, bloody red. A dark spiral was coiled around his right arm.

Yolei was startled for a moment, then regained her spark. "Who're you?" she demanded. "You'd better not work for the Emperor, or we're kicking your can eight ways to Sunday!"

"I would watch that tongue of yours," the werewolf Digimon said, his maw curling into a wicked grin, "or I might rip it out."

"Oh, dear..." Hawkmon gulped. "Yolei, I do believe that's Garurumon..."

"General Weregarurumon at your service," Weregarurumon corrected him, bowing mockingly. "My master thought you vermin might come snooping around here, and, as always, he was right. Now," he cracked his knuckles and flashed his white teeth, "which one of you wants to be disemboweled first?"

Yolei saw red. Of all the Digimon she could run into, she ran into the partner of that snot-nosed, puffed up towhead Matt! Well, it was time to teach both of them a lesson. "We'll see who gets disemboweled!" she snarled. "Hawkmon!"

Hawkmon dreaded combat in this situation. Yolei was erratic, and the fog down here was too thick for him to see clearly; it would not go well. "Yolei, I don't think-" he began.

"Quit whining!" she huffed, pulling out her D3. "You can take 'im!"

He was definitely not convinced, but he was her partner and did as she ordered. In a flash, Shurimon was on the field, his shuriken ready.

Weregarurumon cackled, seemingly unfazed. "Let's see what you can do," he observed, going into an eased battle stance.

"Get him, Shurimon!" Yolei shouted, pointing at the wolf man. "Attack!"

Shurimon dove at Weregarurumon and swung his stars, but Weregarurumon backflipped into the fog and vanished. Shurimon looked around worriedly; as he had feared, the haze hid his opponent from him.

Yolei didn't understand this; all she saw was Shurimon standing there, _not_ cleaving anything to bits. "What're you waiting for?" she yelled. "Get him!"

Weregarurumon stepped out of the fog behind him. "Giving up already?" he asked.

Shurimon whirled around and launched his springy arms, but the werewolf was gone before the stars even reached where he had been. He reappeared to the side, and the same event played out. Six times, then seven times, and then eight times, Weregarurumon faded in and out of the fog, and Shurimon's stars never once got close to him. The Pure Ninja was very worn out; beads of sweat stained his white robe, and his chest heaved.

Yolei just got angrier and angrier; yet again, Matt was making a fool of her. "What're you doing?" she huffed. "This isn't aerobics class!"

Shurimon turned to her. "I can't get a clear shot in this fog," he explained. "Let's get out of here, and-"

"Don't tell me what to do, you lazy bum!" Yolei screamed, a vein in her neck throbbing. "Your job is to kick his ass!"

Shurimon lowered his stars; that really hurt. "Yolei..." he began.

"This incessant bickering annoys me," Weregarurumon said, emerging from the fog next to Yolei, no longer smiling. "We're done here." He raised his sharp claws and pounced.

Time stopped. Still not clear on what was happening, Yolei's knees gave out as the wolf went for her throat... and then Shurimon came between them. There was a wild snarl, a sharp cry, and then the horrible sound of ripping fabric and breaking bone. Then time sped back up, and Hawkmon lay face-down on the ground.

There was a ghastly silence. "Ha... Hawkmon?" she whispered. There was no response. She grabbed him and shook him. "Hawkmon!" she gasped, but still no answer came. The blood drained out of her face as she looked at his bruised body; what had she done? "HAWKMON!" she wailed.

"A fitting end for a useless Digimon," Weregarurumon said, advancing on her again. "And now for his equally useless human..."

Yolei's heart flipped upside down, and she could only shut her eyes and wait.

Suddenly, it got very hot, and something landed beside her. "Back off," a familiar voice said. Surprised, she opened her eyes. Flamedramon stood between Weregarurumon and herself, his claws burning.

"Another one?" Weregarurumon asked, shrugging. "You're all in the mood to die today... Good."

Flamedramon retained his composure. "You look kinda flammable," he said, pointing at him. "I like flammable."

The rope next to Yolei shook. "Yolei!" she heard Kari's voice. "Get back up here, quick!"

Yolei felt herself grab hold of Hawkmon and the rope, and then she was rising, out of the fog and into the sunset. The light only served to make her partner's injuries look even worse; he was bleeding from several areas, and it was getting on her clothes. "Hawkmon! Wake up!" she cried, but still there was no response.

There was an explosion in the fog, and Weregarurumon somersaulted out of the fog and climbed the opposite cliffside. He looked royally frustrated; one of the runs of his spiral had a crack on it. "Well! I guess not all of you are weaklings..." he snarled. "We'll finish this another day!" He leaped into the air and faded into darkness.

Flamedramon bounded back up and reverted to Veemon just as the others pulled Yolei to safety. "How're they doing?" he asked.

"Aww, man..." Armadillomon cringed as he saw Hawkmon's injuries. "This ain't good at all..."

Davis was bothered as well; Digimon could bleed? He didn't like that one bit.

Yolei couldn't stop her tears; they mixed with the blood in the sand. "Hawkmon!..." she repeated, almost hysterical. "Hawkmon! HAWKMON!"

* * *

"There..." Cody said, stepping back from his work, "now all we can do is wait." He was grateful that Joe had given him the med kit and showed him a little first aid, but he hadn't realized that he would use it so soon.

"Ya think he'll be OK?" Veemon asked.

"He oughta be; Cody said it wasn't all that serious," Davis repeated. "Still, Weregarurumon must be hella strong to knock Shurimon around like that."

A fresh wail came from nearby, making them all turn to Yolei. She had removed herself from the group and sat curled against the side of the spire, inconsolable. Why had she been such a hyperactive jerk? Looking back now, her whole attitude today had been even more childish than usual... and Hawkmon had paid the price for it. And after Sora had told her to take care of him, too! How could she face him? How could she call herself a Digidestined? These thoughts made her cry even harder.

"Hey... Yolei..." TK tried. "Cheer up; he's going to be fine..."

Her glasses were splotched with tears, blinding her. Fine for now, yes, but what about the next time? The way things had gone down against Weregarurumon, she might get someone else hurt... or worse! Matt was right; she was weak. She didn't deserve a partner, or this adventure. Forget what Tai or Sora had told her; this place wasn't for her.

Shakily, she got to her feet, her head still hung. "I... I'm staying here," she managed. "Go... go on without... without me."

This shocked everyone, even Davis. "What?" he asked. "We can't do that, ya dumbass!"

Kari sighed sadly. "Yolei..." she started.

"I don't wanna s-screw things up anymore..." she sobbed. "Just... just go!..."

TK, Davis and Kari exchanged worried looks, but Cody just shrugged. "All right," he said, "let's go."

Yolei stopped sobbing and stared at him. So did everyone else. Armadillomon looked at him in disbelief. "Cody, ain't that kinda cruel?" he asked.

He shook his head. "She'll come out of it; she just needs time," he said. "In the meantime, we must find the Emperor."

Davis made a fist. "Right!" he agreed. "Let's rock!"

TK nodded and grabbed his backpack. Kari sighed. She understood what Cody meant, but she still felt bad for Yolei. "...I'll stay," she spoke up.

Yolei shook her head. "No, no, don't," she urged. "You don't have to-"

"I want to," Kari replied. "Besides, if the Emperor's slaves come back, you'll need a bodyguard."

Gatomon nodded. "We're staying, and that's that," she stated.

The boys looked at each other. "Right, then," TK said. "We'll take Tentomon and scout around for clues. We'll be back by nightfall. If there's a problem, e-mail us."

"Right," Kari agreed. "You guys take care..."

Veemon laughed. "Not ta worry!" he chirped. "We've got Davith! What could possibly go wrong?"

Davis stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Shut up..." he grunted.

The boys, their Digimon and Tentomon set off to climb out of the basin. "I'm gonna go check the basin," Gatomon told her. "Maybe I can find some healing herbs or something." With that, she scampered off.

Kari turned back to Yolei, her smile fading. The purple-haired girl was in a delicate mood, but she wanted to understand why she had been acting so wild. "Yolei?" she asked.

With a sniffle, Yolei looked at her. "Um, I know you've been pretty... spunky... lately..." she continued, "but why?"

Yolei took off her glasses and rubbed at her eyes. Matt's words were still gnawing into her; she had to tell somebody. "Yesterday Matt said I was no good," she admitted. "It pissed me off... so I thought, if I threw myself into this... Work harder..."

"Oh..." Kari replied, folding her arms. "Yeah, I can see that... Matt doesn't like to highlight the positive... You shouldn't expect to please him. That's just how he is."

Yolei sniffled again. "But..." she tried.

"Look, Yolei, we're all part of the team," Kari went on. "We're all working hard. As long as you do your best, none of us is going to be mad."

Yolei sighed. Kari's words made her feel a little better, but she was still pretty low. If she did her best, nobody would be angry... but would they be safe, too?

* * *

"So, where do we go, anyway?" Davis asked, glancing around. After climbing back down Trolley Hill, he couldn't think of anywhere on File Island they hadn't been already.

"Let's follow the new spires," Patamon suggested. "They have to lead us somewhere!"

TK agreed. "Ken won't be around for much longer," he predicted.

"I hope not," Tentomon admitted. "I'm getting tired of all this construction in my woods!"

Davis, TK, Veemon and Patamon started off to the right. Cody was about to follow them when a subtle noise caught his ear, like an airplane's engine from the inside. He turned around and squinted at the forest. Was it just his imagination, or was there a dark patch moving along the tops of the trees?

Noticing his partner's tardiness, Armadillomon turned back. "What is it, Cody?" he asked.

"I thought I saw..." Cody began, but then looked again. The dark patch was gone, and the noise had faded away. He scratched his head in confusion; what had it been, if it it was anything at all?

"Yo, Cody!" Davis's voice came. "Take yer holiday snaps later! We've gotta move!"

Cody looked at the forest once more, then shrugged and ran to catch up.

* * *

Snimon, then Ebidramon, then Megaseadramon... Wormmon watched the screen flash through Digimon after Digimon, his mind curious and his heart heavy. The screen switched to an image of Garurumon, and all but his hind legs burst into pixels. The legs rotated around and various statistics came up, followed by the large, green word "GRAFT." The legs faded, and the screen continued its creature shuffle.

Just then, the chamber door opened, and in strode the Digimon Emperor. "I've got a fix on the last part," he stated to nobody in particular. "We'll have to double back, but it's just a matter of time now..."

An image of Kabuterimon appeared on the screen, and all but his head dissolved. The Emperor couldn't help but chuckle. Soon, those brats would be nothing but a bad memory. The Digital World would be his for the taking.

Wormmon sighed and looked up at his master. What was Ken doing?... and why?

* * *

A pasty circle blurred Hawkmon's vision as his eyes slowly opened to the orange sky of twilight. Blinking a few times, he found the circle had changed into Yolei's face, a smile of relief across her mouth. "Where... am I?" he asked quietly.

"You're safe," she replied. "Everything's going to be fine."

"The others will be back soon," Kari added, stepping into his range of vision and smiling at him.

He tried to get up, but a sharp pain shot through his back and he grunted angrily. "Hey, easy!" Yolei said, gently pushing him back down on the ground.

He coughed and stared up at the orange clouds. "I guess Weregarurumon knocked me around more than I remember..." he admitted.

Yolei's smile faded and she looked away. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I blew it... I blew it big time..."

Hawkmon stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he stated.

Kari coughed. "Um, I'm going to go see where Gatomon's gone off to..." she said, then promptly walked a distance from the spire.

Yolei sighed. "I was being really stupid," she elaborated, her voice cracking. "Off I went, thinking I could do whatever I wanted... but I never realized someone else could get hurt because of me... especially you."

"Come now, Yolei..." Hawkmon tried.

"I'm just so damn stubborn," she said, staring up at the sky and sniffling. "When I'm set on something, I just crash right through, without thinking about what could happen... It ruins everything!"

"Yolei..." Hawkmon tried again.

She sighed and hung her head. "Why am I such a wack job?..." she moaned, starting to cry again. "It's just like (hic) Matt said... I don't deserve to (hic) be a Digidestined!... You should... g-go and get a (hic) new partner!..."

She sniffled and hiccuped some more, but suddenly she felt feathers against her cheek, wiping away the tears. "Listen..." Hawkmon said. "Even if that's what happened today, your vigor and determination are an important part of you... You mustn't cast them off. In fact..." he paused and dragged himself into a sitting position, "...those are what I admire about you."

She stopped crying and looked at him through red eyes. "You... you mean that?..." she whimpered.

"I don't want a new partner," Hawkmon stated, folding his arms and nodding. "I have the best one."

Yolei stared at him. After all that had happened, the hell she had put him through, he had forgiven her. She felt happier than she ever had before. Tears started flowing again, but this time from joy. "I'm never gonna hurt you again, you big lug!" she declared, grabbing him and squeezing tightly.

"AGH!" he cried out. "You could start now!"

As Yolei let him go and apologized again, Kari and Gatomon watched from nearby. "Well, I think it's time to make the medicine," Gatomon said, clutching the herbs that she had found. "She's gonna kill him with kindness."

Kari smiled at the scene. In spite of the chaotic mess that she had started off in, Yolei had grown a lot today. With that newfound knowledge, she had a little more hope for their chances against the Emperor.

* * *

By the time night had fallen, Hawkmon was back on his feet and performing his odd bird aerobics. "One, two, one, two..." he huffed, swinging his wings back and forth.

"How're you doing?" Yolei asked.

"Quite well, actually," Hawkmon replied. "We Digimon heal very quickly, but those herbs have sped it up even more! Thanks, Gatomon."

Gatomon waved her paw. "Oh, go on..." she replied. "I'm just glad there was something growing in this place. I thought I'd have to go back down the hill!"

Kari was smiling until that moment. Down the hill? Her memory clicked. "Where are the boys?" she asked aloud. "They said they'd be back by now!"

Yolei whipped out her D-Terminal. "I'll send 'em a letter, ask where they are," she said, her thumbs hammering the buttons.

Gatomon's ears suddenly perked up. There was a strange noise behind Yolei's typing. "Stop," she commanded. "What's that?"

Yolei stopped typing and they all listened. Surely enough, there was a quiet hum; it reminded the girls of the sound of the engine when inside an airplane. As they listened, it got louder; whatever it was was getting closer.

"I do believe it's coming from that way," Hawkmon said, pointing to the lip of the basin that they had climbed down.

As quickly as they could, the girls and their partners scaled the basin and looked around. The noise was definitely louder, but they still couldn't see where it was coming from. "What could it be?..." Kari asked aloud.

Yolei shrugged. "An invisible airplane?"

Almost to rebuke her, the air around the forest shimmered, and they were blinded by a dazzling array of flashing lights. Like cockroaches, the Digidestined scampered under the nearest trolley, the slowly peered at it again. "Holy..." was all Yolei could say.

Kari's eyes widened. A huge, flying rock... shaped like a toilet! And there was a big, sparkling dome on its front! This was the base that Cody had described!... and it was the size of a metropolis! "Yolei! You were right!" she exclaimed, pointing. "It DOES fly!"

"Yeah, but I didn't think it could cloak itself, too!" Yolei answered. THAT explained why Tentomon hadn't seen it leave!

"The Emperor must be a genius to have built something so big..." Hawkmon remarked.

Gatomon hissed at it. "I don't care HOW smart he is," she growled. "We're getting rid of him."

Now that it had dropped its cloak, the base was clearly moving across the landscape. "Which way is it headed?" Kari asked.

Yolei quickly guessed at where north was and calculated the trajectory. "Southeast, looks like," she reported. "What's that way?"

Kari thought for a moment. If it hadn't changed with the rest of the Digital World, the only thing that lay that way was a beach, and then the ocean. "He must be heading out to sea," she replied.

Yolei pulled out her D-Terminal and resumed her e-mail. "I'll tell 'em to rondevous at the beach," she said. "If we're taking THAT thing down, we'll need ALL of us!"

Gatomon stared after the flying monstrosity with rage in her feline eyes. They would take it down, all right... and then she would make that Emperor sorry he had ever set foot in their world.

* * *

The stars always looked lovelier when one was among them, the Digimon Emperor mused as he walked along the corridor, staring out at the night sky. His operations had been restrained to the ground around Rail Town for most of his reign, but his luck had changed when he had first created the dark spirals. His underlings had come across that mysterious black object that gave off unlimited amounts of energy, and almost overnight he had come up with a way to bring his magnificent fortress a little bit closer to heaven... and what luck that the object had energy left over for him to create the cloaking mechanism that he had always wanted! And now- he chuckled to himself- the final piece of his perfect system was about to be finished.

He opened a door and stepped into a large, dark room. Chains rattled before him, and a low growl filled his ears, making his chest swell. This was indeed the ultimate program; its noises even terrified him.

"Be patient, my pet," he crooned into the dark; he had always wanted to say that. "You aren't yet complete... Just one more part..."

The chains rattled angrily and whatever it was roared loudly. The Emperor couldn't help but laugh. It truly was "endgame."


	16. Born Of The Dark Pool

**CHAPTER 16**

**BORN OF THE DARK POOL**

"I hope they aren't far off," Kari said as Yolei, Hawkmon, Gatomon and she emerged from the dark forest onto the sandy southeastern shore of File Island. "We have to hurry!"

Yolei looked around at the beach. Despite the ocean's natural beauty, it was obstructed by a jagged row of spires leading far out into the water. The Emperor's base sparked and flashed in the distant sky, even outshining the moon. As she stared at it, she noticed something else; a fire on the beach, just off to her left. Even in the dark, she could make out the fluttering shape of Patamon and the fire's reflection in Davis's goggles. "Nope, not far at all," she said, pointing.

"Hey!" Davis called, waving. "You guys!"

The girls ran as quickly as they could and rejoined their friends. "Good to see you're all right," Cody said. "We reached the sea as soon as we got your message."

Veemon held up several sticks with hot dogs attached to the ends. "Get yer grub on!" he announced. "There's plenty for everyone!"

Famished, the girls accepted the sticks and everyone had a late-night dinner. "Feeling any better, Yolei?" Cody asked.

Yolei already had half of a hot dog down her throat. "Oh, yeah," she managed, giving a thumbs-up. "Feein' way behher now!"

"Great..." Davis replied dryly; even he knew not to talk with his mouth full.

"How about you, Hawkmon?" Tentomon asked the bird, munching his food.

"As fit as a fiddle," Hawkmon replied, showing his unbandaged body. "Thank you."

TK couldn't concentrate on his meal; he kept glancing out to sea, at the shining base. "So, that's where he's been hiding..." he said.

"No foohin'!" Yolei admitted, spitting meat flecks. "Ih can e'en go inhisibuh! No 'under we neher knew where he wah!"

"Well, we know now," Patamon pointed out.

Kari sighed and folded her arms. "Until it goes invisible again, that is..." she admitted.

"So we'll follow the spire trail!" Davis pointed out.

"And if he stops making them?..." Cody asked. From Davis's irritated look, he knew that he had him. "We have to find some way to track the base. That way, we can always find it," he finished.

Leaving half of her meal dangling from her mouth, Yolei pulled out her D-Terminal and started typing. "I'll achh Izzeh ta ge' riiigh' on ih!" she stated, the weenie bouncing around like something unpleasant.

"I'm sure Izzy can come up with something," Tentomon said, nodding vigorously. "He's never let me down before!"

"In the meantime, the base is gettin' further an' further away," Veemon pointed out. "Shouldn't we go after it?"

Gatomon shook her head. "We've been through enough today," she pointed out. "We have to rest up so we're fully prepared."

"But wouldn't attackin' at night be a good plan?" Armadillomon asked.

"It would," Cody agreed, "but not if we're all too exhausted to fight properly."

"Aww, rat piss," Davis grouched, biting his hot dog angrily. He was anxious to go kick the snot out of Ken, but he saw Cody's point. He had been walking around all day and his feet still ached.

"OK, then," Kari said, "we'll get rest tonight, then head after it in the morning. Tomorrow's when we'll finish this."

"I'm all for that," Veemon said, then yawned. "Waaagh... Just talkin' about rest is makin' me tired..."

"Yeah... I'm beat!..." Yolei said, yawning and stretching her arms out. Hawkmon instinctively grabbed her limbs and forced them back down to her sides, containing the possible biohazard.

Cody looked around at the beach. It was nice enough, but threats could lurk anywhere. "I'm not too tired," he said, glancing at Armadillomon. "We'll keep watch for a while."

"What?" Armadillomon groaned. "Aww... What Davis said earlier!"

"If you say so, Cody," Kari said, opening her backpack and pulling out a pink sleeping bag. "It's about 10:30 now... Wake me at 1:00 and I'll take over."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Davis interrupted, dropping his gray bag onto the sand; no way was he going to let Kari's beauty sleep get ruined. "Forget that! Cody, wake ME up at one."

Veemon grimaced. "But you always sleep through your alarms..." he pointed out. "Your mom practically drags you out of bed-"

He couldn't say any more; Davis's hand was clamped over his mouth. "Like I said... wake me up," he repeated. "And then I'll wake TK up at 4 or somethin'."

"Thanks, Davis," Kari said, getting into her bag. "Goodnight, everyone."

Everyone but Cody crawled into their sleeping bags and closed their eyes. No sooner had five minutes passed, though, then the air was split by a loud, rude noise.

"My bad," Yolei mumbled.

Cody sighed and shook his head. Who said they wouldn't be doing any camping activities?

* * *

Being sleepy during the night watch was one problem that Cody didn't have. Unfortunately, he did have another: boredom. Listening to Davis's and Yolei's snoring was only entertaining for the first five minutes. He glanced around, looking for some way to spend the time without leaving his post.

Armadillomon yawned deeply beside him. "I swear, Cody," he muttered, "you're the only kid I know who would volunteer for night watch."

"Yes, not one of the older kids did," Tentomon, who was running on nervous energy, recalled. "They settled it by drawing sticks... but Joe and Gomamon usually got first shift anyway. I don't know why they always had such bad luck!"

Cody scratched his chin. Stick? That was it! "Thank you, Tentomon," he said, going to his pack and extracting his wooden shinai, "that was exactly what I needed."

"Um, you're welcome... I think," Tentomon replied.

The sand was too loose and rough to perform many movements, and his cries would surely wake the others up, so Cody contented himself to practicing basic slashes. As he repeated each one, honing its accuracy as he swung, his mind drifted to that wretch, the Digimon Emperor. He still had Metalgreymon and Weregarurumon under his control, and those two could take up all of their Digimon's energy. He had brought his shinai to assist his friends, and, as unlikely and shameful as it was, he relished the thought of bashing Ken's skull with it. That oppressive, twisted fiend had no honor, and deserved to be struck down... and he, the youngest of the Hida family, was just the one to do it.

Suddenly, though, there were footsteps behind him. Instantly he leaped around in a fighting stance, surprising his assailant.

"Oh! Cody!" TK gulped, the shinai inches from his throat, "sorry I startled you!"

Cody hesitated, then lowered the weapon with surprise. "What're you doing up?" he asked. "It's not even time to rouse Davis yet..."

"If'n ya need a toilet, there're some palm trees up that way," Armadillomon mentioned, pointing, "but don't use the one with the rock under it; I already marked that one."

TK shifted his weight. Patamon, who floated behind him, looked at him with the same question. "No..." he started, "I heard something... and I wanted to have a look around."

Cody blinked. "I didn't hear anything," he replied.

TK's expression turned more grave. "Oh... you didn't..." he said, staring at the sand. "I didn't think so..."

Cody was now very puzzled. What was TK getting at? "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Do you feel sick?" Tentomon asked. "Cody has some medicine in his bag..."

TK quieted and stared out at the ocean. Then, much to their surprise, he raised his D3 and Patamon became Pegasusmon. "I'll be back soon," he said, mounting his ride. "Something out there just doesn't feel right..."

"What?" Cody objected, starting towards him. "Don't be absurd! What are you-"

Before he could finish, Pegasusmon took off across the water, headed in the direction of the Emperor's base. Cody watched him go with both shock and anger. How could he just leave the rest of them like this? More importantly, why? Was he going to attack the Emperor's base on his own? That didn't sound at all like him.

"Ohh, this is bad!" Tentomon fretted. "We've gotta follow him!"

"Yeah," Armadillomon agreed. "He could get hurt..."

Cody hesitated for a moment, then returned his shinai to his bag. Guard duty meant watching out for everyone, even if they run off. He had to go after TK. "Right," he declared, raising his own D3. "Into the water, Armadillomon."

Armadillomon hopped into the ocean and became Submarimon. With Tentomon perched on top, they shot off into the dark. Setting the controls on autopilot, Cody typed out a letter to Yolei on his D-Terminal explaining what had happened... he just wished he could tell them why.

* * *

The ocean breeze that blew through TK's hair was tropical and humid. He could feel his hair curling at its tips from all the salt. There was nothing out here but water; the Emperor's spires had even vanished... and the base as well The only way he could tell the difference between the dark sky and the dark water was the rippling moon beneath him.

"Excuse me, TK," Pegasusmon piped up, "but why did we leave the others, anyway?"

TK shook his head. As he lay in his bag, he had suddenly become aware of somebody whispering his name. He had awoken and looked around, but everyone but Cody was still sleeping. When he got up, he realized that the voice wasn't coming from nearby; it seemed to come from out in the ocean. Since Cody couldn't hear it, he took it upon himself to find out what it was. Even now, he could hear the whispering in the breeze. It wasn't a gentle whisper, either; malice tipped its edges. "You can't hear it, either?" he asked Pegasusmon.

"I don't hear anything but the wind and you," Pegasusmon replied, looking worried. "What is it?"

TK sighed. If even his Digimon partner couldn't hear this whisper, then what could it be? Was it just his imagination? Maybe it was brought on by worry about facing the Emperor, or-

Suddenly, as they passed one small island, Pegasusmon slowed to a stop. "Good grief!" he exclaimed. "TK, look down!"

As TK looked down, the ocean beneath him raged and swirled as if it were in a mighty drain, and a whirlpool opened up. This was no ordinary whirlpool, however; it was HUGE. At a quick estimate, he figured it had the diameter of a baseball stadium, and its waters were racing around at alarming speed. The air around him changed as it opened; the air turned chilly and harsh. He shuddered and hugged himself; it felt just like the air in that strange, gray world that Kari had been sucked into.

Pegasusmon felt it, too. "I don't like this," he said. "Let's go back to the others."

TK was about to agree, but then he heard the whispers again... and to his horror, he realized that they were coming from that whirlpool... indeed, from the dark center of it. He bit his lip and frowned. If he wanted to know where that voice was coming from, there was only one choice. "No," he said. "We're going down there."

Pegasusmon gave him a look that made him question his sanity, but he obeyed. Slowly, he descended into the eye of the swirling waters. It certainly went a long way down; even when they had gone down a ways, they could not see the bottom.

Suddenly, TK heard a loud moan, and he whipped around to see a gray, hazy shape fly past him, leaving a misty trail. As it turned back for another pass, he shuddered at its hollow eyes and drooping mouth. It looked like a melting ghost. Several of these specters now flew around them, wailing and diving at them. "What ARE these things?" he asked.

"I don't know," Pegasusmon said, swatting at one with his hoof, "but they don't look like any Digimon I know!"

TK could still hear the whispering beneath the wails; whatever was calling him was even further into the liquid pit. "Further down," he ordered, and Pegasusmon obeyed.

The phantoms dispersed, but in place of something else; the water ceased to be blue and changed to a dull, light gray. As they descended, that became a dirty gray, and then a charcoal gray... and then finally it was as black as charcoal. The sound of the rampaging water was gone, and all TK could hear was that whisper.

Pegasusmon heard it now, too, and the hair on his mane stood on end. "Is THAT what you hear?" he asked.

"Yes..." TK agreed, his eyes darting around in the darkness for its source.

Pegasusmon stopped descending. "We have to get out of here," he said, almost sounding frantic. "This is-"

TK didn't hear the rest. Something knocked him off of his partner's back and he plummeted into the void.

* * *

Cody winced as the sun plowed into his eyes from the left. Submarimon had swam this way all night, and there was no trace of TK at all. It was true that Submarimon was nowhere near as fast as Pegasusmon, but still, they at least should have saw something. "Great..." he grunted. "Tentomon, do you see anything?"

The answer was a buzzing snore, and Cody looked up in irritation; Tentomon had fallen asleep, again. Angrily he punched the top of the glass, making the bug jump in surprise. "Agh! N-no! Nothing!" Tentomon yelped.

Submarimon peered ahead and winced. A gigantic whirlpool was in the distance, and it didn't look gentle. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all," he sighed. "Anyway, we can't go through that whirlpool..."

Cody huffed angrily. A whole night with no sleep, and all for a sleepy bug and a crummy whirlpool! "Fine, that's it," he grouched, pulling the control sticks to the right. "We're turning around and going-"

Suddenly, he stopped. With the sun out of his eyes, he could see something beneath the water... something huge. It looked like a giant rock, but the shape looked familiar. "Tentomon, wait here," he said, then dove into the water.

Submarimon swam deep down and Cody's eyes widened. Here, floating like a gigantic submarine, was the Digimon Emperor's base! A loud hum in the water told him that it was fully functional, and he gritted his teeth. How could this gigantic thing both fly and move through the water?

"Well, at least this wasn't a total loss," Submarimon pointed out. "We found the base!"

Whether it was fatigue or rage or both, Cody decided that now was a time to act. "We're going in," he declared, opening his D-Terminal again. "Give me our coordinates; I'll tell Yolei."

"But what about TK?" Submarimon asked.

"Maybe he's already inside," Cody replied, "or he went back, like you thought. Either way, this is an opportunity we can't pass up. Now, where's an entrance?"

Submarimon swam closer to the base and started checking for openings. Cody was amazed that they could get this close to the base; he had expected some sort of defense system. The Emperor must have been figured that they couldn't get at him anyway, he thought... and that overconfidence was what would dethrone him.

As they swam along the bottom, Cody noticed a large hole on the very back of the base, perhaps where a propeller would be if it were a cruiser. "There it is," he declared. "Full speed in."

Submarimon spun around and, neither of them knowing what awaited them, slipped into the portal.

* * *

"I just don't get it!" Kari complained, pacing back and forth on the sand. "Why did they just leave? We can't stop Ken if we're split up!"

Yolei stared at her D-Terminal, studying Cody's messages. "He says TK was acting weird and left, so he wanted to follow him," she said. "Then in the other e-mail, he tells us where the base is, but nothing about TK... Looks like there're some crossed wires..."

Kari sighed. "Do you think he's... they're OK?" she asked.

"I'm sure they're fine," Yolei replied. "TK's done this stuff before, and Cody wouldn't do anything stupid... but we've got the base coordinates; let's get over there and find 'em!"

Kari agreed immediately. "OK, but let's tell Tai," she said, taking out her D-Terminal. "Like Cody said, we need Izzy to track the base."

Over on the other side of the beach, Davis and Veemon were busy packing up everyone's gear. Veemon kept looking at his partner with curiosity. Usually when TK did something on his own, Davis got angry... It was something involving Kari, but he didn't see how she played into it. Today, though, he seemed calm and collected. "Gee, Davith, you're really takin' TK leavin' well," he remarked.

Davis beamed at him. "Yeah, that's because he's made a big mistake," he said mischievously. "He's left me alone with Kari!"

Veemon scratched his head; he still didn't understand. "What's that mean?" he asked.

"Easy!" Davis cackled. "With him out of the way, I have time to make a move on her!"

Veemon's face still showed befuddlement. "...Is she some kinda game?" he asked.

"Ahh, you'll learn about it when you're older," Davis said, stuffing the rest of his swag into his duffle bag. He couldn't be bothered with Veemon's stupidity right now; it was time to get Kari to go for him. Yes, they should focus on the Emperor, but this chance didn't come often. In five minutes, she would be melting in his arms, like butter on-

There was a loud whoosh behind him, and Nefertimon and Halsemon flew over his head. His good mood died. "HEY!" he yelled, but it was too late; the girls were already far out to sea, out of earshot.

"Ooh..." Veemon winced. "How're we gonna follow 'em, Davith?"

Davis didn't hear him; he was too busy weaving a tapestry of obscenity.

* * *

Izzy frowned at the letter on his laptop, wondering if good news and bad news always came at the same time. Still, the coordinates were useful; he pulled up the Digital World map and started checking that square for something he could track.

Tai and Matt crowded him on the sides of the wooden picnic table, both trying to get a better look. "Man, this bites," Tai grumbled. "They can't deal with Ken properly if they're split up!"

Matt folded his arms. "I knew they couldn't pull it off," he admitted. "Those new kids just weren't ready for this."

"TK left, too!" Tai rebuked. "In fact, he left first!"

Matt shrugged. "If HE went off on his own, he must have had a good reason," he replied.

Tai sighed. That was Matt; critical of everyone except his little brother. He was about to say something else, but Izzy cut them off with a cry of shock. "There's something there!" he announced, showing them the map. The highlit square was flashing between white and black, as if it couldn't decide which color it wanted to be.

"Is it Ken's base?" Tai asked.

Izzy shook his head. "I don't know..." he admitted, "but whatever it is, it's sucking up a huge amount of data! And Cody's D3 is coming from nearby!"

Matt dropped his skeptical act and glared at the screen. What was happening in that ocean?

At a nearby stream, Hiroaki pulled up another snarled fishing line with nothing on it. He grumbled to himself as he pulled out his scissors. The kids had wanted to go camping; why was _he_ the one doing all the fishing? What he would do for a hamburger about now...

* * *

The light changed green, and Jun quickly walked across the busy intersection. Why had Matt sped off like that? Maybe it was some kind of game? If it was, he must have forgotten to give her directions; if she hadn't been able to coax the campground's information out of Izzy's mother, she would have never been able to catch up.

Reaching the other side of the concrete, she looked around and spotted the bus depot. She just had to get on and she would be back with Matt by lunchtime! She knew just what to make him, too; her world-famous eggless omelet! Davis always said it made him "spew like a drunken sailor," but she knew Matt would appreciate her cooking. After all, they were made for each other!

A engine's hiccup snapped her back to reality, and the bus pulled out and drove off. "HEY!" she cried out, racing after it, but it was already gone. She watched it disappear around a corner and her head sagged. Juliet never had this problem!

* * *

"TK... TK! Wake up!" Patamon's little voice came into his ear, and then something poked him in the cheek. His eyes slowly fluttered open to a sideways view of a cold, cement floor. Patamon floated above him, looking worried.

"Ugh..." he groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position and rubbed at his eyes. "What hit me?..."

"I don't know!" Patamon replied. "One second you were on my back, and then the next one you fell! And then I got knocked out, too!"

TK looked at his surroundings. Somehow, this was not what he envisioned the bottom of a whirlpool to look like. He sat on the floor of a large, stone building full of gray conveyor belts. Hundreds of gray, egg-shaped objects rode along them, like a solemn merry-go-round ride. Dangerous-looking black guns hung all along the walls, each one bent and twisted into an eerie, gothic-like shape. Though all of the machines were running, no noises filled the room except his breathing.

There were workers standing at the conveyor belts as well, and as TK looked at them, his heart leaped into his throat; they were the same shadowy, fish-eyed creatures that had tried to grab Kari! He cried out in alarm, but none of them turned around. In fact, none of them even noticed that he was there; they were all focused on their tasks.

Curious, he got up and walked over to one of the belts. They were putting smaller egg-shaped things in the bigger ones- which he now saw were just empty casings- and screwing on tops. TK frowned; they were making bombs. It was just like a silent World War II propaganda film... but with monsters.

"Wow... That's really weird," Patamon remarked. "Putting little eggs inside big eggs? What're they making?"

"...Bombs, Patamon," he replied. "They're building bombs."

Patamon looked at him. "But why?" he asked.

TK shook his head; too many questions filled his head at once. Why was this place at the bottom of the whirlpool? Had these shadow creatures brought him here like they had brought Kari to that ocean? Why were they making weapons? And, most importantly, how could he get back to his friends? They had to be worried sick about him by now.

"Let's try asking one," Patamon suggested, fluttering over to one on the end of a conveyor belt, who placed each bomb into a gray, wooden case. "Scuse me! Can you tell me what you're doing?"

Much to his surprise, the shadowy creature picked up its box and walked away... right through him. Patamon felt himself go numb for a moment, then shuddered wildly. "Woah!" he cried. "What was that? It's like they're not even here!"

TK looked at the creature next to him, then slowly put his hand out. Surely enough, his hand went right through it, instantly turning cold. He jerked it back quickly. "Or like WE'RE not even here," he added.

His eye went to another shadowy creature with a crate of bombs. It was walking through a nearby door along with several other creatures. Curiosity trumping fear, he slowly followed them in, with Patamon at his heels. "TK, shouldn't we be looking for a way out of here?" he asked.

"I want to know what this is all about," TK replied. "This has to be here for a reason..."

Patamon gulped. "What if we don't want to know the reason?" he asked.

They stepped into a windowless chamber filled to the brim with weaponry. Twisted black guns lay stacked on metal shelves. Gnarled javelins leaned against walls. Crooked metal claws hung from hooks... and several dark gray tanks with thorny treads lined the back of the room. Flickering gray bulbs hanging from the ceiling cast more darkness than they did light. The shadow creatures placed their bomb crates in a stack of several hundred others, then turned and slunked back towards their stations.

"It looks like they're getting ready for a big war," Patamon pointed out, sitting on TK's head.

As he walked back into the main room, TK folded his arms and thought hard. Kari had said that Ken had enslaved these creatures once... Maybe they were assembling an arsenal to fight him? Still, all those tanks and guns seemed like overkill... "I... guess so..." he replied to his partner.

Just then, a loud whine of feedback made them both jump. "_Attention... Attention..._" a hollow, empty voice rasped from above them, "_wou-u-u-uld Takeru Takaiiiisssshiii and hissss Pa-a-atamonnn pleeeeease report to the fo-o-o-o-oreman'ssss officccccce..._"

A hot wave of fright dribbled down TK's spine as every creature in the factory suddenly stared at him. They didn't attack or speak; they just looked right at him, like dozens of living mannequins.

"Um, TK..." Patamon whimpered from above, "m-maybe we should go there... like, now."

TK certainly wanted to get away from all those gazes, but he didn't know where that office was. As if they could read his mind, all of the creatures raised their spindly arms and pointed to his left, towards a doorway with a flight of stone steps inside. He rubbed at his eyes again; had that been there before?

Whether it had been or not, he was getting out of that room. He ran over to the steps and started up them.

* * *

"!" Davis yelled, stamping his feet in the sand. Why had everybody left him behind? Sure, Veemon was the only one of their Digimon who couldn't fly or swim, but they didn't have to just ditch him like this! And they left all of their stuff, too! "What am I?" he snarled at Veemon, "some kinda pack mule? Do I LOOK like a pack mule?"

Veemon grimaced. "Well, no..." he admitted, "but how can we follow 'em?"

Davis grunted. He wasn't going to let TK get Kari away from him so easily; he would follow her to the ends of the earth, until she was his. But how could he get across the ocean? He looked up and down the beach for some kind of idea. Yolei had an air mattress; he could inflate that and make it into a raft... but no, that would sink under his weight... He could make a hang glider from the plastic ground sheet that Cody had brought... but there were no high cliffs to jump from. One by one, his ideas bit the dust, which naturally made him angrier. "What the hell?" he yelled, exasperated. "Nobody packed a motorboat?"

Veemon looked around and spied a palm tree on a patch of beach grass. "I dunno about that, but I could use breakfast!" he exclaimed, running over to it. "Davith, let's get a coconut!"

Davis looked over at the palm tree and suddenly his brain sparked again. "THAT'S IT!" he cried joyfully, and raced for his bag.

Veemon's eyebrow raised at this change in attitude. "A coconut?" he asked.

"No!" Davis said, running to the tree with his knife, "the tree! We can make a canoe!"

He lifted his leg and gave the wood a goal-strength kick, and the tree dropped to an acute angle. Just as he was about to kick it again, the ground beneath him shook, and all of the land between the tree and where their equipment lay tore off away from the coast! He grabbed onto the trunk as the whole wad of ground set sail in the direction that his friends had gone.

Veemon was very impressed. "Awesome, Davith!" he yelled. "I didn't think ya could push THAT hard!"

Davis was impressed, too, but then he remembered that this was the Digital World; practically anything was possible... and now they were sailing fairly quickly, and they could carry all of their equipment with them! "Well, it beats a dumpy ol' canoe!" he chuckled, letting go of the tree.

They watched the waves roll by for a few minutes, and then Davis got bored. It was a good thing he had brought his airplane magazine.

The fun was over for Veemon, too; there was a greenish hue around his gray cheeks. "Hey, Davith..." he gurgled, "how come we're on land... and I'm gettin' seasick?..."

* * *

At the top of the spiral staircase was a single, metal door with the word "FOREMAN" stamped on it. TK wondered just who could be running this silent factory; was it another of those creatures? He didn't understand them at all. The ones who had taken Kari could touch her, but his hand just passed through the ones here...

"Hey, TK," Patamon urged, "are you going to open that door?"

Snapped back into the present, TK shook his head. "Sorry," he apologized, and then opened the door.

He entered a long, wide, low-ceilinged, empty office with only a gray, metal desk for decoration. The carpet was gray, as were the bare walls; there wasn't even a clock or a calendar. The far wall was a long glass window that looked down into the factory. A lone figure stood at that window, his back turned to him... but he was all too familiar. As TK looked at its black body, its ragged, torn wings, and its protruding horns, the hair on his neck shot up.

Patamon recognized the shape, too, but he reacted with anger more than fear. "You!" he snapped.

The figure turned around to reveal his deep, red eyes and fanged sneer. "It's been a long time," he said in his low, gravelly voice. "You've grown up a bit."

TK swallowed hard. This was Devimon, an evil Digimon that he had faced five years ago. Back then, all seven of the Digidestined had landed on File Island, and this demonic foe had been the first to try and kill them. He had taken mysterious black gears from beneath the earth and plunged them into other Digimon, turning them bad... much like Ken's dark rings. "But..." he said out loud, "you died! Angemon killed you!"

Devimon folded his arms and shook his head. "Don't you remember, boy?" he asked. "All Digimon are reborn, regardless of their nature... but that doesn't mean I've forgotten what happened."

TK bit his lip. Devimon was right about that; no matter what type of monster they were, all Digimon were reborn... but what was he doing here, in this factory with all these ghosts and weapons? "Why is this down in the whirlpool?" he asked.

"Because I called you from it," Devimon replied. "Simple enough reason, isn't it?"

TK exhaled; he knew that whispering voice had sounded familiar. So, Devimon had called him all the way down here... but why?

Patamon asked that question next, more angry than puzzled. "What do you want?" he demanded.

Ignoring the little pig, Devimon turned back to the window. "Look at all of these weapons..." he said, waving his arm across the glass. "Aren't they magnificent? If there's one thing the Deadmon do well, it's making tools to feed their own ranks."

TK frowned. Deadmon? Is that what those eerie creatures were called? "What... What are they for?" he asked.

Devimon chuckled darkly. "I don't want to ruin it," he said, "but you'll find out soon enough... Both worlds will find out soon enough."

Both worlds? Soon enough? TK didn't know what that meant, but he didn't like the sound of it. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Devimon chuckled again. "Perhaps I shouldn't have said so much," he said. "After all, you won't be reaching the future I've shown you..."

TK's fingers clutched his D3. "You want to settle the score?" he concluded. "Didn't you get enough the first time?"

Devimon's fanged grin widened. "What makes you think you can do as well now?" he cackled.

"I can take you any day of the week!" Patamon declared. "TK! Let's go!"

"Yes, yes!" Devimon laughed. "Show me just what your amazing, wonderful new powers can do!"

Patamon became Pegasusmon, but right away Devimon shot forward and seized him by the throat. Because the office was so small, the horse couldn't take to the air to defend himself, and his needle hairs shot every which way; TK had to leap out of the way of a few of them. "Pegasusmon!" he called.

Pegasusmon grunted and thrashed around, but the demon would not let go. "Yes, that's right!" Devimon laughed. "Struggle as much as you like!" He thrust his spindly claws onto Pegasusmon's chest and tore at it wildly; Pegasusmon cried out in anguish.

TK looked around; there had to be something he could do to help. His eye fell on the window. If they could get into that big factory, then Pegasusmon would have enough room to fight. He quickly grabbed the chair behind the desk and hurled it through the glass. "Get outside!" he called to his partner. "Hurry!"

As much pain as he was in, Pegasusmon pushed forward and flew through the window, sending Devimon and a snow of glass shards to the floor below. The devil Digimon crashed down on a conveyor belt, setting off dozens of the bombs. With high-pitched hisses, at least ten of the shadowy Deadmon dissolved into black smoke.

Though Pegasusmon could fly now, Devimon was fast. He flew out of the smoke and struck the horse in the face, then slashed at his wings. Pegasusmon crashed into a wall and plummeted onto another conveyor belt, setting off more bombs and destroying more Deadmon. Devimon then swooped down, grabbed him by the face and hurled him into the far wall. "Does it hurt?" he asked, landing and walking towards Pegasusmon's crash site, "I certainly hope so."

TK's mouth ran dry as Devimon hurled his partner around like a rag doll, and more and more Deadmon exploded. In his battles up until now, all Pegasusmon had done was destroy rings and spirals... but did an Armor Digimon actually have a chance against a Champion like Devimon?

* * *

The swirling froth of blackened water was the only thing that gave off any light in the Digimon Emperor's throne room. The Emperor smirked at it and leaned back in his chair. His sensors recorded an amazing amount of power coming from the center of that whirlpool... and if there was power, then he was destined to have it.

Wormmon stared at the floor beside his master's throne, shivering; he was unbelievably cold, and staring into that whirlpool wasn't helping him any. "Why do you need to come here, Ken?..." he asked.

"My sources tell me there's an evil Digimon in there," the Emperor replied, leaning forward and folding his hands. "Once I get its data, I'll have what I need to finish my ultimate program."

Wormmon shivered again. Whatever was down there, it was nothing good. If Ken went down there... "But..." he tried to object.

"Just think," the Emperor said, ignoring him, "with that power, those pests could be gone by tomorrow! Then the world's as good as mine! I'm so close..." He cackled quietly. "So close!..."

Wormmon shook his head violently; he had heard enough. "D-Don't!" he pleaded. "Please don't do it, Ken!"

The Emperor turned frowned at him. "What are you babbling about?" he snapped. "Of course I'm doing it."

"But... but..." Wormmon stammered, "it's so cold... There's something awful down there... Something really and truly evil... It scares me. I'm scared, Ken!"

The Emperor regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. The little worm looked really terrified; could it really be that bad? After another moment, his frown reappeared. If whatever was down there made Digimon fear for their lives, he concluded, then he absolutely had to have it. "Fine," he said, getting up, "then YOU stay away from it."

Something grabbed his leg, and he looked down into Wormmon's tear-filled, frightened eyes. "Don't!" the worm pleaded again, almost shouting. "Please, Ken! DON'T!"

Ken's fury boiled over. "NOBODY orders me around!" he shouted, swinging his leg forcefully. Wormmon flew backwards and splattered against the wall. That problem out of the way, he turned and left. He had a prize to set a course for.

* * *

Kari sighed, staring down at the clear, blue water. "Do you think Davis is mad at us?" she asked Yolei. Half an hour out to sea, she found herself feeling downright low. She could at least have told Davis and Veemon that they were going after TK and Cody.

Yolei, on the other hand, didn't seem to give a hoot; she answered the question with a big raspberry. "Who cares?" she asked, grinning mischievously.

Kari sighed again. Neither TK nor Cody had answered the e-mails that she had sent, and they had just left Davis behind without a word; this wasn't how a team functioned. "It's just..." she continued, knowing she was about to become a hypocrite, "if we keep splitting up like this, how can we stop Ken?"

"Don't get your panties in a pretzel," Yolei assured her with a wave of her hand. "Davis'll get his licks in; you'll see!"

A slight smile came to Kari's face; she wished she could be as sure about things as Yolei was. She was about to say so when her D-Terminal beeped; she had just got an e-mail. She quickly opened it, but her excitement dwindled when she saw it was from Izzy. What could have happened to TK and Cody?

As she read the letter, though, her question was partly answered:

_Kari,_

_Big energy distortion in ocean east of you._

_Cody's signal was last detected there._

_Izzy_

"I'll betcha that's Ken's flying turd," Yolei said. "Let's make a beeline for it."

"I'm all for that," Halsemon agreed. "Quickly, now!"

Kari looked at the e-mail again, then nodded. At least they could regroup with Cody. "Let's go, Nefertimon!" she urged her partner.

Both flying creatures veered left and sped off.

* * *

From the rocky exterior, Cody never would have imagined that the inside of the Emperor's base would look like a sci-fi starship. Nodes flashed a rainbow of colors among the metallic panels, and monitors on every wall showed the ocean outside, each with the word "GIGAS" flickering in the corner. How did a child such as Ken ever build something so massive and intricate?

"Hey, Cody," Armadillomon asked, "what's 'Gigas' mean?"

"A kind of giant from Greek mythology," Cody answered. "As for the context here... I think it's the name of this base."

"Well, he sure picked a good name," his partner replied. "This place is bigger than a bread box factory!"

The only way out of the small room they had entered was a flight of metal steps. "Let's see what else is in here," he said, starting up them.

As they climbed it, the staircase spiraled around a wide middle metal pillar, like it was inside a castle turret. "Ya think that's a room?" Armadillomon asked after they had climbed for ten minutes.

"If it is, it's huge," Cody replied. "Maybe we'll find a door higher up."

"Hope it ain't much higher up..." Armadillomon wheezed. "I ain't built for climbin' stairs..."

Five minutes and two hundred steps later, Cody's guess came true... sort of. They came to an opening in the wall, but as he started to walk into it, he leaped back. The chamber was wide and deep, just as he had thought, but there was no floor! The vast, cylindrical chamber stretched as far up and as far down as he could see, but there was nothing but blackness in both directions. The only thing inside the room was a thin, metal column in the center, with a spherical bulge that hummed loudly. Four walkways connected to that sphere, but they were all connected to other openings. "What is this place...?" he asked.

Suddenly, the sphere lit up with a black aura, and the hum shot into a scream. The whole base jerked forward, and Cody lurched towards the opening. If Armadillomon hadn't grabbed him, he would have fallen in. "The base is movin'!" Armadillomon yelled over the noise. "I think this is the core!"

Cody had to regain his breath before he could answer his friend. "Y... yes, it looks like that," he agreed.

Armadillomon clenched his claws. "If we destroy that, this whole base is finished!" he said. "Let's do it!"

Cody thought about that. If they destroyed the base in the ocean, Ken wouldn't be able to escape... but they wouldn't be able to, either. Water might come gushing in from every angle, and these halls were too narrow for Submarimon to move. Also, the partners of Tai and Matt were still in here. "No," he rebuffed Armadillomon, "right now, it's too risky. Let's explore some more, then go back to our friends."

Armadillomon was disappointed for a moment, but then he thought about it the same way Cody had. "Well, OK, then," he agreed. "Lead the way... Urrgh!" He grabbed his sides and shivered violently. "Say, did it just get colder in here?"

Cody was about to say that it hadn't when goosebumps formed on his arms. The temperature wasn't the only weird thing, either; all of the colorful displays suddenly dulled, as if he had put on glasses with gray lenses. Something wasn't right. "Let's be quick," he said. "The sooner we're out of here, the-"

A gust of air from the window made him whirl around, right into the red gaze of Metalgreymon's right eye. The giant dinosaur snarled with sickening triumph. His sharp, metallic claw smashed through the wall right next to them, shrapnel flying every which way.

Cody and Armadillomon needed little encouragement to vault up the rest of the steps.

* * *

If there was any unsung marvel in nature, it was a whirlpool seen from underwater. The Emperor stared at the swirling, aquatic tornado from his viewing deck, entranced. The only thing more beautiful than this, he thought, was what lay at its bottom. An evil Digimon prize, just waiting for him. Slowly, the whirlpool grew closer and more violent; he had ordered a steady forward velocity so he could enjoy it.

Wormmon, standing right next to him, was doing anything but enjoying it. "Ken, please..." he pleaded once again, "I know you don't usually listen to me... but just this once... Don't do it!..."

The Emperor looked down at the little green worm for a moment, then back at the whirlpool. "Increase speed," he said out loud. "We'll need to be faster to breach the water wall."

The whole ship shuddered, and the whirlpool increased its size at a faster rate. As beautiful as it was, he had things to do.

* * *

Armadillomon's fourth leg stumbled as Metalgreymon's claw smashed into the stairwell again, just inches from the Digimon and his boy. "How's he keepin' up with us?" he yelled. "There's no floor in there!"

"Because he can FLY," Cody snapped, grabbing Armadillomon and hoisting him onto his back, then racing up the stairs as fast as his little legs could take him. "We have to find another room!"

Almost as soon as he had said it, a doorway appeared at the top of the stairs on their right side... but it was completely dark through there. Cody didn't like it; that had to be a trap... but then Metalgreymon's claw smashed into the stairs just beyond it, making him decide it was preferable.

As the claw tore down the stairs towards him, he slid into the black portal and ran until he couldn't go any further. Gasping for air and stomach acid burning his throat, he dropped Armadillomon and slumped against the wall. "We... made it..." he managed.

"As fun as ridin' on yer back was," Armadillomon said, shaking the sweat off of his shell, "I don't wanna make a habit of bein' chased by flyin' dinosaurs."

Cody was about to suggest that they rest for a second when he heard something move in the dark; they weren't alone. "Wha... who'zzere?" he whispered hoarsely, grabbing his D3.

A soft, weak voice answered him. "Hey... You don't sound like Wormmon..." it said. "Help us... please!"

As his eyes grew accustomed to the dark, Armadillomon made out a long line of metal bars on either side, and dozens of pairs of clear, uncorrupted eyes looked out from behind them. As he walked closer, he saw several types of Rookie-level Digimon: Gazemon, Gotsumon, and some that he had never seen before. Whatever their species, though, all of them looked miserable. "Cody, check this out!" he called to his friend.

Cody saw the Digimon too, and walked closer. This had to be a prison where the Emperor kept Digimon before attaching rings and spirals to them. So, not only did he enslave his minions, but he locked them in cages like criminals... or even pets! Either way, it made him even angrier; that tyrant was going to regret all of his wickedness when he was done with him. "This is far more important than destroying the base," he said, raising his D3. "Become Digmon and open these cells."

Digmon appeared in a flash, and all of the imprisoned monsters cheered. As he set to work on the first cage, though, there was a thud behind him, and the cheer turned into a horrified gasp. Digmon looked up and a shaggy foot slammed into his middle, driving him backwards.

"You have some skill for getting this far," General Weregarurumon snarled, going into a fighting stance, "but you aren't going to leave here alive."

Cody saw now door behind the werewolf, and Metagreymon's claw had to be lurking in the stairwell behind them; there would be no running from this fight. "Digmon," he panted, "do it."

"You got it, pardner," he agreed, raising his spinning drills. "Time for yer dental appointment, boy!"

* * *

Jun leaped back with a cry as a bright green jeep almost crushed her toes. Another bus wouldn't leave until tomorrow, so she decided to take a risk and hitchhike. It was like that movie suggested: always depend on the kindness of strangers... but so far she had almost become a flatfoot three times, and nobody was slowing down.

"Ohhh, come on!..." she whined, raising her thumb again. Would no kindred soul take pity on a gorgeous damsel in pursuit of her prince?

Suddenly, she spotted her salvation; a red sports car was slowing down up ahead. "Oh, thank you!" she cried as she raced to it. "I thought nobody would stop for me! Can you take me to the Mt. Fuji campgrounds?"

"Oh, not a problem, dearie," an old woman in the passenger seat said, smiling warmly. "Hop in; we'll help you out."

"That's on our way, anyway," the driver, a balding old man with a droopy mustache and a green fishing hat, cackled. "Make yerself comfy."

Jun placed her pack in the backseat and buckled herself in. The car started forward again, but only at a snail's pace. Mopeds whizzed along faster than they were going.

"So, you're going camping? That's so nice..." the old woman said. "We used to do lots of camping, didn't we, dear?"

"Yeah," the old man agreed, "until that one time you got a bat in your hair. You remember that?"

"Or... was it that time you tried using dead leaves as toilet paper?" she recalled. "When was that again?"

As the two compared memories of campground mishaps, Jun sighed heavily. This was going to be a long ride.

* * *

With a giant crash, the massive Gigas base broke through the swirling wall of water and hovered over the center of the dark whirlpool. Looking down into the blackness, the Digimon Emperor was suddenly filled with ecstasy. He had to laugh, loudly and proudly. Soon he would be the undisputed king of the Digital World.

As he laughed, Wormmon stared at the ground in sorrow. Was he about to lose his partner to this evil place?

* * *

TK shielded his face as the last conveyor belt exploded, belching black flames and smoke everywhere. With Devimon hurling Pegasusmon every which way, the whole factory was ablaze now, and not one Deadmon still remained. The heat was almost unbearable; it was far worse than any orange-burning fire he had been in... and the smell was awful: burning metal and fishy flesh. This had to be what Hell smelled like.

A look of triumph on his fanged mouth, Devimon strode to the slag and yanked Pegasusmon out of it by the throat. "I'm disappointed, child," he said to TK. "After waiting so long for this day, it's been... too easy."

TK bit his lip in frustration. Pegasusmon didn't hold a candle to Devimon. Unless Patamon became Angemon, there was no way to win... and if he became Angemon, would he have to use up all of his power, just like last time? When the two had squared off before, the energy Angemon had used up reverted him all the way back to a DigiEgg. TK's eyes watered. He couldn't have that now! Now when they had to deal with Ken! Devimon raised his jagged fingertips to gouge out Pegasusmon's eyes. TK shut his own, helpless.

Suddenly, though, Devimon growled and looked away, as if he was listening for something. He hesitated, then dropped Pegasusmon. "What a shame; I thought I had more time," he said. "I have more pressing matters to attend to." He flapped his wings and rose up into the black ceiling, vanishing from sight.

TK didn't know what was going on, but he was glad the demon was gone. "Pegasusmon!" he yelled, picking his way over the shrapnel to his partner. "Are you OK?"

The horse Digimon groaned, but didn't move. TK sighed; how could they face Ken when Pegasusmon was so banged up?

Just then, though, a different threat took priority. Red lights flashed and alarms blared in a deafening wail. "WARNING. WARNING," a mechanical voice echoed, "SELF-DESTRUCT ACTIVATED. COMMENCE IN FIFTEEN SECONDS. FOURTEEN. THIRTEEN."

He could have puked up his heart. "Pegasusmon!" he yelled, shaking the horse. "Pegasusmon, we have to get outta here!"

Pegasusmon coughed and struggled to get up, but he fell back down again. "TEN," the voice droned. "NINE. EIGHT. SEVEN."

"Ohhh..." TK groaned, grabbing at his head, the red lights flashing even when his eyes were closed. Was this the end? He couldn't die now! He had to stop Ken! He had to protect his friends! He had to save the Digital World!

Suddenly, his D3 shone with a bright, green light. As the voice called "FIVE," Pegasusmon amazingly sprang back to life. "TK!" he cried.

"FOUR. THREE. TWO," the voice went.

As soon as he felt his partner mount him, he shot up in the direction Devimon had gone. Just as the factory below them engulfed itself in bright gray light, they were overtaken by darkness. Without any sense of where he was going, he could only beat his wings and hope they were safe.

Then, as quickly as he had gone into the dark, he came out of it, back in the gray, swirling whirlpool. It looked just the same as when they had gone in, except now there was a dark shadow hovering far above them. "We made it!" he exclaimed cheerfully, looking back. "What do you think that shadow is, T-"

To his shock, TK was slumped over him, face-down. "TK?" he cried. "Are you all right?"

TK groaned and weakly clutched Pegasusmon's neck. All of a sudden, his energy was completely gone; what had happened? "I... I'll be fine..." he managed quietly.

"You certainly don't sound fine," Pegasusmon replied. "We should get back to the others right away."

TK glanced upwards and saw the dark shape blotting out the sunlight. That had to be the Emperor's base. Was this portal what it had been going towards last night? A chill ran down his spine; could Ken be trying to tap into whatever eerie world was down here? "...No," he said, managing a scowl, "let's get up there and find a way in."

"But TK..." Pegasusmon objected; from the weak grip that he felt, flying quickly could easily send him falling back down.

"DO it," TK hissed angrily.

Pegasusmon winced. Not only was TK worn out, but furious at the same time; why? Still, he knew that when TK wanted to do something, nobody could stop him. He slowly climbed upwards through the swirling sea towards the base.

* * *

The Emperor swallowed hard as he stared down into the blackness. The whirlpool had looked beautiful from the outside, but from the inside, it was as hypnotic and as terrifying as a black hole. He could understand Wormmon's earlier fears; evil itself seemed to wait down there, and in spite of himself, he was afraid. He shivered with both horror and anticipation.

Wormmon saw his master's arm shake. The whirlpool was affecting him now, as well. Maybe he would finally hear reason. "Ken... are you OK?..." he asked.

The Emperor snapped out of his trance and resumed his smirk. If whatever was down there could frighten both Digimon and humans alike, then he wanted it even more. "It's nothing," he snapped, then looked at the ceiling. "Launch Mekanorimon Scan Team Alpha!"

A panel in the rock beneath the observatory slid open. Three Mekanorimon- silvery, mechanical Digimon that were more vehicle than creature- stomped out and took flight with their jet packs. The Emperor folded his arms and smiled. Mekanorimon were strong, tough machines that could take plenty of punishment from the elements, and the ghostly Bakemon that drove them obeyed his orders perfectly. In fact, without Mekanorimon, he would never have been able to create the base they now launched themselves from.

This time, however, something went horribly wrong. The Mekanorimon had only descended a few hundred meters in when they went out of control. They zipped back and forth around the whirlpool like three freshly-shot cue balls, and then plummeted, their pilots screaming all the way. As the Emperor watched in horror, the machines' engines died and they plummeted into the depths, dissolving into black smoke.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" he yelled at the top of his lungs... but there was no answer but the soulless hum of his base. He bit his lip. Never before had he seen Digimon just vanish like that. He had seen them die, certainly, but they always burst into fragments and dissipated... This left a different impression: one of a real end of life, not just a program deletion.

Wormmon shuddered. "Ken, let's go..." he whimpered. "I don't want to stay here any longer!"

The Emperor screwed up his face, then sighed angrily. "Order my personal Mekanorimon prepared," he told the ceiling, then strode away.

Wormmon gasped. "You're not...!" he tried.

The Emperor didn't look back as he opened the door. "If you want something done right..." he grumbled.

* * *

The caged Digimon shrieked as General Weregarurumon leaped into the air and three drills crashed into their iron bars. The battle was taking its toll on the prison- chunks of the wall and ceiling were strewn across the floor- but none of the cells had opened yet, and the captives were getting worried that, sooner or later, they would be on the wrong end of Digmon's drills.

Digmon himself was trying his best to aim, but Weregarurumon was much faster than he was. Whenever he launched his Gold Rush attack, the big werewolf managed to dodge it. Still, the fight had gone on for a while, and Weregarurumon was tiring and slowing down... but so was he. He had been able to take the punishment from his opponents slashes and kicks, but each one stung more than the last. He wouldn't last much longer.

"Digmon, you're doing fine," Cody assured him, having caught his second wind. "Just break that spiral and we're safe."

"The only thing to break around here shall be your skull," Weregarurumon snarled, then leaped into the air and aimed his jagged toenails right at Digmon's head. Digmon held up his arms and awaited the blow...

...And then a green blast of light made the General cry out. Both Digmon and Cody turned around to see Pegasusmon in the doorway, TK on his back. "Cody!" he called. "Are you OK?"

Weregarurumon fell to his knees, his spiral cracked once again. "Why does this keep happening..." he snarled. With a black flash, he was gone.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle," Digmon said, turning around. "Thanks a million, Pegasusmon!"

"TK! Where did you run off-" Cody began to scold when he saw TK's pale, shaking, world-weary form. "What happened to you?" he demanded.

TK slid off of Pegasusmon, who reverted to a worried-looking Patamon. "I'll explain... later..." he said, breathing heavily between words. "For now... Why are you...?"

"I found the Gigas when I was looking for you," Cody replied, "and then I found this prison... so I'm getting everyone out before we destroy this place."

Digmon quickly remembered his job and set to work knocking down the iron bars. The Digimon once again let up a joyful cheer. "Thank you!" one Gotsumon cheered, tears forming in its rocky cheeks. "We knew you guys could do it!"

"Yeah," a Gazemon said, clenching its fist, "now give our best to that damn Emperor!"

Just then, a monitor on the ceiling activated, showing an image of the dark whirlpool. "Commencing Imperial Mekanorimon Launch," an electronic voice announced, and the whirlpool got larger.

"What's going on?" Cody asked.

"Looks like he's off to conquer something else," a Geckomon grumbled. "This thing turns on whenever he wants us to see what he's doing."

TK stared into the image of the whirlpool. So, Ken really was after something down here. He shivered from fatigue and cold. He had gone through a terrifying experience down there; what would Ken see?

* * *

Unlike a typical Mekanorimon, the Digimon Emperor's personal one had lots of features: extra jet engines for speed; extra gun turrets and lasers for attack; and gold plating for panache. It also was reinforced with extra shields, so hopefully whatever had destroyed his initial team wouldn't stop him.

"Ken, please, come back..." Wormmon's voice crackled in the craft's radio. He switched it off and put his hands back on the controls. He was going to find that evil Digimon power, and nothing was getting in his way.

As the color of the water changed from blue to gray, sad-eyed trails of mist floated around him, their gaping mouths wailing for the dead. He answered them with a spray of machine gun fire. Slowly, reluctantly, they dispersed. He smirked to himself; 'nothing' included ghosts.

As the water turned pitch black around him, he looked down and his heart leaped into his throat. Standing right beneath him was a tall, thin, black shape with tattered wings. It stared up at him and smirked back. His breathing sped up from joy. This was the evil Digimon he had been promised: Devimon. This would complete his program.

* * *

Cody was certainly surprised when TK reeled back from the screen, clattering over the fallen cell bars. The freed Digimon all looked frightened as well. He had never seen that figure before, but it must be someone very dangerous to get such a reaction. "Who is that?" he asked.

It was a long time before he got an answer. "...His name's Devimon," Patamon said. "He's an evil Digimon."

Cody stared at the figure again. He had thought that humans were the only creatures capable of being either good or evil; the same was true for Digimon?

* * *

Cackling to himself, the Emperor pushed a button on his console. A large, desk-lamp-shaped light emerged from the Mekanorimon's back and ran a green light over Devimon's body. This was easy! He didn't see how his other minions had failed to get down here. Well, no matter. With his finished project under his control, he reasoned, he wouldn't need any other slaves.

"_Can you control true evil?_"

A hot wave shot down his spine, and he looked around wildly. Who said that? It sounded like it was right inside his brain. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"_Children shouldn't play with evil,_" the voice said, low and gravelly. "_They could get hurt..._" It chuckled unpleasantly.

The Emperor's neck hairs were straight up, and his fingers trembled over the controls. That voice pierced his very soul, terrifying him. Devimon leered up at him from below; had he been the one speaking? He didn't like the look in the monster's eyes.

As spooked as he was, though, his pride kept him stable. "Bah!" he snapped, glowering down at Devimon. "I'm the Digimon Emperor! There's NOTHING I can't do!"

Laughing loudly, he concluded his scan and shot back up towards his base... but every time he glanced back down, Devimon still wore that wicked look.

* * *

"Oh, God..." was all that TK could say, leaning against the prison wall. Is that why Devimon had let them go in the factory? So he could present himself to the Emperor? Ken was in over his head this time; he didn't know what creatures like Devimon were capable of! They wouldn't be controlled by anyone, least of all him.

He glanced down and saw Cody staring at him, concerned. Patamon was next to him, equally worried. "Are you all right?" Cody asked. "You're pale..."

TK sighed. The next time he saw Ken, he would teach him a thing or two... but for now, he was exhausted and incapable of much besides staggering. "I'm... just tired," he assured his young friend. "Let's get these Digimon free..."

"Did you see anyone on the stairwell?" Cody asked.

"A lot of rubble..." TK recalled, "but no."

"Good," Cody replied; that meant that Metalgreymon was elsewhere in the base. "If we go quietly down the stairs, we'll reach the docks. Once the base gets back above sea level, we'll find an island to escape to."

TK nodded, and the boys began to usher the captives out of the room.

* * *

Tentomon was certainly glad when Nefertimon and Halsemon appeared; he had been hovering over the water for almost two hours. "Ooof!" he gasped as he plopped down next to Kari, "the next time Cody tells me to wait there, I'm not going to take it so literally!"

"Hey, Tentomon," Yolei greeted him. "Didja see the base? Where did it go?"

"It was right under me," he recalled, pointing with his claw, "and then it moved off towards that big whirlpool!"

Kari squinted out over the water and picked out the swirling mass. What about it drew both Ken and TK to this place? "That way," she said, and the flying Digimon took off.

* * *

"Return to flying altitude," the Emperor barked as he strutted back into his viewing chamber, the incident in the whirlpool still nipping at his mind. Could he control evil? Who did that Devimon think he was? He was a genius! He could control anything! What could possibly be beyond the Digimon Emperor's reach?

Suddenly, the alarms blared, snapping him into a preferable train of thought; dealing with those pesky children. The monitors showed two of them flying in.

"Should I send some Airdramon, master?..." Wormmon asked quietly.

"No," the Emperor snapped, grinning wickedly; this was the chance he had waited for. He sat down and typed away on his throne's keyboard. He accessed the he had just obtained, quickly decided which pieces were best, and ordered them grafted onto his program. He leaned back and looked at it, grinning. "Yes, you'll show them," he said. "Now, take to the air! Target: those kids!"

Wormmon hung his head in sorrow.

* * *

"Huh... Mount Fuji..." the old woman said, squinting at the sign. "Did we have something to do there, dear?"

The old man thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Nope," he replied, "not that I can remember."

"That's funny..." she replied as they puttered past the turnoff, "I thought there was something we had to do..."

Jun gave no response. She was fast asleep in the back seat, a string of drool connecting her backpack to her mouth.

* * *

Kari and Yolei were surprised to see the gigantic base rise out of the ocean so quickly, but it didn't dull their courage. "If TK and Cody are anywhere, they'd be in there," Yolei concluded. "Let's scope it out!"

Kari was about to agree when a flash from the base caught her eye; was the dome on the flat part opening up? "What...?" she asked.

With frightening speed, a large figure shot out of the dome and came right towards them. "Is he shooting missiles at us?" Halsemon asked.

Nefertimon squinted, then tensed up. "No," she said, "Digimon!"

As it got within her sights, Yolei's eyes widened. It had a hard, metal helmet like Izzy's Kabuterimon... and the orange body of Tai's Greymon? This Digimon was made up of bits and pieces from others she had seen before! "What the hell?" she cried out.

The monster clearly wasn't happy; it opened its jagged mouth and let out a horrible, eardrum-splitting scream that shook the very air molecules; the girls almost fell off trying to cover their ears.

Halsemon and Nefertimon nodded to each other, then charged the beast. Nefertimon lobbed a Rosetta Stone at its midsection, but it crumbled into dust on impact. Halsemon fired his eye rings, but they died on the metal helmet with dull bongs. Yolei swallowed. "I think... we're in trouble," she whimpered.

The creature now went on the offensive, swinging at them with its four arms. Halsemon took a blow from a bony knuckle, and Nefertimon just barely squirmed out of the grip of a red claw. "We can't last much longer!" Kari called to her partner. "Aim for his dark spiral!"

Nefertimon and Halsemon flew all around the monster and gulped with shock; it didn't have one!

Sensing their confusion, the beast opened its mouth, which glowed with bright green energy. With another horrible shriek, a burning green beam spewed right between them, giving off enough heat to explode potatoes. Kari, Tentomon and Yolei cried out and tried to shield themselves, but lost their grips and tumbled down into the ocean.

"Kari!" Nefertimon yelled, moving to rescue her, but a black, slick arm grabbed her around the middle and lifted her up. Halsemon was in a matching grip, unable to move. The creature dropped its jaw in a demonic, primal laugh as it squeezed them.

With a cough and a splutter, Yolei shot back up. "Dammit! No!" she yelled.

Kari thrashed about in the water. She hadn't gone swimming in a long time, and wasn't very good. "He-help!" she gasped, her hands flailing in the air.

Suddenly, one of them was grabbed, and then her whole body was pulled into wet grass. "Easy!" a familiar voice said. "Don't go sliding back in!"

Kari looked up to see Davis and Veemon grinning at her... and that she was lying on an island... that was sailing. "Da... Davis?" she asked.

"Crazy Boat Island Rescues, at your service," he said, bowing. "Looks like I got here just in time!"

Kari pulled herself completely onto land and sat there, panting. "...Thanks, Davis..." she managed.

"HEY!" Yolei's voice came from the other side. "What about me?"

"Hold yer horses! Sheesh..." Davis groused, walking over and unceremoniously yanking her onto shore. "Whoo! You'd think that bath would help ya!"

"Not a good time!" she snapped, pointing into the air. "Look!"

Davis glanced up and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "THE FLYIN' FUCK IS THAT?" he yelled.

Veemon winced as Halsemon and Nefertimon cried out. If only he could fly, he could get up there and save them...

* * *

Cody was surprised at how high up they were when he opened the door, but at least they weren't going to drown. A small island sat beneath the flying base, a perfect place to evacuate the captives. "This is perfect," he said, looking at TK. "Do you have a rope?... TK?"

TK didn't hear him; he was looking up at the horrendous shape that had Nefertimon and Halsemon in its arms... no; Devimon's arms! And it flew in the air with Angemon's wings? No Digimon could naturally exist that shared traits of both good and evil Digimon!

Cody scowled at the figure. "So, this is why he came to the whirlpool..." he growled. "Horrendous."

TK stared at it a moment more, then turned to Patamon. "Do you have enough strength?" he asked.

Patamon nodded vigorously. In a flash, he was Pegasusmon again, and he took off towards the monstrosity.

"We'll have to retreat today," Cody admitted. "Digmon, help TK down and start making a mound to catch the Digimon."

"You got it," Digmon replied, grabbing TK and dropping the ten feet between the base and the island. TK lay down next to a coconut tree as Digmon got to work. Cody was right; he would have to deal with Ken another day...

...And then he was out cold.

* * *

The Emperor was almost jumping with joy as he watched the fight on his monitors. He had been right to name his ultimate program 'Kimeramon;' the best parts of the strongest Digimon in his database worked together to create a sublime monster. Each part added to its power: Kabuterimon's steel helmet gave it rock-hard defense; the wings of Angemon and Airdramon added incredible agility; Monochromon's tail and Garurumon's legs gave it awesome lower-body strength; the arms of Kuwagamon, Skullgreymon and Devimon made it a four-fisted punching machine; Greymon's body gave it enough girth to support all the other parts; and Metalgreymon's hair gave it some well-needed flair. "Perfect..." was the word he said to summarize his creation. "He's PERFECT!"

He leered at Wormmon, who was sadly watching the beast ravage his enemies. "Now THAT is a partner worthy of the Digimon Emperor," he said, pointing at the screen.

Wormmon sighed again. Could this day get any worse?

* * *

Halsemon thought his helmet was about to pop off when Pegasusmon appeared on the horizon. "Unhand them!" the horse demanded.

The creature roared and swung at him with his free limbs, then opened his mouth for another green ray.

"Very well," Pegasusmon huffed, and launched a barrage of sharp hairs into the monster's arms. With a shriek, the creature dropped Nefertimon and Pegasusmon, wringing its hands in agony.

"Let's get out of here!" Nefertimon declared, and the three Digimon flew down to their masters. Davis had piloted his island under the base and showed Cody how to make the other island move, too, and now both of them were floating back towards File Island.

"All right!" Yolei laughed as Hawkmon landed before her. "You had me worried there for a second!"

Kari smiled as Gatomon scampered up beside her. "Thanks, TK," she began, turning around. "If Pegasusmon hadn't-"

Cody shushed her and motioned to the sleeping boy. Patamon fluttered down and landed next to him. "Oh..." she whispered, and turned away; she would have to thank him later.

Davis still couldn't believe that crazy monster up there. "How did Ken build that thing?" he asked.

"More importantly, why isn't he attacking us?" Cody asked. "We're a prime target down here."

Kari pulled out her camera and zoomed in on the monster. Its chest was heaving wildly, and sweat covered every limb. Perhaps it didn't have very much stamina? Whatever the case, she snapped as many pictures of it as she could as they floated away; whatever it was, Izzy would definitely want a look at it.

* * *

Cursing loudly, the Emperor ran his whip across the wall, the stinging noise hurting his ears. Again! Those damn kids got away from him AGAIN! And even when he had Kimeramon! "Why couldn't he fought longer?" he yelled. "He was perfect! He didn't even get to..."

He paused, then lowered his whip. That's right; he didn't get to show off his strongest power... and Kimeramon was freshly created; he needed time to build up his energy. Those were the only reasons he had lost this time.

He sat back down in his throne. "General, round up fifty of your weakest troops," he spoke into the intercom. "Kimeramon needs a good meal." He leaned forward and watched the kids escape, a sick grin on his face. "Next time, friends..." he cackled. "Next time."

* * *

"Damn..." Davis said, watching the Emperor's base fade into the clouds, "looks like a load of crap happened this morning... and I didn't get in on any of it!" He stamped his foot angrily.

"Trust me, you're lucky you weren't there," Yolei said, kicking off her boots and putting her stinking feet into the seawater. "What Ken has now... I don't know how we're gonna stop it."

"Besides, you did help," Gatomon pointed out. "You saved us with your floating island."

Veemon sighed. "I wish I could fly..." he said. "If I could, I'd be able to help out more..."

Davis envisioned soaring through the clouds on some new Digivolution of his partner, feeling the wind in his face and looking down over the green lands and blue seas... his personal dream. But seeing Veemon looking so down brought him back to reality. "Don't sweat it, pal," he said, clapping the blue lizard on the shoulder. "You've got your own skills. You'll get a piece of Ken's ass; trust me."

Veemon managed to smile at the enthusiasm. "Thanks, Davith," he said.

Kari and some of the freed Digimon were on the other island, tending to an exhausted TK. "Here, do you want some water?" she asked, offering him a drink from her thermos.

"I think he's going to need a long rest before we do anything else," Hawkmon observed. "What got you into this condition?"

TK thankfully took a drink and looked out at the ocean. "Someone was calling me..." he started, "to the whirlpool..."

Kari knelt down beside him, suddenly very serious. "Tell me," she said. "Tell me everything."

TK looked into her worried, brown eyes, sighed, and began the tale.

* * *

Jun looked around dumbly. This wasn't Mt. Fuji; a big sign behind her clearly stated "Hamanako." It also wasn't late afternoon; it was the dead of night. "What... happened?..." she asked.

The old couple scratched their heads with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, dearie..." the old woman said. "You fell asleep in the back, and, well, we just forgot you were there!..."

"We'd take you back, but our grandkids were expecting us earlier..." the old man explained. "We'll be going back in a week, if you want to wait."

Jun sighed, took her backpack and slunk off towards the highway. It looked like her thumb would be getting a workout this weekend.


	17. Then Came The Storm

**CHAPTER 17**

**THEN CAME THE STORM**

With the daily grind settling down for the night in Suadi Arugula, the old chief Gazimon settled in his rocking chair to smoke his pipe. "Dinner'll be ready in five minutes!" his wife called from inside his home. He nodded and rocked gently. Various other Digimon wandered through the street: rocky Gotsumon; flower-topped Floramon; purple-capped Mushroomon, and several others. He smiled at the younger ones tagging along with their older counterparts, and took a deep breath from his tobacco. Life was perfect in this tranquil little hamlet.

"Good evening, Elder!" a young Gotsumon said, walking up to him. "We played a great game of tag today!"

He beamed and nodded, puffing rings from the pipe. The sun's light dulled a little and he looked up. A string of dark storm clouds were moving in from the south. "Oh, what a shame..." he said. "It looks like there'll be rain all tomorrow..." He looked down at the young one and smiled. "I guess you'll have to find an indoor game..."

The little Gotsumon's happy face had become one of holy terror, gawking at the top of the house. Before the Elder could ask what was wrong, the child, his home and himself vanished in a green wave of fire. With a bloodcurdling scream, a terrible monster descended on the village, crushing a building with each foot. A gigantic, floating rock behind him threw the town into complete darkness.

The peaceful evening erupted into chaos. Digimon spilled out of their homes, only to be disintegrated in Kimeramon's green fireballs, or caught by its arms and flung into its gaping mouth. With one swing of its Monochromon tail, two homes were smashed to splinters and their denizens flattened.

The males tried to fight it off, but they quickly met their ends beneath its feet. Mothers fled with their screaming children, but the monster was deaf to their anguish; he sucked in his breath and spewed a maelstrom of flame, cremating them as they ran. Within three minutes, the town was devoid of all life, save the beast that took it away. Not satisfied, Kimeramon spat fireballs into every building it could see, creating an emerald inferno. With every building that burned, another control spire appeared behind the rocky craft.

The Digimon Emperor sat on his throne, delighted at the power of his own child. He was right to begin his assault on the edge of the Server Continent; nobody had expected it at all. The devastation that Kimeramon left in its wake was addicting; he wanted more. Nobody could go against him if he were the only one alive. "Yes! YES! Fire! Fire!" he laughed excitedly, punching the air. "Burn it all! Burn to the ground! BURN!"

As he laughed loudly and wildly, Wormmon looked on in sorrow. Was this what Ken really wanted?...

* * *

The Emperor wasn't the only one witnessing Kimeramon's handiwork. On the mesas of the nearby Crude Canyon, the Digidestined stood ready. Though that unfortunate village was a ways away, they could feel the heat from the fires... and smell the flesh of the cremated locals.

"Ohhh, the Digimonity!" Tentomon cried, hiding his eyes.

"God... This is overkill..." Yolei huffed, holding her nose; that was worse than any smell she could get used to.

Cody shook his head in disbelief. How could Ken do such a thing? He was even more dishonorable than he had thought. He fingered his shinai, which he had strapped to his back. When he got on that base, it had Ken's name written all over it.

"This doesn't make any sense," Digmon agreed. "Why's he wreckin' towns when he could just use rings and spires?"

TK bit his lip; all this careless destruction was just like that factory he had been in the day before. Ken had some nerve to play Dr. Frankenstein... and he knew Devimon was involved in it somehow; after all, would an evil Digimon allow himself to be controlled so easily? "We have to stop him," he stated, "now. Tonight."

"Ya sure you're up to it?" Davis asked. "You were out cold this morning..."

TK nodded. He'd had all day to recover from the last night's ordeal; nothing could keep him away from this confrontation. "I'm just fine," he asserted.

Kari looked at him, then nodded. "I'm definitely coming," she said. At first, she had just wanted to stop Ken from hurting any more Digimon, but after what TK had told her about that factory and Devimon, she wondered if there wasn't something more to it.

"As much as I want to," Nefertimon grouched behind her, "I don't think we can beat it just as Armor Digimon; that thing is too strong."

Davis folded his arms and scowled. "Then let's trash the base, like we said before," he reasoned. "We know we can take THAT out. Pop the core, we ground it!"

Raidramon nodded gravely, but looked unconvinced. "How do we stop it?" he asked. "At this rate they're going, it won't stop until it runs outta gas!"

Cody had been trying to look away from the destruction until then, but that phrase made him notice something in the sands of the canyon. A long, thick metal pipeline ran on the ground, directly in the path of the oncoming Gigas. He had seen big pipes that carried oil across deserts in his history book; maybe this did the same?

"We have to act fast," Halsemon said. "Past this canyon is the Forsaken Desert. If we can bring the base down there, nobody will be hurt."

"But how do we get on?" Yolei asked. "I bet it's armed to shoot down any air assaults... What do you think, Cody?"

Cody was busy typing out a message on his D-Terminal. "At times like this, I ask my elders," he summarized.

* * *

Though a hearty, roaring campfire was going in the pit, none of the Fuji campers felt very cheerful. Tai and Matt leaned over Izzy as he studied the images Kari had sent him of the Emperor's newest weapon. "How horrifying..." he remarked, looking at the Kabuterimon helmet. "It's like a mismatched jigsaw puzzle."

"I'll say!" Tai exclaimed. "Greymon's body, Garurumon's legs, Angemon's wings... It's a mutated mess of all of our Digimon!"

Matt's eyes were as dark as the ashes in the fire pit. "So, the little bastard thinks he's a god now..." he growled.

Tai folded his arms. In all of his adventures, never had he been so disturbed... and he had seen some pretty disturbing stuff. What was going through Ken Ichijouji's mind? "So, how do we beat it?" he asked Izzy.

Izzy scratched his chin. Kari had said that this thing was way too strong for the Armor Digimon; they needed to try something else. "If we bring down Ken's base, maybe he'll call it off," he suggested.

"Wishful thinking," Matt snorted.

"It's not like we can do much else," Izzy retorted. "Now, I've looked over the Gigas, and it's got a lot of defenses... We have to find a way to sneak in effectively..." He paused and drummed his fingers on the table. That base was a flying tank, armed to the teeth; how could they get in without being shot at?

In answer to his thoughts, an e-mail from Cody appeared on his screen:

_Izzy,_

_We're in Crude Canyon, and Ken is headed this way. See enclosed pic of pipeline; the Gigas will cross over it soon. Can we use it somehow?_

Izzy looked at the image of the pipe and his brain started to grind. If they were in a place called Crude Canyon, then there must be crude oil somewhere nearby... and that pipe looked just like ones used to carry oil across great distances. It was also a very small pipe; whatever was being pumped through it might be under a lot of pressure... and if that pipe broke, maybe... but how could that be useful?

"Hey, guys," Hiroaki broke in, "ready for a late-night snack?"

Tai and Matt jumped. Izzy was so surprised he almost dropped the laptop. "Oh! Uh... S-sure, Mr. Ishida," he stammered.

Hiroaki looked at the images of the monster on the screen. "Boy... That's a face only a mother could love," he remarked. "Well, I've got the fire roaring. We can toast some marshmallows!"

Izzy's pupils bulged. Toast? Fire? "THAT'S IT!" he shouted.

Hiroaki blinked. "What's it?" he asked.

"Thank you, Mr. Ishida," Izzy said, typing furiously. "You may have just saved the world."

Hiroaki scratched his head, then grinned. "Well, glad I could help," he chuckled.

Izzy began typing a response:

_Cody,_

_Tell Tentomon to get Biyomon, Palmon and Gomamon over to that pipe, and get some flint stones..._

"Flint stones?" Tai asked. "What's the plan?"

Izzy gave him a wicked grin. "Do you like barbecue, Tai?" he asked.

Tai blinked in confusion, then his cocky smile formed. "Riiiiight," he agreed. "Sweet!"

Matt shook his head. Those kids didn't stand a chance. What had TK and Kari gotten themselves into?

* * *

The distant rumble of thunder and the oncoming purple night meant nothing to Kimeramon or the Digimon Emperor as the Gigas sailed away from the dead city. Past that tiny canyon was the Forsaken Desert, and then the rest of the Server Continent would be ripe for the burning. The thought of more destruction made his chest swell. He couldn't help but laugh.

Suddenly, though, someone else was laughing with him... a low, haunting voice with a cruel, frightening laugh. It became louder and louder, bursting inside his brain. With a cry of pain, he sank to his knee.

Wormmon was immediately at his side. "Ken? What's wrong?" he asked.

"It... it's nothing," the Emperor snapped, shaking his head.

Wormmon sighed. "Maybe you should get some rest..." he said. "You've been up for two days... You could get sick..."

"Leave me alone!" the Emperor snarled, swatting at the bug. "I'm going to watch it all!" He looked around, trying to see who could be tormenting him. Who was it?

The voice laughed again, making his spine quiver. "_You've created a thing of beauty..._" it said triumphantly, "_but relish this joy ride while it lasts!_"

The sound of wind came from below. As soon as he looked down, he wished he hadn't. Beneath him yawned a black hole, swirling violently, roaring like a demon, dragging him into oblivion. All of the blood drained from his face, and a bloodcurdling shriek escaped his mouth.

"Ken!" he heard Wormmon's voice. "What's the matter?"

His eye spasmed, and the horror was gone. The Emperor shivered and shook, his clothing soaked in cold sweat. What the hell was happening to him? On one hand, it was terrifying... but on the other... it felt good. It was a feeling of victory far stronger than anything he had ever felt before. This power sauced with fear was just as addictive as Kimeramon's violence. His lips curled into a wicked grin; he needed more.

Wormmon looked at him worriedly as he grabbed at his throne and dragged himself to his feet, then staggered to the monitors. "Let's hurry on to the next city," he cackled, clenching and unclenching his fists. "I'm going to become King." He took in a deep breath, then laughed loudly and wildly.

Wormmon stared at him. All this erratic behavior couldn't be a good sign... What was happening to Ken?

* * *

A stone in the sand caught Gomamon's paw, planting his face on the ground yet again. "Shhh!" Biyomon scolded. "We have to be quiet!"

"Yeah, I thought water creatures were graceful?" Palmon chuckled.

"In the WATER," Gomamon grumbled. "On land we've got four left claws."

"Knock it off, and come over here!" Tentomon said, landing on the metal pipe. It had been on short notice, but he had managed to round up all of his friends, as Cody had asked. With a flint stone in each hand, they had made their way down to the gigantic pipe, at a junction where it could be opened through the top. Tentomon wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen, but he trusted Izzy and his plan.

"So, I heard the Emperor's cooked up a real meanie..." Palmon said.

Biyomon glanced over the pipe and her feathers shot up. "Yeah," she yelped, "and here he comes!"

Everyone peered over the top of the pipe and shuddered. The Gigas was approaching, and at its front flew the terrifying sewn-together monster. They hid back under the pipe faster than a cat flees a vacuum.

"Man..." Gomamon shuddered. "If looks could kill..."

They sat as still as they could as the creature flew overhead. The immense shadow of the Emperor's base came quickly after. "OK, you guys know what to do?" Tentomon asked as they all scuttled back onto the pipe.

With the determination to save their friends, Gomamon and Palmon grabbed the wheel and cranked it. A torrent of oil spewed upwards, splattering across the base's bottom. They then joined Biyomon in scraping their flint stones and making sparks. Tentomon fluttered in the air and shot a bolt of electricity into the mix.

The oil erupted into a pillar of flame, and the entire Gigas vanished in orange heat. "YES!" Gomamon yelled. "Now, uh, what does that do...?"

Tentomon glanced up at the canyon tops. Whatever the plan was, it was all up to the others now.

* * *

The Emperor certainly wasn't expecting a fire hazard in the middle of a canyon. "WHAT?" he yelled angrily.

"Oh, no!" Wormmon cried. "Someone, put out those fires!"

As he looked over the images on the screen, he reached one conclusion; those kids were attacking him! "Those little..." he snarled, then stamped his foot. "Increase elevation! Activate attack mode!"

The whole base shook. Wormmon looked at his master. "Attack mode?" he asked. "But..."

"Destroying the next city can wait," the Emperor snapped. "I'm fed up with those brats!" He sat down in his throne and hit more buttons, another grin appearing on his face. Since he was going to conquer the world anyway, the rest of the population should have the pleasure of seeing the Gigas's full power... a craft fit for a king.

* * *

"YEAH!" Davis laughed as the fire hit the base. "Who's up for roastin' marshmallows?"

The others were about to cheer too, when the Gigas quickly accelerated upwards, its rocky exterior cracking all over like a giant egg. As the clouds flickered with lightning, it burst open, growing to thrice its original size and revealing shining, metallic panels. It spread out across the sky like a giant, evil magnet, wires and metal shrapnel flailing around in the wind. A deafening boom of thunder rocked the canyon, accentuating the moment.

Debris from the rocky shell smashed down all around them, forcing everyone to run for cover. Yolei's mouth hung open as she stared up at the craft. "Holy..." was all she could say.

Cody scowled. Ken had deceived them all once more, hiding the true size of his base.

TK balled his fists. "It's now or never," he declared. "Let's get up there and shut him down!"

Kari nodded. They couldn't let a monstrosity like that cross the desert; the rest of the Digital World wouldn't last long.

Davis was ready. "Raidramon, you'd better shrink," he said. "We're gonna have to bum a ride this time."

"You too," Cody said to Digmon.

Raidramon and Digmon reverted to Veemon and Armadillomon. Yolei mounted Halsemon, TK and Cody got on Pegasusmon, and Davis joined Kari on Nefertimon. Davis couldn't help but notice that, for all the traveling and sweating she had done so far, Kari still smelled good.

"Go to warp 6!" Yolei yelled. "Destination: Big Ugly Base!"

With cries of affirmation, the three Digimon shot into the air, carrying their partners to the final showdown.

* * *

Izzy was jarred awake when his computer beeped at him; there was an e-mail from Kari. "Hey!" he yelled at Tai and Matt, who were both dozing on the picnic table, "there's news!"

"Guhhh..." Tai groaned, wiping a string of drool from his mouth. "Wha... wha?..."

Matt was more alert. "What did they do now?" he grouched.

Izzy typed for a moment, then his eyes widened. "Woah..." he murmured. "That's..."

Tai and Matt came over and gave the same reaction as pictures of the new Gigas came in. From Kari's pictures, they made out artillery cannons, lasers, and plenty of enemy soldiers. "I have to admit, it's a very well-fortified craft," Izzy remarked.

"I thought there had to be more to it..." Tai admitted. "I mean, who wants to conquer the world in a flying toilet?"

Matt folded his arms and shook his head. "They can't do it," he stated bluntly. "Call them back."

"What?" Tai yelled. Just like many times before, he was getting sick of Matt's icy attitude.

"Those new kids aren't up to this," Matt replied, "and Ken is serious now. We should fall back and come up with another plan."

"There aren't any other plans!" Tai huffed. "This is the best shot they have!"

Matt's eyes hardened. "Don't you care what happens to your sister?" he hissed. "She'll be killed because of them."

Tai balled his fists. Izzy bit his lip. Matt readied himself to move out of the way... but the blow never came. Tai relaxed and looked away. "You've gotta have more faith in 'em," he said. "TK and Kari... and Davis, Cody and Yolei will all do their best."

"It won't be enough," Matt retorted.

"Well, we can't do anything one way or the other," Izzy said, quickly getting between them. "All we can do is hope for the best."

Matt sighed angrily. "You, too?" he asked. "I thought you were smart."

Now Izzy felt like punching him, but he thought better of it.

In any case, Tai grabbed a soda can from a nearby cooler. "Anyone else want s'mores?" he asked.

Izzy and Matt both looked at him. "At a time like this?" Izzy asked.

"Something tells me it's gonna be a long night..." Tai replied. "The sugar'll keep us up."

"Oh! Well, when you put it that way..." Izzy said, smiling. "I'll use a whole bar for mine, please."

Matt shook his head, certain of the failure of the whole operation. His ear caught his father's snoring from inside the tent nearby; the old man had no idea that his younger son might be dead by morning. Ignorance was truly bliss.

* * *

The storm that had looked so minor when they were on the ground was in full swing as the Digidestined reached the height at which the Gigas flew. Hovering between two layers of clouds, lightning arced between them almost every second, the peals of thunder rocking the kids' very marrow. The base flashed in time with the storm, as if it were a gigantic lightning bug.

Davis found it absolutely thrilling. So thrilling, in fact, that he forgot about where he was. "Uh, Davis..." Kari managed, struggling in front of him, "I can't breathe very well!"

He snapped out of his reverie and loosened his grip on her middle. "Sorry," he apologized.

Yolei's mouth was still wide open as she ogled the fortress. "How does it even stay up?" she asked. "It's so big!"

Cody glanced at the flying creature ahead of the base. So far, it had not noticed them. "Let's hope we stay undetected..." he muttered.

A barrage of rainbow-colored laser beams surged up at them from its decks. "Too late!" TK yelled. "Pegasusmon!"

As quickly as they could, the flying Digimon zipped and swerved across the sky, dodging the burning death rays as best they could... but they gained no further ground against the base. They all pulled back until the lasers stopped firing. "We can't do it head-on like this!" Kari yelled to her friends.

Veemon peered over Davis's head. Far below them were all sorts of loose metal beams jutting out from the base, like a rack of ribs. He suddenly had an idea. "Davith!" he said. "Make me Flamedramon! I think we can sneak in!"

Armadillomon looked down and saw the same thing. "Hey, maybe the Emperor ain't plannin' on people comin' in on foot," he suggested to Cody.

"It might be wise to split up," Halsemon agreed.

"What?" Kari asked. "Splitting up is dangerous!"

"If some of us go through the front and others go through the back, we'll take the Emperor by surprise," Pegasusmon pointed out.

"We can use those beams," Veemon said, pointing at them. "I bet Digmon, Shurimon an' me can get in no problem!"

Yolei looked at the thin, rickety-looking beams and swallowed hard; if she fell from that, there wouldn't even be a pancake left of her. "Uh..." she gulped, "I don't know..."

"Come now, Yolei," Halsemon encouraged her. "We have the chance; we should use it."

"The sooner we get in, the sooner we defeat the Emperor," Cody reasoned. "I'll do it."

TK and Kari looked at each other and nodded. "If you go in this way, we'll go around back," TK said.

"We can meet up in the base's core," Kari pointed out. Cody had fortunately told them all what he had seen.

"Hell yeah!" Davis laughed, punching the air. "It's time to rock and roll!"

In a flash, Veemon and Armadillomon were Flamedramon and Digmon, and Halsemon switched over to Shurimon. They grabbed their respective partners and let themselves drop. After five tense seconds of floating between the clouds, they landed on the bars and ground their way towards the flight deck like rollerbladers, sparks flying beneath their armored toes. Laser cannons immediately fired at them, but they zipped past them with ease.

Davis forgot to breathe in his ecstasy; speeding along this thin metal twig with only clouds above and below him was as close to flying as he had ever come. A shriek to shatter glass spilled out of Yolei's lungs the entire way; the thought of what would happen if Shurimon slipped was too much. Cody stared straight ahead at the oncoming lasers, expecting one to fry them at any moment, but hoping their luck would continue.

The rails dipped and swerved around like a demented roller coaster, but all three Digimon kept their balance, not even flinching at the blue, green and orange lasers ripping past them (each one making Yolei scream a different note). They had almost reached solid ground when a panel opened up straight ahead of them, and a cannon as wide as Kimeramon was tall emerged, flickering with purple energy.

"HE'S A-FIRIN' HIS LAZARRRRR!" Yolei shrieked on instinct.

"Hang on tight, Davis; it's gonna get rough," Flamedramon whispered to his partner, then knelt down to increase his speed. All three Digimon slid off of the rails and dropped onto the deck as a pillar of purple devastation destroyed what they had just rode on, shrapnel and debris flying every which way. They were now out of range of any of the artillery.

Davis couldn't keep his knees from shaking after Flamedramon put him down. "Are you OK?" the fiery lizard asked him.

Davis looked at him and blinked a few times. "That... was..." he managed through deep breaths, "awesome."

Yolei was flat on her face, grasping the cold metal floor like a dear friend. "I... am NEVER doing that again..." she mumbled.

Even Cody trembled from the ride; he leaned on his shinai for support. "It's certainly something we'll remember..." he managed.

Smoke curled up from Digmon's toes. He winced and rubbed at them. "My feet won't be lettin' me forget it!" he yelped.

Their troubles were far from over, however; a grating, nasal alarm blared throughout the base, and panels slid open to reveal a battalion of ring-controlled Digimon: ghostly Bakemon; marching, mechanical Gardromon; and unknown white, ape-like creatures with cannons replacing their arms. "What're those?" Davis asked.

Shurimon's eyes narrowed. "Gorillamon," he said, "Champion level."

Yolei scrambled to her feet, still shaken from the grinding, but ready for some action. "Well, nobody said this was gonna be easy!" she said. "Let's go, Shurimon!"

With Flamedramon pitching fireballs, Digmon launching drills, and Shurimon hurling shuriken, they charged into the fray. Rings smashed, spirals shattered. Hostile eyes turned peaceful. Still, for every Digimon they freed, at least two appeared to take its place.

Davis swore as a Gorillamon's fist came at his head. There was no way they could fight this many! How could they get inside the base at this rate?

His thoughts were answered when the fist of another Gorillamon intercepted the first one, breaking its spiral. Surprised, he looked up to see a freed Gorillamon smile at him. "You go on!" it said. "We all save friends!"

Davis looked around. Surely enough, all of the Gardromon, Bakemon and Gorillamon that the kids had freed were turning on their enslaved counterparts, bogging them down and breaking more rings. He glanced back up and grinned wryly. "Thanks, monkey dude," he said. "Flamedramon! We're outta here!"

Yolei, Shurimon, Cody and Digmon followed Flamedramon and Davis through the riot, only attacking enemies that got in their way. Soon they were back to racing along the metal deck, rain starting to spatter on their faces. "Stay on your toes!" Flamedramon warned. "That can't be the end of it."

"I don't see any more Digimon around," Yolei remarked, glancing about. "What else could-"

The ship groaned loudly, and a huge chunk of the deck dropped away on their left. Another big panel of sheet metal disappeared up ahead. The place was falling apart! Cody snarled. This couldn't be a coincidence; the Emperor probably rigged big parts of the deck to collapse. It couldn't have been worse weather for it, either; the storm's cyclonic wind roared up through the holes, dragging the kids towards them.

"RUN!" Shurimon commanded, and all six of them dashed towards the base entrance, with tumbling floor panels clattering and banging behind them. Being small, Cody was least affected by the winds, and reached shelter first. The three Digimon came in closely behind him.

Yolei was almost to the entrance when one last panel fell away right next to her and she flipped into the air. She clawed at the deck to steady herself, but the gloves she wore were slick from the rain and wouldn't catch. "Aww, no!" she yelled. To get this far, and then...

Just as she felt her legs sliding off into the clouds, though, Davis's arms clamped onto hers and yanked. With all the energy she could muster, she slammed her feet onto the deck and pushed ahead into the doorway. "Agh... Augh..." she wheezed.

Davis slammed his fist into a yellow button on the wall, and the wide, tall entrance sealed itself shut. "Damn, you've got bad luck," he grunted behind her.

She glanced back at him. He had just saved her life. "Davis..." she managed quietly, "thanks."

Davis blinked a few times. Yeah, he actually had, hadn't he? In any other case, she would owe him big time... but he just brushed it off with a wave. "No problem," he replied. "We gotta have everyone in on this, don't we?"

"So... Where are we now?" Digmon asked, looking around. They stood in a large, hangar-like chamber lined with shining, boxy figures.

Cody brandished his Shinai, but Shurimon held out his arm. "Don't worry," he said. "These are Mekanorimon... they don't move without a pilot controlling them."

Yolei's near-death experience poofed away when she heard the name. "Did you say 'mech?'" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Well, I said 'Mekanorimon,'" Shurimon corrected her, "but the principle's-"

She was already climbing all over one, rapping on it with her knuckles and feeling it against her cheek. A titanium-looking coating? Claws for melee combat? Optional machine gun? That cool, watery, metallic scent? Her birthday had come early this year! "Oh... my... God..." she gasped, drool visible on her lip, "this PWNZ!" She scrambled to the top and opened its cockpit. "I've gotta try this out!" she declared wildly.

"Err..." Flamedramon muttered. He wasn't sure what to make of this behavior, but it wasn't going to help them get to the Emperor.

"Yolei, please, we have to keep moving," Cody tried.

Yolei didn't hear him; she was in orbit around the planet Mech. "All those buttons!" she exclaimed, eye-humping the control panel. "All those buttons!"

"Dammit, Yolei!" Davis yelled, shaking his fist. "This ain't time to play! We've gotta trash this base!"

"Oh, yeah?" Yolei snapped, popping her head back out. "Well, what's a better tool to wreck a base with? Yo!" She pointed at what she was in with both fingers.

Shurimon sighed. "You'd all best go on without us," he admitted. "We'll catch up when we can."

Davis swore and folded his arms. "Damn airheaded..." he grumbled. "You'd better catch up! We don't wanna keep TK and Kari waiting!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" Yolei said, strapping herself into the device. Just like in all the great Japanese cartoons, she grabbed one lever and yanked it forward, then slammed her hand down on a green button. "Miyako Inoue," she declared joyfully, "_HASSHIN!_"

The Mekanorimon's eye opened wide, and it stood up. Then, with one powerful motion, it zipped backwards and crashed into the wall.

There was an awkward silence. Everyone just stared at it. "I'm OK!" her voice came from the machine, and it righted itself.

"...Yeah, we're goin'," Davis said, motioning to the doorway on the other side of the room. "Have fun, Shurimon."

Flamedramon, Cody, Digmon and Davis ran off, leaving the ninja to watch helplessly as Yolei made the Mekanorimon spin around like an ugly ballerina. "Yolei, I really think we should get going..." he tried again.

Suddenly, alarms blared and the room flashed red, and the door the others had gone through snapped shut. The far wall lifted up to reveal a slew of red-eyed Mekanorimon and a few stray Bakemon.

Yolei gulped, but then remembered she had the mech. Now was the time when all her hours of video games paid off. "Let's get 'em, Shurimon!" she declared, stomping up next to her ninja and swinging the claws around.

Shurimon sighed, but readied his stars. "Very well," he agreed. "I'll take the right."

Joygasming at the very thought, Yolei gave a war whoop and shoved the controls forward.

* * *

The Digimon Emperor thumped his fist on his throne, snarling angrily. Dodging the lasers AND finding a way in? And now, defiling his precious Mekanorimon? Those little snots were asking for it now! Usually, he respected such deeds, but today anything that got in his way would deserve to be squashed.

"Ken..." Wormmon tried. "Maybe we should try talking to them today..."

"NO!" he screeched, making the bug flinch. He turned on the monitor that showed Kimeramon and scowled. "Get to the back of the base!" he barked. "You have some flies to swat!"

Kimeramon roared angrily and turned around. Without another thought, The Emperor grabbed his whip and stormed off. The flying brats would be erased by Kimeramon, but he would deal with the other three personally... starting with that smelly little tramp in his hangar.

* * *

The wind roared so strongly that Nefertimon and Pegasusmon had a hard time approaching the back of the Gigas. Yellow, red and pink lasers fired at them repeatedly, and though they had managed to shoot down a few of them, the Armor Digimon had to retain enough energy to land. Finally, the wind changed direction and blew them towards the metal deck, allowing them entrance.

Making their way through the now heavy rain, TK, Kari and their Digimon ran for the first door they came across. Inside was a large chamber, about as long and wide as a soccer field. Crates of old slag and other equipment were piled up in the corners, but aside from that, it was empty. "I guess Ken keeps this as a junk room," Kari suggested, then focused on the task at hand. "Let's find that core and sink this ship..."

TK wasn't listening. He was staring at a door on the other side, his fists clenched. Ken was somewhere in here, and now was the time he would learn his lesson.

Pegasusmon reverted to Patamon and looked at him. "TK?" he asked. "What is it?"

Kari looked at his hardened eyes and got a little scared; he had never looked this mad before. "Are you... OK?" she asked quietly.

TK hesitated, then turned those furious eyes on her. "You find the core," he said. "I have to find Ken."

"What?" she declared. "No! We already split up once; we have to stay together!"

"I have to make him understand," he growled, lifting his clenched fist, "that what he's done is unforgivable."

"We can do that by shutting the base down!" Nefertimon argued.

"And if he gets away?" he snapped at her. "He'll build another base! He'll make another monster! He's shown his true nature, Kari. He won't learn until someone pounds it into him!"

Kari looked at him sadly. Though she didn't want to be left alone here, she saw his point; Ken wasn't the type to reform simply by having his toys broken. "...All right..." she surrendered quietly.

He turned to go, but found he couldn't; her soft hand was on his shoulder. "Just tell me... you'll be careful," she said quietly.

He looked back at her worried, chocolate-brown eyes. There was something about them he just couldn't argue with. "...OK... I promise," he promised. Her hand released him, and Patamon and he ran through the other door.

Nefertimon looked at her partner. "He'll be fine," she declared. "Patamon's with him."

Kari sighed; she sure hoped so. Now, though, they had their own job to do. "OK, so where do you think the core would be?" she asked.

Before Nefertimon could answer, the ceiling cracked and collapsed behind her, and hot, angry breath wafted down her neck. She whirled around to lock eyes with General Metalgreymon. He did not look at all pleased to see her.

"The welcome wagon's here," Nefertimon snapped. "Kari! Let's do it!"

Kari wasted no time in mounting her partner and taking to the air. She had figured this fight would come, and it was the one thing that had happened today that she was prepared for.

* * *

"AGH!" Davis yelled, hopping up and down. That was the third time Cody had stepped on his foot! For such a huge base, there sure were a lot of cramped, dark corridors.

"Sorry," Cody apologized.

"I hate this!" Davis grouched. "Feels like we're lab rats in a maze!"

Cody frowned. "Perhaps that's how we're supposed to feel..." he suggested.

"It can't go on too much longer," Digmon said, peering ahead. "Looks like there's a door comin' up."

Up ahead there was a turn in the path, but a little light shone out of the wall at the floor. "Think it's important?" Flamedramon asked.

"One way to find out!" Davis declared, walking up to it and pushing at the metal. It slid open and they all gaped. They now stood in a chamber filled with bright monitors. In its center was a keyboard-ridden throne. A little green worm Digimon looked up in surprise, then scampered and hid beneath it.

"Whoo!" Davis said, looking at all the screens, "think he gets cable?"

"Must be the Emperor's throne room," Flamedramon thought out loud. "Where else would you stick a throne?"

Cody stared up at the monitors. Each one showed a different part of the ship. On one screen, Shurimon and a Mekanorimon (Yolei, by the way it was jerking around) were beating the tar out of a group of Bakemon. Another one showed that giant, mixed monster flying along the side of the base; whatever it was up to, it wouldn't be good. The next one over, though, caught his eye the most; Nefertimon flew around a large chamber, barely avoiding the swinging claw of Metalgreymon. "Davis!" he yelled, pointing at it.

Davis's hair went on end as he saw Kari's predicament. Where the hell was TK? How dare he leave her alone in a mess like that! "Damn!" he swore. "We've gotta save her!"

Cody looked at all of the monitors again. The Emperor was keeping a sharp eye on all of their actions... too sharp. Damaging this place would give them a huge advantage. "Digmon," he ordered, pulling his shinai off of his back, "destroy the controls."

"You got it!" Digmon said, his drills whirring. He plunged them into the keyboards on the throne and sparks flew all over. Several of the monitors' images changed to static. One of them exploded.

Davis grinned. "Nice one," he said. "OK, let's go help Kari!"

Cody turned and shook his head. "Take Digmon and go on without me," he said. "I'll await the Emperor here."

The others all stared at him. "But why?" Flamedramon asked. "We've already trashed this place."

"He doesn't know that; he'll come back," Cody replied, holding his shinai up at a precise angle, "and when he does, I'll deal with him."

Davis fumed. "Did your brain fall out outside?" he asked. "What's that gonna do?"

"He's a tyrant and a wretch. My honor demands that I face him," Cody replied.

Davis could have socked him. "Screw your honor!" he yelled. "You think Ken's gonna fight fair? Forget about your stupid martial arts!"

"Battling that new monster is going to take time," Cody went on, taking a few practice swings. "I hope to buy it for you and the others..." He paused and frowned darkly. "This is practicality as well as pride."

Davis wanted to protest further, but the look on Cody's face told him it wouldn't make a difference. "...Have it your way," he grumbled. "Flamedramon! Digmon! We're movin' out!"

Digmon looked at his partner. "Cody..." he said, "are ya gonna be OK?"

Cody smiled at him. "Don't worry," was all he said.

Digmon hesitated, then followed the others out of the room. Cody folded his legs and sat down, awaiting his challenge. The Emperor was an injustice that had to be punished. He hoped that, somehow, his grandfather would know what he was doing... and his father as well.

* * *

With another wild cry, Yolei's Mekanorimon sank its claws into the last ring, freeing the Bakemon it held. "Yeah!" she laughed, pumping her fists. It had been slow going at first, but Shurimon and she had managed to beat all of the enemies. Piles of Mekanorimon slag lay at their feet, but every one of the enslaved ghosts had been liberated. This had to break a high score somewhere!

Shurimon sheathed his star. He hadn't had as much fun as she had, but he was glad that she was there to back him up. "Now, then," he said, "shall we follow the others?"

'"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," a familiar, nasally voice came from behind them.

The entrance opened again, and in stomped a gold-plated Mekanorimon with an extra jet pack and machine guns. Yolei could make out the purple shades of the Digimon Emperor in the cockpit. General Weregarurumon stood next to the machine, looking angry as ever. Shurimon's eyes narrowed.

"Step out of the Mekanorimon and surrender, you stupid thing," the Emperor barked through his mech's loudspeaker. "You can't beat me."

Yolei snarled. Hadn't he seen what she had done to all his other toys? Sexy or not, she couldn't take an insult from him. She popped the hatch open, stood up and jammed her thumbs to her cheeks. To his ultimatum, she gave a long, loud raspberry.

"WHAT?" the Emperor roared. "How DARE you!"

"Bring it, butthead!" Yolei declared, hopping back into the pilot seat. She had hacked his program in Metal City; she could hack him just as well.

Weregarurumon's claws jutted from his hands. "Well, then..." he cackled, eying Shurimon.

Shurimon drew his shuriken. "Rematch," was all he said.

As the Digimon squared off, the Emperor commenced his attack with another surprise; his Mekanorimon's sides snapped open and out flew a barrage of missiles! Yolei's mech took all of the hits and went over, but it didn't fall; she put her foot down on the jet throttle and it shot upwards, then came back down in range to gouge her claws over his front. Flecks of gold plating scattered all over the ground.

"A wise guy, eh?" the Emperor snapped, shoving his controls forward. "Fine!" His Mekanorimon charged forward, blasting away with its machine guns. Yolei's Mekanorimon belly flopped and rocketed under the spray, rushing him and knocking him to the ground.

She grabbed him around the guns and clawed them off, exploding dozens bullets in the process. "You like that?" she yelled. "We're even now!"

"Keep dreaming!" the Emperor snapped, and his Mekanorimon's red core jutted out and glowed. Before Yolei could reach, a powerful red laser sliced through her mech, destroying the left arm.

Sparks flew at her controls, and she cried out in pain. "Ohh, you!..." she snarled. The laser was charging again. She looked around quickly; with only one arm, how could she fight?

Suddenly, a stray shuriken embedded itself in the floor before her; Shurimon must have had a bad throw. She grinned wickedly and seized it. Before the Emperor could fire again, she hurled it right into the laser, making the whole Mekanorimon spark and twitch violently. The Emperor screeched furiously from inside; how could that little twerp beat him? This Mekanorimon was the best one in his fleet!

Not wasting any time, Yolei scooted over to the Emperor's mech and got one of her feet on it, pinning it down. She raised her remaining claw to strike its eye and shut it down.

The Emperor swallowed; he had one last trick he could pull. He popped open the latch and took off his shades, revealing his mysterious eyes. "I remember you, you know," he said, resuming his cool demeanor. "You were the one cheering the loudest at the soccer game."

Yolei froze, her face suddenly reddening. He remembered her? She thought he hadn't!

"If you hit my mech one more time, it might explode; might blow me up," he said, grinning at her wickedly. "Can you really do it?"

The claw stayed hovering over him, though he saw her wince. "I really thought you were different from the others..." he sighed, suddenly looking sad. "That you were special..."

Her Mekanorimon's claw shook violently; her arm was shaking on the trigger. As much as she knew she should, that she had an obligation to both the Digital World and her friends... he had remembered her. Sexy, luscious Ken Ichijouji remembered her... and she was special. How could she risk blowing him up? She hesitated a moment longer, than lowered the claw.

The eye of the Emperor's mech jutted out and snapped open to reveal one more turret. A missile fired straight into the core of Yolei's mech, reducing it to burning scrap metal. Yolei crashed and rolled along the ground, then lay silent. The Emperor laughed, replacing his shades. "Stupid girl," he cackled. "Just like all the others."

Shurimon had gained the upper hand against Weregarurumon and had cracked his spiral, but as soon as the mech exploded, he whirled around in horror. "YOLEI!" he cried.

"M... master..." Weregarurumon coughed, grasping at the cracked device like a bleeding wound, "help me..."

"Again?" the Emperor snorted. His mech rose and turned on his follower. "How many times is this now, Weregarurumon?"

Weregarurumon screamed as the claw dug into his arm, slashing away both the spiral and a good chunk of flesh. "I don't know why I kept such a worthless Digimon around anyway!" the Emperor snarled. Weregarurumon coughed, then reverted to a small, blue-furred creature with a yellow horn.

Shurimon knelt over Yolei, not daring to breathe. Yolei groaned softly and he relaxed; she was alive. He turned back to the Emperor, furious. "How dare you," he growled. "Using a dirty trick like that!"

"Victory is everything!" the Emperor declared. "And speaking of which..." his Mekanorimon raised its claws and charged at the ninja. Shurimon lunged at him and swung his last shuriken. As they passed each other, Shurimon cried out and reverted to a wounded Hawkmon.

The Emperor laughed, but then alarms blared inside his Mekanorimon. He leaped out just as it blew to smithereens. He got back on his feet, shaken but still stable. "Hmmph..." he said, straightening his cape, "so much for those clowns." With that, he strutted out of the room. He had to see if Kimeramon had toasted the other kids yet.

Yolei tried to sit up and a bolt of pain shot through her left arm. She opened one eye to see a small, crimson pool beneath it. That lousy Emperor... luring her with his sex! And he didn't even mean any of it, either! That did it; he was history the next time she saw him. "Haw... Hawkmon!..." she called. "Are you OK?"

A shape peered over her, but it wasn't Hawkmon; it was whoever had been left in Weregarurumon's place. "Oh, that's not good..." a low, raspy voice came to her, "but I think you'll be OK... Come on, let's get you up."

She let it help her to her feet. "Are you... Matt's partner?" she asked.

"I'm Gabumon," Gabumon said, smiling at her. "Did you come to save me?... Thank you."

Yolei sighed. She had wanted to pound General Weregarurumon into pudding because of everything Matt had said to her, but looking at this little fellow now, all those feelings dropped away. "Don't... don't mention it," she coughed.

"Urrgh..." Hawkmon groaned as he got back on his feet. "Did anyone get the license number of that Mekanorimon?"

"The Emperor got away," Gabumon said. "I think he went back inside..."

Yolei's eyes widened. Her friends! "We've gotta go after-!" she started, but a pang from her arm ended the declaration in a yelp.

"Easy now," Gabumon said. "Don't move that arm..."

Yolei thought for a moment, then pulled off her pilot cap and tied it tightly around the wound. That would have to do until they found some bandages. "Let's go!" she huffed.

With Hawkmon supporting her on her left and Gabumon on her right, Yolei limped towards the interior of the base.

* * *

Nefertimon snarled as yet another Rosetta Stone failed to hit the dark spiral on Metalgreymon's arm. No matter how fast she fired, he just kept moving... and she hardly had time to aim again when he swung his massive claw at her. They had been fighting like this for fifteen minutes, and she couldn't see a way to solve the problem.

Kari didn't, either. She wanted desperately to save Tai's partner, but she just couldn't see how to get that spiral off without seriously hurting him. They had to be faster, or more accurate, or-

Metalgreymon's claw shot up in front of them and swatted them to the floor. "Agh!..." Nefertimon hissed.

"We can't give up!" Kari huffed, helping her partner get to her feet. "We have to get that spiral off!"

"Yeah?" Nefertimon asked. "How?"

Sensing their frustration, Metalgreymon cackled darkly. He raised his claw to smash them into the floor.

Suddenly, a stream of fireballs hit him in the head, and he staggered backwards, startled. Kari could have jumped for joy as Davis, Flamedramon and Digmon raced into the room. "Kari!" Davis yelled.

"Thank goodness!" she cried, running over to him... but then grew worried when she didn't see the others. "Where's everyone else?"

He winced at that, but shook it off. "Later!" he said. "For now, let's pop some spirals!"

Flamedramon and Digmon ran beside Nefertimon and readied themselves. Metalgreymon snarled; three enemies meant that he could stop holding back. His chest cavity opened and two fanged missiles appeared...

But they never got a chance to launch. A deafening roar came from above, and in crashed the horrendous Frankenstein monster. To everyone's shock, it yanked the missiles right out of Metalgreymon's chest and crushed them in its claws. It then grabbed Metalgreymon with two arms and pummeled his face with the other two. Finally, it lifted him up with all four limbs and hurled him against the wall, shattering his spiral.

"Err..." Digmon gulped, "does that mean he's on our side?..."

The monster turned on them and shrieked loudly, and another group of enslaved Bakemon materialized around him. "Um... no," Nefertimon muttered.

Kari looked over at the de-digivolved Agumon that remained where Metalgreymon had been, then back at the monster. If it could do that to an Ultimate-level Digimon with one throw, than it was even worse than she thought!

Davis gritted his teeth and clutched his Digivice. This was going to be the fight of his life.

* * *

The Digimon Emperor was in a bad enough mood before he returned to his throne room, but upon seeing the ruin that it had become, he threw up his hands in a furious cry.

The young boy who sat on the floor before him opened his eyes and grasped the wooden stick beside him. "So, you've come..." Cody said, standing up. "Prepare yourself, Emperor."

The Emperor stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Who was this little rat? "What are YOU doing here?" he laughed. "Shouldn't you be at daycare?"

Cody's eyes narrowed, and he raised the shinai. "I'm here to end this," he said. "I'm going to punish you for your wickedness."

The Emperor laughed again. "A wooden shinai..." he crooned. "How quaint. A kendo student, are you? What are you: first year? Second?"

Cody fumed. "I'm the top student of my sensei," he snapped, "and that's plenty to deal with swine."

The Emperor's smirk didn't leave. He'd had plenty of training against opponents with weapons; this would be fun. "All right, kid; let's see what you've got!" he said, assuming a fighting stance.

With a cry, Cody sprang off of his back foot and charged. "_MEN!_" he yelled, swinging towards the Emperor's head. The Emperor hopped to the left as his foot stamped on the pavement, laughing. His momentum carried him a few steps too far, but he quickly righted himself, twisting around with the shinai held over his head.

"What was that?" the Emperor sneered. "Trying to knight me?"

Cody exhaled sharply. The Emperor was a little taller than his grandfather was; attacking his head wouldn't be possible. He hesitated, then cried out and rushed again, this time swinging for the Emperor's side with a shout of "_DO!_"

The shaded tyrant somersaulted backwards and landed on top of his throne, easily dodging the swing. "I'm not a pi_ata, kid," he goaded. "Don't you want to beat me? C'mon!"

Cody snarled; he didn't know what else he could do. There were two other moves he could perform: Kote, a strike to the hands for disarming the enemy; and Tsuki, a thrust to the neck. Under the circumstances, though, both would have been considered illegal; the Emperor neither had a shinai to be disarmed of, nor did he have adequate neck armor. "You leave me with few moves," he huffed.

"Moves?" the Emperor laughed. "Who gives a shit about 'moves?'"

"Have you no honor?" Cody demanded. "Have you ANY sense of rules? Fair play?"

"You ever heard the phrase 'the ends justify the means,' kid?" the Emperor replied, jumping off of the throne and folding his arms. "Whoever told you there were rules in combat must've been as pathetic as you!"

Cody now saw red. If insolence wasn't enough, now this wretch had to attack his grandfather's good name? That was too much! He cried out and charged again, aiming for the Emperor's side. Again he swung, and again the blue menace moved away. "Whoo! Not very friendly!" the Emperor laughed. "This is getting fun!"

Cody twisted around and swung at his head, then at his side, then at his head again. This was all he could do, but it wasn't working; the Emperor was dodging him like it was all a silly dance, reading his moves like a book. He tried mixing it up: head, head, side, side, head, side, head, head, side, but nothing worked. The Emperor skipped back from side swings, and shifted to the side from head swings. Sweat poured down Cody's face, and his lungs swelled; he heaved and gasped for air. He was running out of steam, and fast.

"Man, you're worse than that purple-haired twit I blasted," the Emperor remarked, grinning cruelly. "At least she knew how to fight!"

That broke Cody's concentration completely; he charged in furiously, aiming for the Emperor's head... but to his horror, his mouth called out "_DO!_" Hearing that, the Emperor skipped back, but the shinai's leather cap thrust in and bashed him right between the eyes, knocking his shades off. Caught off guard, the Emperor cried out and staggered backwards, grasping at his forehead.

Cody was mortified; he had deceived his enemy and performed an illegal move! Quickly he did what his training demanded of him; he lowered his shinai and bowed. "Forgive me," he panted. "That was an accident."

The Emperor swore at the sting of the shinai; from how much it hurt, there had to be a big, red mark where it had hit. That was it! This kid was better off when he was ignoring him. He leered at the still-bowing boy and his snarl turned into another crazy grin; he was right where he wanted him. "Well, there may be hope for you yet..." he snapped, letting his arm drop. "Your technique's good, but I can see your weakness..."

Cody looked up, surprised. Weakness? "What?" he asked.

"You've gotta have a WEAPON!" the Emperor shrieked. In an instant, Cody's shinai was snared with his whip. He yanked it back and snapped the wooden sword on his knee, the crack sounding like a gunshot.

Cody was so surprised that it took him a moment to realize what had happened. "You..." he murmured, slowly growing furious. "You... dishonorable-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence. Ken leaped on him and knocked him to the floor, landing punch after punch into his face and his stomach. "Little... stuck-up... brat!" he hissed, grabbing him by the shirt collar and banging his head against the floor. Finally, he dragged him up onto his feet and kicked him square in the face. Cody sailed backwards, crashed into the throne and fell, out cold.

The Emperor panted and seethed, the pain from the wound subsiding. His grin reappeared on his lips; so much for that one.

The throne shook, and a shaking, frightened Wormmon crawled out from under it. "Ken, I..." he began, then he saw Cody and jerked back; blood was dribbling out of the young boy's nose and mouth. "What did you DO to him?..." he asked, horrified.

"Same thing I do to all my enemies," the Emperor replied, walking to his throne and sitting down. "Now, back to business!"

The one active monitor left depicted his glorious Kimeramon facing the three worthless Armor Digimon. He leaned back and folded his arms. Victory was at hand.

* * *

With a flash, Flamedramon switched to Raidramon. "Toast those damn ghosts!" Davis declared. The game plan had changed now that Kimeramon had called his Bakemon; they would have to bust some ghosts before they could even get near him.

"Get to safety, you two," Nefertimon ordered. "This is going to get ugly."

Davis grabbed Kari and ran where Agumon fell. "Let's see what King Ugly has now..." he growled.

The Bakemon were the first to attack, swooping down on the three Armor Digimon. Raidramon zipped around them, shooting off their rings while Nefertimon dropped stones on them from above. A group of them broke away and flew at the kids' hiding places, but Digmon's flying drills stopped them cold. Davis grinned. "Yeah, that's right," he laughed. "This is pie in the sky!"

Kari wasn't as confident. Unlike Davis, she had faced that thing before, and she knew how much power it had.

The remaining Bakemon charged, and Raidramon leaped right through them, enveloping them all in blue electricity and setting them free. So much for the spooks; now it was time for the big dance.

"Be careful!" Nefertimon warned. "He's strong!"

Raidramon jolted its midsection with as much power as he could muster, but the creature did not flinch at all; it just leered down at him, a low growl starting in its throat. He ceased his attack and leaped back; the growl was getting louder. He didn't like the sound of that.

Green energy started forming in its mouth. "Oh-" Nefertimon started, but before she got the "no" out, the deadly green beam cascaded through the room, so hot that Davis and Kari both had to cover their faces. The Armor Digimon flew into the walls at the sheer force of it.

Davis's mouth dropped at the aftermath. A gigantic hole was burned into the wall, liquid metal dribbling down like candle wax. Every single Bakemon was gone; reduced to pixels floating in the air. His stomach churned; this thing roasted its own allies? "Damn..." was all he could manage.

Kari was afraid too, but for another reason: the Bakemon's data was still floating around the room. Usually, when a Digimon died, its data vanished, disappearing to become reborn. Why wasn't this stuff gone?

The creature opened its mouth wide, and all of those floating shards of information flew down its throat. Its entire mass expanded like a shrink ray in reverse. Her eyes widened in terror; this monster got stronger by eating other Digimon's data! Then, if their Digimon were defeated...

Raidramon got back on his feet. Attacking alone did nothing; they needed a new strategy. "Everyone! Together!" he ordered, charging his spikes again.

The monster turned as all three Digimon came at it. Nefertimon fired three Rosetta stones at rapid-fire speed. Digmon launched all five of his drills. Raidramon charged all of the projectiles with his lightning and added a shocking burst behind them, creating a giant, electric missile. It barrelled into the beast's chest and exploded, sending smoke through the chamber.

"YEAH!" Davis yelled, pumping his fist. "Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!"

His grin reversed itself as the monster took in a deep gulp of air, sucking in all of the smoke and spewing another green beam right through the floor. Once again, the Digimon were thrown back just from the force of it. The monster went on the offensive now, launching green blasts every few minutes, the kids' partners crashing around the room like kernels in a popcorn popper. Davis's face paled as hole after hole appeared. Didn't Ken care if his base stayed in one piece? For a moment, he thought of taking Kari and hightailing it out of here.

One last green blast ended that notion. As the three Digimon slammed into what remained of the walls, they glowed with a sick light... and then shrank. To Davis's shock, the reversion didn't stop at Veemon; his little buddy went all the way back to Demiveemon! Digmon warped back to Upamon, and Nefertimon became a little yellow creature with a purple tail.

"Nyaromon!" Kari cried out. If this thing could knock even Gatomon back to an In-Training level, they had no chance against it. "Davis!" she cried, grabbing the unconscious Agumon, "we have to get out of here!"

He would have liked nothing more, but seeing as how Nefertimon was gone, they had lost their ride. He swallowed hard and looked up at the crazy monster. "...We are so fucked," he muttered.

* * *

Davis was not the only person who had a sudden change of mind. The Digimon Emperor stared at the tiny, beaten-up creatures before Kimeramon. Hadn't they just been big, powerful monsters? "What just happened?" he demanded.

Wormmon sighed. "They've been hurt so much, they've gone back to their In-Training stages..." he explained. "They're as weak as human babies now."

The Emperor stared at the monitor again. Babies? He had never seen a Digimon baby before... but all Digimon had to be created, just like humans... As he stared at them, a new feeling washed over him; one that made him both scared and ashamed at the same time.

Kimeramon snarled and stomped towards the beaten critters. "Kimeramon," the Emperor commanded, leering at his creation, "stop your attack."

A puzzled gurgle came from the monster's throat, but it ceased all movement. It just stared ahead, like a hideous statue. The Emperor got off of his throne and started to leave.

Even Wormmon was surprised by his master's order. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'll let them go for today," the Emperor snapped, not looking back. There was no glory in killing his enemies now, when they didn't have the Digimon to put up a good fight.

As he walked into the hall, he thought about what came next. He would go to the junk room and tell the remaining children that they could leave, though the ones he had defeated would be held prisoner. Then he would-

He turned a corner and almost jumped. Standing in his way was the kid with the white sailor's cap, his little pig thing fluttering behind him; "TK," wasn't that his name? "Going somewhere?" he asked the straw-haired twerp, regaining his composure. "You might as well turn around and leave; I've won."

TK did not move. "I blew up the stinky girl and I pummeled the little brat on my own," the Emperor went on, getting annoyed, "and Kimeramon's fricaseed the others. If you value your own life, beat it!"

TK stood there for a moment, and then he did something the Emperor wasn't expecting; he sighed and shook his head, like a parent at a child's stupid mistake. "And what's YOUR problem?" the Emperor demanded, his teeth grinding.

TK looked at him and shook his head again. "It must be fun to think you're always right," he remarked, "but you aren't. You talk about using 'evil power,' but do you really know what it is? Its true nature?..."

The Emperor snarled, too angry to think about the words.

"You don't, do you," TK went on. "You're going to get burned, Ken."

"I am the DIGIMON EMPEROR!" the Emperor snapped.

TK shook his head. "How long are you going to keep this up?" he asked. "Now quit acting like a spoiled child."

Veins in the Emperor's neck bulged like blue spaghetti. "How DARE you!" he screeched. "I'm a genius! A king! A GOD! You're just a blabbering maggot! No! You're lower than that! You're nothing! _NOTHING!_" He thrust his finger at the floor. "Now BOW down before me!" he hissed like a viper.

TK looked at him smugly. "The floor's dirty," he replied.

In a flash, the Emperor's whip was out. "FILTHY TRASH!" he shrieked, instantly lashing it against TK's left cheek. Patamon gasped.

TK recoiled from the blow, but he didn't fall. A trickle of blood dripped from the wound, and he touched two fingers to it and looked. "Do you always resort to violence when you run out of words?" he asked, shaking his head. "Just like a child. How can you expect to control evil power like that?"

The Emperor's breaths were shallow. Nobody had ever stayed up from his lashings before... and this kid was still berating him! "You..." was all he could manage.

"Of course, since we technically ARE children..." TK said, suddenly cracking his knuckles, "then maybe we should settle this LIKE children!" Charging in at amazing speed, his fist cracked against the Emperor's cheek, knocking him to the floor.

The Emperor started to get up, but TK leaped on him, socking him where Cody had struck him earlier. Furious, he remembered his judo training and flipped the blonde boy off of him, then shot up and hurled his whip. This time, though, TK caught it and yanked it away. The Emperor was stunned; this kid was stronger than he looked! He didn't have much time to think about it, though, because TK jumped him and dragged him to the floor.

"Ken!" Wormmon cried out, wriggling as fast as he could; nobody hurt his partner that way! He sucked in his breath and spat a silken net at TK. However, it burst in mid-air as Patamon's giant belch tore through it.

"Leave him alone!" the little pig snapped, landing in front of Wormmon.

"Get out of the way!" Wormmon growled, though he hardly sounded intimidating.

Patamon would not. "You have a ring that needs breaking?" he asked, bouncing around.

"No," Wormmon replied, watching the pig nervously.

Patamon returned to his original spot, looking puzzled. This green worm had no control devices of any kind, and his eyes were clear and free. "Then why do you want to help him?" he asked.

"He's my partner!" Wormmon said, getting back into as much of a fighting stance as a worm can have. "I have to protect him!"

Patamon hesitated for a moment. This was the Emperor's partner? Is that why he was always following him around? Why hadn't the Emperor put a ring or a spiral on him, though? "You're kidding me, right?" he asked. "With a partner like THAT, who needs an enemy?"

Wormmon tried to answer, but found that he couldn't. He just stammered and stared at him.

Meanwhile, TK had gained a clear edge on the Emperor; despite the martial arts skill that made him more deadly, TK had managed to pin him to the ground, thrusting his hands down on the tyrant's chest. "A mere child can't control evil!" he stated, glaring into the Emperor's shades. "Why can't you understand that? That monster is going to destroy everything... including you!"

His answer was a needle of spit in his right eye; he reeled back, crying out. The Emperor leaped up and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall. Putting both of his hands together, he clocked the self-righetous brat across the face, and he went silent.

"TK!" Patamon cried out, forgetting about Wormmon and flying towards his partner. The Emperor snatched his whip off of the floor and planted ten fast, bloody lashes across the little swine's backside, forcing him to the ground. Wormmon winced as the lashes hit, remembering just what Patamon had said to him...

The hallway was once again quiet. The Emperor heaved and gasped at his exertion, and sweat poured down his face. Such insolence, and just when he was about to show mercy, too! Well, no more of that! "I was going to let you go," he addressed the unconscious TK in a feral rasp, "but now I'll let Kimeramon devour your friends piece by piece, all because of you! And whatever's left of you, I'll take GREAT pleasure in hanging from a control spire!"

With that, he pocketed his whip, turned and strutted down the hall. It was time to alert Kimeramon to the change in plans. Wormmon took one last look at the defeated party, then scampered after his master.

The hallway wasn't empty for long. Not more than two minutes later, Yolei, Hawkmon and Gabumon rounded the corner. "Holy..!" Yolei cried, shambling over to TK and shaking him. Gabumon and Hawkmon worked to rouse Patamon in a similar manner.

TK groaned and opened one eye, the scent in the air telling him he was among friends. "Yo... Yolei..." he managed.

A cough behind her told her that Patamon had been brought round. "What the hell happened to you?" she demanded, helping the boy get back on his feet.

"Ken did," TK replied, rubbing at his nose; Ken's last blow had started a blood stream there as well as on his cheek.

"He got you, too?" Hawkmon asked, walking over. "Yolei and he had a big mechanized battle, and he defeated her as well."

Yolei snorted. "Keep your yap shut!" she huffed. "I was 1337!"

TK couldn't help chuckling at her vibrant attitude, but then he stiffened; hadn't Ken said he was going to tell Kimeramon to kill the others? "We have to hurry!" he exclaimed, picking up Patamon. "Kari... and Davis!..."

Yolei swallowed hard; this was far from over. "Right," she said. "Which way did he go?"

"He went that way..." a familiar voice said behind them. They turned to see Cody limping into view, his nostrils stained with dried blood just like TK's. "They're in the back of the ship..."

"Good grief!" Gabumon exclaimed. "Is it 'Beat Up Kids' Day here?"

"What happened to YOU?" Yolei asked.

Cody harrumphed and looked away. What a dishonorable way to be defeated in combat; his grandfather would be ashamed of him... as would his father. "I'll tell you later," he mumbled.

"Right," TK agreed. "We have to go!"

Moving as quickly as they could, the wounded party made their way down the dark hall.

* * *

Scooping up Demiveemon and Upamon, Davis cast a wary eye back at the titanic monster. It hadn't moved in at least ten minutes, but he was sure it would spring to life at any moment to melt Kari and him into little puddles of plasma.

"We have to go," Kari whispered, fearful of the same thing that Davis was. "Let's find TK and Yolei; they can still fly... I hope."

He started to head for the door, but then looked through one of the holes in the floor. It opened into a wide, deep chamber with seemingly no bottom, with only four thin walkways leading to a spherical room in the center. He blinked and looked again. That looked a lot like the core chamber that Cody had mentioned earlier! Were they that close to trashing the base and not even aware of it? That meant they could still take the Gigas down!

"Davis, what're you doing?" Kari hissed, trying to juggle both Nyaromon and Agumon in her arms.

He knelt for a better look. "The core's right below us," he remarked. "We can still trash the base!"

She walked over and looked down herself. That DID look like what Cody had talked about... but it was so far down... and this monster might attack them if they tried to go there. "No," she said, "we need to regroup and leave."

"What?" he asked, appalled. Didn't she see what they could do? "We're so close!"

"Davis, think hard!" she said, looking both angry and sad at the same time. "There're only two of us, our Digimon have gone almost to their baby forms, and that monster's invincible! We lost!"

Demiveemon coughed and stirred in his hand. "Ughhh... Davis...?" he whispered. "What... happened?..."

He sighed, but didn't get up. Kari had plenty of good points... and Demiveemon looked awful... but still, to be this close to victory... he couldn't walk away. It was just like when he played soccer and the whole enemy team was closing in on him, but he was within range of the goal; he just had to go for it. "Fine, then," he said, setting the two Digimon down. "I'll take it out by myself." He raced over to a crate of junk and started digging around; maybe there was a rope or a chain or something he could climb with.

Both Kari and Demiveemon gasped. "Davis, stop!" Kari urged. "Don't be stupid!"

Davis wasn't listening. "AHA!" he exclaimed, yanking a long, metallic chain from the crate; it looked long enough to get down there easily.

"Davis, please," Kari tried again, getting worried; why wouldn't he listen to her? "I... I don't want to see you get hurt!"

Under normal circumstances, Davis would have stopped at the thought of scoring points with Kari... but today he was fed up. "Hey, we came all the way onto this flyin' toaster oven to take it down," he said to her, "and good God, I'm gonna do just that!"

"But the monster..." Kari tried.

"Yeah, it might start movin' again," he said, tying the chain around a heavy box for support, "but it ain't right now! We've got a shot, and I'm not wastin' it!"

"But..." she tried again.

"You can get outta here if you want," he said, searching for the hole which would land him closest to a walkway, "but I'm sick of fightin' goddamn Ken, and I'm breakin' his goddamn toy! Today!"

Demiveemon looked at Davis, his eyes shining with admiration. That was his partner! "I'm with ya, Davis!" he chirped, hopping up on Davis's head. "I'll do my best, too!"

Davis grinned. "Thanks, little buddy," he chuckled. "OK, then here we go!" He took the other end of the chain and tossed it down the hole he was in front of. After testing its strength again, he grabbed it and started climbing down.

Kari sighed. Davis had never gone against her so vehemently before... but he was right. They had a chance, and wasting it by running could doom the Digital World. Knowing that she couldn't leave their wounded Digimon alone, she ran to the edge of the hole. "Davis!" she called down, "go get 'em!"

"Oh, really..." a voice she knew and loathed said behind her. "We'll see who gets whom!"

Something leathery and sharp suddenly snared her arm. She whirled around to see the Emperor, his whip connecting her to him. The little green worm stood at his side, looking forlorn. "Hey!" she yelled, yanking. "Let me go!"

The Emperor snarled to himself. There were two kids here when he last looked; where was the other one? His eyes fell on the chain going down the hole; he must have tried to get away. Didn't he know yet? Nobody escaped the Digimon Emperor. "End of the road, my dear," he cackled at Kari. "Kimeramon! Roast her and melt that chain!"

The hideous creature known as Kimeramon growled and turned towards them. Kari shut her eyes and tensed up. She only hoped it wouldn't be too painful.

Nothing happened. Five, ten, fifteen seconds passed, and no fiery wrath came down on her. "Kimeramon!" the Emperor shrieked, agitated.

Kari opened one eye. Kimeramon wasn't even looking at her. It was leering at Ken, a look of what she thought was irritation or disgust in its eyes. What was going on?

"Do what I say, you ungrateful waste of DNA!" the Emperor snarled, yanking his whip from Kari's wrist and cracking the floor with it. "DO IT!"

Kimeramon gave a low, disgusted wheeze and took to the air, flying out of the hole he had made coming in. As soon as it was out, the sky lit up with green light, and the entire Gigas shook violently. The Emperor yelled out as chunks of ceiling crashed down around him. "WHAT IS...?" he bellowed.

Kari heard shambling footsteps from the door where the Emperor had appeared. In staggered TK, Cody and Yolei, supported by their Digimon. Though they all looked horrible, she was overjoyed to see them.

TK shook his head again. "This is what I meant, Ken," he said, wiping his bleeding nose on his sleeve. "Evil Digimon don't know any masters..."

The Emperor snarled angrily; this little git and his philosophy again! "He obeyed me perfectly!" he rebuked.

"Until you showed weakness," TK corrected him. "You said you'd spared my friends... You told it to stop attacking, didn't you? That was a sign of weakness. Kimeramon doesn't think you're worthy anymore..."

The air rang with Kimeramon's shriek, and the Gigas shook violently in flashes of green light. "...And now it's going to destroy your base," TK finished.

The Emperor opened his mouth to yell... but found himself without a voice. That brat had to be lying; he had to be! But why did Kimeramon leave? Why didn't it do what he told it to do? Why?

A dark, heartless laugh rang out. The Emperor's pupils shrank down to the size of pebbles, and he fell to his knees, screaming. The laugh pierced his brain like a thousand electric needles, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.

The other kids reacted, too; that laugh made their spines tingle with fear. "What was that?' Yolei asked, looking around.

Kari bit her lip. She felt like she had heard that laughter somewhere before...

"Ken! Ken!" Wormmon cried, shaking his master's shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"SHUT UP!" the Emperor yelled, swatting at the bug. That laugh was just a nasty distraction. He had to go and get Kimeramon. He had to fry these kids. Then he would be free to ravage the Digital World, as a king deserved to.

Wormmon stared sadly at his master, Patamon's words sounding in his mind. Ken had become steadily worse ever since he had gone into that whirlpool. Why hadn't he tried harder to stop him? He was his partner; he had failed in protecting him... Protecting him? His mind drifted back to all the awful things that had Ken had done since he had assumed the guise of Emperor: dark rings, the erecting of spires, the brutal whippings, the executions... He hadn't needed protecting... or had he?

"Now's our chance," Kari said, turning to the others. "Let's follow Davis!"

The Emperor got to his shaking feet, his face a mask of insanity. "Nobody's... going... ANYWHERE!" he snarled, pulling his whip and cracking it on the floor. Instantly another battalion of Bakemon materialized, ready to fight.

"Dammit!" Yolei swore; almost all of their Digimon were beat up and exhausted. "Hawkmon! Can you handle this?"

Hawkmon became Shurimon, and Patamon transformed to Pegasusmon. The Bakemon screeched and dove at them, their eyes burning. Wormmon sighed as he looked at the rings around them. Perhaps there was one thing that he had overlooked, something that he never had considered protecting Ken from: himself. And because of that, he was just as responsible for all of this horror.

He took one more look at the shaking Emperor, then scampered past the other kids and down a corridor. He might have failed all of the other times... but he wouldn't now.

* * *

Davis had found a pretty long chain, but it wasn't enough to get to a walkway; he dangled ten feet up and off to the side from the closest one. "Damn..." he grunted, looking down.

"What do we do now, Davis?" Demiveemon asked nervously from his perch in Davis's hair.

"Only thing we can," Davis replied, starting to swing the chain back and forth in a pendulum motion. Demiveemon dug his nails into his hiding spot as he vaulted from the chain and, after an entire second of free falling, crashed down on the metal bar. "Ohhhh..." he groaned, dragging himself to his trembling knees, "I'm never doin' that again..."

Demiveemon's hold on his skull loosened. "Good thing I already had my bathroom today," he muttered, "or you'd be really mad."

As he got to his feet, he suddenly grew aware that something was standing between the core and himself; it was that little green worm that was always hanging around Ken. Immediately he snarled and balled his fists. "Outta my way, stoolie," he snapped. "I ain't got time for you!"

Wormmon stared at him for a moment. Then, much to his surprise, he scooted to the side. "The door needs a password," he said. "I'll tell it to you."

Davis looked like someone had asked him to verify the circumference of a terraforming procedure. One of Ken's minions was helping him? Was that even possible? He snapped out of his flummoxed state and resumed his frown. "I smell a rat!" he declared. "What's the deal, here?"

Wormmon sighed and shook his head. "I don't expect you to trust me," he reasoned, "but I don't care. Ever since the Digimon Emperor... Ken... got that evil data from the whirlpool, something's been happening to him... something bad... I'm afraid he might disappear forever if I don't do something..."

Davis wasn't convinced. "Why do you wanna help me?" he asked, still frowning. "You work for Ken; we ain't exactly on the same page, here."

Wormmon looked up at Demiveemon, who was still sitting on Davis's head. "Is that your partner?" he asked.

"Yep!" Demiveemon said, hopping into Davis's hands. "I'm his partner!"

Wormmon looked at Davis again. "If you had to save your partner, you would do just about anything, wouldn't you?" he asked.

Davis hesitated; that line sounded familiar. When he fought Metalgreymon, he had realized that Tai was letting him do it because it had to be done; Agumon could not be freed otherwise. In that case, it was the human doing anything for the Digimon, but could it work the other way around?

Demiveemon poked at his chest. "Davis..." the little blue guy said, "his eyes look sad..."

Davis looked again. Wormmon's eyes did look downcast and lonely; maybe he was telling the truth. Though he was still suspicious, he decided to go with his gut and give the little bug the benefit of the doubt. "...OK, then," he said. "Let's get movin'."

Wormmon looked overjoyed. "Thank you," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

They walked to the spherical chamber, where a door with an elaborate keypad blocked their way. "The code is: 6, 10, and 50," Wormmon told Davis, "then push the blue button."

Davis punched in the sequence and the door hissed. As it opened, a terrible wave of heat washed over them, like they were stepping into a nasty August day. Another feeling fell on them, too: one of wickedness and evil. Davis felt like backing away, but he wouldn't let himself; he'd come too far to flee now.

Since it was called "the core," Davis had expected some kind of elaborate engine; something as big as the Gigas needed one. But there was no engine. The only thing in that chamber was a metallic pedestal, upon which sat a small, black object that looked like an oversized, octagonal bullet. "The hell is that?" he asked.

"This base used to be a mountain near Rail Town," Wormmon explained, "but Ken dug it up nearby. We don't know what it is, but it gives off enough energy to power everything in here."

"So, if we take it away, the base will turn off!" Demiveemon concluded.

"Sounds like a plan," Davis said, walking up and reaching for it. As his fingers touched it, though, black lightning arced through him, making him scream in surprise. He fell backwards and gasped for air; that had been way more painful than the sparks he'd got from touching DigiEggs.

"Davis! Are you OK?" Demiveemon asked.

"Yes, that happened to a lot of us," Wormmon sighed sadly. "Sorry... I should have mentioned that... Ken only got hold of it using a Mekanorimon."

There was a thundering crash, and the whole base tilted slightly to the right. Davis swallowed hard; that crazy mix-and-match monster must have stepped up its attack! "Well, we don't have a Mekanorimon," he snapped, getting back on his feet and approaching it again, "so we'll just do it the old school way!"

He clapped his hands down on the object, and the lightning that jolted through his body was like being shot in all places by hundreds of staple guns. He felt his chest spasm and sputter, but he kept holding on. Smoke starting to curl up from his body, he yanked and tugged, the stink of burning hair and skin filling the chamber.

Wormmon watched in both horror and awe. This kid, Ken's enemy, may have acted incredibly stupid... but he couldn't help but admire his resolution.

"Davis, stop!" Demiveemon cried. This was too much for him to watch.

"Go to Hell!" Davis snarled, his voice shaking as violently as the rest of him. Just as he thought his heart would explode, he gave one last yank. The object popped off of the pedestal and the lights went out. They all felt a sudden sensation of dropping, as if they were in a descending elevator. The top of the chamber cracked and tumbled into the void below, leaving them exposed to the whole room.

Davis groaned and forced himself up. The first thing he knew was that his goggles' elastic strap had melted, and the eye wear had cracked in two on the floor. The second thing was that the black object was clutched firmly in his hand, and it no longer electrified him. "G..." he rasped, "Goddamn... Man!... Geez..."

Demiveemon went from horrified to jubilant in a split second. "Yeahhh!" he laughed, jumping up and down on Davis's lap. "You did it! You did it! You did it! You did it!"

Wormmon sighed with relief. Would Ken turn back to normal now?

"Davis!" TK's voice came from behind. They all turned around to see Kari, Cody, TK and Yolei running down the walkway towards them, carrying their wounded, devolved Digimon. Patamon and Hawkmon were scuffed up, but not as badly as the rest.

Davis stood up and held out the object, his cocky grin returning. "Yeah, I'm that cool," he chuckled.

Kari blinked. "THAT was the core?" she asked.

"C'mon, quit screwing with us," Yolei said. "The ship's going down, so where was the big kaboom?"

Cody sniffed the air. "Is something burning?" he asked.

Davis was about to explain when the base shook again, this time veering to the left. Staggering footsteps came from the walkway entrance, and then the Digimon Emperor made his way onto the platform, looking worn-out, furious, and wild. "You..." he snarled, venomous.

"It's over, Ken," Davis declared, holding the object up. "This place is goin' down!"

Suddenly, the wall behind them crumbled, and all of the debris dematerialized and vanished. In floated Kimeramon, much larger than before; at least twice as big, and far more angry.

"And so are you!" the Emperor laughed; he knew Kimeramon would return to him. "Kimeramon! Erase them!"

Just then, the black object shook in Davis's hand, like a hatching egg. Surprised, he held it up as a soft, golden glow emanated from inside of it. The blackness slowly crumbled away to reveal a shining, golden object in its place. Its light flashed brilliantly, making Kimeramon and the Emperor both cover their eyes in pain.

The others were speechless. This light made human and Digimon alike feel like they hadn't fought at all. Demiveemon felt his body tingle, and suddenly he was Veemon again. "What the?" he asked.

Upamon became Armadillomon, and Nyaromon jumped all the way back up to Gatomon. Agumon finally came around. "What... is this?" he asked wearily.

Cody stared hard at the object. "Is it a DigiEgg?" he asked.

Davis looked at it for a second, then at the mammoth Kimeramon behind him. His eyes filled with resolve. "One way to find out," he said, raising it into the air. "DIGIARMOR ENERGIZE!"

Veemon laughed and bounded into the air, the golden object flying up behind him. "Veemon, Armor Digivolve to..." he said, and in a blinding flash of light, he changed. Before the Digidestined floated a tall, humanoid creature bathed in knightly, golden armor, its helmet shaped like the sun. "Magnamon!" he finished in a bold, heroic voice.

The children cheered. The Emperor screeched angrily. Wormmon looked up at Magnamon with admiration. Kimeramon's eyes locked onto the newcomer with feral hatred.

Davis looked between his newest Digimon and the insane monster, then grinned. The playing field was even now.


	18. The Pitiful End Of Royalty

**CHAPTER 18**

**THE PITIFUL END OF ROYALTY**

The Digimon Emperor sneered; so what if that wannabe pilot baboon had a new toy? Kimeramon was still too strong. He had spent hours poring over his foes' strategies and had come up with the best parts to counter their skills; one new Digivolution wouldn't make any difference. Besides, thanks to its ability to ingest data, Kimeramon was now twice as strong as he had been originally. The odds were completely in his favor.

Kari shuddered. "It eats other Digimon and gets bigger!" she said.

TK swallowed hard at the sight of Kimeramon's girth. It wasn't just Digimon; he had swallowed the debris from the base and had powered up as well. If it could do that, then it could and would devour the entire Digital World! "Davis! Magnamon!" he yelled. "Destroy it, NOW!"

"Not a chance!" the Emperor shouted, cracking his whip; Magnamon couldn't do squat without his partner. "Kimeramon! Eat the brat!"

Kimeramon's eyes locked onto Davis and it dove for him, its jaws gaping and slobbery. As Davis moved to run, though, Magnamon collided with Kimeramon with a fierce kick. "Everybody get away!" he called to his friends. "I'll handle Frankenstein here!"

Cody turned around, glaring at the Emperor. Now was their chance to capture this fiend. "Get him!" he ordered.

Cody, Yolei and TK moved at him, but the Emperor was too fast. He snared a loose pipe with his whip and swung across the void to a nearby window. "Kimeramon!" he yelled. "Forget Magnamon! Kill the kids first!"

Wormmon scampered past the kids, shot a thread around the same pipe, and swung to where his master was; now that Magnamon was here, he could focus on saving Ken. "Ken, we should get out of here, too..." he whimpered. "Kimeramon is going to destroy this place before it even crashes!"

The Emperor scoffed. "He's doing exactly what I ordered," he retorted.

"It's not listening at all!" Wormmon argued. "Why did it leave when you told it to attack before? Why is it destroying the base?"

Not answering him, the Emperor turned back to the fray. Kimeramon wouldn't let him down; he was perfect, just like his creator.

Kimeramon's gorging had made him powerful, but Magnamon was much faster. He evaded every one of its four punches, then countered with one of his own, knocking it into the wall. Getting hit made it furious, and it spewed its deadly green ray. Magnamon got out of the way, but the Emperor leaped in shock as the blast tore through the wall right next to him.

"HEY!" he shouted at his monster, "what do you think you're doing? Shoot HIM, not ME, you IDIOT!"

His blood stopped running as Kimeramon looked straight at him, then charged another beam. However, Magnamon came in with another kick and caught the creature on the chin, making it vomit the blast in another direction. He staggered backwards and leaned against the wall, gasping for air. Both that self-righteous twerp and Wormmon had told him that Kimeramon was out of control...

"See?" Wormmon asked, clutching onto his leg and tugging. "It's out of control! We have to get away!"

For a moment, he thought he saw the Emperor's eyes register that fact... but then a fierce kick planted him back on the ground. "NO!" the Emperor yelled. "I'm a genius! He's MY creation! I won't lose!"

"If that thing kills us, we'll all lose," Wormmon said quietly. "Please, Ken..."

The Emperor stared at him a moment more, then turned away. "I'm staying," he stated. "I want to see my partner crush them."

"He's NOT your partner!" Wormmon exclaimed, getting uncharacteristically emotional. "I'M your partner! Why won't you acknowledge that anymore?"

The Emperor's cold eyes snapped to him, and the whip appeared. Wormmon winced and covered his eyes as the black leather rose into the air...

"Hey! Ken!" a familiar voice came. The Emperor whirled around in surprise; all five of those rotten kids and their Digimon were behind him.

He coughed and regained his composure. "Well, now..." he cackled. "Finally come to surrender?"

"Fat chance!" Yolei snapped. "We've got bones to pick with you! I'm sick of your cocky face!"

"You're a dishonorable swine," Cody growled, baring the broken handle of his shinai.

"You've committed a crime against nature, making that thing..." TK said, motioning towards Kimeramon.

"You hurt Digimon!" Kari huffed. "They're not toys; they're our friends!"

Davis snorted. "They all have good reasons," he muttered, "but you just plain piss me off."

The Emperor laughed and shook his head. "When are you going to learn that whatever you say, I don't care?" he smirked.

"Look at them!" TK yelled, pointing to their Digimon, all of whom were glaring angrily at the Emperor. "They're alive! They're not just pixels in a computer!"

The Emperor hesitated. Living creatures? How could they be alive if they were in a computer program?

"You're a Digidestined, just like us," Kari said, holding up her D3. "We're supposed to protect this world, not conquer it! You have a responsibility!"

The Emperor stayed silent, grinding his teeth. "That's why we have Digimon partners..." she went on. "We make friends with them; mutual aid for the Digital World and our own. You shouldn't kick your partner around like you do."

The Emperor paused and looked down at Wormmon, his sneer gone. Kari waited hopefully; had she gotten through to him?

He chuckled, then laughed out loud. "I don't kick around my partner," he sneered, turning back to them, "HE kicks YOU around! KIMERAMON!"

Kimeramon roared and charged up a beam, but to everyone's surprise, he didn't shoot at the kids; he belched it straight up into the ceiling, bringing down tons of debris. With every chunk he inhaled, his muscles bulged, and his mass increased. The entire top of the base vanished down his throat, revealing the stormy night sky. Davis winced and covered his forehead as rain pelted him; if his goggles weren't broken, now would have been a great time for them.

The Emperor laughed wildly, not feeling the rain. "I can just build another Gigas," he laughed, "but this one will be a fine gravestone for you!" With that, he snapped his fingers and a Devidramon flew in. With one quick motion, he landed on its back and took off. Wormmon cried out and shot another thread, catching the Devidramon's leg and reeling himself in after his partner.

With the ceiling gone, the speed at which the base was falling became all too apparent to the kids... and it was tilting, too; they saw the lower cloud layer coming up fast ahead of them. "Everybody run!" Yolei shrieked, yanking out her D3.

Hawkmon, Patamon and Gatomon became Halsemon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon and the kids flew into the tempest, witnessing a horrible sight; hundreds of the Emperor's slaves were diving off of the ruined base's sides, hurling themselves to certain death below. Those that didn't jump were getting fried by Kimeramon's beams, and their data swallowed. What was left of the base vanished beneath the clouds, a deafening CRASH rocking the air as it hit the desert below. "Oh, God..." was all Kari could manage.

Cody winced. All of those Digimon they had freed, who had stayed behind to help them... gone in an instant. One more sin for the Emperor to answer for.

Davis spied the Emperor's Devidramon flying through the thunder; this was their last chance to bag him. "After 'im!" he ordered, pointing at the shape. Kari nodded and steered Nefertimon that way, with Halsemon and Pegasusmon following close behind.

Kimeramon and Magnamon had hardly noticed any of these events; they had let the Gigas fall out from under them and took the fight to the air. Kimeramon was now four times as big as it had been originally, and without the base's walls to restrain him, it could fully utilize its wings. As it matched his speed, Magnamon couldn't believe something that big could move so fast.

Kimeramon shrieked and swung, catching Magnamon in the leg and sending him spinning. That did it; he would have to step up his game. He scooted backwards and his armor plating snapped open, launching a barrage of missiles. Kimeramon recoiled and shrieked in pain and fury as they crashed into it. Magnamon gasped with relief; finally, something that actually hurt it!

Kimeramon had never felt pain before, and it didn't like it; whatever had made it feel that way was dead. Its eyes burning, it charged Magnamon.

Magnamon thrust out his arms; it was time for another trick. His armor shone brilliantly, flashing rapidly enough to give humans seizures. Kimeramon covered its eyes, once again getting that horrible feeling of pain. It had to stop. This thing had to die. With its free Skullgreymon arm, it lunged at Magnamon and grabbed him.

He struggled and writhed, but he couldn't break free; the hand was too big and the grip was too strong. He could do nothing but look into Kimeramon's wild, bloodthirsty eyes and await his devouring.

* * *

The Emperor was surprised that the little rats had escaped, but it didn't matter. His creation had beaten theirs perfectly.

"It's all over, Ken!" TK yelled as the three flying Armor Digimon surrounded the Devidramon.

The Emperor laughed. "Really?" he called, making his voice heard over the rolling thunder. "Then what do you call THAT?" He pointed to the triumphant Kimeramon and his struggling prize.

The kids looked and their hearts fell. Was that all Magnamon could do? In this clash between good and evil, had evil actually come out on top? That wasn't supposed to happen!

"I've WON!" the Emperor yelled. "This world is MINE!" He threw back his head in psychotic laughter. A big kaboom of thunder rocked the air around him.

One person there, however, was not ready to give up. Wormmon shuddered, then looked out at the monster. "Magnamon!" he called. "You can do it!"

The Emperor turned on him in a red rage; how dare anyone stop his victory! "SILENCE!" he shrieked, pulling his whip and slashing the worm across the back.

A gasp came from everyone else, and silence did fall... but it wasn't a pleasant one; it was the silence of shame and violation. A trickle of blood ran from the welts. Wormmon slowly turned around, his big, blue eyes filled with tears. "Is... is this what all of your slaves feel?" he asked, his voice a whisper in the storm, but miraculously audible by everyone.

The Emperor froze in his tracks. "Where's the kind, gentle Ken I met so long ago?..." Wormmon asked. "I knew... I knew everything you did was wrong... but I stood by you, because that's what partners were supposed to do..." He paused, then sniffled. "But now I know I should have stopped you... BECAUSE I'm your partner..."

Kimeramon roared wildly in the background, and Magnamon let out a scream of pain, but everyone's attention was focused on Wormmon. He shook his head; it was time. "I didn't want it to come to this..." he admitted. "I hope someday, you understand that only a real friend would do it!" With that, he leaped up and crashed into the Emperor in a powerful headbutt. Taken completely by surprise, the Emperor toppled off of the Devidramon and fell screaming into the clouds below.

Everyone again gasped in shock. Wormmon grabbed the reins of the Devidramon and flew it out of their circle, straight at Kimeramon. "Magnamon!" he cried, tears streaming from his eyes and blood from his back.

What happened next only took three seconds. The Devidramon collided with Kimeramon's hand and knocked Magnamon loose. Furious, Kimeramon instantly turned and slashed the creature in half. For one moment, lightning highlighted Wormmon's spinning, crying shape... and then it vanished in Kimeramon's green beam. None of the kids could keep from crying out in shock; how horrible!

Magnamon was enraged; this had gone too far. He balled his fists and pulled his limbs in, and his whole body glowed. "MAGNA..." his voice thundered. Kimeramon turned around, its mouth ready to launch another death ray.

It never got out of its mouth. "EXPLOSION!" Magnamon finished, throwing out his arms. A sphere of golden devastation grew out of him, scattering the clouds. Kimeramon screamed as it experienced final, ultimate pain... and then it was gone. Leaking black liquid, its limbs and pieces tumbled out of the explosion, then evaporated into black smoke before they hit the ground. The thunder and lightning ceased, and the storm eased into a gentle rain.

Everyone was silent, not daring to believe it... and then they rocked the sky with victorious cheers. "YEAHHHH!" Davis screeched at the top of his lungs, almost falling off of Nefertimon.

"W00t!" Yolei yelled, flailing her arms. "Ultimate w00t!"

Cody sighed, then nodded in acknowledgment, the tiniest of smiles crossing his mouth. The day was won.

Magnamon, sparking and shaking, floated over to them and shrank all the way back to Demiveemon, whom Davis caught. "Did I do OK?" he asked.

Davis grinned and squeezed his little buddy. "I'd never call that OK, pal," he said. "There ain't a word out there to say how awesome that was."

TK looked down at the desert below them, his mind on something else. "We should find Ken," he stated.

Cody's smile vanished. "Yes," he said. "He has to answer for all of this."

The three Digimon descended towards the sands. Kari swallowed as she glanced down. After how far he fell, was Ken even alive?

* * *

Miraculously, the Digimon Emperor had survived that fall. At the last moment, he had snared a jagged piece of the Gigas with his whip and had let his swinging pendulum motion dissolve his falling speed. Having slowed down enough, he jostled the whip loose and landed in the sand. That rotten Wormmon! He should have known he would betray him; why hadn't he slapped a ring on that little-

Suddenly, the sky lit up in Magnamon's awesome explosion, and Kimeramon's death cry rocked his very marrow. No way! Those brats had beaten his ultimate creation? "No..." he hissed, not daring to believe it. "NO!" he shrieked, dropping to his knees and pounding the sand with his fists. He couldn't lose! He was a genius! It wasn't possible! The little shits must have cheated somehow! What other explanation was there?

"There he is!" he heard someone shout, and then a set of hands grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him off the ground. Davis's furious eyes burned into him. "Yeah, you got nowhere to run now, do ya?" he huffed, throwing him into a sitting position.

He scrambled to his feet, but to his horror, seven Digimon surrounded him... two of which had been his own generals. "Payback time," Gatomon hissed, her claws jutting out.

The Emperor swallowed and shuddered, but then resumed his wicked grin. "You may have won..." he snarled, "but it doesn't mean a thing! When I get home, I'll just reset the Digital World! Enjoy this while you can!"

Davis, Yolei and Cody all looked at each other, suddenly surprised. Could he really reset the whole world? They didn't know as much about it as TK or Kari did... He just might be able to!

Kari and TK, however, looked more angry than shocked. "This world is a real place!" Kari snapped, "not some computer game! You can't just reset it!"

"HAH!" the Emperor snapped, getting to his feet and leering at her. "You don't know who you're talking to, stupid girl! I can do anything I-"

He was silenced by a blow across the face from TK. He looked at the boy's furious eyes and staggered back, surprised; he'd never seen someone so angry.

"Digimon are living creatures!" TK shouted. "LIVING! They feel pain! Just like you!"

The Emperor paused, then stared down at the monsters surrounding him. "Is it really that hard to think you ain't the only intelligent life 'round here?" Armadillomon huffed.

"You saw them at the soccer game," Cody said, scowling. "Could a fake life form appear in reality?"

The Emperor's mind raced. Those kids HAD been holding some of the baby Digimon he had seen, hadn't they? "I..." he choked, the malice gone from his voice. "They're... real?..."

"You bet we are!" Agumon snorted, "and we don't appreciate being used like toys!"

The Emperor shook his head. That couldn't be; shouldn't be! This was a computer program; none of it could be real! These creatures and this world defied all logic and science; they couldn't be real! If they were real, then that meant that he was...

A sudden, long-ignored memory crashed into his frazzled mind, destroying all of his denials. Yes, Digimon WERE real. "They're..." he murmured. "For the longest time... I forgot..."

That didn't appease TK at all. "You knew?" he huffed. "You bastard!"

"Is this how you treat all living things?" Yolei huffed. "You pull the legs off ants too, or something?"

"Disreputable fiend!" Cody snarled, brandishing his broken shinai.

TK started forward, but Kari stopped him. The Emperor shook all over now, the sheer force of knowledge rocking him to the core. "I... I'm the king..." he stuttered, his cracking thoughts pouring out of his mouth for all to hear, "I'm... I'm a butcher... torturer... murderer!"

"That's right," Gatomon said, unmoved, "and thanks to you, countless Digimon are dead, and this world is ruined."

Then something happened that none of the Digidestined expected; the Emperor started to scream and cry wildly. He pulled off his gloves and hurled them to the ground. Then he threw off his cape. Then he flung his whip away. Then he tore off his shades and pitched them into the sand. One by one, the articles burst into pixels and vanished... and then his body did the same. All that remained was a broken, sobbing Ken Ichijouji, clad in a simple, gray school uniform. His eyes, once a creepy purple with black dots, had turned pale violet with normal pupils. Davis almost thought they looked... gentle. He lay on the ground, bawling like a wounded toddler.

The Digidestined and their partners all looked at each other. They had all been geared up to bust the Digimon Emperor into oblivion, but now...

Ken sniffled and choked, then looked up at them. "Where... where's Wormmon?..." he asked softly.

The children all glanced away; none of them felt up to saying it. Gatomon shook her head solemnly. "He's gone," she said. "Kimeramon killed him."

Ken's eyes widened, a new supply of tears filling them. "No!..." he whispered.

"It's true," TK agreed quietly. "We all saw it."

"How 'bout that?" Armadillomon asked. "Yer partner got killed by yer own monster. 'Zat what you'd do to your human friends, too?"

Ken shook all over, the yellow Digimon's words triggering a tidal wave of terrible flashback. He saw a hot, burning July street, and a speeding truck... and a young boy drowned in a puddle of blood, his glasses broken on the pavement. He heard the wails of ambulances, and the flat line tone of a hospital monitor, and the slow, solemn march of a hundred mourners' feet. He smelled the terrible, lovely scent of funeral lilies and the subtle corpse stench of formaldehyde.

He convulsed wildly. "Again..." he murmured. "Again!..." He curled up in the sand, shaking and sputtering. He remembered that he'd come here to get away from that, to live free of its gallows. "But," he whimpered, "but I did it again!..."

None of them knew what to make of this; he was talking nonsense. "What are you-" Davis began, approaching him.

Ken shot up, grabbed him by the shirt and shook him fervently. "WHY DO I KILL EVERYONE I LOVE?" he screamed, his red eyes twitching in his skull. "WHY?"

He swallowed hard. Ken stared at him a moment more, then released him and sank back down, sobbing loudly.

He looked down at him. This was too much; he couldn't kick this guy's ass now. His thoughts went to the Ichijouji family, and how sad they had looked on that news broadcast the night before they had left. It seemed like ages ago now. "...Your parents are worried sick," he finally said.

Still bawling uncontrollably, Ken dragged himself to his feet and started to slink away. "Hey!" Yolei shouted. "Where do you think you're going?"

She didn't get a coherent answer. "We can't let him get away," Cody growled, starting after him.

A gentle hand fell on his shoulder. Kari shook her head. "I think he's going home..." she said, "to his mom and dad..."

Cody frowned. Even after that display, he still thought it was a bad idea to let the Emperor go free... but he could see he was outnumbered. He sighed and turned away. Ken vanished behind a sand dune, and the desert went silent.

"Well..." Gabumon said, breaking the tension, "I guess that's that."

"Thanks for saving us, Kari!" Agumon said, beaming at his partner's sister. "You new guys are something else!"

Kari's sad look melted into a relieved smile, the realization finally dawning on her. Two days and tons of combat later, they had done it! They had defeated the Digimon Emperor!

"Yeah, that's us!" Yolei cackled, jumping up and down and spinning. "Digidestined! R0x0r the b0x0rz! When we get home, let's party hardy!"

Davis laughed, jamming his broken goggles in his pocket. "Yeah!" he agreed. "A couple of hot dogs and a soda sound pretty-"

A torrent of vomit leaped from his throat, coating the sand before him in disgusting pinks and greens. The other kids jumped as he toppled over like a kicked doll. Demiveemon collapsed nearby. "What the?" TK yelled.

Kari didn't dare breathe. Davis had turned deathly pale. She slowly put her hand out and touched his shoulder. Instantly he shot up, gasping and writhing about like he was drowning and having a seizure at the same time.

Cody instantly remembered Joe's first aid lesson. "Turn him on his side!" he ordered. Yolei and Hawkmon did so and Davis puked up another putrid puddle, but then his breathing eased. His spasms gradually ceased, and he grew silent again.

TK yanked out his D-Terminal and started typing. "I'm calling Izzy," he stated. "We're getting out of here, now."

Yolei was both sickened and frightened. The smell and the sight were putting her on the verge of ralphing herself. "What... what's happening to him?" she asked.

Kari didn't know exactly, but now that he was out again, Davis seemed relaxed enough. "Maybe he's really tired," she suggested. "The Magnamon fight must have drained him."

"I... I guess that could be it..." Gabumon reasoned; after all, Digimon needed to share the energy of their human partners in order to Digivolve.

At the moment, though, they didn't have time to theorize. "Izzy says there's a portal just to the southeast," TK reported. "Let's hurry!"

TK and Yolei each grabbed one of Davis's arms and hoisted him onto their shoulders, and the procession started off. "Thanks for your help, guys," Gatomon said to Agumon and Gabumon.

"Don't mention it!" Agumon said. "But get Tai in here! I wanna see him again!"

They watched the new Digidestined and their partners disappear behind another dune, filled with both joy and shock at the same time. Yes, the Digimon Emperor was gone, but what had caused Ken to flip out so badly? And what was wrong with Davis?

* * *

Izzy's eyes flashed with delight as he closed the laptop. "Great news!" he declared, turning to his friends at the picnic table, "the Emperor's been neutralized!"

He had expected some sort of cheer, but Tai and Matt looked like they hadn't heard him; they were gawking straight ahead, their eyes bulging.

He started to ask what was wrong, then looked and repeated their expressions. Standing before them was Jun Motomiya, coated in sweat, dust and a big grin. "Hi, Matt!" she ejaculated. "I made it!"

Matt's face looked like lime yogurt. Not again! No matter how many miles he put between himself and this deluded fruitcake, she still showed up!

"That was really weird when you sped off like that," she said, plopping down between Izzy and him, "but I forgive you!"

The boys all coughed and tried to get some more air between them. Jun gave off the distinct aroma of sweat and body; it was like Yolei had come back early.

"So, where's Daisuke?" she asked, glancing around. "I figured the campsite would be burned down by now!"

Matt swallowed hard; now was his chance to deflect her attention. "Tai knows," he stated, folding his arms and looking away.

Tai gulped as Jun turned her big eyes on him. Blasted Matt! "Erm, uh, well... I think Izzy saw 'em last!" he spluttered, glancing at his nerdy friend.

Izzy burst into sweat beads. He was about to deny it profusely when he realized Tai's hint; the younger kids were due back any minute, and they would be coming through the laptop... and Jun couldn't see them coming! "Um, yes," he said. "I think they went off for a hike... I'll, erm, collect them."

He grabbed his laptop and raced into the woods nearby, coming to a wide, open spot with a barbecue pit. Nobody else was around; this was perfect. He opened the laptop and activated the Digital Gate program, and, remembering the last few times, turned the monitor away from himself. Surely enough, a pile of kids tumbled onto the ground, their Digimon plopping down on top of them. "Welcome back," he addressed the pile.

Kari scrambled out of the mass, her expression bothersome. "Something's wrong with Davis!" she explained.

Izzy's smile faded. TK and Kari quickly explained what had happened as Yolei and Cody pulled away from the unconscious boy. "We don't know what to do!" TK finished.

Izzy knelt over Davis and looked him over. He was no Joe, but he didn't see any injuries. Aside from the flecks of barf on his chin, he just looked worn out. "I agree with Kari; he's fatigued," he concluded, getting up. "A few days' rest and he'll be fine."

"We should get him home right away," Cody suggested.

"Right," Izzy agreed. "I'll ask Matt's dad to get things ready to go. Come on, you guys; we have some sodas left, I think."

TK and Yolei hoisted Davis up and the party started back out of the woods.

* * *

Jun swallowed the rest of her fizzy drink and sighed with content. "So then after that guy's tires blew out, I had to hitchhike again! And two hours later, here I am!" she finished. "Whew... Not exactly how I planned to spend this weekend!"

"Boy, Jun, you sure are persistent," Tai said, beaming at Matt. "Sure is nice to have such a dedicated girl coming to see you, huh, Matt?"

Matt stared at his pop can, trying very hard not to flip the picnic table over on the both of them.

"By the way..." Jun said, turning curious, "who's that 'Emperor' that Izzy mentioned? Are you guys into some sci-fi thing?"

It was Tai's turn to sweat again. What could he say? He couldn't explain the Digital World to her, let alone the Emperor! "Uh, well, errr..." he began.

The trees rustled, and out came Izzy and his platoon of junior high kids. "We're back!" Kari announced.

Tai sighed with relief; his bacon was saved.

Jun was ambivalent towards these new arrivals until she saw the state her brother was in. "WOAH!" she cried, running over. Upon closer inspection, all of the kids had cuts and other injuries all over them. "What happened to Daisuke?" she demanded. "What happened to ALL of you?"

Yolei's mind raced in the face of Davis's kooky sister; why the hell was she here? It looked like it was time for her secret skill: lying like a rug. "Oh, uh, we were on a hike, and he just overdid it," she said. "You know him; stupid bastard always has to be first!"

"But where did he get all those cuts?" Jun asked.

"He took a shortcut through the brambles," Yolei replied. "No sense, you know?"

"So how did the rest of you get them?" Jun pressed. "You all went through the brambles?"

"It was a shortcut!" Yolei defended.

Jun noticed TK's and Cody's facial bruises; brambles wouldn't leave bruises. "What about those?" she asked.

"Oh, uh..." Yolei thought hard. "Kari moved a branch while we were walking, and it swung back and hit them in the faces."

Jun looked at the boys again, obviously seeing the difference in height.

"...It was a long branch," Yolei said quickly. "Dipped low at the end."

Jun blinked at them, asking no other questions. Yolei swallowed; had she bought it?

Jun smiled. "Well, that must have been one crazy hike!" she said. "But you guys'd better take a bath later; smells like something died!" She walked back to the picnic table and tried to go sweet on Matt again.

Yolei beamed at her friends. "Can I spin 'em, or can I spin 'em?" she asked.

Kari frowned. "How come I'm the one who got them with the branch?" she asked.

"'Cuz you aren't hauling this dope," Yolei replied, motioning to Davis.

Kari sighed. Fair enough.

* * *

Half an hour later, the campground was bare, and the Ishida van was all packed up to go (the Digimon had been quietly stowed in an aerated duffel bag on top of everything else). Hiroaki, seemingly unfazed by the sudden appearance of all those new kids, started up the engine. "All aboard!" he called, a smile on his face.

After securing Davis in a seat, the kids piled in one by one. Jun ran up, her hands clasped in a pleading way. "Hey, can I get a ride home?" she asked. "I don't wanna have to hitchhike all the way home again!"

Matt swallowed, but then grinned. All of the van's seats were taken up; it looked like fortune was in his favor.

"Don't you worry," Hiroaki said, glancing out his window, "I know there's a bus that goes all the way back to Tokyo. You can ride that... but it would be safer if someone went with you."

Matt's eye twitched as Jun's arm wrapped around his and yanked him right out of his seat. "I know just the perfect volunteer!~" she sang.

Matt's mouth physically twisted into a 'w' shape. "I'm broke!" he protested.

"There's more than enough here," Hiroaki replied, pushing a few bills into his son's hand. "Why don't you take her to dinner, too? Make up for 'forgetting' her before."

Matt's jaw could have touched the dirt.

"What goes around comes around..." Izzy remarked, folding his arms smugly.

The doors shut, and the van started off. "See ya in four hours, blondie!" Yolei called out to the pair behind them. It was cruel, but seeing Matt get shafted so completely gave her unending pleasure.

Hiroaki nodded and turned on the radio. "That is how long it'll take," he agreed. "You guys all take a load off; whatever you were doing, it looks like you've earned it."

Kari and Yolei curled up and fell into naps. Cody produced a book and buried himself in it. TK just stared out the window, lost in thought. Outside the fall sky was turning gray; it looked like a cold rain was on its way.

The radio music suddenly stopped. "This is a special local news report," the announcer stated. "The boy genius, Ken Ichijouji, has returned home as mysteriously as he vanished several months ago. Despite remaining questions about where he was, his family is happy to have him home. No kidnapping charges have been filed."

Hiroaki raised an eyebrow. "How 'bout that..." he remarked.

Tai leaned back in his chair, looking back at the kids behind him. "What a great day," he said. "I knew they could do it."

Izzy folded his arms. Yes, they had dethroned the Emperor, but at the cost of another torrent of questions tossed on his loaded plate: Why had Davis become so tired? How did Ken make Kimeramon, or that giant base of his? Where had the DigiEgg Armors come from?

He looked at the young children and sighed; he wouldn't get anywhere with those questions right now. Tai was right; today was a day to celebrate.

* * *

As rosy as the news report painted it, life at the Ichijouji residence was anything but happy. Mr. Ichijouji held his wife tightly as she sobbed and sniffled. "Why... why won't he wake up?..." she asked.

Mr. Ichijouji sighed. He had no idea what had happened in the past hour; they had discovered Ken lying in his bed, wearing the same clothes as he had been wearing when he'd vanished. At first, they were ecstatic... but he hadn't stirred or moved since they had found him. His heart was beating and his hands were warm, but he just would not wake up. "Well, at least he's here..." he said to her quietly. "At least we didn't lose him, too..."

She cried louder, and he squeezed her tightly. Rain gently began to spatter on the window glass.


	19. Brave New World

Kari hummed to herself as she stirred up the tea and put it on a tray with two little cups. The eastern sun shone through the windows, making the tiles it touched shine like gold. She had always loved summer mornings in this apartment.

As she went into TK's study, though, it was clear that she was alone in the sentiment. TK's hands scratched through his hair, frustration and shame both rampant on his face. "Unbelievable!" he huffed. "Just unbelievable!"

"What's wrong?" she asked, setting the tea down and starting to pour.

"We got so much done last night! We were on a roll... but now, I'm stuck!" he lamented. "It's been two hours, and I haven't been able to write anything!" He banged his head on the desk. "Urrgh... Why did I ever go to bed?" he demanded.

She sighed, giving him a dirty look. He lowered his arms and shook his head. "Sorry..." he apologized. "All of last night was just amazing... but now..." He quieted and solemnly sipped his tea.

Kari slowly drank hers, thinking of some way to cheer him up and get him writing again. Maybe this story was a task too big for just two of them... Maybe they had to get a little more help. Like she had said before, they were a team.

They both sat in silence for a few moments, and then she got up. "I know," she said. "Let's go see our friends; maybe they remember some things we don't."

TK scratched his head. Friends? Remember? Those words triggered a long-buried memory; there was something that could help him. He opened the lowest drawer and dug to the absolute bottom... and he came back up with a small, black book.

Kari was surprised. "You kept it?" she asked, almost angry.

"I never wanted to read it again," he admitted, "but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it..." He ran his fingers over the black leather and the golden kanji stamped on its front. "This is his story as well as ours..." he said.

She looked at the book, then at TK. "You read, I'll drive," she said. "Cody's dojo is nearby; we'll go see him first."

TK had his doubts about this, but he knew Kari's ideas always worked in the long run. He stuck the little book in his pocket and stood up. "I'll get my shoes," he said.

**CHAPTER 19**

**BRAVE NEW WORLD**

The first thing Davis sensed was that he wasn't in the desert anymore; the air was cool, and something soft lay beneath him. He turned onto his back and opened his eyes to a bleary, gray room, with several smudged figures standing around him.

"Oh, good," Sora's voice came into his ears, though it sounded recorded from a radio.

He rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles, but his arms felt encased in lead. "Wha..." he managed in a stale whisper, "wha's happenin'...?"

"Easy now," Tai's voice came through. "You're just fine."

Davis took his hands away and the world changed back to what he knew. He lay in his own bed, back in his apartment. Tai, Matt and Sora, along with Kari, TK, Izzy, Cody and Yolei were all crowded into the room, looking at him anxiously. Demiveemon lay asleep on his desk chair, Upamon and Poromon sitting nearby.

Kari sighed with relief. "Thank goodness," she said. "We wondered if you'd ever wake up!"

Davis's mind crawled and shuddered like a drowsy slug, trying to reorganize what had happened; the last thing he remembered was Ken Ichijouji disappearing into the desert. "Ken..." he muttered. "Where...?"

"Whatever you did, it really took it out of you," Tai explained. "You've been out for three whole days; it's Wednesday now."

"Three?" he yelped with as much as he could muster.

"Take it easy," Gatomon warned him. "It sounds like you're still tired."

"We all brought you some things to make you feel better," Kari said, motioning to a bag in her hand. "I brought some fruit."

"I brought ginger ale," TK added, holding up a bottle.

"I brought your homework assignments," Cody finished, placing a stack of papers on the bed.

"...Thanks, Cody," Davis grunted dryly.

Yolei folded her arms and grumbled to herself. "What's with you?" he asked her.

She glanced at him, shifted her weight a few times, then tossed a magazine onto his sheets with a mutter of "here."

His eyes widened; it was the newest issue of his favorite airplane magazine! "Where'd you get this?" he asked, picking it up and looking over the cover.

"The store carries it," she replied.

He glanced at her. "You never told me that," he stated.

"You never asked," she replied just as bluntly.

As much as he enjoyed this pointless squabble, he turned back to the others. "What's been happening?" he asked. "Where's Ken?"

"We don't know," Upamon said, hopping around to face him. "None of us've been back since."

Izzy shrugged. "I've checked it every day, and there's been no Imperial activity in the Digital World since your fight," he said. "I guess he was soundly defeated."

TK nodded and smiled. "That's something to be proud of," he agreed.

"Once you've rested up, we should go again," Kari said. "We can enjoy ourselves; we've earned that."

Davis grinned and nodded. That was a great idea, especially since she had suggested it.

Yolei rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm, but the proposition was a good one. "There's plenty we haven't seen yet, huh?" she asked.

"The Digital World is as immense as this one," Poromon pointed out. "I'm sure there's somewhere we can amuse ourselves."

Sora glanced at her watch. "Oh, I'd better go," she said. "Mom wants me to watch the shop today."

"Come to think of it, we'd all better go," Cody said. "Davis isn't the only one with homework."

"See you later, Davis," Patamon chirped, and the party filed out of the room.

As soon as they were out of the apartment, TK felt an arm on his shoulder. "Hey, wait a second," Tai said, pulling Kari and him back a bit. "Are you guys free tonight?"

"What's up?" TK asked.

"Well, we older kids're meeting at Izzy's..." he said, "but I think you guys need to be in on it, too."

TK and Kari looked at each other, then back at him. "Sure, we'll be there," Kari answered.

Matt stuck his face into the trio. "And don't tell the new kids," he warned. "We don't need them nosing around."

TK wanted to ask why, but his brother took off. What could be so important that Davis, Cody and Yolei couldn't know about it?

* * *

A few hours later, Izzy's room was as full as Davis's had been. Tai, Sora, Matt, Joe, TK and Kari sat in chairs or on the beds, Gatomon and Patamon sat on the floor, anxious to hear what was said. Mimi was not present; another slumber party, as Sora had recounted.

Izzy got up from his desk, his computer screen displaying a list of text. "First off," he said, "we owe TK and Kari here a big thanks; it's partly because of them that Ken Ichijouji has left the Digital World..."

Tai started to clap, but a wave of Izzy's hand shushed him. "Now, don't celebrate yet," he warned. "There are a number of problems with how things stand now. I've prepared a list of my greatest concerns on my screen, here..."

All of the kids and the two Digimon got as close as they could, jostling to read what appeared on the screen:

1) Why has the Digital World changed its appearance?

2) Why has time synchronized? Before, it only synchronized when the worlds were linked; is something holding it in place?

3) The Digital Gate: why do we need a gate to go between the worlds now?

4) How did Ichijouji learn to make the Gigas and Kimeramon?

5) Why haven't we heard from Gennai?

"So, as you can see," Izzy concluded, folding his arms like a professor proving a point, "our work is far from done."

Sora scratched her head, her mind turning; she hadn't thought about them before, but Izzy had brought up five really good questions.

The others thought so too, apparently. "Wow," was all Joe could say.

Even the Digimon were surprised. "Now why didn't we think of those?" Patamon asked.

Matt remained stone-gazed. "OK..." he remarked, "so how do we answer them?"

"There's only one thing we can do," Izzy replied, closing the list and opening his graph of the Digital World. "We go to the Digital World and investigate for ourselves."

Tai grinned. "Hey, yeah!" he agreed. With Ken out the way, those control spires shouldn't have any affect on their Digimon; they could finally fight off trouble again!

"This graph is hardly a good map," Izzy said, frowning at it. "We need to survey the world and draw up a completely new map."

He turned to TK and Kari. "That's where you two come in," he said. "I've been analyzing the scans I did on your D-Terminals, and I believe they're capable of creating and maintaining a geographical map."

"So then we could find Gennai, too?" Kari asked.

Tai folded his arms. Gennai was a mysterious but kind old man that had helped them on their first adventure. His timely advice had gotten them out of plenty of tough scrapes in both the Digital World and their own... but Izzy was right; why hadn't they heard from him? Of all the ways to learn about the Digimon Emperor, why hadn't Gennai contacted them?

"His house was at the bottom of a lake before," Sora recalled. "Maybe it's still in one, or he moved to a different weird spot."

"Right," Izzy agreed. "When looking for Gennai, we can't overlook anything."

Matt snorted. "And why haven't we tried contacting him already?" he asked.

Izzy folded his arms, looking insulted. "I did consider that..." he said, "but if you'll recall, we don't know how to do that... HE always called US before."

Matt leaned back in his chair, silenced. Tai grinned; if only he were that easy to shut up all the time.

Kari looked at Izzy's grid; the area that both Ken and they had explored was barely a smudge on the screen. "The Digital World is huge..." she said. "Should we ask the others to help us?"

Joe shook his head. "No, I don't think so..." he said. "After all they've been through, they deserve a break."

Matt nodded stiffly, though his reasons were different from Joe's. Those kids wouldn't have been able to defeat the Emperor if that all-powerful DigiEgg hadn't shown up; now that the older kids could work in the Digital World again, why would they ever need those clowns' help again?

"Now, then..." Izzy said, picking up his planner. "I was thinking of going in as soon as possible... How's everyone for tomorrow?"

"Well, we can go," Gatomon piped up. "Kari and I never have anything after school..."

"Us, too!" Patamon chirped, landing on TK's head.

"Thursdays are free for me, too," Tai replied.

"Me, too," Sora nodded. "No soccer practice then."

"Wow. The one day everyone's free... and so am I!" Joe laughed, triumphantly stuffing his own planner back in his pocket. "Count me in."

Matt nodded. "The band can play without me for one meet," he answered.

"Right, then," Izzy said. "We'll all meet here, and Kari or TK can open the gate for us."

Tai balled his fists; the excitement was too much. "This is awesome!" he laughed, punching the air. "Back to the Digital World!"

Sora, Izzy and Joe all punched the air in agreement. Matt just folded his arms, a rare smile gracing his face.

* * *

Classes went as they usually went the next day, but TK found it hard to concentrate; he was too excited about the Digital World, and how great it would be now that they had driven Ken out of it. He had to keep it bottled, though; as his brother had practically ordered, he couldn't tell his new friends.

Of course, Cody and Yolei were observant enough to know something was going on. "You're very quiet," Cody said to him as the three of them walked home from school. A cold wind blew across them, making their neck hairs stick up; October was almost over.

"Oh, uh..." TK stammered, trying to come up with some sort of answer. "I'm just... thinking about something."

"Must be hard," Upamon piped up from under Cody's jacket. "You've been like that all day!"

"Something about the Digital World?" Yolei ventured.

"Oh! Uh, no!" TK said quickly, forgetting himself. He stumbled for some kind of excuse, but from the smug look on her face, he knew he was found out.

"Well, how's about you both come to my place?" she asked. "Mom brews a mean pot of cocoa... if the sibs haven't guzzled it all already..." She frowned and kicked a rock on the sidewalk. "Lousy pigs always get at things before me... Why do you think I'm so skinny?"

"Your siblings are skinny, too," Cody pointed out.

"They exercise!" she snapped.

TK winced. As much as he liked hearing Yolei and Cody argue, this gave him the perfect chance to slip away. "Well, see you guys later," he said, quickly walking off toward Izzy's place, Patamon flitting behind him.

"And what's more, I change my socks every OTHER day!" Yolei finished, then looked up in alarm; TK was gone. "Aww, nuts..." she grunted.

Cody looked at the retreating boy, then back at Yolei. "What do you suppose could be happening?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Beats me," she replied, "but now I'm stuck on cocoa. Want some?"

Cody wanted to know what TK was so preoccupied with, but it would be rude to follow him if he wasn't invited... and it was cold enough to warrant hot chocolate anyway. "Sure," he said, pulling Upamon out, "and we can continue this fascinating critique of your lifestyle."

"Hmmph! Not if you don't want it served down your pants, we won't," she snorted, starting for the apartment elevator.

* * *

For the fourth time in a week, Izzy's room looked like a social event. Tai, Sora, Matt, Joe, TK and Kari all piled in with Gatomon and Patamon in tow. "All right," Izzy said, closing his door, "my parents won't be barging in on us; told them we were studying for a schoolwide midterm."

Joe looked around. "No Mimi again?" he asked, disappointed.

Sora shrugged. "I asked, but she's not coming," she said. "I was going to ask why, but she, uh, raced off with one of the jocks."

Joe's shoulders sagged, his med kit almost touching the floor. "All right, shall we get going?" Izzy asked, quickly diverting everyone's attention. He made his way through the kid pile and typed on his computer.

The Digital Gate appeared on the monitor, and TK raised his D3. The light changed from red to green, and Tentomon's face appeared on the little window. "Wuaagh!" he cried, reeling back. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, Tentomon," Izzy apologized. "Better stand back; we're all coming in."

"Where're the others?" Tai asked.

"We all went to different places after the Emperor was defeated," Tentomon explained. "You guys missed quite a party!"

"I'm sure," Matt sighed. "Now, where are they?"

Tentomon scratched his head. "Well, Agumon and Gabumon went back to File Island," he said. "Biyomon and Palmon are helping rebuild Spaghetti Junction like before. Gomamon and I don't have anything to do... so we thought we'd poke around in here." He moved away to reveal the smashed remnants of the Gigas.

"So, three spots..." Gatomon observed. "I guess we split up."

Tai looked at his sister and TK. "The rest of us will go where our partners are," he said. "How about you two?"

TK looked over at Matt. It had been a while since he had spent time with his older brother. "I'll go with you guys," he concluded.

"Yeah!" Patamon agreed. "It'll be fun to see Gabumon and Agumon again!"

Kari glanced at Sora. Since Mimi wasn't there, she would be going alone. "I'll come with you," she said. Sora smiled and nodded, glad for it.

"Right, then," Izzy said. "Kari, since we don't have D3s, you'll have to send Joe and myself in before you go yourself."

"OK, then!" TK said, holding his Digivice up. "Off we go!"

Izzy set the coordinates for Trolley Hill, and Tai, Matt and TK vanished. He then switched the coordinates to the Forsaken Desert. Kari raised her D3 and Joe and he disappeared.

"Well, just us now..." Sora said, going to the computer and setting the coordinates for Spaghetti Junction.

Gatomon's tail twitched in anticipation. After so much, setting foot in a free Digital World was a dream come true.

"Right," Kari said, raising her D3. "Here we go!"

With one last flash, the last of the kids were drawn into the computer. The Digital Gate lock clicked shut.

* * *

Davis scowled at his European History assignment, grunting. Here he was, mysteriously sick, and they still threw this kind of crap at him! Teachers had to be the most sadistic people in the world.

"What famous musical work did Sergei Prokofiev compose in 1936? Bah!" he huffed, complaining out loud and tossing the questions aside. Who cared what the Surgeon Provoker composed in 1936? He was dead! If it was any good, they'd make a movie out of it.

Demiveemon, now awake and perched on his bed, stared at the paper. "I dunno, Davis," he said. "What was it?"

"I don't know!" Davis snapped. "How the hell could I know? I've been out for three days!"

He sulked for a moment, trying to think of a way to avoid doing the work. His gaze fell on the D-Terminal on his bedside desk and his eyes lit up; he could admire his three DigiEggs! After all, with Ken gone, they were valuable trophies. "Yeah, let's see that gold!" he cackled, snatching the device and opening it up.

"Ooh!" Demiveemon chirped, scampering up beside him, "Lemme see! Lemme see!"

Davis looked down at the screen... and his jaw fell into his lap. There were only two DigiEggs on the device! Two? The symbols below them showed that they were Flamedramon's and Raidramon's... but where was the big, awesome, golden, Magnamon-making one? "What the hell, man?" he shrieked.

"Shouldn't you be doing your schoolwork instead of playing?"

He could have gone through the roof. Jun stood in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear. Demiveemon had already begun his mannequin impression.

He blinked, then stuffed the D-Terminal under his pillow. "Shouldn't YOU knock first?" he retorted.

"Why? You weren't doing anything dirty..." she said, the smirk not leaving. "...Were you?"

He snorted. "Whaddya want?" he asked.

"I just wanted to ask a favor," she said. "Next time you see TK, could you get him to talk to Matt?"

Davis looked at her stupidly. Why on Earth would he do that?

"I mean, I had a wonderful time at dinner on Sunday," she went on, "but then he said he was going to the bathroom... and he never came back! I just wanna know if he's OK... I mean, if he got food poisoning, then we'll try another place next time!"

"Don't think the food's what poisoned him..." he remarked, trying hard not to laugh out loud. Sometimes it was fun having a delusional sister.

Jun was going to go on, but then the little blue doll on Davis's bed caught her eye. "Ohhhhh!~" she cried out, seizing Demiveemon and squeezing him. "This is just adorable!" She gave her brother another smug look. "Kind of old to be playing with dolls, aren't you?"

"Hey, lay off!" Davis snapped, suddenly sitting up. "That ain't-" He stopped himself just in time; he couldn't let Jun in on what Demiveemon REALLY was! "Err... It ain't mine," he went on. "It's, uh... gonna be a present."

"Oh, really?" she asked, the grin not leaving; more ammo meant for more ribbing. "Who for? That cute friend of yours? Oh, no... I know! It must be for Momoe's little sister! She's MUCH more your type!"

Davis bristled violently; Jun being friends with one of Yolei's dimwit sisters had never done anything good for him. "S-shut the hell up!" he snapped, making a grab for Demiveemon. "Just give it-"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if it got a little hugged beforehand!" Jun said, keeping him just out of her brother's reach. She squeezed him to her chest and rocked him back and forth, much to Davis's boiling fury. "I'll give it back when you're all better!" she said, whisking out of the room and shutting the door.

Davis stared after them, his teeth gnashing. It was a fine time for Demiveemon to not fight back!

* * *

Tai laughed as Agumon knocked him to the ground in a hugging tackle. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he belonged in the Digital World again. "Nice to see you, too!" he said, squeezing his little dinosaur friend for all he was worth.

"No more Emperor!" Agumon laughed. "I'm back to stay now!"

Matt knelt down to eye level with Gabumon. "How are you?" he asked.

"It's like Agumon said," Gabumon answered. "We're all breathing easier now... though I still ache a little from that spiral..."

"Well, you're OK now..." Matt replied, smiling. "That's what matters."

TK watched his brother and Tai with their partners, all of them happy to be finally reunited. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in his chest, knowing that he had helped bring this about.

"So, what's been happening here?" Tai asked, getting back on his feet.

Agumon coughed and scratched his head. "Well, I don't really know, myself... The Emperor had me brainwashed for so long..."

Matt's smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. "You can blame the 'new Digidestined' for that," he said, frowning and looking away. "They're totally incompetent."

"Oh, I don't know..." Gabumon said, scratching his head. "I think they're kind of nice... At least, Yolei is. Her partner and she worked very hard to save-"

Matt's glare was on his old friend. "Whose side are you on?" he demanded.

Gabumon looked at him sadly. Matt never changed.

TK looked around. The once-peaceful-looking island had been through hard times, and it showed. Trees were toppled and giant craters dotted the earth. Dozens upon dozens of control spires poked through the woods and perched on the mountaintops like heartless sentries. "Ugh..." he muttered. "This place looks really ugly with those spires."

Agumon thought for a moment, then jumped. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "Let's knock them down!"

Matt frowned. "We came to map the island..." he pointed out.

"So?" Tai asked, pulling out his Digivice. "We can knock down spires AND map out the island!"

Unlike usual, Matt couldn't find a problem with Tai's reasoning. "All right, then," he said, producing his own Digivice. "Let's go."

"Yeah!" TK agreed, raising his D3; finally, it was time for Angemon to reappear.

Agumon, Gabumon and Patamon strained, but nothing happened. The Digivices complained with a negative-sounding buzz. Tai looked at his screen and saw the familiar red symbols; though he couldn't read them, he knew they meant something was wrong. "What the..." he said.

"TK, nothing's happening!" Patamon said, fluttering over to his partner.

Matt's fist tightened around his useless tool, and he fought the urge to hurl it to the ground. His hateful glare targeted a control spire and stayed there; what was wrong?

Gabumon looked at the spire, too. "Do you think they could still be working?" he asked.

Tai scratched his head. "But Ken's gone!" he objected. "They couldn't still be working!... could they?"

All six of them looked up at the nearest spire. They had thought that the spires were powered by Ken's black D3... but if they were still active, did that mean Ken hadn't been defeated?... or was it something else?...

TK stared a moment more, then pulled out his D-Terminal. "Plan B," he said, pushing a button and raising his D3 again. "Patamon!"

In a flash, Patamon became Pegasusmon. Without any orders from TK, he charged the nearest spire and riddled the foundation with needle hairs, then knocked it over with a smack of his back legs. "Give it a try now," TK told his brother.

Tai and Matt raised their Digivices again. To their delight, Agumon became Greymon, and Gabumon became Garurumon. Without the dark rings on them, they both looked much more pleasant. "Yes!" Greymon rumbled. "We're back in business!"

Garurumon howled with vigor, but Matt frowned. How could they move from this spot? The Digivolutions would end as soon as they entered the range of another spire.

Greymon answered that question with a sharp hack of flame. The fireball flew across the trees and incinerated the top of another spire. A dull THUD came from the woods.

"Long-range spire-busting, anyone?" Tai asked, flashing his old cocky grin.

Garurumon exchanged glances with Matt, then turned and spewed a blue wave of energy at another spire, reducing it to a smoking, black mound. "I'll go for that!" he growled.

"Let's try to get as many as we can," TK said to his friends. "I bet we can clean up the whole island today!"

Tai, Matt and the Digimon all made shouts of approval, and they set to work.

* * *

Sora's and Kari's lungs rebelled as soon as they arrived in windy, sandy Spaghetti Junction. It was just their luck that a dust storm would be in full swing as they came out of the portal. "Agh! *COUGH* Stupid..." Sora hacked, clamping her hands over her mouth. She wished she had her lucky blue hat with her; she could have put it over her face for a safe breathing spot.

Kari pulled her shirt up and over her nose and mouth, but then sand pelted her exposed navel, making her itch wildly.

"Maybe this isn't a *COUGH* good time..." Gatomon began.

Suddenly, a small, green tornado shot over their heads and the storm dissipated. The girls looked up to see Biyomon fluttering nearby, with Palmon below. "Sora!" Biyomon laughed happily, flying over.

"Thanks for that," Sora said, hugging her little friend. "Bad time to show up, I guess."

"There've been more dust storms lately," Biyomon replied. "Almost one a day."

Palmon looked over the humans and showed disappointment. "Where's Mimi?" she asked.

Sora sighed. "Sorry... I asked, but she couldn't come," she explained as nicely as she could.

Palmon's flower drooped. Why wouldn't her partner visit her?

"Um, anyway," Kari said, kicking up the conversation, "we came to make a new map of the Digital World, and we thought we'd start here. Are there any maps in town we can start with?"

Biyomon suddenly looked worried. "Well, yeah..." she said with hesitation, "but I wouldn't go into town if I were you..."

"Yeah!" Palmon said, looking equally concerned. "There're a bunch of scary Digimon there, and they said they don't like humans!"

Sora's jaw dropped. Digimon who didn't like humans? She'd run into her share of Digimon that attacked them, but never any whose sole reason was because they were humans. "What?" she asked. "But why?"

Kari frowned, her suspicions aroused. "I'm going to go look," she decided, running for the buildings.

"No, wait!" Gatomon yelled, but Kari was already in a sprint. The others could do nothing but chase after her.

They raced through the lopsided town gateway, ducked into the shadow of a wrecked building and peered around; if there were human-hating Digimon here, they didn't want to be spotted.

Sora peered over Kari's shoulder. Spaghetti Junction was way more lively than when she had been there before... but it didn't look dangerous. A troupe of Monochromon lumbered through the street, hauling slag on their backs. Two Tuskmon held a building in place while several Geckomon hammered its foundation into place. More Geckomon were painting another building nearby. "It doesn't look so bad..." she said. "They're helping rebuild. See? Starmon and Deputymon are organizing things."

Kari's eyes fell where Sora's finger pointed, and she gasped out loud. She didn't know who Starmon or Deputymon were, but she recognized the big, green, gun-armed rabbit that they were speaking to: Gargomon! These Digimon were part of the Resistance! Her cheek stung, reminding her of when he had punched her in Somber Harbor.

Gatomon's claws came out. If Gargomon was here, then the Resistance must have taken over this city. So much for fighting against tyranny! "Right..." she growled, starting forward.

She was stopped when Palmon's vines wrapped around her arm. "No, wait!" she said. "Those guys've been really helpful!"

"She's right," Biyomon piped up. "Since they came here, we've really fixed a lot of town!"

Kari blinked. A group of thugs like the Resistance? Helpful?

Sora started to suggest that they talk to the Digimon, but a raspy cry behind them made them all jump. Before they knew what was going on, a band of Geckomon had forced their hands behind their backs and shoved them out into the open. "Bothth! Bothth!" one of them cried. "We've got humanth!"

Gargomon, Starmon and Deputymon turned around in surprise. "What in tarnation...?" Starmon began.

Gargomon's little eyes flashed with rage when he spotted Kari. "YOU!" he yelled.

"Hey, come on! Let us go!" Sora objected, trying to break free. For a slippery amphibian thing, the Geckomon had a firm grip.

"Stop it!" Biyomon demanded. "We were helping you just a second ago!"

"Thhut up!" another Geckomon snapped. "What do we do with 'em, bothth?"

Kari's eyes met Gargomon's, and he snarled. "Didn't I tell you not to come back?" he demanded. "You just don't get it, do you? This is OUR world!"

"Wait, please!" Kari pleaded; it sounded like Gargomon was the same as before. "We aren't trying to conquer-"

"QUIET!" Gargomon yelled, raising his gun arms. "For all Digimon everywhere, I'm executing you on the spot!"

The barrels of his guns clicked and whirred. Sora and Kari could do nothing but shut their eyes and tremble.

* * *

What was left of the Digimon Emperor's titanic ship loomed up from the desert like the hand of a doomed traveler in a quicksand pit. Joe and Izzy stood in its shadow and stared at it for a long time. It was a cold, metallic craft devoid of color; it wasn't something that looked like it belonged in the Digital World.

"Yolei said there were other Digimon on board..." Izzy finally said. "You don't think..."

Joe motioned to his med kit. "That's why I brought this along," he explained. "Let's get closer."

They hurried up a sandy hill and came to a gaping, black hole in the Gigas's hull. Gomamon and Tentomon stood just outside of it, awaiting them. "There you are!" Tentomon proclaimed, fluttering over to them.

"Gomamon! How are you?" Joe asked, kneeling down before his little friend.

"Hot, dusty and really cranky," Gomamon admitted, flailing one of his paws around. "Deserts are no place for me!"

Izzy looked into the hole. "Have you gone in?" he asked.

"No way!" Tentomon declared. "It looks like it could fall apart with one sneeze!"

Izzy folded his arms. "We have to find the control room," he said. His old laptop was in its small pack on his back; he had brought it to get as much data as he could from the Emperor's computers.

"Do you think there's anyone still in there?" Joe asked.

Gomamon shrugged. "I thought I heard whispers at one point," he recalled, "but since we haven't gone in..."

Izzy frowned and looked into the hole. There was only one way their questions would be answered. Together with their partners, Joe and he slowly stepped inside.

The hole opened into a large, wide chamber full of shrapnel and metal pieces. Burn marks and impact craters lined the walls and floors; a big fight must have taken place there before the ship crashed. Several broken Mekanorimon lay around the room, parts of them mangled or missing, their eye sockets pitch black. Joe stood over one and shook his head sadly. That Ken hadn't even told his slaves to abandon ship! Maybe if he had come sooner, he could have saved them...

Gomamon, sensing what his partner was thinking, shook his head. "Mekanorimon are more like machines than Digimon," he said. "I don't think you could've helped... unless you're a mechanic, too."

Izzy was busy looking for a route further inside. When recounting the adventure earlier, Cody had mentioned a door leading from the hangar to the Emperor's throne room. Now, where was it...? His eyes scanned the darkened far wall... and there it was. Tilted at a 45-degree angle and showing only darkness beyond, the sand-stained doorway beckoned to him. "There," he said, pointing at it.

"Ooh... It's pretty dark..." Tentomon said, fluttering behind his friend.

Joe scratched his head. "Well, if there's something bad waiting for us, you can just Digivolve, right?"

"I don't think so, Joe," Gomamon admitted. "If we get big in here, the whole place could squish us flatter than pancakes made outta pancakes!"

Izzy looked at his friends, then started for the door. Silently understanding, they followed him. It was a risk they would have to take; the Emperor's database was too valuable to be left alone.

* * *

The screen flashed with a loud kaboom. "GAME!" the announcer yelled. "And the winner is... Computer Player 1!"

Usually this statement would have sent Yolei into an arm-flailing tirade, but today she looked up in surprise. "Huh?" she asked. "Cody, did you win?"

Cody was equally startled, his hands barely clutching the controller. "What?" he said.

"The computer won..." Upamon spoke up from behind Cody.

"...And you just farted," Poromon coughed, hopping away from Yolei.

They looked at each other, then at the flashing screen. Neither of them had been paying any attention to what they were doing; their minds were focused entirely on TK, and where he had gone so secretively. They had tried snacking, doing homework, and now playing Yolei's newest beat-em-up game, but nothing had worked... In fact, as time passed, they had only become more curious. Cody's mind was so far from his body that he didn't even notice the vile pile of Yolei's used socks that his feet mingled with.

"Man, this blows," Yolei said, tossing her controller on the floor. "Why wouldn't he say where he was going?"

Cody set his controller down and scratched his chin. "Let's think about this logically," he said. "He took Patamon with him... so it could be Digimon-related..."

She blinked a few times. If it was about Digimon, why didn't he tell them?

"He headed north," Cody went on. "Which Digidestined live north of our apartment?"

She thought hard, though remembering street names and addresses was far from her strong point. "Um..." she muttered. "Davis lives west of school, so it couldn't be him... but... Tai and Kari do... and Sora... and Izzy."

Cody nodded. "Right," he said. "So, logically, he must have gone to see one of them."

She grinned, then shut off the game and grabbed Poromon. "Good!" she said. "Neither of us was paying attention anyway! Let's go!"

Cody remained seated, giving her a bothered look. "I don't know..." he said. "If he wouldn't tell us, then maybe it isn't our business..."

"And if it involves the Digital World, then it IS our business!" Yolei rebuked. She grinned at finally having countered one of Cody's arguments.

"She's got you there, Cody," Upamon agreed, hopping off the bed. "Let's go!"

Cody frowned at his partner's attitude, but he really had no reason not to go. He nodded and followed the others out the door.

* * *

Kari and Sora were amazed to be still on this mortal coil thirty seconds after two machine guns had been pointed at them. "Hey, now, what're ya doin'?" Starmon's voice came to them.

The girls opened their eyes to see that both the star-shaped sheriff and Deputymon had stepped between Gargomon and themselves. Gargomon looked royally furious. "I'm getting rid of a threat to our whole world," he snapped. "Get out of the way!"

"Bullpucky!" Deputymon rebuked. "Why, that red-haired lil' missy an' her compadrés were the younguns what brought down Garudamon an' saved this here village!"

"Garudamon was controlled by the Digimon Emperor," Gargomon answered, not moving from his spot, "and he was a human as well! And need I remind you that this village was destroyed in the process?"

"That's enough!" Starmon snapped, stamping his foot in the dust. "I'm the law in this town, Gargomon, and if I say the girls're fine to be here, then that's what's gonna happen! Capische?"

Gargomon's guns stayed where they were. He leered at the girls, then looked back at Starmon. Finally, he scoffed and lowered his weaponry. "If that's your law, then I'll abide by it," he muttered. With that, he stomped off and started barking orders to some of the Monochromon.

Biyomon sighed with relief. "Thanks, sheriff!" she said. "Thanks, Deputymon!"

Starmon beamed at them. "Tweren't nothin', amigos," he said. "So long as I'm the law, y'all're welcome here!"

Kari was genuinely puzzled. She had never been here before; how did these strange Digimon know Sora? "Palmon?" she asked.

"I got captured here once," Palmon explained. "Sora and your new friends came and saved the town, and Biyomon!"

Biyomon nodded. "That new girl, Yolei, got some green DigiEgg and knocked the Emperor's spiral right off of me," she finished.

Kari nodded in understanding; that must have been the SOS she had ignored the morning after her nightmare... "Wow," she said. "Miss one day, and you're out of the loop..."

"Good to see you again, Starmon," Sora said, getting back on her feet. "What's been going on?"

"Ever since we heard the Emperor got booted off his high horse, them Resistance boys've been here rebuildin'," Deputymon answered. "They've fixed a lotta stuff already; got the wells pumpin' water an' the roads all clear..."

"He's right," Biyomon agreed. "They've been really helpful and friendly!"

Sora frowned, remembering what had just happened. "Really..." she mumbled.

Starmon chuckled with embarrassment. "OK, so they don't really fancy the human types..." he admitted. "Honest, not everybody here thinks like Gargomon!"

"Good," Gatomon said. "We can't have stuff like that happening now... The Digital World is in bad enough shape."

That statement hit Kari like a ton of bricks, and she suddenly felt very guilty. What were they doing? Even though Ken was gone, the Digital World was still a mess... and they had caused a lot of the damage! They shouldn't be relaxing and surveying; they had to help clean up! After all, if a ruthless group like the Resistance was giving their time to it, then the ones who stopped the Emperor just had to do it, too! "We'll help, too," she spoke up. "What can we do?"

Sora and the Digimon looked at her. "Kari, we came to map the area..." Sora started.

"This is way more important!" Kari replied. "Don't you see? This is partly our fault!"

"Correction: it's ALL your fault!" Gargomon's voice erupted. They turned to see him stomping back towards them.

"Hey now, Gargomon," Starmon said, starting toward the angry green monster, "you heard what I said!"

Gargomon stopped, but shook a gun fist at the girls. "You think you're some kind of heroes?" he snapped. "Look at this place! You're the LAST thing we want around!"

"Fer someone sayin' he's bringin' justice, ya sure got a problem listenin,'" Deputymon said, stepping up next to Starmon. "Now, we gonna do this the hard way, or the hard way?"

"You call yourself a Digimon?" Gargomon barked. "I think you LIKED that ring around your head!"

Starmon fumed. "Them's fightin' words, pardner..." he warned.

By now, the face-off had gotten everyone's attention, and the Resistance fighters were starting to crowd around, leering at the girls. Kari swallowed; this was too much. "Wait! Wait, please!" she said to Starmon. "We didn't come here to start a fight... We'll leave."

Starmon turned to her, looking disappointed. Gargomon folded his arms and smirked.

Kari turned back to her friends. "Come on, let's go..." she muttered, walking past them. Sora, Biyomon, Palmon and Gatomon stayed a moment longer, then quickly hurried after her.

Outside the town gates, Kari took out her D3. "Let's get surveying," she said. "Ready, Gatomon?"

Gatomon sighed. "Yeah, I guess..." she said, sounding disappointed.

"Yeah, let's Digivolve for real this time!" Biyomon said to Sora.

In a flash, Gatomon became Nefertimon, and Biyomon became Birdramon. Kari mounted her ride while Sora and Palmon clung to Birdramon's talons, and they took off into the empty sky. "Good grief!" Sora exclaimed, looking back at Spaghetti Junction. "I have NEVER in my life met Digimon as nasty as that!"

This puzzled Palmon; she thought they had. "What about Devimon? Or Myotismon? Or the Dark Masters?" she asked.

Sora shook her head. "That was a different kind of nasty..." she said. "This was... I dunno. It could be way worse."

Kari silently took out her D-Terminal and started the mapping process. Sora was right; this kind of nastiness wasn't what they expected to find in the Digital World. Was this hatred towards humans only in the Resistance... or were they going to find more of it as they went?

* * *

Izzy squinted as far down the corridor as he could, but all he could see was darkness. This wasn't good; how could they know where they were going when they couldn't see anything?

A bright light shot out from behind him and he whirled around. Joe had two flashlights in his hands. "I thought we might need them," he said, offering one to Izzy.

Gomamon laughed. "That's my Joe!" he said. "Always with the bright ideas!"

Ignoring the horrible joke, they moved on, the flashlights showing everything in their path. Despite how ravaged the outside of the Gigas looked, what remained of the inside was surprisingly intact. Some sand had leaked in from cracks in the floor, but aside from that, the walls were sturdy and still reflected their lights.

"Maybe there ARE some survivors," Joe suggested.

"I don't know..." Tentomon admitted. "This thing crashed down really hard..."

Suddenly, a hollow groan made them all jump. Joe's flashlight picked out a Gorillamon slumped against the wall... and it wasn't alone. Several more Gorillamon lay around the area, as well as some Bakemon. Some of them were still moving, but others were not. All of them had large wounds on their bodies.

Joe ran to the first Gorillamon. "We're here to help you!" he said. "Where are you hurt?"

The Gorillamon opened an eye and looked at him. "Ugh... Ship come down... crash..." he coughed. "Many hurt... Legs feel bad..."

One of the nearby Bakemon moaned, then burst into pixels and vanished. "Oh, no!" Tentomon cried. "Joe, hurry and help them!"

The entire contents of Joe's medical bag were on the floor in an instant. "Bandages! Splints! Stitching! Hurry!" he barked to his friends.

Though they hardly knew what they were doing, Izzy, Tentomon and Gomamon picked up what Joe had ordered and gave them to him for each patient. As fast as it takes to read it, Joe stitched up wounds and set broken limbs. As quickly as he moved, though, he couldn't save them all; a few more dissolved as the Bakemon had, some right in the middle of his treating them. Still, most of them were bandaged up and stable after a tense ten minutes.

The "nurses" collapsed to the floor, exhausted. "Whew..." Gomamon sighed. "That was rough!"

Izzy looked up at his human friend. "I have to admit, Joe," he said, "I have a new respect for the medical profession."

Joe leaned against the wall, his blue hair dripping with sweat. Those few moments were far more stressful than anything college had thrown at him. Could he really be a doctor? He shook his head angrily; now wasn't the time to be thinking like that. "You go on ahead," he said to Izzy. "I'll make sure these Digimon make it outside."

Regaining his breath, Izzy got to his feet and nodded. With Tentomon flitting behind him, he stepped over the wounded Digimon and continued into the ship.

The tunnel twisted and turned, and considering that it was already listing to one side, Izzy had to do a few tricky jumps to get through it. Eventually, though, he climbed up one last corner and was greeted with a doorway. "That has to be the throne room," he said to Tentomon.

"I hope so," Tentomon said. "I'm starting to feel like I'm trapped in some kind of modern art!"

Izzy and his partner walked into a small chamber full of broken screens and busted computer terminals. At first Izzy thought the crash had done this, but then he saw the round holes where the cracks originated from; this was Digmon and Cody's work, no doubt. He sighed. Destroying the computers was a good idea at the time, but now it worked against him.

One computer on the right side of the room still looked intact. He placed his own laptop on top of the terminal, pulled out a USB cable and hooked the two computers together. Booting up the Emperor's computer, he programmed it to copy all of its data to his laptop... and the whole room resounded with a red flash and a loud buzz.

"Don't make it mad!" Tentomon yelped.

Izzy frowned at the red screen; of course there would be a firewall! "I should have guessed..." he grumbled, kicking the device with his foot.

Just then, his laptop beeped. Tentomon looked at it in surprise. "Did something work?" he asked. "It looks weird..."

Izzy scratched his head; that laptop hadn't made any noise on its own since... since... He raced to it and stared. Something had appeared on the screen... or someone. It was too fuzzy to tell. Scratchy sounds started to come out of the computer, sounding very much like a raspy old man's voice.

Izzy squinted at the fuzzy image and listened to the sound, and his heart leaped into his throat. "Gennai!" he exclaimed.

* * *

Masami Izumi was certainly surprised when two young kids showed up on his doorstep, both clutching cute stuffed toys. "Um... Can I help you?" he asked.

"Hi, Mr. Izumi!" Yolei said. "Remember me? Yolei?"

He thought for a moment, then smiled. "Ah, yes, Izzy's protege," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, Izzy just called us and said he needed our help on a project," she lied.

Masami raised an eyebrow. Izzy needed two lower-classmen to help him on a project?

Seeing that Izzy's dad hadn't bought the crummy lie, Cody stepped in front of Yolei. "It's... a grade-spanning project," he said. "We're all working on it together... Something to boost teamwork."

"Oh. OK, then," Masami said, moving aside. "Izzy and the others are in his room. Enjoy yourselves."

Yolei and Cody added their shoes to the large pile at the entrance and started for their friend's room. "I knew it," Yolei whispered to Cody. "Look at all those shoes! Something BIG must be going down!"

Cody shrugged. "It could be something harmless," he said, putting his hand on the doorknob and pushing. "We shouldn't jump to-"

He was going to say "conclusions," but there was no need for it. Izzy's room was devoid of humanity. The computer monitor clearly displayed the Digital World gate program.

"Did they make themselves invisible?" Upamon asked.

"Aha!" Yolei hissed so as not to trouble the parents. "What did I say? What did I say?"

Cody folded his arms. "All right, then," he admitted. "So, where did they go, and why?"

She hesitated, then looked at the computer. "The game's afoot, Watson," she mused, scampering over and looking at it. There were three flashing dots on the Digital World map, but her eyes only locked on one. "Aha!" she said, stamping a greasy fingerprint on top of the dot. "They went to the Emperor's base!"

Cody walked over and looked at it himself. "But there're three dots..." he started.

"Come on!" she huffed. "They know something's still at the Emperor's base, and I wanna be in on it!"

Cody rolled his eyes. She probably just wanted to go there to laugh at her handiwork again... but it wasn't like they had any other leads. "Fine..." he muttered.

"Yolei, just please don't go off the deep end," Poromon warned.

"Bit late for that..." Upamon mused.

"Awright!" Yolei announced, yanking out her D3 and holding it to the computer. "Smashed-up slag ship, here we come!"

* * *

Tai laughed and punched the air as another spire toppled under Greymon's fire breath. "Awesome! You're a one-mon wrecking crew!" he declared. "Keep that up and the island will be spire-free in no time!"

Matt just sighed and brushed his hair from his eyes, not arguing against it. Greymon, Garurumon and Pegasusmon were ripping up spires like it was going out of style. At the rate they were going, Tai just might be right.

One other spire could be seen nearby. "OK, this one's yours," TK said to Pegasusmon.

Suddenly, a rock sailed out of the woods and smacked Tai's arm. "OW!" he shouted, grabbing at it. "OK, who's the wise guy?"

A lone Gotsumon staggered out of the underbrush, growling at them angrily. The boys got ready for a fight, but then noticed just how weak the rock creature looked; it swayed back and forth like a drunken sailor, clutching its arm with its other hand. Its eyes were blood red, and a dark ring was clasped around its middle; all-too-familiar sights to the Digidestined. "Rrrgh... RRRGH!..." it growled, its voice tired and raspy.

"I thought you said you got rid of the Emperor!" Matt snapped at TK.

"We did! I know we did!" TK exclaimed, staring at the Gotsumon in shock. The control spires weren't just blocking Digivolution, but they still controlled Digimon with rings? That was too cruel!

"Hey, take it easy," Greymon rumbled, looking down at the monster. "Let's help you take that off-"

His answer was a rock crashing against his skull. The Gotsumon snarled and fumed, still carrying out the Emperor's final order.

Matt scowled. "Fine," he muttered, "then I guess we'll do this the hard way. Garurumon!"

Garurumon leaped before the kids and prepared to attack the Gotsumon... but then something happened that none of them expected; the rock creature cried out and sank to his knees, clutching its chest and gasping for air.

"Hey!" Tai said, getting a bit closer. "What's the matter?"

The Gotsumon pulled its arms from its middle and the Digidestined gasped; it was fading away! Its midsection was already half transparent, and the freakish occurrence was spreading to its limbs as well.

"What the hell?" Matt asked.

TK didn't know what to do... aside from what he always did. "Pegasusmon!" he yelled. "Get that ring off!"

Pegasusmon swooped down and shot a single needle of hair, shattering the ring. The Gotsumon's eyes lost their bloodlust, but the fading continued.

TK bit his lip. What else could he do? Maybe the spire had something to do with it? "The spire!" he shouted to his partner, pointing at it.

With a flap of Pegasusmon's wings, the control spire went down in a shower of stars. The Gotsumon's body flickered, then became solid again. It coughed and rasped, then grew eerily silent.

Tai and Matt knelt over the little monster, worried. "Hey, are you OK?..." Tai asked.

The Gotsumon slowly opened one eye and looked at him. "You're... Digi... destined-" it started, then coughed loudly.

"Easy," Matt said, putting a hand on its chest. "You'll be fine."

"No... Too late..." the Gotsumon wheezed, forcing a smile. "But... I'm not afraid... now..."

"What do you mean?" Tai asked. "What're you afraid of?"

"I'm go..." the Gotsumon whispered, his head sinking back into the grass. "...Re... born..."

Matt's eyes widened. "Hey, wait-" he started, but it was too late. The Gotsumon's body burst into pixels and vanished, some flattened grass the only evidence that it was ever there.

The boys and their Digimon stared at the spot. "Well..." Tai said, slowly standing up, "that was new..."

"...What do you think he meant?..." TK finally asked.

"Digimon never die," Pegasusmon replied. "They're just reborn in Primary Village."

Matt frowned in thought. "I've never seen a Digimon fade away before..." he said. "What's going on?..."

TK, Tai and the Digimon all shared that thought. What was making that Gotsumon fade away? Why was he 'afraid?' What did it all mean?...

* * *

Though the picture was fuzzy and the sound horrible, Izzy just knew he was looking at his old mentor. For fifteen minutes, he had tried to improve the transmission quality, but since he was talking on a laptop and not a phone, he hardly knew what to do. "Gennai, what is it?" he asked. "I can't make you out..."

"Izzxxxxffzzzz..." the image crackled, Gennai's voice discernible between fizzles. "Gennnaxxxxxxxzzzzzllllll... Izzy... xxxzzzhhhrrrrgggg... Gennai... crrrrrrrrxxxxxxx... Read...hhhrrrggsrrrsirrrr?"

"Have you picked up a speech impediment?" Tentomon asked, flummoxed by what he was hearing.

"I didn't catch that," he repeated. "Can you make this any clearer?"

"Contaxxxhhhsskkkkkk..." the image said. "Bkkkkkrrrtttttsss... Blockedhhrgghhrjjslllkkxxxxxx..."

"I guess not..." Tentomon admitted.

Izzy's ear caught one word in particular. "Blocked?" he asked. "You've been blocked? By whom?"

"Olxxhhrrrgggsnnnnnrrrrzzzz-" the image slurred, then died altogether with a pop. The laptop screen went completely black.

"Gennai? Hey!" Izzy yelled, swatting at the computer. "Where'd you go?"

"Hey!" a shrill voice yelled behind them, making Izzy jump and Tentomon cry out. Yolei charged through the door, an irritated look on her face. Cody, Hawkmon and Armadillomon followed closely behind.

"Good grief!" Tentomon panted. "You almost made me shed myself!"

Izzy blinked; he hadn't expected this. "What're you guys doing here?" he asked.

"We saw TK leave and we got curious," Cody explained.

Yolei clamped her hands on her hips and snorted. "What's so important you guys couldn't clue us in on it?" she demanded.

Izzy scratched his head, grasping for an answer. He couldn't tell them about Gennai; they had never met him and wouldn't understand. "Well, uh, we thought you guys... could use a break," he tried. "You worked so hard dethroning the Emperor, so..."

"But what are you doing in here?" Hawkmon asked.

"We saw Joe helpin' some hurt Digimon, but if you ain't helpin' him, what ARE ya doin'?" Armadillomon went on.

Izzy swallowed. "I, uh, was trying to access the Emperor's database," he said, motioning to the computer; at least that much was true. "But there's a lot of security..."

Yolei's eyes flickered. "Security, eh?" she said, a smirk erasing the anger on her face. "Well, it's a good thing I showed up! Lemme at it!"

Izzy blinked. This computer was heavily encrypted; if he couldn't get what he wanted out of it, what could his student do? "Yolei, I don't think-" he began.

Yolei had already hooked the laptop up to the terminal in a different way and was hard at work, each hand typing furiously on a different keyboard. Lines of code ran through the terminal screen and the downloading process began on the laptop.

"Goodness!" Tentomon exclaimed. Yolei could do something Izzy couldn't? His world was shaken.

"It's all just a matter of finding the holes," she said, not taking her eyes from the terminal screen. "Then you make like a gopher and grab all the veggies you can!"

Suddenly, the terminal screen flashed red wildly, and a loud siren blared. Yolei flinched. The others jumped back. She tried to type some more, but a metal sheet slid over the terminal keyboard and the screen flashed "SYSTEMS DELETED" in scary, red letters. The download froze at twenty-five percent.

"...Looks like you've been flushed out," Cody remarked.

"N'GAHHH!" Yolei shrieked, banging her hands on the terminal. Ken must have seen how she had hacked the Metal City computers and changed his defenses! Just what kind of sick programming skills did he have?

"Don't be upset, Yolei," Hawkmon said, landing next to her. "You did a good job."

"Yeah," Izzy agreed. "Twenty-five percent's a lot more than none."

She looked at the terminal once more, and delivered a swift kick. "Butt Nuts!" she snorted.

Just then, Gomamon hopped through the door, Joe behind him. "Hey, guys," he said, "all the other Digimon are outside now!"

"We should go, too," Joe said. "This place is still unstable."

"Really? How unstable?" Armadillomon asked, rapping on the wall.

A loud crash from nearby rocked the room, making them all shudder. "THAT unstable," Cody said. "I'm right behind you, Joe."

Moving as gently as they could- but also as quickly as they could- the four humans and their Digimon made their way back through the tunnels and crawled back out into the desert. The remaining five Bakemon and three Gorillamon were there waiting for them, each having bandages wrapped around some part of them.

"Thanks so much for save us," a Gorillamon said. The others gave murmurs of approval.

"Not a problem," Joe answered, smiling warmly.

Izzy looked at Yolei and Cody. "Could you guys take them back to File Island?" he asked. "It's only about an hour across the ocean with your Armor Digimon."

Yolei winced; hauling gorillas across the ocean didn't sound plausible, let alone sane. Hawkmon didn't like the sound of it either; having three big gorillas on his back wouldn't do him any favors.

"Of course we will," Cody answered, making his friends jump. "I can take two Gorillamon on Submarimon."

Yolei sighed heavily; one ape was better than three. "OK..." she agreed. "The Bakemon can follow behind us."

Shouts of gratitude came from the survivors. Hawkmon became Halsemon and flew off with his cargo. "All right... No sudden shifting of weight, please..." they heard him wheeze.

Cody and Armadillomon began their trek to the seaside with the remaining monsters.

Izzy folded his arms. Now that they were gone, he could spill what he had learned. "Joe," he said, "I got a message from Gennai in there."

Joe and their Digimon reacted. "What?" Joe asked. "What did he say?"

Izzy frowned. "Not much; it died very quickly," he admitted. "However... it means that he's still in the Digital World somewhere."

"Then we should find him, and pronto!" Gomamon piped up.

"Yeah," Tentomon agreed, "then he can tell us what the heck is going on!"

Joe nodded with enthusiasm. "Wait until the others hear!" he said.

Izzy suddenly grimaced; that had reminded him that without a D3, they were stuck in the desert! Cody and Yolei were the only ones around who had them! "We gotta catch up!" he exclaimed.

Joe mirrored his face. Izzy raised his Digivice, Tentomon became Kabuterimon, and they all tore off after the new kids.

* * *

The sky was pink and the sun almost gone by the time the parties reconvened in Izzy's room. Tai, Matt, Patamon and TK were the first to return, followed by Kari, Gatomon and Sora. All of them were surprised when Yolei and Cody tumbled out of the computer alongside Izzy and Joe. "What the?" Tai roared, jumping back from the kid pile.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kari asked.

Yolei groaned. "Whatever it is, it isn't good for my spine..." she moaned.

"We wanted to know where you went," Upamon said to TK, "so we thought we'd come see!"

Matt folded his arms, looking furious. "You weren't invited," he snapped. "Now go home."

"Matt..." TK began.

Yolei flipped off the pile, fuming at him. "Hey, don't talk to us like that!" she huffed. "We're Digidestined! We've got a right to know what's going on! Besides, you owe us! We saved your Digimon!"

"Well, technically," Poromon spoke up, "The Emperor knocked Weregarurumon's spiral off, and-"

Yolei's fist clocked him in the noggin.

"That's what I thought," Matt grunted. "Now leave."

Yolei wanted to bitch some more, but the look on Matt's face made it clear that nothing she said could change his mind. She glared a moment more, then snorted and looked away. "Fine," she muttered, picking up Poromon. "C'mon, Cody, let's raid the day-old donuts at my store."

With that, she stomped out. Cody hesitated, then picked up Upamon and went to the door. "Goodnight," he said with a small bow, then turned and left.

"Good grief, Matt!" Sora said, frowning at him. "When did you get so nasty?"

Matt answered with a grunt and nothing else.

Izzy pulled himself up. "So," he said, "I've got some very important news for you all; Gennai is in the Digital World!"

Everyone gasped in surprise. "You caught up with him?" Tai asked.

Izzy put his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor. "Well, no..." he admitted. "While I was trying to download the Emperor's database, he contacted me."

"What did he say?" Kari asked.

Izzy shook his head. "I couldn't make much out; there was a lot of interference," he said. "I just heard my name, his name and the word 'blocked.'"

Matt leaned against the wall, thinking. "Blocked, huh..." he murmured.

"Did you learn anything about Ken?" Kari asked.

Izzy sighed. "I couldn't get into the system," he said. "I was glad when Yolei turned up; she got in... but then something happened and it crashed and deleted itself. Only got a fourth of it."

"Man..." TK said, sitting down on the bed, "whatever Ken's hiding, he doesn't want us getting at it..."

"Speaking of Ken..." Sora said, "we saw something, too; the Digimon are working really hard to rebuild the Digital World now."

"Well, that's good," Tai said with a grin. Kari's face, though, didn't agree. "...Isn't it?" he asked.

"TK," Kari said, "the Resistance was rebuilding a whole town..."

TK swallowed. "Did they turn everyone against us?" he asked.

Kari shook her head. "No..." she said, "but I'm worried that they might..."

"Resistance?" Joe asked. "The guys we met in Somber Harbor?"

Tai stiffened, remembering Kari's bruise from than. "He didn't hurt you two, did he?" he asked.

Sora shook her head. "No, Starmon and Deputymon stopped him," she said.

"They were working really hard to fix it up," Kari went on. "I feel kind of bad... We need to go back and help, too!"

"Well, not Spaghetti Junction, that's for sure," Gatomon muttered. "Gargomon practically ran us out of town."

TK nodded; leaving the Digital World a wreck when their fighting was partly to blame would be downright wrong. "You're right," he agreed. "I bet the others will be up for that."

"Yeah, we can put up new buildings and knock down old spires!" Patamon laughed.

Matt coughed. "Speaking of spires..." he spoke up.

Tai and TK sobered. "Oh, yeah..." Tai said. "The spires... and that Gotsumon..."

"What Gotsumon?" Sora asked.

"When we went to File Island, our Digimon still couldn't Digivolve normally until we knocked down some spires," TK explained. "And then, we came across a Gotsumon that still had a ring on..."

Izzy's eyes widened. "The spires are still functional?" he asked.

"Sure looks like it," Tai went on gravely. "And get this: this Gotsumon was disappearing!"

This got even more of a shock out of the others. "You mean, err, disappearing like I think you mean?" Gatomon asked.

"You could see right through him," Matt elaborated. "It must have hurt; he was in a lot of pain."

"We broke his ring and destroyed the spire nearby, but we couldn't save him..." TK admitted sadly. "Before he went, he said he wasn't afraid anymore..."

"Well, I know I'd be afraid if I was disappearing," Sora said. "Geez..."

Izzy sat down in his chair, his eyebrows almost knotted together. "Unbelievable," he sighed, exasperated. "We go in to find answers to our questions... and all we get are more questions!"

"It wasn't a total loss..." Kari said, taking out her D-Terminal. "Sora and I got a good chunk of North Server mapped out."

"Yeah, and we got all of File Island," TK added, showing his own device.

This news perked Izzy up considerably. He took the D-Terminals and plugged them into his computer, first TK's and then Kari's. Slowly, a colored, detailed map of the Digital World bled through the square-ridden grid in the spots they had been. "Wow..." Patamon said, delighted at the effect. "It's like coloring with crayons... without the crayons!"

Joe scratched his head; the colors were impressive, yes, but they didn't take up too much of the map. "Is that... all?" he asked.

Izzy nodded. "The Digital World is immense..." he concluded. "It's far larger than either the Emperor or we knew... I'd estimate that we mapped out about seven percent of it today..."

"And we still don't know where Gennai is..." Gatomon reminded them.

Tai chuckled. "Looks like surveying just became a part-time job for us," he said. "We'd better make time for it."

Sora nodded quietly. "What's a good day for everyone?" he asked.

"Whenever it is, it'll have to be when we can do it," TK pointed out. "The D-Terminals are what made that map, right?"

Izzy leaned back in his chair. "Yes... but..." he murmured, then stared at his legs.

Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "...Um, Izzy?" Sora asked after thirty seconds.

"Oh!" Izzy cried, jumping a bit. "Sorry; I just had a thought... Kari, may I borrow your D-Terminals for a while? And Tai, you have a cell phone with a camera in it, right?"

"Err, yeah..." Tai said, scratching his head, "but it's not on me... I don't use it much..."

"I may be able to change that," Izzy replied as Kari handed him her D-Terminal. "Bring it to me as soon as you can, OK?"

Matt didn't try to stifle his yawn. "Well, that's about all the excitement I can take," he said. "I'd better go."

"Yeah, Mom wants me to help close up shop tonight," Sora added.

"I guess we can call it a night, then," Izzy agreed. "Tai, expect a call from me soon."

The kids that didn't live at Izzy's house slowly filed out into the twilight. "Hey, Sora, can I walk you to the store?" Tai asked his friend.

"Sure," she replied, motioning for him to follow.

"OK, I'll see you back home!" Kari called, waving to them.

Tai waved back and they seceded from the rest of the group. "Boy, what a day, huh?" he asked as they turned a corner.

"No kidding," Sora answered.

He looked at her solemnly. "You're sure you're OK?" he asked.

"I'm just fine," she replied. "Even if things got rough, Kari was there, and so were our Digimon."

Tai nodded, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. "I just... worry... when I hear stuff like that," he mumbled.

She looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah... I get worried about you and the others, too," she admitted, "but I know everyone's going to be fine. We didn't get chosen for nothing, after all."

He stared up at the purpling sky. "Yeah..." he said in almost a whisper.

"But I have to say, it feels good to be useful," she went on. "Finally, I feel like a Digidestined again!"

Tai chuckled as they turned another corner. "A change back to normalcy, huh?" he joked.

Sora was about to reply when she crashed into someone else. "Oof!" she coughed, jumping back. "I'm sorry!"

She found herself looking at Mimi Tachikawa, dolled up in her red and white cheerleader sweater, four other similarly-clothed girls behind her. Once again, she looked shocked and embarrassed, and Sora felt like she had said something taboo. "Sorry, Mimi," she apologized.

"Pshhh... whatever," Mimi replied curtly, then brushed past her, her posse following close behind and continuing their conversation on boys, skirts and hair.

Tai chuckled dryly. "Well, the Emperor's gone..." he said, "but some things haven't changed."

Sora sighed. "Yeah..." she replied.

* * *

Davis thought he might fall on his face, but his legs kept him up; finally, he was starting to feel like his old self again! "Heh... Yeah!" he cackled. "Nothin' can keep me down!"

His bedside clock read 12:14 AM, but that didn't bother him; Jun was asleep, and now was the perfect time to sneak into her room and take Demiveemon back. Boy, if she knew what that little guy could do with a few armored DigiEggs, she wouldn't pick him up again anytime soon.

Slowly, quietly, he opened his door and peered out... but someone else was up! The little light over the apartment's kitchen table was on, and he could tell the refrigerator door was wide open. He swallowed; could Mom or Dad be up for a midnight snack? Or worse, could it be Jun?

A grunt from the fridge eased his worries. It was none of the above. He walked over to see Demiveemon sitting on one of the shelves, pushing past wasabi bottles and canned water. "Hey, Demiveemon," he said. "Whatcha doing?"

"Ahh!" Demiveemon cried, whirling around. "Davis! Don't scare me like that! I thought you were a Bakemon or something!"

Davis chuckled; it looked like both of them had some energy back. "Hungry, eh?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Demiveemon said, looking defeated, "but I can't for the life of me find any pork chops!"

"We don't have 'em all that often," Davis replied. "They're pretty pricey... but I know the ultimate midnight snack!"

He put Demiveemon on the table and grabbed a box of chocolate ice cream out of the freezer. "Don't tell Mom about this," he warned, dropping a scoop into a bowl for each of them.

Demiveemon sniffed at it, and, realizing that there was chocolate present, immediately sank his teeth into it. Davis laughed as he reeled backward, crying out. "That's why it's called 'ice cream,' fella," he said. "Lick it or use a spoon."

He picked up a spoon and Demiveemon opted for licking. They ate the delicious sugared snow quietly for a few minutes, then Davis looked at his friend. "So, how was Jun?" he asked.

"Oh, she's nice! Real nice!" Demiveemon chirped. "She put necklaces on me, and petted me, and I just love it when she hugs me! She's got real squishy things that are great for hugs! How come you don't have those, Davis?"

Davis almost choked on his dessert, he was snickering so hard. "That's 'cuz... I'm not a girl," he managed. "Only girls have boobs."

Demiveemon scratched his head. "Boobs?" he repeated.

"Well, girls and really fat guys..." Davis went on, "but whatever the case, that's why I don't have 'em."

"Too bad," Demiveemon said. "I like boobs, Davis!"

Davis beamed. He had taught his partner well.

Demiveemon sat down and went back to his ice cream. "Only problem was that I couldn't get to the potty until she fell asleep," he remarked, then started licking again.

Davis blinked. "...You DID make it, didn't you?..." he asked.


	20. Digivolution For Dummies

**CHAPTER 20**

**DIGIVOLUTION FOR DUMMIES**

"'And thus, the kingdom was saved,'" Cody recited from the book in almost perfect English, "'but there was no joy in the land, for peace came at the cost of their ruler. In his attempt to rally his men, the king mistakenly stood on the wrong side of the cannon... and the people's joy changed to shock as he sailed overhead.'" He closed the book and sat back down.

"Yes, thank you, Iori," the teacher said, turning to the blackboard. "So, as you heard, English literature can be more flowery than the spoken language. Now the extra rules for writing are as follows..."

Cody didn't hear the first rule; Upamon shifted inside his cubby desk. "Geez, Cody..." the yellow ball hissed. "Could ya make it any more depressing?"

"Shush," he muttered back, stuffing the book in with him. He always regretted letting Upamon sit in on his classes, but until now, he had no choice; with that elementary computer club in the lab, the kids couldn't risk leaving their Digimon there. Fortunately, that was all about to change.

As the teacher talked about verb placement and multiple-word adjectives, he fidgeted and looked up at the clock. This was his last class of the day, and it was almost over. He had heard at lunchtime that the computer club had been disbanded (something about the teacher having a nervous breakdown), so he concluded that they would be meeting there again. Secretly, he was glad of this; he wouldn't have to go out of his way to Izzy's place anymore... but that clock was moving so slowly... He bit his lip. Would 2:45 ever come?

* * *

"Um, Inoue-san, are you sure you're following the formula?" a classmate asked, swallowing hard.

"Relax; it's just hydro-something stuff and some other junk I threw in," Yolei replied, stirring the beaker over the bunsen burner. Chemistry was her last class of the day, and she was anxious to get it over with, too; the lab was hers to command again! She had let Poromon stay outdoors today, since it was so nice, but he knew to meet her there later.

Still, she may have been focusing too much on that and too little on chemistry; the concoction in her beaker was yellow when everyone else had something blue. "But..." one of her two lab partners gulped, "is it supposed to smoke like that?"

The yellow mixture was emitting purple smoke in ring-shaped puffs. "I'm sure it's fine," she replied, irritated by the question. She was also more interested in fuming over Matt's words from yesterday. Again. No word of appreciation for saving Gabumon? How big of a jerk was that guy? Well, yes, it was true that the Emperor was the one who took the ring off, but not before Shurimon had given Weregarurumon a whupping he'd never forget, and anyway-

"HIT THE DECK!" someone yelled. She snapped out of her angry meditations to see that her mixture had turned blood red and spat smoke rings twice as fast. She only had time to let her mouth hang before the whole mess exploded in her face.

There was a terrified silence as the other students rose from the floor. "I... Inoue-san, are you OK?..." one asked.

Yolei stood where she had before, her hair blown back and her glasses and teeth pitch black. She blew a stream of exhaust like a diesel truck, then hacked out a few little clouds. "Never... been better," she managed. She was just glad the school used plastic beakers instead of glass ones.

The bell rang, but Yolei stayed put. "Well, Ms. Inoue..." the teacher said, miraculously appearing with her hands on her hips, "I think you know what you're doing now, hmm?"

As the rest of the kids filed out, Yolei sighed and slunk towards the supply cabinet to get the cleaning stuff. Poromon and her friends would just have to wait.

* * *

A slow, European ballroom aria echoed through the gym as Kari danced around with the rest of her class. Her last class of the day was dance, and she loved it. It was a great way to blow off steam after a hard day of history, math and science. It also kept her excitement about the lab in check.

Gatomon, Patamon and Demiveemon were enjoying it, too, from up in the gym rafters. "Wow," Patamon remarked, "she's so graceful! Like a cat!"

Gatomon couldn't help but puff her chest with pride. "Well, I did give her a few pointers here and there..." she admitted.

Patamon grinned. "Could you teach me?" he asked.

"I suppose," she said. "Let's see what you've got!"

Patamon and Gatomon swayed back and forth to the music, chuckling as they went. Demiveemon sighed and winced. He wanted to join in, but he still felt a little weak... and he had a tummy ache from last night's ice cream party.

Just then, the teacher's whistle sounded and the music shut off; class was over. As soon as the girls were out of the way, the gym doors opened and in spilled a gaggle of boys in sporty uniforms, TK and Davis included. Davis had his goggles on, a new elastic band through their back and the crack patched with electrical tape.

"All right, men!" their sweater-clothed coach shouted. "Before you're dismissed, one game of quick-kill basketball! Two out of three baskets wins! You know your teams; begin!"

"Woah," Patamon said. "They don't waste time, huh?"

"I guess when there's only one gym, they can't afford to," Gatomon replied.

Demiveemon scratched his head. "What's basketball?" he asked. "Is it like soccer?"

"Well, sort of," Gatomon replied. "The teams try to get that ball into one of the baskets up there, but they have to bounce it everywhere with their hands..."

Demiveemon blinked. "So, like, vertical soccer?" he suggested.

"Huh... Yeah, I guess you could call it that," Gatomon finished.

"I just like how the ball smells," Patamon added.

The cheerleaders sat down on the sidelines as the teams split up. Those with red jerseys (like TK's) went on one side, and those with white (like Davis's) went to the other. The coach blew his whistle, and tossed the ball into the center. Both teams ran for it, and after several seconds of confusion and squeaking shoes, Davis emerged dribbling the orange sphere. TK stepped in to stop him, but he faked right and threw him off guard. Nobody could stop him as he lunged forward and tossed the ball through the hoop.

Demiveemon was absolutely psyched. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" he cheered, hopping up and down. "Is there anything in the real world Davis can't do?"

Davis was feeling pretty pleased, too. It was true that basketball wasn't his top sport, but he back on his feet and full of energy... and he had also made TK look really stupid... in front of Kari, too! Life was good... until a voice from the side made his blood run cold.

"TK!" Kari called. "Give it your best shot!"

The whistle blew and the ball was tossed back into the center. This time, it was TK who emerged from the pack with the ball under his control. Davis moved to intercept, but TK was just too fast for him; he ducked under Davis's arm, leaped up and dunked the ball through the other hoop.

Gatomon and Patamon cheered. Demiveemon had to pull his jaw off the ground. "I... I guess someone like TK can get lucky against Davis once..." he muttered.

Davis's face burned. Kari rooted for TK? Well, he'd just have to fix that! The next time he got the ball, he'd run circles around that kid until he spun like a top!

The whistle blew, and Davis charged in and grabbed the ball. For a split-second, he had a clear shot at the basket... and then his leg gave out. The next thing he knew, his nose was against the phony wood tiles and the ball was gone.

Demiveemon looked on in horror as one of TK's teammates grabbed the ball and tossed it through the white team's hoop. He heard Gatomon and Patamon laughing behind him, and he turned around in a rage. "Don't laugh!" he yelled. "It's not HIS fault!"

The whistle blew. "Red team wins!" the coach announced. "OK, men, hit the showers! That's all for today!"

Davis peeled his face off the floor to see Kari and her dancer friends giggling. "C'mon, I think Davis needs some more practice time..." she said, and they walked out of the gym. A strange feeling seized him, like his heart had just frozen over and cracked. He put his face back down.

"Hey, Davis..." TK's voice said. He looked up again to see his rival standing over him, his arm out. "It looked like your leg gave out... Are you OK?"

TK was surprised to see Davis's demonic expression as he reeled up and slapped his hand away. "I'm fine!" he snarled. "I sure don't need YOUR help!"

A stray basketball sailed in and beaned him in the face, sending him down like a ninepin. "...OK..." he muttered, "NOW I need your help."

TK stared at him for a moment, then pulled the red-nosed boy up. As they headed off to change back into their street clothes, though, he wondered about that anger... Why didn't Davis like him?

* * *

Cody swallowed hard as he shuffled through the hall towards the lab door. He would have headed there sooner, but his teacher had asked him to clean the blackboards; the kid who usually did it was out sick. How angry would his friends be at his being late? How shameful... Still, he had done the chore in good faith, so it was justified, but-

"Woah! You, too?" Yolei's voice came from behind.

He turned around and almost jumped at Yolei's frazzled, charred appearance. "What happened to you?" he exclaimed.

"Let's just say chemistry isn't my thing," she grumbled, a few wisps of smoke floating out on her 's' sounds. "C'mon, we're late."

They walked into the lab to find Kari, TK, Davis and their partners waiting for them. Davis's nose was bright red, and he didn't look pleased. "'Bout time!" he huffed.

"Sorry," Yolei grouched.

Poromon fluttered over from the windowsill, but his beak wrinkled when he landed next to his partner. "You smell like melty plastic," he stated.

Davis's face changed drastically; now he snickered impishly. "What happened to you?" he laughed. "You look like you've been suckin' on coal!"

"Oh, yeah?" she snapped. "Well, from the look of your nose, YOU'VE been suckin' on something STRONGER!"

"I got hit with a ball!" he huffed. "That's better than mining with yer teeth!"

Kari decided to quickly change the conversation. "So, Demiveemon," she said, looking at the little blue guy, "how was your rest? Did you do anything?"

Demiveemon beamed. "I learned that girls have boobs," he said, "and I like boobs!"

There was an awkward silence. Everyone stared at him, and then at Davis. "...Aha," Cody muttered.

"Davis!" Yolei snapped. "What've you been teaching this guy?" She turned to Demiveemon. "OK, yes, girls do have, uh, 'boobs,' but..."

She had to stop. Demiveemon was staring at her strangely. He looked up at her with his big, red eyes. "So... does that mean you're a boy, Yolei?" he asked.

Davis blew a raspberry. Upamon almost fell out of his chair. Patamon's ears shot straight up. Everybody tried hard not to burst out laughing. Gatomon stared at Kari, not believing what she was seeing. "Kari!..." she exclaimed.

Kari couldn't contain a snort. "I'm sorry...!" she managed. "It's just... just...!" She had to cover her mouth again. Even a lewd question could get a giggle out of her if someone as cute as Demiveemon said it.

A red face and black teeth made Yolei look like something from the depths of Hell. "I... am strangling YOU..." she snarled, sharply pointing at Davis, "in exactly... three... seconds!"

She lurched toward him, but TK got in the way. "OK, OK, that's enough," he said. "Let's not forget why we're going today!"

Yolei and Davis dropped their fighting stances. "That's right," Kari said, finally able to contain her laughter. "After what I saw the Resistance doing yesterday, I think we should follow their example and help clean up Ken's messes."

"Let's start somewhere Gargomon isn't, though," TK pointed out, typing on the computer. "We don't want to get them angry..."

He brought up the newly detailed map of File Island and Davis jumped. "Woah!" he exclaimed. "Wild colors!"

"How'd you do that?" Demiveemon asked.

"I'll explain later," TK said. "I think somewhere on File Island is a good place to start... Aha!" He pointed at the small town of Santa Geria. "When I went by there yesterday, things looked pretty rough. We can start around there."

Yolei folded her arms. "I don't know why we're doing this," she said. "The Resistance will get mad at us anyway."

"I think they would use our NOT helping rebuild against us in a worse way," Cody replied.

"Yeah, we'd better help!" Poromon agreed. "They'd be angrier if we didn't!"

"We're Digidestined, Yolei," Kari said. "We owe it to the world that chose us."

TK glanced at her, the words making him think. The world that chose them to enter?...

"Well, if you say so..." Yolei muttered, taking out her D3. "Maybe I'll be able to clean my teeth while we're at it."

She raised the Digivice, and the computer lab vanished in light. When it cleared, they all stood just outside of the hilly village, a murky, gray lake peeking through the woods behind them. Yolei was delighted to find that, along with the fresh clothes, the jump made her teeth clean as well. "Well, that's more like it," she said, rubbing at them with her glove.

"OK, now..." TK said, opening his D-Terminal. Thanks to his work yesterday, he had mapped out the whole area and knew what was where. "Looks like we can split up; there are five spots around here that need work: inside the town, to the east; the mountain range to the north; the water farms to the south; the seaside to the west; and the lake, where we're standing now."

"Seaside?" Yolei asked, perking up; suddenly this trip didn't seem to boring. "That's got me all over it!"

"Yolei, we're not here to-" Hawkmon began, but her fingers were already around his wing. She ran off into the underbrush, the bird bouncing and protesting the whole way.

Cody watched her go, then shrugged. "I suppose I can go into town and help there," he stated.

"Yeah!" Armadillomon agreed. "They might be havin' dinner or something!"

Cody glared at him as they started off. "That's not why we're here," he said.

"Well, maybe if you'd given me more of a lunch..." Armadillomon replied, rolling his eyes.

"You _had_ three fourths of my sandwich," Cody pointed out. With that, they were out of earshot.

"Well, I'll take the farms," Davis said. Maybe some old-fashioned backbreaking labor could take his mind off of things.

Kari looked disappointed. "Oh, nuts," she said. "I was going to ask for that one..."

"...But I could work at the lake, too!" he added quickly, flashing a grin at her; he didn't want to lose any more points with her today.

She smiled. "Thanks, Davis," she said. "C'mon, Gatomon, let's go!" Her cat and she started southward.

"I guess that leaves the mountains for us, then," TK said, pocketing his D-Terminal.

"Catch you later, Davis!" Patamon said as they turned and left.

"Yeah, see ya," Davis replied with a halfhearted wave. As soon as they were out of sight, though, Davis gave the bushes they had gone through a heated one-finger salute, his mind still stuck on the basketball game. Why did that kid always come out on top of him? Wasn't there some way he could trounce that straw-haired goody-goody?

Veemon eyed the strange gesture. "Davith, what does that mean?" he asked.

Davis remembered the happenings in the lab and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Never you mind," he grunted.

* * *

"Yeah, this'll be my kind of cleanup!" Yolei laughed as Hawkmon and she took their first steps onto the seashore. How lucky was she that she had called it first? Now she could spend the afternoon in the sun, the sand, the surf...

"Yolei," Hawkmon said, breaking into her fantasy.

She snapped out of it and looked at where he pointed, and her jaw sagged. The beach before her was covered in broken wood and debris, and ravaged fishing boats stuck halfway out of the water. Gangs of stalwart Woodmon and aquatic Gizamon pushed and yanked at the flotsam, but they were having a rough time of it. One of the Woodmon noticed her and shuffled over. "Hey! You're a Digidestined, right?" he asked. "Could ya help us out?"

Yolei hesitated, then swallowed and nodded. "What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"We've gotta get those boats out of the water and rebuild the docks," the Woodmon said. "That way, we can start sailing to Server again."

Hawkmon scratched his head. "In those boats?" he asked.

"Well, we were just getting started when the Emperor came..." the Woodmon admitted. "So can ya please help?"

Yolei nodded and they followed the Woodmon towards the wreckage. Who would have thought the beach would have so much work? "Oh..." she muttered to Hawkmon, "I sure wish we were gettin' paid for this, or something..."

"Virtue is its own reward," Hawkmon replied, folding his arms. "This will surely build character."

"Aww, shaddup," she grunted.

* * *

Just like he had seen TK's mom water her little windowsill garden, Patamon hoisted the watering can in his trotters and gently sprinkled the new saplings beneath him. He was surprised that the Gotsumon would want to plant trees in such a rocky area, but he was there to help, so he did as they asked.

TK was doing plenty of hard work, too; he was helping a group of Gotsumon shove huge boulders off of the mountain paths. With one last heave, three of them and he shoved the last one down the hill, where it crashed to rest in a trench they had dug earlier. "Whew..." he sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow, "that's that." He had only been helping for one hour, but his clothes and face were already coated with dirt and grime, and his hat sagged in his frazzled hair.

"Awesome!" a Gotsumon declared. "We're all done!"

"Thanks, Mr. TK," another Gotsumon said to him. "You guys always come to save us at just the right time!"

"Well, that's because..." TK began, but the wheels in his mind had been set turning. Coming to save them at just the right time? Yes, that was true... but with Ken being dethroned, there wasn't a real threat to the Digital World. He lapsed into silence and stared at the ground. Why were the kids still able to come? On their first adventure, his humans friends and himself had to leave after defeating the demonic Apocalymon... so if they could still come to the Digital World now... did that mean there was...?

He looked over at his Gotsumon friends. "Would you guys excuse me?" he asked. "I have to go talk to someone."

He raced down the hill and called to Patamon, then kept moving. "What is it?" Patamon asked. "What's wrong?"

"Something isn't exactly right," he said as they headed south for the water farms. "We have to go see Gatomon and Kari!"

* * *

"Almost done! Now, just stir it like you're... uh... stirrin' a big pot of somethin'!" Redvegiemon cackled as Cody sloshed a wooden spoon through the cauldron of putrid, brown stew. Cody nodded and leaned over the pot to increase his speed, despite a thick scent that made him want to keel over. Food that other Digimon ate was obviously unfit for human consumption.

The Redvegiemon hopped down and frowned at the dwindling fire beneath the pot. "Hey!" he yelled. "More wood! This thing's dyin'!"

Armadillomon groaned as he scuttled over, a bit stack of firewood strapped to his back. When Redvegiemon had told them they had arrived in Santa Geria just in time for lunch, he had been thrilled... until it turned out that it hadn't been made yet. Cody, of course, volunteered their services instantly, and now his shell was cracking beneath kindling. "Ughhh..." he grunted as he shook the pile off and jammed a few branches into the blaze. "I feel like a pack mule..."

Satisfied with his cooking and needing fresh air, Cody hopped off the podium. "Stop complaining," he scolded. "There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"All I'm sayin' is, maybe if we'd shown up after the food was already made..." Armadillomon replied.

"Then we'd be mooching," Cody retorted. "Or... at least, you'd be mooching."

"Sheesh, Cody," Armadillomon grunted. "You've gotta take it easy."

Cody wasn't listening; he was staring at the sticks in Armadillomon's pile. They were long and straight, almost like Kendo shinais. He picked up a few of them and looked at he line of Gazimon that was forming before the stew pot. "After you eat, if anyone's interested in learning a few self-defense techniques, I can teach you some," he announced.

A few of them looked up and raised their hands with interest. Armadillomon scratched his head. "Why're you doin' that now?" he asked. "The Emperor's gone; it's peaceful."

Cody shook his head. He didn't believe for one second that Ken- no, the Emperor- had really given up; that wasn't coherent with his personality. Anyone who broke rules in combat could never be trusted. "He's just retreated," he replied. "He's lying in wait for us all to grow complacent. We have to prepare ourselves."

Armadillomon scratched his head. If that bawling fit had been a show, then the Emperor was a really good actor... but somehow, he didn't think it was. "I think you've been playin' too many of Yolei's video games," he remarked.

"Leopards don't change their spots," Cody retorted, and moved to help Redvegiemon dish out the stew.

Armadillomon sighed and added more sticks to the fire.

* * *

Veemon cried out as he fell to his knees again, the whole log veering downwards. The Vegiemon, the Numemon, and Davis all shouted and staggered to regain control over the dead wood, and just barely got it over to the dam they were building before dropping it. "Veemon!" Davis huffed. "Again?"

Veemon was soaked in sweat, and his breathing was hard. "Sorry, Davith..." he managed. "I guess I'm... still kinda tired..."

Davis's glare vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Since Veemon had done all the fighting against Kimeramon, he guessed it was only natural he'd be more tired than himself. "Well... maybe we can do somethin' about this," he said, pulling out his D3. Maybe becoming Flamedramon would give Veemon the strength he needed... and help with the work, too.

Veemon got to his feet, looking puzzled. "Well," he said, "but, Davith..."

"DigiArmor Energize!" Davis called out... but nothing happened. His D-Terminal didn't beep, and his D3 didn't glow. Veemon remained his small, blue self. He hesitated, not knowing what to do. He held the D3 up again, but still nothing happened. "What the..." he growled, glaring at it. What was wrong with his tools? First his awesome golden DigiEgg vanished, and now Flamedramon wouldn't come out to play, either?

"Um, Davith," Veemon spoke up, "I can only Digivolve when there's danger..."

Davis blinked. "What?" he asked.

"I said, I-" Veemon started again.

"I heard you!" Davis snapped, angrily stuffing the D3 back into his pocket. Veemon could only Digivolve if there was danger? Who came up with that stupid rule?

"Sorry..." Veemon apologized. "I shoulda said something earlier..."

Davis shook his head and frowned. He was mad about a rule like that, but it had also got him thinking about Digivolution. Now that the control spires on File Island were gone, there was nothing to stop the Digimon from Digivolving like Tai had said they could... so could Veemon become a Champion-level monster like Greymon or Angemon? He grinned to himself; that was how to one-up TK; make Veemon Digivolve without a DigiEgg!

"Hey, let's quit standin' around!" a Numemon declared. "This dam isn't gonna build itself!"

Davis turned to the other Digimon. "Sure thing," he said, gathering them all in closer and lowering his voice, "but, uh... maybe on the next break, you guys can all give me a hand with somethin'..."

* * *

The bridge was fixed, the ground was tilled, and the fields were sown with rice and wheat. All that remained was adding new water to the soil. Kari smiled; it was hard work, but Gatomon, the Geckomon, some Bakemon and she were really getting it done. "OK, let's get some buckets," she said to the Geckomon, pointing at a nearby stream. "We'll get fresh water out of there and—"

"Kari!" TK's heaving voice came to her ears. She looked up to see him rush across the new bridge, Patamon flapping furiously behind him.

Gatomon was instantly on the defensive. "What's the matter?" she asked, her claws ready.

Kari wondered that herself. TK was red in the face, and his clothes were soaked in sweat; he must have been running really hard.

TK took a few more deep breaths, then straightened up. "The Gotsumon said they were glad that we always come at just the right time," he said.

She scratched her head. He had run all the way here to tell her about a compliment?

TK wasn't finished; he just needed more air. "It made me wonder..." he went on, "why we can still come here."

Kari blinked, shocked that she herself hadn't thought about that. "Before, we got to come because we were still needed..." she remembered out loud, "but... with Ken gone, why CAN we still come?"

"Simple," Gatomon spoke up. "We're here to fix the Digital World. That's as plain as the whiskers on my face."

TK and Kari scratched their heads. That was a good answer, but something still seemed wrong with it. "But we volunteered to do this," Kari objected. "Nobody forced us to come back."

TK thought Yolei wouldn't exactly agree with that, but he kept on topic. "That's why I had to talk to you," he said. "If we can still come back, there has to be a reason... maybe even another enemy..."

Kari shuddered, that eerie, colorless ocean suddenly polluting her thoughts. "You don't think it could be... whatever was _there_...?" she asked.

TK shook his head. "I don't know..." he admitted. Devimon was out there, too; maybe they had to deal with him again? Or maybe even both of those beings? Whatever the case, cleanup duty wasn't the most likely reason for their being able to come to the Digital World.

"...Maybe we should tell the others about this," Patamon suggested.

"Right," Kari agreed. "Let's go find them."

As they went north, TK jotted down an e-mail to Izzy on his D-Terminal. He was surprised that this hadn't been on Izzy's list the night before, but it certainly would be now. Of course, he wasn't exactly sure how to explain it to his new friends, but Davis was as good a person to try as any of them.

As they reached the lake, though, it became clear that something was amiss. Tools and wooden logs lay around, but nobody was there; Davis and all of the Digimon were gone. "Huh..." Gatomon muttered. "What's this all about?..."

"Davis?" Kari called out. "Veemon!"

TK scratched his head. Where could they all have gone?

* * *

Veemon gave an exhausted sigh as Davis and he slowly strode through the forest surrounding the lake. From a distance, it had looked like an ordinary pine tree forest, but as they went in, the Digital World asserted its weirdness again; all the trees beneath the canopy were made of bamboo. Either way, though, Veemon was glad for the break. His whole body ached, even though he hadn't done much work. Whatever he had done as Magnamon was still with him. "Geez..." he grunted. "What is goin' on with me?..."

Davis had his arms clasped behind his back, like one keeping a secret. "Hey, Veemon..." he said. "You ever notice how chummy TK and Kari are with each other? Why d'ya think that is?"

Veemon scratched his head. "Um... they're identical twins that look completely different?" he tried.

Davis chuckled at his partner's whimsy, but shook his head. "Nahh..." he said, his smile dimming. "But did you see how she was openly rooting for TK during that basketball game? It's like I wasn't even there..."

"But... you were," Veemon pointed out.

"But... she was rooting for him," Davis went on. "Why does she like him better than me?"

Veemon shook his head. "I dunno where yer goin' with this, Davith," he admitted. "If yer all friends, how can Kari like one of you better?"

Davis frowned. Sometimes Veemon's ignorance was downright annoying. "Don't you have any girl Digimon you like better than the others?" he asked. "Like Gatomon?"

Veemon shrugged. "Gatomon's my friend, but so're Patamon, Armadillomon an' Hawkmon," he said. "I like 'em all."

Davis just shook his head; this was going nowhere. "Whatever," he muttered. "What I'm tryin' to say here, is that I wanna impress Kari."

Veemon was still unclear on what this meant. "Then... practice basketball more so yer legs won't give out?" he tried.

"I was thinking of somethin' right here and now," Davis said, grinning. "Now that the control spires're gone, here... you could try Digivolving into a Champion-level Digimon!"

Veemon blinked; how would that impress Kari, and why did Davis need to impress her in the first place? Still, Davis was his partner... and this whole basketball thing had gotten him down... Maybe if he could Digivolve, Davis would cheer up. "OK, Davith," he finally said, "I'll give it a try!"

"Sweet," Davis said, clapping his little buddy on his shoulders. "Thanks a million!"

Veemon looked around and his smile faded. There was no danger in this forest, so he couldn't try right at the moment. "Uh... but I can't-" he began.

Suddenly, the trees behind them shook violently. They jumped back as a hefty brown creature burst from the underbrush. It looked like a big, antlered bear with eight of its dozen eyeballs bulging out of its mouth. It roared at them in a chorus of growls.

"What the?" Veemon cried out.

"Crap!" Davis yelled, an odd grin on his face. He grabbed Veemon and pushed him in front of the monster. "Well, looks like you've got yer chance!" he declared. "Digivolve!"

Veemon swallowed hard, the monster shambling towards him. "OK, then..." he grunted, clenching his fists. He wouldn't let Davis down.

He snarled and strained as hard as he could, but nothing happened. He tried upping the snarl to a yell, but still nothing happened. Davis glared at his unresponsive D3. Why wouldn't it work? "C'mon!..." he hissed.

Veemon charged at the monster- who hadn't moved for a few moments now- and tried his headbutt... but as he hit the creature, he sank into it like it was a giant pillow. He also got a good whiff of what it smelled like, and it was a lot like that pile of burlap sacks that Davis's mom used what she went grocery shopping. He rolled off of the creature and staggered backwards, exhausted and confused; what was going on?

The bear monster's head suddenly swiveled towards Davis. "Hey... can we stop now, Davis?..." a single voice asked. "It's gettin' real hot in here..."

Veemon whirled around and stared at his partner, who looked oddly annoyed. "...Yeah, go ahead," Davis sighed.

The bear shook, then collapsed into a mess of Numemon, Vegiemon and torn fabric.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Davis muttered. "Thanks anyway, you guys."

Coughing and muttering amongst themselves, the Digimon wandered off into the woods. "Aw, hell," Davis said. "Guess we'll have to try somethin' else, huh?"

Veemon's eyes burned into him. "What was that?" he demanded. "You tried to trick me!"

"Well, you wouldn't do it on yer own," Davis replied.

Veemon obviously didn't think that was a very good reason; he charged at Davis, who scampered into the trees. "Hey!" Davis yelled. "C'mon! Don't get all bent outta shape!"

"YER gonna be the one bent outta shape!" Veemon yelled back, breaking several bamboo poles with his hands as he tore after him.

The terrain around the lake was very hilly and rocky, but Davis didn't know that until a steep drop popped up in front of him. His soccer training brought him to a screeching halt just in time... but not Veemon. The two of them barreled down the hill, their backs miraculously finding every sharp rock.

With two thuds, the boy and the Digimon had their faces in the dirt at the bottom, next to a large, yellow, spiky mound. Davis recovered first, pulling himself up and spitting pebbles. "Agh..." he muttered, looking down at Veemon. "We gotta get you some anger management classes..."

Veemon pushed himself into a sitting position, looking as irked as he could. "Ya didn't hafta go an' trick me!" he argued. "Maybe if ya'd waited a bit, we'd find some real—"

Just then, they heard rumbling, looked back up the hill and cried out. A big boulder rolled down towards them; their tumbling squabble must have jarred it loose. They tried to run, but the pebbly dust beneath them kept them scrambling where they were. Just as they thought they were goners, though, the rock hit an odd spot on the ground and flipped onto the yellow mound, shattering to bits. The mound rose up on four sturdy, thick feet with a low grunt, and a long, spiky head emerged from the side, opening its wild, blue eyes. The "mound" was actually a giant turtle Digimon!

Davis got to his feet, surprised. "What the..." he said.

"That's a Tortomon, I think," Veemon said, looking up at the creature. "Big thick shell, hard as rock! An' they're s'posed to be real friendly, too!"

Davis was glad the big monster was there to stop that rock, but Tortomon wasn't very pleased to meet them. The moment its eyes locked onto them, they narrowed into furious slits. The boys jumped back as it roared at them.

Veemon swallowed hard. "'Course, they can get mad, same as anyone..." he stammered.

"Aww... shit..." Davis gulped. Did Tortomon think they were the ones who threw that rock at it? Well, that was kind of true... but Tortomon didn't need to know that. "Uh, look..." he tried, "ya seem like a reasonable fella... Lemme tell ya what just—"

Another roar from the terrible terrapin silenced him. He grabbed Veemon and tore for the lakeside, Tortomon charging after them like a runaway train.

* * *

"Oh... so that's what happened?" Kari asked. The tired-looking Numemon and Vegiemon had just come back, and she had asked them where they had been.

"Yep," a Numemon grunted. "What a waste of a break..."

Patamon burst out laughing. "That's Davis for you!" he exclaimed.

"Hmm... You think it can really be done?" TK murmured, taking off his hat and scratching his head. As funny as it was, he really didn't know. Sure, Patamon had Digivolved when there were no spires around, but he had done it before... maybe Armor Digivolution was all these new Digimon could do?

Gatomon shrugged. "If Patamon and I can Armor Digivolve, I don't see why Veemon or the others can't do it normally," she reasoned.

Quietly, Kari agreed with her partner. Still, Davis and Veemon hadn't come back with the others; where had they gone?

Almost in answer to her thoughts, two loud yells rocked everyone's ears. Davis and Veemon crashed through the underbrush nearby and looked around wildly, their mouths open and panting.

"Davis?" Kari asked.

"What's the matter?" TK asked.

Davis started to answer, but an angry roar behind them answered everything. Upon Tortomon's bursting through the trees, all the Numemon and Vegiemon took off screaming. Davis and Veemon raced past the surprised Digidestined, the big monster in hot pursuit.

"Err..." Patamon hemmed, "they're heading right for town..."

"Should we help them?" Kari asked.

TK thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nahh," he replied.

Kari was shocked. "But!..." she tried.

"I think he's got it well in hand," he cut her off, folding his arms and smiling. "Besides, this just might help us all find out whether they can Digivolve."

Kari watched the Tortomon charge for the gates of Santa Geria and swallowed. What would happen in the meantime?

* * *

"Now... step forward and bring down your shinai," Cody instructed, showing his Gazimon students the most basic of kendo moves, "then, step back and repeat that motion. All in unison, now. _Ichi_!"

The Gazimon began to do as he had ordered, but two wild screams made them all jump. Cody whirled around just as Davis and Veemon crashed through the town gates, both red in the face and heaving. "C... Cody!..." Davis coughed.

"What's the matter?" Armadillomon asked from his place on the sidelines.

"A Digimon..." Veemon managed. "...Chasin' us!..."

Cody's grip on his stick tightened. From the way they looked, a new threat could well have appeared. Now could be the perfect time to show his students how to use the martial art effectively. "Stand back," he cautioned, moving ahead of Davis and Veemon. "I'll deal with—"

Before he could finish, Tortomon appeared on the horizon, still trampling everything in its path like a misguided moose. All of the Gazimon screamed and leaped into the empty stew pot to hide. Armadillomon dug as deep into the ground as he could and stayed there.

Davis looked at Cody, who was frozen stiff. "Well?" he demanded.

Cody blinked, then dropped his stick. "Sorry; not in my weight class!" he snapped, racing for the pot.

Tortomon roared and came right for the duo. With nothing else to do, Davis and Veemon leaped to the opposite side. Tortomon ran right past and smashed into the closest building, knocking it into a hill of debris. It swooned, stunned by the blow.

"Some help you are!" Davis snapped at Cody, and then Veemon and he tore back out of town. Tortomon quickly forced itself to its feet, turned around and resumed the chase.

The Gazimon tumbled out of the pot and gawked at the fresh damage. "Hey!" one of them yelled.

"We just fixed that!" another one wailed.

One of them glared at Cody. "That human led Tortomon here," it snapped. "So what're you gonna do about this?"

Cody suddenly felt the heated gaze of every Digimon there. He sighed angrily. With Davis doing stupid stuff like this, no wonder the Resistance looked so good.

* * *

"Davith, he's comin' back again!" Veemon yelled as the pair ran back through the woods.

Davis didn't have enough oxygen to swear as Tortomon roared behind them. How could a turtle move so fast? He sucked in as much air as he could and pounded his feet on the ground, desperate to gain a few more inches from the yellow monster.

Suddenly, he was on sand instead of dirt, kicking up dusty clouds as his legs flailed and fumbled. Somehow, they had made their way to the seashore. At the moment, though, he didn't really care how. He raced for the wet sand closer to the water and regained his panicked pace, Veemon screaming beside him. "Somebody... h... help!" the blue Digimon gasped.

Davis looked up ahead and his heart leaped. Yolei, Hawkmon and a few other Digimon were there, standing in some old boats. It may have been Yolei, but he could take what he could get at this point. "YOLEI! HEY! HEYYY!" he gurgled, waving his hands wildly.

* * *

"Hey, what's all that noise?" Yolei asked, sitting up from her hammering and spitting nails into her hand. She was just putting the finishing touches on the last boat when Davis's yells reached her.

"I do believe it's Davis and Veemon," Hawkmon answered, pointing at the approaching pair. The boys were running at breakneck speed and flapping their arms like bloated albatrosses, yelling to them all the way.

She snorted angrily. What were those two doing, goofing off? If she had to work and be miserable, she didn't see why anyone else should be having fun. "HEY!" she yelled at them. "QUIT SCREWIN' AROUND AND GET BACK TO WORK, YOU STUPID—"

A roar cut her off, and Tortomon burst out of the woods. Davis and Veemon ran past her on opposite sides, leaping and stumbling over any other obstacles in their way. Before Yolei could react, Tortomon's foot came down on the edge of her boat, launching it spinning through the air like a paper football. With a powerful splash, it embedded itself back in the sand under the water, its two occupants along for the ride.

Yolei shot up hacking and gasping, spewing seawater every which way. "PHLOAGH! Ugh! No fair!" she snapped. Davis was supposed to land in the water when she did!

Hawkmon dragged himself onto the sand and ruffled his feathers, looking at what was left in Tortomon's wake. What had been a lively boat repair operation was now a mess of splintered wood and angry Digimon. "Oh, dear..." he said. "Yolei, it looks like we'll be here a while longer..."

Yolei swung her fists and howled obscenities to everyone in earshot.

* * *

"Please say... this's another trick..." Veemon wheezed, glancing back at the approaching Tortomon.

"Ya think... I'm smart enough... to pull this off?" Davis snapped at him with as much air as he could afford. The chase took them up a rocky hill, zig-zagging back and forth up a steep path. Tortomon snarled and howled behind them; it got closer by the second. Davis swallowed and prayed that there was some way of escape at the top.

No such luck. Aside from a flat mesa, all that was atop the hill were steep drops down to jagged seaside rocks below. The boys screeched to a halt, not daring to believe their hideous fate. Tortomon crashed down before them, cutting off the only way back down. The run had really taken its toll, however; the big, yellow turtle heaved and gasped, completely out of breath. Drool dribbled from its mouth as it leered at them with haggard eyes.

Veemon swallowed hard. "...Now what, Davith?..." he whimpered.

Davis shuddered. With no way out of this, he couldn't think of anything but begging for mercy from the crazed monster... but would that help them get away? His mind raced, and then he fell to his knees, like he had when the Digimon Emperor had forced him to beg. "OK... you win, big guy," he said, "but can I ask a favor?"

Tortomon growled questioningly. Veemon looked at his friend. "What're you doing?" he asked.

Davis grabbed him and dragged him down to a begging stance, too. "See, the thing is, I'm kind of a clean freak," he went on, "so before ya kick our asses, can ya wash your hands? I don't wanna get any germs or nothin'..."

Veemon looked at him. "What?" he hissed. "Since when?"

"If you've got a better idea, you'd better do it," Davis growled back.

Tortomon blinked and looked down at his claws, completely boggled by the question.

"I mean, if I caught some crazy Digital germ and went back to my own world, I could start an epidermis!" Davis went on. "So if you just wash your hands first, you could potentially be savin' the lives of—"

Tortomon's angry roar cut him off, and the big turtle started for them. Davis swallowed. So much for that.

Veemon might have been mad at Davis for the whole stupid trick, but now they were both in real danger; he had to protect him! "Fine!" he snapped, hopping to his feet. "You wanna fight? We'll fight!"

He launched himself in a headbutt, but Tortomon quickly turned and deflected him with its spiky shell. Veemon crashed to the ground and didn't get up.

"Shit!" Davis swore. "Veemon!"

Tortomon turned back to him and roared at him, raising its claw. Davis instinctively stepped back and almost fell off the cliff. This was entirely his own fault, he realized. If he hadn't tried to make Veemon Digivolve, he wouldn't have gone out as a giant turtle's toejam. What an idiot he was!

Suddenly, his D3 shook and glowed brightly, making Tortomon reel back in surprise. His eyes bugged as he looked at the screen. It had never acted like this before he had ordered Veemon to Armor Digivolve; could this be...? "Veemon!" he yelled.

Veemon scrambled to his feet, scratched and bruised... but amazingly, he felt full of energy and life. He was ready to Digivolve. "Davith!" he yelled back.

Davis raised his D3 to the sky, and a strange, greenish light shone down on Veemon. "Veemon, Digivolve to..." the blue lizard said, and then he was no longer Veemon. He grew to three times his size, his nose horn thinning to a knife shape. His legs and arms took on the shape of a wrestler's, and his chest swelled with muscles, a big, gray X appearing in the middle of the white. His stubby tail shot out to a long, thick lash, and finally two wide, white, bat-like wings burst out of his back. "...Exveemon!" he finished.

Davis's mouth exploded in a war whoop. This was way, WAY better than he had imagined! It was like Flamedramon, but without the armor... and wings! Honest to goodness WINGS! He felt like jumping up and down and throwing some crazy kung fu kicks. It must have been what Yolei's "joygasms" felt like. "WOW!" he yelled. "EXveemon!"

Exveemon couldn't seem to believe it himself. After this whole mess, all it took was his desire to save his partner. Was this the kind of power that made Agumon and Tai so powerful? "I feel like a whole new 'mon!" he declared.

The only person that wasn't thrilled was Tortomon; the newcomer angered it, and it roared just as loudly as before. It turned on Exveemon, ready to crush him.

Davis wasn't about to let his charged-up buddy get trashed now. "Can ya handle this, Exveemon?" he asked.

Exveemon smirked, almost like Davis himself. "Just watch," he replied.

Tortomon lunged at Exveemon, but he sidestepped and grabbed its tail, whirling it around like an Olympic hammer. With one swift motion, he hurled the giant turtle over his head and into the ground, making the whole hill shake. Tortomon scrambled back to its feet, its shell glowing brightly. Davis jumped as dozens of sharp fragments shot off of the shell, right for his new partner. Exveemon didn't seem worried, though; he destroyed each one as it came with lightning-fast punches and kicks.

Tortomon practically fumed smoke. With a bloodthirsty roar, it charged right at Exveemon. With the help of his new wings, though, Exveemon easily leaped over the charging monster, forcing it to stop itself before it went off the cliff.

"Davis, check THIS out!" Exveemon said, the X mark on his chest glowing yellow. "V-Laser!"

Tortomon turned itself around just in time for a bright, golden X-shaped beam barreled out of Exveemon's mark, knocking it completely off the cliff. With a cry, it tumbled down and smashed into the rocks below, sand flying everywhere.

Davis blinked, then his cocky grin reappeared. "All RIGHT!" he yelled, pumping his fist. Finally, he had a Champion-level Digimon, just like TK... and it kicked so much ass, too! He raced to the cliffside to see his partner's handiwork.

His good mood died as he saw Tortomon spinning itself back onto its feet, seemingly unhurt. "What the?" he yelled. Why wouldn't this thing die? Exveemon clenched his fists and waited for round 2 to start.

Tortomon looked up at them... then sauntered over to the water, plunged its claws in and scrubbed thoroughly. As it flicked the extra water off, it looked back at them and laughed happily, then started off down the beach.

Now it was Davis's turn to be confounded. "Wait... Are you tellin' me... he ENJOYED all of that?" he asked.

Not knowing what to make of it himself, Exveemon just shrugged. "Some Digimon have weird ideas of fun, I guess," he admitted.

Davis grinned at his new partner. He couldn't wait until TK got a load of him! Even better, he couldn't wait until _Kari_ got a load of him! "Let's go show you off, buddy," he cackled.

"You got it!" Exveemon agreed, kneeling. "Hop on!"

Davis got on the blue lizard's back and almost stopped breathing. Exveemon was big and muscular, but he flew fast and gracefully, like the best stunt planes. It wasn't like flying his own craft, but it was the best thing that had happened to him anyway. From now on, things were going to be way different.

* * *

"Where the hell is he?" Yolei snapped at the others, her hair stringy and curled from her seawater bath. After the whole Tortomon mess, the Digidestined and their partners had regrouped at the lake to discuss what would happen. The Numemon and Vegiemon hadn't finished their dam, so they were still pushing and shoving at the logs, none of them looking like they enjoyed it.

"Please, calm down," Kari said, wincing. Yolei's bad moods were commonplace, but this time she had a genuine complaint... and it was scary.

"Calm down?" Yolei bellowed. "Calm down? Every one of the boats we hauled up, smashed to bits!"

"We certainly didn't make any friends today..." Hawkmon sighed.

"The town's no better," Cody replied, frowning darkly. "The Digimon are so furious, I was concerned for my own safety."

"Who'd a-thunk Davis could screw us up so bad?" Armadillomon asked.

TK shook his head. They had come to help rebuild this place, but Tortomon had decimated half of what they had fixed. Maybe Kari and he should have intervened when they had the chance.

Kari was upset, too; she was thinking the same thing. "I hope he's OK..." she murmured.

"OK?" Yolei yelled. "I hope that thing mashed 'im into jerk jelly!"

"Now, Yolei!" Hawkmon snapped. "That's a terrible thing to say!"

Gatomon folded her arms. "In any case, let's find him," she said. "Then we can figure out what to do..."

Patamon's eyes darted upwards; a strange, blue creature was coming down from the sky... and who was that on its back? He squinted, then beamed at his friends. "I don't think we need to," he said. "Here he comes!"

Everyone looked up, then jumped back as Exveemon landed. Davis hopped off, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, guys!" he said.

Kari's eyes widened at the new Digimon. "Davis, did you really...?" she asked.

"Yep!" he laughed. "Say hello to Exveemon, Champion Digimon extraordinaire!"

Exveemon smiled at the other Digimon. "I did it! I really did it!" he exclaimed. "Check it out! Wings, even!"

"Niiiice," Armadillomon admitted.

"Well, it's always nice to have another flier around," Hawkmon said. "Job well done!"

"Yeah, this is great!" TK added; this answered his question of whether the new Digimon could Digivolve or not. "Congratulations, you two!"

Davis's chest swelled... until Yolei's angry snarl cut through the joy. "Oh, that's just GREAT!" she yelled, stomping up to him. "I bust my ass fixing boats, YOU have that big turtle smash 'em all to bits, and YOU get a new Digimon so everything's just peachy keen, huh?"

He swallowed hard. Exveemon's grin vanished as well. "Well, uh, the thing about that was..." he started.

"Your stupid antics have made the Digimon furious," Cody said coldly. "Instead of helping fix things, you've broken what the rest of us worked on."

"Hey, c'mon!" Davis snapped; no way was he taking flack from a kid like Cody. "I was workin', too!"

Cody's eyes narrowed. "Did you finish?" he asked.

Davis winced as he noticed the incomplete dam, and the Numemon and Vegiemon who were glaring at him. "Err... well, no..." he admitted.

"Then I suggest you use this fantastic new Digimon to do so," Cody huffed, pointing at the logs, "and then go and fix everything your yellow friend broke, too."

Exveemon's shoulders and wings sagged, humbled. Davis felt like a deflating balloon. "...Damn..." was all he could say. It certainly wasn't the praise he had expected. Oh, well; at least Kari liked Exveemon.

* * *

As the sun melted into the trees, Davis dropped his hammer and wiped his face. "OK..." he announced weakly, turning away from the repaired building, "it's fixed."

Exveemon fluttered down from the higher floors and dropped his tools on the ground. "Man, I didn't know Champions could ache this much!" he coughed.

Cody stood nearby, his arms still folded. "Now," he instructed, "apologize to them again."

Davis and Exveemon turned around and swallowed. The whole town had turned out to watch Exveemon and himself fix what Tortomon had broken, and they could feel the cold gaze of every Gazimon and Redvegiemon there. "OK, I'm sorry we broke yer building," Davis said.

A contained murmur from the crowd told him they were off the hook. "Good," Cody said. "Now let's go."

Davis and Exveemon dragged themselves after Cody to the town gates, where the rest of their friends waited. "All done, Davis?" TK asked.

"Gotta say, you're slowin' down," Yolei cackled. "You were three times as fast fixin' all the boats!"

"Shut up," Davis grunted, not even looking at her.

"Don't be too mad, Davis," Kari said. "Thanks to Exveemon and you, we can start rebuilding somewhere else tomorrow!"

Davis managed a weak smile, but not even Kari's enthusiasm could quell his aching back and burning feet. It wasn't just the work that had tired him out, though; his whole body seemed ready to turn to dust, he had so little energy. It almost felt like when Veemon had become Raidramon for the first time... well, maybe a little less like that; after all, he hadn't fainted like before.

No sooner had he thought this, though, than everything went black. TK and Yolei cried out and caught him before he hit the ground. Exveemon shrank back down to Veemon and toppled onto his back. Kari gasped in alarm.

"Woah!" Patamon exclaimed. "Not again?"

Gatomon and Hawkmon hoisted Veemon on their shoulders, but he was also out cold. "Did they push themselves too hard?" Gatomon asked.

"Let's get 'em back home," TK instructed. "They need another rest."

As they headed out of town for a portal, Cody frowned, lost in thought. It seemed like every time they Digivolved, the pair that did it ended up completely drained. Why did this keep happening?

* * *

"Heh heh heh... Yes!" Izzy laughed, raising his fist in triumph. After hours upon hours of tinkering, he had done it; he had copied the mapping program from Kari's D-Terminal into Tai's cell phone! It had been slow going, but thanks to his patience and a few hacking tricks that Yolei had shown him, he had bypassed the mysterious security of the D-Terminal. He couldn't get farther than the mapping program, but that was all he needed for now, and this was cause for celebration.

The map on his computer screen, the map on the D-Terminal and the map on the phone all looked exactly the same. Satisfied, he snapped the D-Terminal shut and placed it in his backpack; he would give it back to Kari first thing tomorrow morning. And with Tai's phone, he could copy the program to his own phone, and Sora's, Joe's, and Matt's too! What a day this was! Nothing could make it better than—

A loud beep resounded from his computer. Surprised, he looked up; a black dot flashed on the square that marked where the Emperor's base had fallen... but he blinked once, and it vanished. He shook his head and stared at it. What had that been? A sick thought welled up in him; all the Digidestined could be detected by dots with the colors of their Digivices... and the Digimon Emperor had a black Digivice! Izzy swallowed hard; could Ken have returned to the Digital World?


	21. Awakening

**CHAPTER 21**

**AWAKENING**

Thursday morning, unfortunately, brought the same sight to Mrs. Ichijouji's sad eyes. "...Ken?..." she tried. Just like every day before, she received no answer. Her son lay in his bed, locked in seemingly endless sleep, even more pale than he usually was. "Well..." she whispered, her voice starting to crack, "your father and I are right outside, and we're not going anywhere... so..."

She gently shut the door and slowly walked back to the living room. Mr. Ichijouji sat on the couch, his expression unreadable. "How is he?" he asked.

A shake of her head told him there was no change. He sighed wearily; since he had mysteriously reappeared four days before, Ken had not stirred from his eerie slumber, and it was becoming unbearable for both of them. In the days that had passed, neither of them had eaten very much, nor had they had much sleep. They maintained their silent vigil on the couch, hoping to hear the creak of their son's door opening.

"I... I know he'll wake up soon..." Mrs. Ichijouji whispered, sitting down next to her husband. Her hands clenched and unclenched around her blouse, her usual reaction to being upset. "He... he just needs... more rest..."

Mr. Ichijouji sighed; his wife always tried to put a brave face on, even when she feared the worst herself. He reached over and clasped her hand in his. "Don't worry," he said, smiling faintly. "He's strong, just like his mother."

She tried to smile at him, but could only sniffle and shudder. What had happened to her son?... and why wouldn't he wake up? She couldn't even begin to guess.

* * *

I don't know how long I slept... but my soothing blankets of darkness couldn't last forever. Rainbows slowly oozed from the black and wobbled in front of me... round, fluid, floating rainbows... coming from a straw that I found that I myself blew upon... but I wasn't myself... at least, not who I am today. The pudgy hand that held the straw was that of a child; a youthful phantasm of myself at five or six... I was on my apartment balcony, the summer sun warming me just enough to be comfortable.

It all came to me then... what led me down my path...

"Wow, Ken! Keep blowing like that, and you could break a world record!"

That voice... An older boy was standing next to me. He looked like me, but his hair was frizzier... and he wore glasses... That was Sam, my big brother. He taught me how to blow these bubbles... Actually, he taught me how to do a lot of things. He was the real genius in the family, even at his age. Only in third grade and already got the highest marks in class. I was so proud to have him as my brother...

...Well, most of the time.

Whenever I was out with my mother, strangers would always stop us, talking about Sam and how wonderful he was... They congratulated him on his genius; they congratulated Mom and Dad for having him; some of them even tried wanted to introduce him to their daughters! I kept quiet, like a good little brother, of course... but I knew it was all going to Mom's head...

The walks were a rare thing, really... and sometimes she was really reluctant to not be near Sam. Dad was like that, too; always laughing with him and encouraging him. Sometimes, I would say something and neither of them would even hear me. It was like I was just an afterthought... or a ghost. I knew that they loved Sam more than they loved me, and I hated it. I mean, all the other little brothers in the neighborhood got more attention than their big brothers; why did I have to be the exception? If only Sam weren't there, maybe they would have paid more attention to me...

But... I could never stay angry for long... because Sam was always there for me. He played with me and read to me when Mom and Dad were busy, and he taught me so much... When we had fun together, it was impossible for me to keep the hatred burning... which made me both happy and sad. I was happy that someone cared about me, but at the same time, it was a vicious cycle... Mom and Dad would worship Sam, who would in turn be so nice to me... and I was too weak to break it. I thought it would go on forever that way... but fate had other plans...

* * *

It was a hot, sticky summer afternoon a couple of years later. I was eight, Sam was ten, and like I had thought, the cycle remained unbroken. Even though I was in school too, and I pushed myself twice as hard as Sam, my grades were mediocre, at best... and I stayed in his shadow. During the summers, it didn't matter as much; Sam studied by himself, but with no school, the judging eyes of the world were closed.

I remember it so clearly now... We were in Sam's room, at about four in the afternoon. Sam was looking up facts on the Internet, and I was on the floor, reading one of his old graphic novels. Just then, Sam pulled back with a cry and I looked up. The computer screen was glowing with a creepy green light; it had never done that before! I wanted to run, but before either of us could do anything, a beam of bright light shot out onto the floor. It only lasted a second, and were it had touched, there was a small, black thing. Puzzled, I reached out for it.

"No, wait!" Sam's voice broke the silence, making me jump. "It could be hot!"

I scooted back at the thought of being burnt. Sam crouched over the thing and held his hand over it, testing its heat. After a few moments, he lowered it and grasped it. "That's weird..." he said. "You'd think it would be..." He stared at it, held it to his ear, and shook it, his face a mask of wonder and confusion.

"What is it?" I asked.

Sam shook his head. "I don't know, Squirt," he admitted. "It sort of looks like one of the new cell phones, but there're only two buttons... and no speaker..."

I thought my heart was going to stop. My brother, the genius, didn't know what something was? "What do we do?" I asked.

Sam stared a moment more, then opened the top drawer of his desk, dropped the thing in and closed it back up. "I'm going to figure it out," he said. "I'll go to the electronics shop down the street, see what I can find. In the meantime..." he turned to me, looking really serious, "don't touch it. It could be dangerous." With that, he left.

I tried to listen, I really did. I went back to reading the book, but I couldn't concentrate anymore; my eyes kept drifting back to the desk. After a few minutes, I put the book away and crept over. Sam had said I couldn't touch it, but he hadn't said I couldn't look at it. I grasped the drawer and, as if Sam were still in the room, quietly tugged it open.

Staring at the shining, black object, I was tempted even more. It was like it was calling to me... like it was saying it belonged to me and not Sam. I hesitated, then could bear it no longer; I reached down and took it out.

As soon as I picked it up, the thing's little screen glowed with a black light. I was afraid at first, but as I held it, I realized that I enjoyed the feeling of it... That glow was almost comforting. However, it wasn't the only thing that was acting strange; the computer screen lit up again, sucking at me like a giant vacuum! I tried to drop the thing and run, but I couldn't; I could just stare as my body lurched forward into eternal green.

* * *

I don't know how long I blacked out after that, or whether I was just dreaming... but when I came to, I was face-down in a patch of soft grass, and there was a sharp pain in the back of my neck, like a bee sting. How did I get outside, I wondered? Not only that, but I lived in apartment in the middle of a big city; if I was lying in grass, where in the world was I?

Something prodded my head. "Are you awake, Ken?" a low, wavering voice asked.

I looked up and instantly scrambled to my feet. A big, green bug with bright blue eyes was right in front of me! I screamed and backed away, dreading my fate; why did I have to grab that black thing? Now I was going to be bug food, and I hadn't even learned to ride a bike yet! "Get... go away!" I yelled at it. "I play soccer... so I can kick!"

The green bug didn't attack me, though. It just stood there, looking at me... and then it opened its sideways mouth. "Please don't be afraid," it said in that wavering voice. "I'm just glad you're up."

I could only blink and stare. A monster bug was talking to me! "Wha... what're...?" I asked, words failing my frantic mouth.

The bug thing scooted a little closer, but slowly... like it knew how scared I was. "My name is Wormmon," it said. "I'm your Digimon."

Digimon? My tiny mind spun; why did people always answer one question with another thing I didn't understand? "Digi... what?" I asked.

Wormmon gave what could have been a buggy chuckle. "I guess that's not really important," he admitted. "It's just the two of us here right now, anyway."

Still confused, I looked down at the black object still clutched in my hand. Had it brought me here? Was it some sort of magical transporter?

Wormmon came a little closer, eying the thing. "That's your Digivice," he said. "It's what let you come to the Digital World... and it's proof that we're friends."

There sure were a lot of things that started with "digi" around here. What a crazy day, I remember thinking; I grab a black thing and end up lost with a big bug. Of course, it wasn't a bad-looking place; the emerald-green field looked fresh and smelled great, and the sky was endlessly blue with puffy white clouds, almost like the storybooks that Sam read to me when I was little. Wormmon wasn't so bad, either; his eyes weren't dangerous, and he seemed friendly enough. "So, um..." I tried, "where are we?"

"This is the Digital World," Wormmon repeated. "It's a different world from yours..."

"A whole different world?..." I asked. That suddenly hit me with a terrible thought. Sam! My apartment! I didn't know how to get home! "Wormmon!" I exclaimed. "How do we leave?"

Wormmon looked a little sad. "You want to go already?" he asked.

I winced; had I hurt his feelings? "Err... no, it's not that..." I said, "but my brother... I think he'll be worried about me..."

Wormmon scratched at his head with one of his limbs. "Well, if you want to go home, we'll have to find something called a portal," he replied, then looked down. "I've never seen one before, though..."

I felt my stomach clenching up, like it always did when Mom and Dad ignored me... but somehow, with Wormmon there, this job didn't feel so hopeless. "Come on," I said. "We can find it if we work together!"

Wormmon hopped a bit, looking overjoyed. "OK!" he said, then turned and pointed at a purple mountain range in the distance. "Maybe there'll be one that way!"

We started off, but I quickly learned that I was a lot faster than Wormmon, even though I only had two legs. I picked him up and carried him and we went faster... and he wasn't slimy or squishy like other bugs I had handled. He was almost plush, like a doll. I liked it. I guess he did, too; he never squirmed once.

* * *

I guess we spent a long time in those mountains, because I remember it becoming night a few times. Even though it was hard and rocky in the places we stopped to rest, Wormmon's soft body on my stomach helped me sleep really well... but I kept wondering about Sam. How long had I been gone? Was he worried? Did Mom and Dad even notice?

Not finding any "portals," we left the mountains and wandered out to a lot of different places. The Digital World was definitely not like my world back home. I'd never seen rumbling gears in cracks in the ground, or phone booths on the beach. I'd never talked with mushrooms or flowers, either (though I have to say the flowers were nicer than the mushrooms). It was so wacky sometimes, I didn't even feel homesick. I got to know Wormmon really well, too; we laughed and played and I told him all the deepest secrets of an eight-year-old... and he listened to all of it with genuine care. I was so happy; I'd never had someone to talk to like that before!

It was fun, but there were some scary parts, too. Sometimes the other creatures would get mad at us and we'd have to run away... but one time, we got trapped.

Wormmon and I had just come into a rocky canyon when something growled behind us. "What's that?" I asked, turning around. A gray rabbit-like thing stood in the road, its teeth bared and its eyes blood red. It was twitching and jerking around like I had seen toys do when their batteries got put in the wrong way.

Wormmon moved in front of me, tense. "Stay back, Ken," he told me. "Something's wrong!"

The rabbit monster shrieked and came at us. Wormmon leaped forward and tackled it, and they rolled around in the dirt yelling and snarling. As it turned its back to me, I gasped; jammed into the rabbit's back was a big, black, jagged gear like the ones I'd seen in the ground. The skin all around it was red, like it hurt; maybe that's what was making it jerk around and attack us?

It wasn't time to think, though; this rabbit monster had Wormmon pinned down. Wormmon tried to struggle free, but its grip was really strong. The rabbit laughed and scratched him with its free claw over and over. Wormmon cried out as the pain and kept trying to squirm away, but it was no use! The rabbit laughed wildly and kept scratching him, his arm getting faster and angrier.

Something inside me snapped. I had to help Wormmon. I had to stop that monster! My eyes darted around and locked onto a sizable rock on the side of the road. As quickly and quietly as I could, I grabbed it and came up behind the monster. Just before it landed another blow, I slammed the rock into the back of its head, sending it tumbling off of Wormmon. It reeled and got up, then charged again. I saw red. I didn't care how many times it took; I was going to get rid of that monster! With a furious scream I made the rock connect again, this time to its face. It crashed down into the dirt, then scrambled to its feet. I gave a wild snarl and it took off, crying out in terror.

I panted and gasped, the feeling of victory and power something new and amazing in my soul... and then I heard something like a leaky faucet. A red, gooey liquid was smeared all over the rock, slowly dripping onto the ground. I didn't know what it was, but it scared me. I threw that rock as far as I could and ran back to my friend. He was scratched up really badly, but he was getting back on his feet. "Wormmon!" I exclaimed. "Are you OK?"

Wormmon coughed. "I... Yes," he said. "It'll take more than that to hurt me..."

Relief washed over me. "It's OK now," I said. "I... I made it go away."

Wormmon looked over at the red circles in the dirt, then back at me. "Thanks, Ken," he quietly said.

I stood up, vigor renewed. As scary as that had been, I couldn't help but feel energized by it. "Come on!" I declared. "Let's find that portal!"

Wormmon coughed again and ran to keep up. "OK," he agreed, "but please, slow down..."

I couldn't stop smiling as we went. I bet Sam wouldn't have handled that monster as well as I had. For one of the few times in my life, I could do something better than him. Just knowing that made me glow with pride.

* * *

A little while after we left the canyon, we came to a really tall mountain where the clouds were turning black. I shivered as I looked up at it; something about it made me feel sick. I was about to ask if we really should go this way when Wormmon jumped up. "Ken, look!" he said, pointing at the mountain's base. "I think that's the portal!"

We ran to where he pointed, but I didn't see any portals; there was only an old TV set sitting on the ground. "No, Wormmon," I sighed angrily. "That's not a portal; it's just a-"

The TV's screen flickered to life as I spoke, and my heart stopped at what was on the screen. It was Sam's room! I mean, it had to be; it had the same bed, the same chair, even the book I had been reading still on the floor! It was just from an odd perspective... almost like we were seeing what his computer saw. "No way!..." I gasped, kneeling and staring at it. Maybe this _was_ a portal! Maybe this _could_ get me home!

Wormmon sighed. "I guess this is where we say goodbye," he admitted. "When you get back, no time will have passed from when you left. It may seem like days have gone by, but they haven't..."

That was awesome news! Sam and my parents wouldn't be worried at all! What a relief!... but then I turned back to Wormmon. As overjoyed as I was about finding a way home, my heart ached at the thought of leaving him; after all, he was the first person I'd met who saw me as Ken, and not "Sam's brother." What should I do? "I... Can't you come with me?" I asked.

Wormmon shook his head. "Your world isn't meant for Digimon," he said, "but... I'm sure we'll see each other again someday."

That wasn't the answer I wanted, but I could understand; we couldn't have pets in the apartment, and if I brought a bug as big as Wormmon into the house, Mom would faint. Sadly, I realized that we really would have to part. "I hope we do too," I said.

Wormmon scooted closer. "I'm really glad we're partners, Ken," he said. "You're so nice... and gentle."

I scooped up my little friend for one last hug. "I won't forget you," I said, trying hard not to cry.

"Now, just point your Digivice at the screen," Wormmon said, "and it'll take you home... Goodbye, Ken."

"Bye, Wormmon..." I said softly, and put him back on the ground.

I raised the Digivice just like he said, and the TV's screen flashed green again, and I felt myself being pulled, just like before. The next thing I knew, I was sitting back on Sam's rug. The afternoon sunlight was gone, replaced by dark gray clouds... A storm must have been coming. I looked down at the Digivice with wonder. Had all that really happened? Was I really right back where I had started?

"KEN!" a familiar voice made me jump. I looked up to see Sam standing over me, looking both shocked and furious. "What just happened?" he demanded.

I blinked, then beamed at him. "Sam!" I chirped, holding up the Digivice; just wait until I told him about where I had been, and what I had seen! He'd be floored! "Did you see it?" I asked. "This thing is-"

I didn't get to finish; the Digivice flew to the ground and my hand stung from Sam's slap. I looked up and saw that my brother's eyes were filled with rage. "Didn't I tell you not to go into my desk?" he yelled, loud and breathy. "Didn't I tell you not to touch that thing?"

I cowered on the floor, unable to take my gaze from his glare. Sam had never looked so angry with me before... it was scarier than that monster rabbit. I wanted to explain, but my mouth wouldn't move. I could only whimper.

"I can't trust you with anything," Sam snarled, snatching up the Digivice and clenching it tightly. He opened his drawer, threw it in and slammed it shut, making my ears hurt.

"I... I'm sorry..." I managed, "b-but..."

Sam didn't even look at me. He just stared at the closed drawer, his hand tightly gripping his chair. I didn't dare say anything else, but I just couldn't leave, either. I could only sit there and watch him.

Finally, he gave a quick, angry sigh. "What if you'd gotten hurt?" he snapped. "What would I do?... What would Mom and Dad do?"

I changed my gaze from him to the floor. They wouldn't do anything, I thought; they liked Sam better.

Sam glanced my way and frowned. "Why're you still here?" he demanded. "Get out!"

I slowly got to my feet and shambled out into the hall, slumping down against the wall. Sam came out and shut his door behind him. "I need to cool off," he grunted. "Don't even think about going back in there." With that, he turned and stomped away for the door.

The cogs in my mind finally stopped turning. Now I understood. Sam didn't like me any more than Mom or Dad did; he was too perfect to like me. He wouldn't even listen to me about what I had just gone through... and that was my Digivice. He had taken away MY Digivice! I could complain to Mom and Dad, but it wouldn't do any good! I was invisible to them, and Sam was a saint!

Slowly, I felt the rage boiling up inside me. I hated him. I hated Sam. He was the cause of all of my problems. As long as he was around, I would be only an afterthought, a shadow... a ghost.

I shot up, my tiny frame shaking violently. I had to do something. I had taken care of that rabbit monster; I could deal with Sam. I ran to the door, stuffed my feet into my shoes and took off. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I was going to make Sam know just what I thought of him!

I raced two blocks down- the limit to where I could go on my own- and I saw him: he was leaning on the post at the crosswalk, and the light had just turned green. I had to stop him. "SAM!" I yelled.

He waited for me to catch up, but he didn't look pleased. "I can't talk to you right now," he said, looking away. "I'm too angry."

I sneered. He wouldn't be talking all high-and-mighty to me for long! "That's just fine!" I snapped. "I hate you, too!"

Sam turned back to me, puzzled. "HATE you?" he asked. "No, Ken. I just-"

"Yes you do!" I shouted. I couldn't let him weave his calming lies any more. "You're smarter! Mom and Dad like you better! You can do everything! I don't matter at all!" I glared at him like he had glared at me. He flinched; it felt good to see. "I'm WORTHLESS, and it's all because of YOU!" I yelled, the voice not sounding like my own anymore.

"Ken, take it easy," Sam said quietly, starting to look a little scared. Good, I thought; now he knew what it felt like, that self-satisfied twerp!

His fear empowered me to do what I did next. "I WISH..." I screamed at the top of my lungs, "I WISH YOU'D JUST GO AWAY!" With that, I rushed at him and shoved with all my might.

Maybe if I had paid attention to the traffic light, things wouldn't have gone the way they did. For a split-second, I saw the white semi and Sam's pallid face... and then there were blaring horns, squealing tires, a terrible thud... and then silence. Four seconds later, a shoe rolled back onto the curb, and Sam's glasses tinkled to pieces on the asphalt.

My body shook just as violently now, but not from anger. I turned to stone looking at what was before me, my mouth dry and hanging limp. What had I just done?

* * *

The days after that were a hazy, dark blur, and nothing good came of them. There must have been a funeral, but I've since blocked it out of my memory. A small table went up by the window in our apartment, and a picture of Sam was put there, draped in black ribbon and surrounded by white flowers. His was the only smiling face in the whole world, it seemed.

Weeks went by, then months... Two years passed to the day. Mom cried all day on lots of days, and Dad was always consoling her, though he cried a lot, too... but nothing changed for me. Though Sam was gone, I still was ignored. They preferred to drape themselves in grief for him. The love and attention I had hoped for just didn't exist. There was only sorrow. I guess that's what turned me so bitter towards the world... I had wished for Sam to disappear- and I had done the gruesome deed myself- and yet he still had his grip on my life.

As my parents did their ritual of crying on the couch, I walked into his room and shut the door. It hadn't been changed in any way, like it had become a shrine. Things snapped into perspective right then. Nothing I could do would ever make me shine brighter than my dead brother. I was cursed; cursed to be a ghost in the shadow of another ghost! Wild fury rose up in me. I had to destroy this place! I had to wipe out every trace that I ever had a brother! My eyes darted to the computer; I'd start by deleting the hard drive.

As the computer booted up, though, I noticed there was one new letter in the e-mail program. All of Sam's friends knew he was dead; it was probably spam. Nevertheless, I decided to look. What difference would it make if I deleted a manhood-enlargement ad before the rest of it?

As I opened the program, though, I almost jumped out of the chair. The letter had no sender, but its title was blunt enough: "For Ken Ichijouji." My eyes instantly darted around the room. Who knew I was at this computer? Was this some kind of joke? My interest thoroughly piqued, I opened it. It read in plain, size 12 text as follows:

_I am terribly sorry for the loss of your brother. It must have been hard to take..._

I swallowed hard, my spine starting to tingle. How would anyone know about that? Nobody I knew even remotely cared that Sam Ichijouji had a little brother... but this was the first letter to ever come to ME about this... Though I was frightened, I was compelled to keep reading. I felt as if there was something to this letter, like it could help me somehow... It went on:

_...but don't despair. Your brother is in a better place than this world. He has found rest... but when his soul became free, yours became trapped._

_You now bear the burden of both his destiny and your own. Now that your parents have lost their perfect child, YOU shall be expected to carry out the dreams that Sam can no longer fulfill. This world shall become unbearable for you... The pressures on you shall be too great..._

_But all is not lost. There is another world that is much more appropriate: a world where your soul, too, can be free; a world where you answer to no one but yourself._

_Open the drawer. Raise the Digivice. Your kingdom awaits you._

Filmy sweat was all over my body now. Who in the world was this? How did he know about the Digivice... or that it was in that drawer? I looked around the room, expecting some stranger to be standing right behind me... but there was nobody.

It was a disturbing letter... but it felt like I had been waiting a long time for it. I opened the drawer and a cloud of dust rose up; Mom hadn't bothered to look open it herself. I stared down at the black item inside, my soul contorting itself in dilemma. That thing had done an amazing thing and a horrible thing for me: it had introduced me to Wormmon, but it was also what had made me kill Sam. My hand shook and twitched over it, beads of sweat plopping onto the dusty screen.

I swallowed hard and licked my salty lips. Yes, I had killed him over it. He had no right to take it from me, or yell at me, either. It was mine then... and it was mine now. Reservations gone, I clenched the Digivice in my hand. I had forgotten how good it felt.

The computer screen glowed green, and the words in the e-mail seemed to float and shake, like they were cheering for me. I raised the Digivice and left Hell behind.

* * *

Where I appeared this time was far different from before. Instead of a blue sky and green grass, I stood in a dark chamber, computer terminals all around and dozens of flat monitors floating on a nearby wall. Each one showed a different landscape, none of which I recognized. The only thing I did know in that room was the little green bug who came racing up to me.

"Ken! Ken!" Wormmon chirped happily. "You're back! I knew you would be!"

I looked down at him, then up at the monitors again. I thought I would be delighted to see him again, but I found that I could care less. "What IS this place?" I asked.

Wormmon glanced around, not looking sure himself. "Well..." he began.

Not letting him finish, I walked past him to get a better look at the screens, but something else caught my attention: a large, black throne in the center of the room. I went and sat down in it. It wasn't too hard, but wasn't too soft, either; it felt perfect.

Another revelation hit me. The world on those monitors was meant for me to control. This was going to be my world, and nobody could ever take it from me. Not Mom, not Dad... and especially not Sam. Just like the Digivice, it was mine. All mine. A delighted grin spread over my mouth.

Wormmon looked up at me, concerned. "What's the matter, Ken?" he asked.

I looked down at him. What a small, helpless creature he was... If there were monsters in this world like that rabbit I had fought before, I couldn't let them get him. I would keep my little friend safe by destroying anything that got in my way. I killed for him once; I could do it again.

"Ken?..." he asked again.

I smiled down at him, though he seemed to shrink away. "It's going to be 'master' from now on," I said. "Starting now, I'm the new ruler of this world! I'm going to be... its Emperor!"

"Emperor?..." Wormmon asked, looking nervous. "But... would the Digimon like that?..."

I scratched my chin. The Emperor of all Digimon? No, that was too long for a title, but I could condense it. "The Digimon Emperor..." I said out loud. "Yes... That's who I am... The Digimon Emperor!"

I chuckled. Then I giggled. Then I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. I laughed so loud and for so long, I almost couldn't stand the sound of it myself.

* * *

The living room clock struck twelve noon, but the Ichijoujis hardly heard it. They stood beneath Ken's bed, hoping for any sort of sign of his awakening... but he was unchanged. He lay motionless, as quiet as a corpse.

"I wonder what's wrong with him..." Mr. Ichijouji said, shaking his head.

Mrs. Ichijouji sighed sadly. Upon her husband's questioning look, she turned to him. "I was just thinking..." she said. "Do you remember when Ken was ten? About the same age as Sam when..." She paused to regain her voice, then went on. "That's when I noticed there was a big change in him... He threw himself completely into schoolwork and his grades got a lot better..."

Mr. Ichijouji thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I remember..." he said.

She hung her head. "I was so happy..." she said. "It was... it was like our Sam had come back... but..." She paused again. "I never thought about... WHY he changed..."

Her husband looked at the floor, then back at her. "Do you think... he was trying to be more like Sam?" he asked.

She closed her eyes. "We did pay a lot of attention to Sam..." she admitted. "Sometimes, I think I even forgot Ken was there... Maybe he turned like that... so we would pay attention to him..." She looked back up at her son. "And now this's the result..." she finished sadly.

He scratched his head, a wave of guilt washing over him. Maybe Ken had wanted to play and have fun like the other kids, but felt he had to become like Sam to win his parents' attention. He couldn't deny that he loved the thought of being the father of two geniuses; he had never thought about Ken's feelings either.

Mrs. Ichijouji suddenly hit upon another thought. "What about Sam?" she asked. "Maybe... maybe we did the same thing with him?..."

He stared at the floor again. From the moment they had seen how smart Sam was, they had always been at his side, encouraging him to do better and better... but had they pushed him too hard, too? Did they ever give him the chance to be a normal kid? He swallowed hard, realizing the truth: they had both loved the press so much, they had never considered Sam's feelings, either...

Mrs. Ichijouji choked back a sob. "We're horrible parents!..." she whispered.

Mr. Ichijouji sighed. As usual, she was right. He just wished it didn't hurt so much knowing it.

She turned to the bed, tears in her eyes again. "Ken... please wake up..." she choked.

* * *

I'm drifting again... I guess I was getting ahead of myself. I thought I heard someone calling to me... but I'm not ready to leave yet.

I guess there was one thing I was better at than Sam was... I was a great bubble blower, out on that balcony. I blew them bigger and bigger, each one a brilliant rainbow of emptiness... almost a reflection of myself. Maybe I blew them to show Sam that I really could do something better than he could... but then, who taught me to blow them? Who cut the straws and mixed the water? It wasn't my parents; it was Sam. Even my greatest accomplishment could be deferred to him.

Still, he never tried to take the credit. He enjoyed watching me do it. He'd stand out there on the balcony with me, watching with amazement. "Wow," he'd say, "you're awesome with that!"

I offered the cup and the straw to him. "Here, you do it!" I said with zest.

Sam gave me an awkward look. "Well, OK..." he said, "but I'm not as good as you."

"Come on!" I urged. "You're the best at everything!"

He chuckled. "Well, I guess I'm decent," he said, "but my technique isn't as good as yours. You're gentle, so you can get perfect, big ones. I blow too hard and mine pop right away."

Gentle? Me? Oh, Sam, if only you knew what would happen later...

I watched the bubble on the tip of the straw. It appeared, then swelled up like a big, happy balloon... and then it was gone. Flecks of water splashed on my face, making me wince and turn away... but when I turned back, I was alone. The balcony was empty and silent. Where did Sam go?

I looked around at this fusion of past and nightmare, my little body trembling. I called for him to come back, but there was no answer... That's because he won't come back. He's gone forever... and who's responsible for it? I am.

Instantly the balcony was gone, replaced with the seething crosswalk, and... I tried to close my eyes, but I couldn't. My gaze was glued to my brother, twisted and gnarled in the road, glasses gone, one shoe off, a red puddle pooling around his head. His eyes, wide and limpid, stared lifelessly back into mine. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. I had done this. I had killed him. Maybe... I had killed myself, too.

* * *

The Ichijoujis jumped as their son shot up from his bed with a gurgly cry, his eyes wide and feral. "Oh!" Mrs. Ichijouji gasped, a smile finally coming to her mouth. "Thank God!"

"Ken, how do you feel?" Mr. Ichijouji asked. "What happened?"

His answer was absolute silence. Ken just stared at his feet, his hair hiding his eyes. "...Ken?" Mr. Ichijouji tried, putting his hand on his shoulder. Ken didn't react at all.

Mrs. Ichijouji's smile vanished as fast as it had appeared. "What's wrong with him?" she demanded.

Mr. Ichijouji frowned and folded his arms. "Maybe... he's just disoriented," he suggested. "If we give him some time..."

_No, that's not it... I'm dead. I don't know who anyone is... not even myself._

Mrs. Ichijouji wasn't content with just waiting. "Should we call a doctor?" she asked. "I'll call a doctor!"

Mr. Ichijouji put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Somehow, he didn't think that would help any. He turned and looked up at his son; maybe something else would bring him around. "Ken..." he began, "while you were sleeping, your mother and I were thinking... that you were trying to be more like Sam, and we didn't stop you..."

_Sam? That name... That sounds... familiar..._

Mr. Ichijouji shook his head. "We're sorry," he said quietly. "We should have... encouraged you to be the son you were, instead of the one we lost..."

Mrs. Ichijouji shuddered. "We're so sorry!..." she choked. "Can you forgive us...?"

_Forgive? Forgive what? What have you done? Who am I to forgive you?_

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Please... just... be yourself..." she sobbed.

_Why is she crying? I don't understand... She's done nothing, but she's crying... I've destroyed so much, but she's the one who's sad..._

A sudden wetness on his cheek made Ken pause. His hand slowly reached up to it, his fingers rubbing it around.

_Wait... I'm crying?... But... corpses can't cry... can they?..._

Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji felt a gleam of hope as Ken turned ever so slightly, looking at them out of the corners of his tear-streaked eyes.

_Maybe... maybe I'm more alive than I thought...

* * *

_

The steady hum of afternoon traffic mixed with the flapping chop of a helicopter as I stared out the window, still clad in the wrinkled uniform I had been wearing for days. I had been up for a few hours, wandering around the apartment, but I was still dead.

The sun was shining and the sky was turning a powerful orange, but it could have been dark and rainy and it wouldn't have made a difference to me. This place had no answers for me, nothing I hadn't seen or known before. Would I remain dead in this place forever? Something ached inside me; my body didn't want that. If only the rest of me knew what to do, where to go... and why...

"Ken, dinner's ready," a woman's voice came, and a hand clamped on my shoulder. I wasn't expecting it, so naturally I jumped and whirled around. This woman I once knew looked surprised, then a little sad. "It's OK..." she said, "you can eat whenever you're ready."

Eat? The dead don't eat. As I turned away, my eyes fell on a photograph on a table. As I reached down and picked it up, a wave of unpleasantness rose up from my stomach. It was a picture of Sam... the same picture that had been draped in black, sainted by my parents.

"Oh..." the woman said quietly. "That's Sam, your brother..." She paused, and when she continued, her voice was thick with emotion. "We were all devastated by the accident, but you were affected the most..." she choked.

My hands trembled violently. Accident? Accident? That was no accident... This boy was dead because of me, and I was dead because I had killed him. Who in their right mind would dare to call it an "accident?" All at once, I felt my eight-year-old hands thrust into his ten-year-old stomach, heard the horrible sounds, saw the terrible results of my action... I slammed the picture down, strode past the surprised woman and returned to my room, shutting the door behind me. There was nothing here but guilt and regret. I had to go... but where?

Something gleamed on my desk. As I looked down, my stomach swelled again. On the computer keyboard lay the black thing... "Digivice," I heard myself whisper. All at once, dozens more memories crashed through my brain... images of a little green bug that followed me everywhere, each image looking sadder and more forlorn than the last. A bug that I had beaten, whipped, insulted, until... Another name escaped my lips: "Wormmon..."

My eyes locked onto the Digivice, and I snatched it up and pointed it at the monitor. I knew where I had to go.

* * *

Mrs. Ichijouji had been surprised by the reaction her son had to his brother's picture, but she wasn't ready to stop trying to connect with him. She prepared a cup of his favorite tea and put a few cookies on a plate and went to his door. "Ken?" she asked, opening it slowly. "Maybe you don't want a big meal, but-"

The platter crashed onto the floor of the empty room. The computer's screen glowed, just as it had when he had vanished the first time. Her legs failed her as she sank against the wall, letting out a mournful wail.

* * *

I appeared in an empty wasteland. There was no life... and not a sound, save the wind. I started walking. I didn't know where I was headed, or why... but my body ached as if it longed to go that way... and so I went.

I walked for hours, and over many terrains. I trudged through a rocky canyon, into a deep valley, down a hill of broken trolleys, and through a dark forest... My feet burned from the walking, but I didn't care; at least I was feeling something.

Finally, the trees gave way and I stopped, the sight before me dazzling my blank eyes. A great, green plain loomed up before me, with giant buildings made of soft, colored blocks in the distance. The trees around it had little baby toys hanging from them instead of berries. All along the ground sat colorful eggs, and every so often a little wooden cradle, like an open-air nursery. Something about the place stirred my heart, and made me speak. "What is this?" I asked aloud.

A high little voice answered me, making me jump as badly as when then woman had touched me. "Hello!" it said. I whirled around to see a small, white jellyfish- a Poyomon- sitting in a nearby cradle, its beady black eyes staring at me. "This is Primary Village!" it went on. "It's where all Digimon are reborn!"

I blinked a few times, not believing what I was hearing. How could something come back to life when it died? Or were Digimon a special case? "But..." I managed, "Digimon... don't die?"

"That's right," the jellyfish said. "Digimon never die; they just get reconfigured into DigiEggs and come back as babies!"

My breathing quickened. I dared to hope. Maybe... maybe Wormmon was here somewhere? Then maybe I could find him, and make up for what had happened! Then maybe... maybe if I found Wormmon... maybe I wouldn't be dead anymore, either!

I raced around the village, looking at each egg and every cradle. The babies all looked up at me in surprise, but none of them looked like Wormmon. There were lots of different eggs- polka-dotted, spotted, heart-stamped- but I didn't think any of those could be my friend. After all, his egg was... Wait...

I stopped and looked down at the green and yellow egg before me. Had I ever seen Wormmon's egg? I didn't remember seeing it... I picked up the egg and listened to it, ran my hands over it, the hope sinking out of my soul. I didn't know what Wormmon's egg looked like... just as I didn't know who I was.

"HEY!" a shrill voice came from behind me. "I know YOU!"

My heart leaped as I whirled around. "You do?" I asked.

A small, purple baby Digimon with a puffy, beard-like swell- a Yuramon- was glaring at me from its cradle. "You're the Digimon Emperor!"

With an angry cry, it leaped up and swatted at my face with its two antennae. "You killed me three times in a row!" it yelled.

My mind once again played a hundred memories at once, memories of lashing whips, flying rings, tall, black obelisks... the Digimon Emperor. My knees shook; I felt sick. Yes, I was the Digimon Emperor! I was the tyrannical despot who had enslaved, tortured and murdered hundreds upon hundreds of Digimon!... and all because I had blocked out the fact that Digimon were living creatures... because I didn't want to think about Sam anymore! "Oh, God..." I groaned aloud. "If I hadn't let my brother seep into how I saw things... maybe I wouldn't have done what I did... and Wormmon would still be here!"

"What a load of pooey!" another cradle huffed. I turned to see a little three-pronged red blot- a Punimon- sneer at me. "You don't want to find Wormmon for HIS sake! You're just trying to make YOURSELF feel better!"

"Like any self-respecting Digimon would want to hang around the Digimon Emperor!" an angry black blob- a Botamon- snapped from another cradle. "No way Wormmon would want to be with you again! You murdered him!"

My whole body lurched in a spasm. The egg I was holding lurched out of my grip and smashed to pieces on the ground. A chorus of high-pitched shrieks rocked the nursery.

"NOW look what you've done!" the Punimon shouted. "You killed ANOTHER one!"

I sank to my knees, overcome. Truth is the most horrible weapon of all. Just like Sam was gone forever, I saw, Wormmon was too... and again, it was all because of me... my hatred. I hated Sam because he made me feel useless. I started off working to protect Wormmon so he WOULDN'T end up like Sam... but I ended up hating him too, because I ended up believing he was useless. I was a murderer twice over.

As the babies' angry noises got louder, I reached down and picked up pieces of the broken egg, looking at the hands that held them. A textbook in those hands made me a genius. A whip in them, though... I wasn't a murder twice over; I was a murder hundreds, _thousands_ of times over! I was a monster!

I shook my head wildly, tears starting to spill out of my eyes. I didn't want to be a monster. I had never wanted to be a monster! "I'm sorry..." I said quietly. Then I said it again, louder. "I'm sorry!" Then I screamed it to the whole world, hoping they would all hear it... hoping Wormmon and Sam could hear it: "I'M SORRY!"

"Get out!" the Botamon shouted. "Get out of here!"

I looked up at the furious little babies, almost seeing my young self in them... and the hatred as well. "Please..." I whispered. "Please... Forgive me... Give me another chance!..."

"You bastard!" the Punimon snapped. "You come in here, you try to take over, you break our eggs, and you want forgiveness?"

"It's too late!" the Yuramon huffed. "We all know what you are!"

A terrible, thundering, high-pitched chorus rose in the village. "Get out! GET OUT!" the babies yelled. "Get out and never come back!"

I got to my feet, trying to reason with them. "I'm sorry!" I pleaded. "I'll never hurt you again! I'll—"

My answer was more angry yells, and then the babies all started foaming at the mouth. Hundreds of stinging bubbles pelted my whole body. I couldn't take it for long; I raced back into the forest from which I had come, gasping for air between sobs.

I cast one more look back at Primary Village, then resumed my corpselike shuffle through the woods. I was doomed; what goes around definitely does come around. How could I ever make up for what I had done when this world wouldn't give me a chance?

For another several hours I wandered, until I felt my feet growing soggy through my shoes. I looked up to see the penetrating blue of the ocean; I had gone all the way to the beach. My feet ached and burned through the cold water; I needed rest. My eyes fell on a nearby palm tree that sat in an outcropping of grass; that looked as good a spot as any. I sank against it, groaning at the simple pleasure of transferring my weight to another object.

The tree had other plans; it jerked back, sending me onto the ground. I just lay there, staring up at the empty sky. With the wind in my ears, and too tired to do much else, I quietly let myself fall into dreamless darkness.

* * *

It must have been several hours before I came to, and immediately I jumped up in alarm. I was adrift in the ocean! The tree and the grass were still with me... but the land they had been on had split from the shore, rocking up and down like a little boat in the water. My skin sizzled with sunburn, and my stomach complained loudly. I probably looked like a tattered old castaway by now...

I looked down and saw the island was making ripples in the water, so I knew it was still moving. I turned the opposite direction to see where it was going and I froze. In the approaching distance, the ocean of blue gave way to an ocean of yellow and brown; a vast desert. Something long and black jutted up from it, and even though it was hazy and far away, I could tell it was huge. Somehow, I felt as if I had seen it before...

My little island came into shore and I dragged myself off, stumbling towards that giant object; I had to see what it was. This desert was wide and empty; there wasn't another living thing in sight. I could have died out there and nobody would have known... but I didn't care. I pressed on, not even looking at the object, but at my feet shuffling in the sand.

After another hour of walking, and my skin burned even more. I could have sworn my littlest toes had snapped off and were rolling around inside my shoes... and then I came into the shadow of the object. I craned my head upwards to see what it was... and my body underwent a massive shock for another time that day. It was the Gigas... The Digimon Emperor's... my base.

A large, gaping hole in the side of the hull beckoned to me, the darkness inside a tempting respite from the blazing sun. I stared at it a long time, then shuffled inside, my eyes glazed over. At least there was one place in this world that still welcomed me...

As my eyes adjusted to the blackness, I saw smashed walls and collapsed ceilings, and broken Mekanorimon were strewn about. I shuddered; Kimeramon really had ravaged it. Why had I let it go this far?... Why hadn't I listened to Wormmon?...

I stopped and leaned against a wall, tears flowing and sobs gasping whether I controlled them to or not. When Sam died, I forgot about the Digital World completely... and then when I was reintroduced to it, I wanted to protect Wormmon so he wouldn't go away like Sam... but in my zeal to protect him, I hurt everyone else... and then I forgot about him, and only the desire to inflict pain remained... Those babies were right. Sam and Wormmon were gone forever... and so was Ken. I was now, and would always be, the Digimon Emperor... and the Digimon Emperor would always be hated.

I looked up into the blackness that was the path to my throne room. Yes... the Emperor would be hated by everyone... until he was destroyed, that is. I got to my feet and staggered down the lopsided halls.

Someone else must have been in the throne room before me; when I tried to access the last computer, its database had been completely wiped, per my security system. Well, that was fine by me... It's probably better that it's gone; stops others from making the same terrible mistakes...

I looked over at my throne. It still sat rigidly facing the broken screens. Another spark of hope ran through my heart; all was not lost. I walked over to it and pushed at it with all the strength I had left. With a loud groan, it toppled over, taking up a hunk of the floor with it.

I felt a smile come to my lips as I beheld the small, gray laptop. In it lay the plans to my second trump card, after Kimeramon; something I had planned to mass-produce for my minions. Like a deranged ape, I squatted before it, turned it on and typed wildly. If nobody would forgive the Digimon Emperor, then I would just have to kill him... and this was exactly the way to do it.

* * *

The sun was halfway into the horizon as I stepped out of the wreckage. Though the Mekanorimon had no souls of their own, I silently thanked them for having the parts I needed. With the same program I had used to create my robes, I had crafted the second guise of the Digimon Emperor.

It was nothing special; just a hefty, metallic block mounted on a shackle-like cylinder on each arm, and a long, shining tube rising up from my right shoulder. I have to admit, it wasn't as flashy as my original costume-and it definitely wasn't as lightweight- but it would do the job.

It had to be tested. My eyes scanned the desert and locked on to my target; the tall, wretched blackness of a control spire... the last one my craft planted before it buried itself here. Feeling re-energized, I raced to it and raised my new tools.

On my right arm, a twenty-millimeter, six-barreled, air-cooled, electrically-fired Vulcan. Streams of plasma bullets tore into the spire, chipping away its sharp edges and making it sway in the desert breeze.

On my left arm, a heavy anti-tank grenade launcher. A gray sphere about the diameter of my upper arm bounced out and exploded against the foundation, taking out a giant chunk and making it tilt.

And finally, in the shoulder cannon, a high-energy, inverted magneto laser with three different strengths and 360-degree rotation in all directions. A green beam sliced through the black tower at a diagonal and the top hit the sand before the bottom did.

I stood over my fallen child, tired and satisfied. I knew what to do now. The Digimon Emperor will kill the Digimon Emperor. I was going to make things right.

A fritzy chirp caught my attention. I turned around to see a television lying in the sand nearby, its screen depicting my room. My dedication to destruction gave way to tenderness. There was one other thing I had to make right first... No... two things.

* * *

Nothing could stop the weeping of Mrs. Ichijouji this time. Her husband was consoling her, as he often did, but this time he didn't even know the reason for it. "Please, dear..." he said quietly, "what is it? What's the matter?..."

"G-gone!..." she choked through the sobs. "He's... g-gone!..."

He swallowed. Ken was gone again? "What?" he asked. "But..."

The creak of a door made them both silent. Ken emerged from his dark room, looking no worse for wear.

"Ken!" Mrs. Ichijouji cried, shooting up and running to him.

"What just happened?" Mr. Ichijouji demanded. "Did you go somewhere?"

_She's crying again?... I... I think I understand now... She... missed me... They both missed me... They really do care... I thought they didn't, but... Someone in this world cares about me... accepts me... loves me..._

Mrs. Ichijouji forgot to breathe. Ken looked right at her, his eyes ornamented with a gleam that had never been there before. Tears started to form in them as he took a shuddering breath. "...Mama?..." he asked in a wavering, soft tone.

Both Ichijoujis gasped. Their son was looking at them again... and speaking!

"Mama..." Ken said again, his eyes spilling over. "Could you... give me... a second chance?..."

He didn't even need to ask. His mother threw her arms around him and sobbed happily. His father, tears in his eyes now, too, lay a hand on his shoulder and patted it gently.

Through the tears and the joy, Ken looked past his parents at the windowsill, where the picture of Sam stood, gazing right at him.

_It'll be fine now... You don't have to worry anymore... I'm gonna make things right, Sam... I'm gonna make things right, Wormmon..._

_I'm gonna make things right..._


	22. Disbelief Before Dishonor

**CHAPTER 22**

**DISBELIEF BEFORE DISHONOR**

Saturday night dinners- or dinners any night- had been a gross waste of time to Ken; all his parents ever talked about was him and how well he had done at something that day. Ken would usually eat half of his meal there, then take the rest and retire to his room to plan for the next day's digital conquest... but that night, things were a little bit different.

"How'd today go for you, Ken?" Mrs. Ichijouji asked her son.

Ken shrugged. "It went OK, I guess," he answered her. For the first time in a long time, he had spent the day NOT thinking about the Digital World. He had read the morning newspaper, taken a long walk, and kicked a soccer ball around the empty field. He may have recovered from his "coma," but his parents were adamant; no school until he was one hundred percent better. It felt odd, not doing his usual things... but he kind of enjoyed it. That day, he had felt like a regular kid.

Mr. Ichijouji glanced at the half-empty bowl of rice before Ken. "Is that all you've eaten?" he asked.

Ken looked at the bowl, then back at his father. "I'm... not that hungry," he tried.

"Now, Ken," Mrs. Ichijouji pressed, looking concerned; Ken had said that a lot before his ordeal, and she wasn't going to have it any more. "You've lost a lot of weight. You need to eat more than that."

"That's right," Mr. Ichijouji added. "Even if you're the smartest, most athletic kid in school, you're still growing, and you need the proper nutrition."

Ken hesitated, then looked at his bowl. Now that they mentioned it, he was still hungry... and the extra food might help when he returned to the Digital World the next day... and his parents certainly looked worried. "May I... have another half bowl, please?" he asked.

His mother smiled happily. "Of course," she said, grabbing the rice pot and pouring him a hearty serving.

As he ate, his parents talked to each other, mostly about his father's job and what was happening there. Listening to them chat about themselves and not him, Ken couldn't help but smile inside. He had forgotten how nice sharing a meal with his family could be.

* * *

The feeling at dinner may have been nice, but the feeling after dinner was anything but; Ken groaned as he felt his stomach bulging in his tight clothes. Who would have thought he would eat so much extra just to please his parents? He certainly wouldn't have just a few weeks ago... He really had changed.

The bedside clock stating that it was 9 PM, Ken slipped into his teal-colored pajamas and climbed the ladder to bed; feeling bloated made for feeling sleepy, so he figured he would turn in early. Besides, he would need to be up bright and early for what would happen tomorrow... when his conquest of his conquests would begin. He turned his lights off and fell into a light, dreamless doze.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but when a flicker of light stabbed under his eyelashes, he sensed that it wasn't morning. He quickly sat up and stared down. Why was his computer on? He had turned it off before he had gone to bed, hadn't he?...

A shadow moved in front of the light, telling him that he wasn't alone in the room. He froze and stared at the figure before his computer. It was a tall person with long, silvery hair in a loose-fitting robe, with a steepled hat perched upon his or her head. He couldn't tell much else, except that both the hat and the robe were blood red. The figure was rummaging through the drawers of his desk, as if it was looking for something.

Ken may have been only thirteen, but he knew how to spook a burglar. "HEY!" he snapped, grabbing his pillow and holding it to throw. "Who're you?"

Contrary to what he had hoped, the figure didn't bolt; in fact, it laughed ever so quietly... the voice was light and flighty, like a woman's. "I'm so sorry, Emperor... did I wake you?" she asked, sarcasm on her tongue.

Ken froze again. Emperor? Nobody knew he was the Emperor, apart from those kids... and she wasn't any of them!

She turned to him, but the darkness partially obscured her face. Ken could only make out that the computer's light was reflected where her eyes should have been. "Well, I never liked you in the first place," she went on. "Now that you've been beaten, there's no point in going back..." her thin, dark lips parted to reveal shining, white teeth. "...So don't even think about it!" she finished, more in a hiss than a voice.

Ken found enough nerve to yell and hurl the pillow, but everything went black before it hit the floor. He scrambled out of bed and turned on the light, but there was no trace of the mysterious woman. The computer was off, its screen dark.

Completely in a cold sweat, he looked around wildly. That couldn't have been a dream; his desk drawer was still open where she had been! He walked over and looked in. What was she doing there?... Perhaps she was looking for something?... Perhaps...?

He climbed back up to his bed and lifted up the pillow he had been sleeping on, and a wave of relief came over him. The black Digivice rested there, safe where he had put it. Until just tonight, though, he had always kept it in that drawer... Was that woman after it? Why?

He stared at the Digivice, then at the blackened computer screen, a frown slowly spreading over his face. The mysterious woman's warning gave him the complete opposite feeling of what it should have. If she told him not to go back to the Digital World... then he was going back to the Digital World.

* * *

"All right!" Davis called as Exveemon dropped another dozen giant logs on the sandy ground. "Keep it up an' we'll have this place fixed before ya know it!"

As Exveemon flew off for another load, Davis turned and wiped the sweat from his brow. Since school had let out that afternoon, all five of the new Digidestined had been hard at work in Suadi Arugula, the town that Kimeramon had wiped out. There had been nothing but the foundations of buildings when they had come, but thanks to the work of the kids and their new Champion-level Digimon, things were starting to take shape once again. Exveemon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon flew supplies around town, Shurimon cut the wood, TK hammered planks together, Yolei and Kari painted everything, Cody and Digmon were repairing the old sewer system beneath the city, and Davis conducted the whole operation... though most of his orders were too vague to make sense and the others did the thinking themselves.

"I don't get why we're using wood," Yolei muttered as she slopped a white coat onto a wooden wall. It was all well and good that she had sweet-talked her dad into buying the painting and hammering supplies (school project, she said), but the locale didn't fit the materials. If they were building in the desert, wouldn't all that wood just rot away really quickly?

"It's the Digital World," Kari answered, sensing Yolei's logic. "I mean, the foundations we found had wood in them, so it must have been OK before..."

Yolei thought about that, then shrugged and went back to painting. "You want my opinion, we'd be better doin' it all in stone and plaster, like pueblos," she muttered. "The locals would be glad for it!"

Kari sighed and looked around sadly. Unlike their previous repair jobs, there were no Digimon around to help them; there had been no survivors from Kimeramon's assault. A lone spire still rested atop a nearby mesa, a testament to what had happened. Strangely enough, though, Exveemon was Digivolving fine, so the kids hadn't knocked it down; they wanted to spend their energy building things, not wrecking them.

"Well, that's one building started," TK announced, breaking her from her depression. He stood below them, carrying one last long wooden plank, Patamon and Gatomon beside him. "You guys need an extra board?" he asked.

"Hey, I'll take it!" Davis called, running up with a freshly reverted Veemon behind him. "I started rebuildin' a buildin', too!"

Cody and Armadillomon appeared from behind the building. "We found a few water sources," he announced. "Tomorrow we'll finish the sewers."

Just then, the loud cry of a bird came from over the mesa, and everyone turned toward it... and TK's board sent Davis to the ground, face first. The remaining kids waved as Birdramon and Kabuterimon flew into view, Sora and Izzy visible on their backs.

Davis scrambled to his feet, not amused at all. "Dammit, TJ!" he huffed.

TK scratched his head and dropped the plank. "Sorry," he apologized.

"Well, you DID say you wanted it," Veemon pointed out.

Birdramon and Kabuterimon landed and reverted to Biyomon and Tentomon. "Evening, guys!" Izzy greeted them.

"How'd it go?" Kari asked. "Did the program work?"

Sora grinned and held up her ruby-red cell phone. "Worked like a charm," she answered. "We got the whole desert mapped out."

"Once we get home, I'll download the data into my laptop," Izzy explained, "then upload it to your D-Terminals."

"R0x0rs!" Yolei laughed, swinging her brush and flecking Kari with paint. "This is so awesome!"

Sora looked around the village. "It looks like you've been working hard, too," she said. "It's gotten off to a good start!"

TK looked around and sighed just as Kari did. Even with the work they put into it, the village was empty and ruined. "Boy..." he said, "Ken sure left a lot of messes."

Everyone grew quiet for a moment, thinking of the tyrannical Digimon Emperor and his deeds. Sora and Izzy stared at the ground. Yolei stared up at the sky. Cody's brow lowered into a disgusted scowl.

Kari kicked at the dirt, then took a breath. "I wonder what he's up to..." she said. "It's funny, but... the way he left... I feel kind of bad."

The others looked at her. "Bad?" Patamon asked. "Why?"

"Yeah," Gatomon growled, "that jerk got just what he deserved!"

Davis found himself agreeing with Kari... but not just for her sake. Ken's attitude in those last moments had really shocked him; someone he thought to be completely heartless had wept and screamed at what he had done. "I gotta wonder... Maybe he really did change, though," he said out loud.

"Well, if he did," Sora pointed out, "then why isn't he here cleaning up with the rest of us?"

TK shook his head. "I don't think he'll be showing himself again," he said. "I don't think the Digimon could forgive him for what he's done..."

Cody nodded sharply, his arms folded. "As I cannot," he said. "He hasn't changed at all."

The others looked down at him. "...We don't know that for sure," Halsemon tried.

"He's shown us what he is," Cody went on, unmoved. "Whatever kind of show he put on, the Digimon Emperor is still the Digimon Emperor. Nothing he says or does will convince me otherwise."

Armadillomon looked up at his partner questioningly. "Cody..." he said.

"Those were crocodile tears," Cody stated. "He won't change. He'll be back... and we'll regret letting him go."

There was an unpleasant silence before Sora cleared her throat. "Well... I think that's enough for today," she said. "Should we head home?"

"Sounds good to me," Patamon spoke up. "All this work's made me really hungry!"

"Don't hit the snack bar yet," TK reminded his partner. "We've gotta get Matt and Tai first."

Kari nodded. Both of their brothers had gone to survey what was north of the desert, and because neither Greymon nor Garurumon could fly, they needed a pickup. "Ready, Gatomon?" she asked.

"Again?" Gatomon asked, looking irked. "I just de-Digivolved!"

"Mom's grilling shrimp tonight," Kari said, beaming at the cat. "If you do it, I'll sneak you some extra."

Gatomon's eyes widened with joy, but she fought to keep her cool. "All right, if you insist," she said, wiping the drool from her lip.

Patamon and Gatomon once again changed to Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, and the two flew off into the sky with their partners.

"The portal's just outside of town," Cody reported, pointing south. "Let's go."

"Well, see you tomorrow, Sora," Biyomon said, nudging her partner's leg.

Sora patted the bird on the head. "We'll call you tomorrow so you know where to meet us," she told her.

Tired and sweaty, the remaining kids and their partners trudged out of the ghost town and warped back to the school computer lab.

* * *

The wall clock read 5:45; the janitor would be cleaning out the bathrooms, but they still went out the doors very quietly. "It's a good thing we're meeting at Tai's tomorrow," Sora muttered as they crept. "All this sneaking around is starting to make me feel guilty."

"Oh, yeah..." Davis muttered, recalling what he had forgotten. Since tomorrow was Sunday, the kids had decided to put Izzy's knowledge to good use, and all meet at Kari's apartment instead of sneaking into the school lab. Everyone was going to be there... except Mimi, of course... but that pink, perfumed bitch could sit on a rusty tack for all he cared.

As they left the building, Yolei heard Izzy sigh. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Izzy thought fast. He couldn't let the new kids know about Gennai yet; no need to worry them. "I... there's someone in the Digital World I've been trying to contact," he said, motioning to the old laptop in his hands. "I got a message from him once before, but since them..."

She scratched her head. Who did Izzy know in the Digital World, aside from Tentomon? "Well, maybe that little lappy isn't powerful enough to pick up signals," she suggested. "Maybe you need something bigger!"

Seeing she had his attention, she grinned. "The supercomputer in Metal City!" she announced. "That thing was huge!"

"Yes," Poromon recalled. "It was large enough to control all of the Gardromon; perhaps its communications systems are just as potent."

Izzy was genuinely impressed. Why hadn't he thought of that? "All right," he said. "Tomorrow I'll go there and investigate. Thanks."

Yolei beamed; she always felt giddy after being acknowledged by her mentor. "Glad I could help!" she chirped. "Now, how about dinner? It's Saturday night; let's all hit a burger joint!"

"Wheee!" Demiveemon cried, bouncing up and down in Davis's grip. "Burger! Burger! Burger!... Wait, what's a burger?"

Upamon looked thrilled, but Cody shook his head. "I can't," he stated, turning to leave. "If I hurry, I can have a private kendo lesson tonight."

"Oh... Well, have fun," Sora said, waving after him.

As Cody walked off into the sunset, Upamon gave an irritated cry. "Cody!" he huffed, bouncing angrily in Cody's pack. "You're turning down fries for shinais? What about me?"

"Discipline must be in everything," Cody replied. "If you're quiet, I'll buy a sushi pack at Yolei's store afterwards."

Upamon sighed and sank to the bottom of the bag. In his mind, sushi was hardly a substitute for a cheeseburger and a piping hot mound of french fries.

Just then, a brisk October wind kicked up, and a page of newspaper flapped off of the ground and hugged Cody's legs. He pried the page off and was about to toss it in a nearby recycling booth when his eye caught the front article's titles:

**BOY GENIUS RETURNS HOME!**

***Ken Ichijouji, gone missing for over a month, reappears at his home as mysteriously as he vanished***

His eyes narrowed as a gray picture of Ken- the Digimon Emperor- smirked up at him. He knew it! They hadn't seen the last of that wretch! He had gone home to come up with a new plan! He had been soundly defeated, and in a moment of weakness, they had just let him walk away!

The whole paper shrank into a crumpled mess before being hurled into the bin. No mercy next time, Cody pledged. The next time he saw that dishonorable vermin, a thrashing was the least he would dispense, no matter what the others said! With that, he strode off angrily towards home.

* * *

The sun sank and the moon rose. The brisk wind changed to a cold one... but inside the police station the air was thick and hot with sweat. Two combatants took up the whole kendo room with their sparring, the larger one constantly on the defensive against the smaller one, a flip of the usual roles.

Cody cried out with renewed energy as he swung at his sensei's helmet, imagining the Emperor's shaded head in its place. Again and again he swung at it, feeling the crack of his opponent's defending sword. That disgusting fiend had dishonored his family, his school, and himself all in one battle... and it would not happen again. When the Emperor returned, he would best him soundly... if he could just become stronger!

Changing his tactics, he swung to the side and caught his sensei by surprise... but not enough surprise to defeat him; he hopped to the side and his shinai came down with a thundering cry of "MEN!" Cody sucked in his breath as he awaited the blow...

...But only a tap on the top of the helmet awaited him. Chikara Hida stepped back, a smile visible beneath his sweaty mustache. "Excellent, Iori!" he said. "That is enough for now. Never before tonight have I seen you move with such zeal!"

Cody was ashamed that he had been stopped in his tracks... but now that he wasn't moving, fatigue set in. A break was very much needed. "Y... yes, sir..." he wheezed. "Thank you, sensei."

After some cool-down exercises, Cody peeled off his heavy armor and gently placed it in on the floor beside his duffel bag, then removed his sweat-soaked bandanna. Since he had left Upamon in his room, he didn't need to worry about squishing his little friend today... but he had to respect kendo rules about his equipment. How refreshing the stale air felt after being trapped in that sweltering suit!

"Let us have a drink," Chikara said, sitting down beside him and reaching into his own bag. "I brought something new today."

Cody blinked. Did his stalwart, rigid grandfather just say something 'new?'

Instead of the usual purple prune juice packs, the old man produced two tan juice packs with pictures of apples on them. "It's called apple cider," he said. "It's what they drink in America around this time of year, to celebrate their fall harvests."

"Cider?..." Cody asked. He was genuinely baffled. His grandfather always drank prune juice! Nothing else matched its nutrients and proven healthy benefits! If he knew of such an awesome drink, why would he even bother trying something new and unknown?

"I must admit, I was skeptical at first," Chikara went on, as if he could read Cody's thoughts. "I'm set in my ways, and I'm wary of foreign products... but the other day I threw caution to the wind and tried it..." he paused and put the squeeze pack's opening to his mouth, then sighed. "Now, lo and behold, apple cider is one of my favorite drinks!"

Cody looked down at the pack, then unscrewed the top and drank a bit; if his grandfather liked it, then it had to be good. It was like apple juice, but thicker and more tart. It was kind of sticky, but as usual, grandpa was right; it really was good.

Chikara smiled at him. "You see, Iori," he said, "if we keep our minds open to new possibilities and pursue knowledge and experience, we never stop growing."

Cody sipped the drink again, the words floating through his mind. An open mind? Growing?

* * *

The evenings of the other Digidestined were not filled with such inspiring events. After being bested in a fry-scarfing contest by Yolei, Davis and Demiveemon had retired home to work on their newest model airplane. Now Davis stared at his partner with a smug look; Demiveemon's right paw was pressed firmly to his embarrassed face. "So..." Davis cackled, leaning back in his chair, "what did we learn tonight?"

Demiveemon sighed. "When you get glue on your hands..." he muttered in a nasally tone, "don't pick your nose."

Davis grinned. "That's right," he said. "Now stay still while I get a hot washcloth."

* * *

"Guhhh... Oh, yeah..." Yolei groaned at the rhythmic thumping on her back. "Lower... lower!"

Poromon scooted a bit further down his partner's back and resumed hopping. After returning home from cleaning Davis's clock in a fry-eating contest, Yolei had gone straight to her room, her face green. When he had asked if he could help in any way, she had asked him to do just what he was doing... though he didn't understand why. She was moaning and groaning, and yet she didn't want him to stop? "Are you sure the food didn't make you silly?" he asked.

"Just... keep quiet... errgh... and keep bouncing lower!" she groaned. "You just... don't understand the fine art... of massage!"

"What's that?" Poromon asked, going a little further down her back, almost to where her legs began.

"Basically... ungh..." Yolei gasped, "by applying pressure... the body relaxes!... Oohhhh..."

A loud, rude noise split the air and Poromon squawked in revulsion, flying to the other side of the room. "Hey, where're you going?" she asked, sitting up. "Get back here!"

"Forget it!" he snapped. "There's such a thing as being TOO relaxed! Good night!" With that, he dove into his clothing nest and disappeared.

She sighed sadly. It was nice while it lasted.

* * *

TK sat back in his desk chair, looking down with satisfaction at several stacks of paper. He had been meaning to organize all of his writings for quite some time; a thin cloud of dust floated through the whole room.

He often had quick little thoughts that sounded cool, and jotted them down and stuck them in his desk... but over the years, his pile of "brain goo" got bigger and bigger, and he never found a good use for it. Now that he had spent a good hour sorting them into different themes and ideas, at least it looked cleaner. He sighed. If he could just learn to write coherently, maybe he could do something with it all... As he thought, he let out a loud belch; Kari, Tai, Matt and he had all joined the others at the restaurant, and he was stuffed.

From his spot on the desk, Patamon's nose twitched; the burp must have pushed a speck of the dust into the wrong place. He reeled back, then lurched forward in a powerful sneeze, and the perfect, organized piles took flight.

TK watched it snow paper for a few moments, then just sighed, laughed and shook his head.

* * *

"...So, if Y is six, and Y equals two X plus seven, then that means X is a negative one half," Kari finished, jotting it all down in her notebook; even on the weekend she diligently did her homework before anything else. "OK, I'm done!" she said, slamming the book shut.

Gatomon usually hopped up beside her when she announced she was finished, but tonight the cat was absent. Surprised, she looked down and laughed out loud at what she saw.

Gatomon sat on the carpet, licking her gloved paws and rubbing them behind her ears. On Kari's laugh, she looked up in terror. "I... uh..." she stammered.

"I've never seen you bathe before!" Kari giggled. "It's so cute!"

Gatomon harrumphed, her whiskered cheeks reddening. "Don't you mention this to anyone," she muttered.

"Oh, don't be mad," Kari said. "You're a cat Digimon, so I figured you bathed like a real one... I've just never seen it before!"

Gatomon got back on her feet, folding her arms; she hated being thought of as on the same level as a normal cat. "Yeah, well, if you think this is an excuse to put ribbons in my fur or give me 'din-dins' in a bowl, think again!" she huffed.

There was an energetic meow at the door, and a fully-grown orange-and-white tabby pushed its way into the room. Kari beamed; it was Miko, the family cat. "He must've heard you say 'din-dins,'" she chuckled.

Miko padded up to Gatomon and paced around her, looking at her and sniffing curiously. She swallowed; she didn't know why, but his actions were making her nervous. "Wha... what're you doing?" she demanded.

Kari laughed. "Don't worry, Gatomon," she snickered, "he's been neutered!"

She looked at her partner, baffled. "And what does THAT mean?" she asked.

With a playful meow, Miko bumped his head into her stomach. Gatomon's eyes glazed over for a moment, and then her cheeks swelled. Miko ran from the loud, grating hack as she ejected a slimy, gray wad onto the carpet.

Kari was laughing so hard that tears gushed from her eyes. Gatomon went even redder. How humiliating: one of the most powerful partners of the Digidestined... being caught bathing and ralphing hairballs. She snorted and folded her arms, sitting cross-legged on the carpet. At least she scared him off.

Kari pulled herself back up, grinning from ear to ear. "So, should I clean that up, or will you?" she chuckled.

Muttering to herself, Gatomon headed to the bathroom to get some toilet paper.

* * *

"Carrots, honey, noodles..." Joe muttered as he walked the dark street, listing the contents of his grocery bag. "Celery, tea, and a box of Italian ice... Yeah! That's everything."

He turned a corner and his mind turned with it, compiling a list of things he had to do the next day... but only one thing was on it: go to the Digital World with everyone else. By some freak occurrence, he had no tests on Monday, which meant he was free of the yoke of studying to help his friends. That made him feel really good; he was worried that he hadn't been pulling his weight as of late, and now was the perfect time to pick it back up.

His weight wasn't the only thing he had to pick up. As he turned the next corner, he crashed right into someone and fell to the pavement, his groceries bouncing out of the paper sack. "Watch where you're going!" a familiar voice snapped.

He pulled the bag away from his face and swallowed. Mimi Tachikawa stood over him, looking as irritated as usual. Oddly, her usual cheerleading posse was nowhere in sight. "Oh... Hi, Mimi," he said sheepishly.

She blinked a few times, then looked at the spilled groceries. "...Sorry," she mumbled.

Joe's cheeks reddened, though he hoped the dark hid it. "Oh, don't worry about it," he said. "I'm just glad I wasn't buying a watermelon!"

Mimi gathered a few of the groceries and put them back in his bag. Joe smiled; at least she was still nice enough to help fix her mistakes... when her group was gone, anyway. "Thanks," he said as he collected the rest of them. "Say... what're you doing out so late?"

She scowled. She could have explained that she was in a rotten mood because she had just been dumped by this blockheaded jock who said she was "too phony" for him... but Joe didn't need to know that. "That's none of your business," she huffed.

"Well... I, um, I know town isn't a hundred percent safe..." he pointed out, sweat starting to trickle under his jacket, "and it's pretty... dark to be walking out here alone... Would you... um... l-like me to walk with you? Just, just until you get home, I mean!"

She really didn't feel like having anyone else around... but he did have a point. God knew how many creeps lurked in this city, just waiting for some unsuspecting little beauty to come along. If she was with Joe, at least she'd have a running start while he got pummeled. "Oh, OK..." she sighed, "but don't think this means anything! It doesn't!"

"Right..." he muttered, shifting the bag's weight. "Now... your place is west, right?"

They walked across the street in stony silence. Joe decided he'd at least try to talk with her; after all, how many chances like this does a person get? "I, uh, hear it's going to snow early this year," he tried. "Guess we'll be having a white Christmas."

"Hmmph," Mimi replied.

He cleared his throat and tried again. "Halloween's coming up," he said. "You have a costume party to go to?"

"Three," she stated, her tone a little softer. "I don't know how I'm going to get three costumes on a budget like mine, though."

He sighed; maybe the old Mimi wasn't as far away as he thought... There was one way to find out. "Hey..." he started, "the Digimon Emperor's gone... Kari and the others beat him."

She stopped walking and looked at him, her eyes wide. "They did?" she asked. "Then... Palmon...?"

"She's safe and sound, from what Sora told me," he went on, smiling himself. This was great; when she looked at him with that energy and excitement, she looked just like she did all those years ago. "Of course, before they beat him, he wrecked a lot of stuff... and things are pretty messy there right now..." he continued. "We've been cleaning up, and the rest of us are going there tomorrow to do some more..." He turned to her. "Do you want to come?"

Her face had changed to one of revulsion and even a little sadness. "What?" she hissed. "No!"

Joe visibly jumped. Even with the reaction before, she refused to help? He felt himself getting angry; why wouldn't she help? "Mimi..." he said, trying to control his temper, "don't you care?"

"No, I don't," she sniffed, folding her arms and walking faster.

"What about Palmon, or all your other Digimon friends?" he asked, trying to keep up. He wanted to stay calm, but the chase just made him angrier. "You made so many of them! How can you just-"

"Leave me alone!" she snapped. "All of you freaks just... leave me alone!"

With that, she ran down the sidewalk, turned a corner and was gone. Joe stopped and fell against the side of a building, gasping for air. This happened every time... Did Mimi have some sort of hatred for the Digital World... or just for him? He sighed and stared into his grocery stack. Was it even worth trying to talk with her?

* * *

His lesson over for the night, Cody went home to his room, where Upamon zealously dug into the sushi platter he had brought; despite his thoughts earlier, this stuff was really good. "Oh, man!" the little yellow ball gasped as he inhaled another roll,"this is the best food ever!"

Cody stared at his shinai, tapping it on the side of his desk. His grandfather's words still occupied his mind, and he turned them over and over, looking for some way to apply it to his own life. What was there to keep an open mind about? He knew about the Digital World and all the oddity that came from it; wasn't his mind open enough?

"Hey, Cody," Upamon piped up, his mouth brown from soy sauce, "when we finish with the town tomorrow, let's put in a sushi restaurant!"

Cody's eyes narrowed at the tip of his weapon, then leaned it against the wall and left to brush his teeth. Yes, they had to rebuild everything that dishonorable Emperor had wrecked. "Damn him..." he said to himself as he spat out the toothpaste. When he returned, the fiend would answer dearly.

* * *

Davis usually spent Sunday morning buried under his bedroom covers, but this one was an unwanted exception. Though he looked like one of the living dead, he sat hunched on the couch in the Yagami apartment, waiting for everyone else to be ready.

Kari's parents had gone out already, and most everybody had arrived. Sora, Yolei and Kari were in the kitchen, making bag lunches for everyone involved. Izzy was quietly typing on his laptop on the floor. Matt was out on the apartment balcony, playing some nameless blues tune on his old harmonica, and TK was out there listening to it. The Digimon were laughing and playing around and under the living room table, though Poromon was helping in the kitchen, and Demiveemon sat next to his partner with the same drugged look. Miko the cat padded around their legs, amazed at how many people were in his house... and yet none of them were paying attention to him.

"Good grief," Tai said, looking over at his star player as the morning news ended, "what's up with you?"

Davis answered with a sigh, releasing a fine haze of morning mouth. Sundays weren't meant for being up so early.

"Every time we're in the Digital World... we're a wreck the next morning," Demiveemon pointed out, stifling a yawn of his own.

"Maybe it's all the excitement from the fighting and stuff," Sora suggested from the kitchen.

Yolei scoffed beside her. "He just stays up too late," she muttered. "Always playin' with those stupid model airplanes..."

"But you stay up late too," Poromon pointed out. "You always-"

He stopped himself at a bop to the head.

"OK, that's it!" Kari announced, folding over the last paper sack. At lunch, everybody would have a freshly-made chicken sandwich and an apple, plus a can of fizzy water.

Yolei counted the lunches, then looked around the apartment. "Uh, Kari, you made too many,"

"No, she didn't," Sora said. "There's one for each person."

"What?" Demiveemon objected, jumping up from the couch. "We have to share?"

"I'm serious!" Yolei said, ignoring him. "You've got two extra bags!"

"That's because-" Kari began.

"There're ten bags there, and we only have eight!" Yolei pursued, starting to point to each person. "There's you, me, Sora, Tai, Davis, Matt, TK, Izzy..." She drifted off, thinking hard; was someone missing?

There was a knock at the door, and Tai answered it. Joe and Cody walked into the apartment, Upamon trailing behind them. "Oh, good!" Tai said. "We were wondering where you guys were!"

"Sorry," Joe apologized. "I figured I'd pick Cody up and shuttle him here... and I got to talking with his grandfather, so..."

As Yolei's cheeks went red, Kari and Sora grabbed the lunches and started passing them around. Having finished that, they all piled into Kari's room to begin their trip. Davis was still groggy, but he knew where he was, and just being there filled him with excitement... What a bummer that there were eight extra people there.

"OK, so do we have the plan for today?" Tai asked.

"You, Matt, Joe and I are going to survey the whole western part of Server, right?" Sora asked.

Yolei looked at Izzy. "You aren't going to help?" she asked.

Izzy smiled at her. "I'm taking your advice, actually," he said. "I'm meeting Tentomon and Andromon in Metal City."

She beamed at him, squeezing Poromon tight enough to make him wheeze. He took her advice! He was the most awesome teacher in the world!

"Meanwhile, we're going back to Suadi Arugula to keep fixing stuff," TK said, motioning to his younger friends.

"Good," Tai said. "We'll all rondevous there when we're finished. Kari, you wanna do the honors?"

Kari opened the Digital Gate on her computer and raised her D3. Tai, Matt, Joe and Sora held up their Digivices and vanished, and then Izzy did the same. Finally, the younger generation pulled out their D3s and disappeared.

From his sleeping spot on the couch, Miko looked up in surprise. Why was it suddenly so quiet?

* * *

If Davis had just come to Suadi Arugula that day, he never could have guessed it was a ghost town before. The streets of the town were covered with little, red, jiggling Digimon with bright, happy eyes. A loud chorus of "Hi! Hi! Hi!" greeted the kids as they stepped into town.

"Woah!" Yolei gasped at the gelatinous little things. "What're they?"

"Punimon," Patamon replied. "They're baby Digimon... They turn into Tsunomon, then Gabumon!"

Cody scratched his head. "And... how did they get here?" he asked.

TK quietly seconded that. It was a good question; he had been to Primary Village, but it was back on File Island. How could all these babies travel across a sea and beyond?

Hawkmon cleared his throat. "Perhaps, because we've begun to repair the town," he suggested, "the Digital World itself is repairing the populace."

Yolei's eyes lit up. "Ooh! Ooh!" she gasped. "Like when you build something in a conquest game! Suddenly, there's a whole bunch of people in it!"

"Err... I guess..." he muttered.

"So..." Armadillomon tried, "if we fix the LAND the Emperor messed up, then the Digimon'll come back on their own?"

The throng of Punimon jumped up and down and cheered happily, as if they were agreeing. "Well, that's pretty cool," Veemon chuckled.

"Sounds like a plan," TK chuckled. "Let's get to work so these Punimon have places to live."

Davis winced at the volume of the bouncy red Digimon; their energy was starting to annoy him. "Little buggers're a pain in the ass..." he muttered under his breath.

He noticed Kari nuzzling one of them. "Aww, you're such a cutie," she cooed to it.

"...Yeah!" he laughed loudly, his face going red. "That's exactly what I was just saying!"

Yolei scoffed; sure he was...

"OK!" Veemon laughed, pumping his fists. "Let's get to Digivolvin'!"

"Right!" Davis exclaimed, raising his D3. "Go to it!"

"Veemon, Digivolve to..." Veemon called out... but nothing happened. The D3 remained quiet, and the blue lizard remained exactly the same.

There was an unpleasant silence. "...Any time now, Veemon," Davis growled.

Veemon strained, but he still didn't change. "Uh...?" he squeaked.

Davis held up the D3 one more time, but still nothing happened. "What the hell?" he yelled, angrily shaking the gizmo and pushing all the buttons really fast. Still, everything stayed the same.

Even Veemon was upset now. "WHY CAN'T I DIGIVOLVE?" he demanded loudly. "TELL ME WHYYYYYYYYYYY?... OK, I'm done." He hung his head, defeated.

The others were just as confused as Davis and Veemon were. "I don't get it," Armadillomon said. "I mean, ya did it just fine yesterday..."

"I know!" Davis huffed. "And here I went to all the trouble of makin' him a big breakfast, too!"

"Perhaps he ate too much, then?..." Hawkmon suggested, "or maybe something isn't agreeing with him... Veemon, did you eat any bad chocolate, perchance?"

Veemon shook his head. "No such thing," he replied.

"He's got you there," Yolei chuckled, nudging Hawkmon.

As the others argued amongst themselves, TK cast a wary eye up at the control spire on the ridge. Yesterday, that thing didn't seem to have any effect on their Digimon, but today... His mind drifted back to what had happened on File Island when he was with Tai and Matt; were the spires turning on and off on their own?... or were they _being_ turned on and off?

He turned back to the others, who were listening Davis and Veemon make up excuse after excuse for the lack of power. "Uh, yeah, Hawkmon's right; I musta ate too much!" Veemon said. "Tomorrow I'll only have THREE helpings of pancakes!"

"THREE?" Davis yelled, turning on his partner. "So THAT'S why there weren't any left! Jun was pissed, ya know!"

The others huddled together muttering (Yolei muttering louder and angrier than the others). "OK, group decision!" Kari announced as they broke.

"Yeah?" Davis asked. "What?"

Hawkmon looked at his partner. "Go on, Yolei, tell them," he urged.

Yolei grimaced. It was hard to be a spokesperson for something she didn't believe in, but she didn't have much choice. "We've... decided..." she began, dragging each syllable through her teeth, "that because you two... have been working SO hard... you deserve... a break... today."

"What?" Veemon exclaimed. "For real?"

Davis frowned. "No way, you guys," he protested. "We came to work, so we're gonna work! I'll just use Flamedramon or something, and-"

"No, really!" Kari said. "You guys relax; we'll do all the work."

Davis beamed, growing red. "Well, if you insist..." he chuckled.

Yolei made an exasperated raspberry.

"I'm going back to digging," Cody said, turning and heading for where he was working the day before. "Come on, Armadillomon."

Davis was a little annoyed that they were telling him not to work, but hey, if Kari wanted him to relax, he'd go limp as a wet noodle. "Well, I don't wanna be the only one relaxin'..." he cackled, scratching his head. "Kari, how's about you take some time off too and-"

Kari was already walking away, TK and their Digimon at her sides. His daydream smashed abruptly. "HEY!" he exclaimed. "Where're you two goin'?"

"Just out of town for a bit," TK said, turning back. "There's something I need to check out."

"We won't be too long," Patamon assured them.

"I'm curious, too, so..." Kari added. With that, they turned and started off.

Davis had to keep himself from screaming. "Then, uh, I'll go, too!" he declared. "Veemon!"

"Woah there, cowboy!" Yolei huffed, her gloves clamping down on his shoulders. "Three's a crowd!... Well, six in this case, but you know what I mean!"

"But... but... but..." he whined. He was breathing so fast, he thought he might faint.

Though she was disgusted at his obsession with Kari, seeing Davis in this state gave Yolei the perfect idea. "Hey, if ya wanna impress Kari..." she said with a wry smile, "I know a much better way than trying to one-up TK again."

Davis's eyebrow went up. She may have been a stinky moron, but Yolei was a girl, too; maybe she knew some secret trick? "I'm listening..." he grunted.

* * *

Five minutes found Davis fuming at Yolei over the swarm of bouncing, laughing baby Digimon. The Punimon cheered and danced around, as happy as can be.

"Hah!" Veemon cackled; the dozens of little babies hopping around him made for a funny sight. "You guys kill me!"

"Hell no!" Davis yelled. "I ain't no babysitter!"

"Watch your mouth," Hawkmon warned. "Children are very sensitive."

"Besides, Cody can't do it," Yolei explained, "and I can't either. Since you're not working, you can keep an eye on them!"

Davis frowned. "They were doin' fine before we got here," he grunted. "What's this gonna do for me and Kari, anyway?"

She scowled; he was even thicker than she thought. "OK, lemme spell it out for you," she said. "If Kari sees you taking good care of these Punimon, she'll think you have great fatherhood skills! Girls love a guy with those!"

"FATHERHOOD?" Davis yelled, his eyes bugging. "I'm only thirteen!"

"Never too young to start!" she countered. "Now, hop to it!"

The babies bounced up and down happily as Yolei and Hawkmon walked away. Davis sighed angrily; he would rather think about the _fun_ parts of romance, not the results of it.

Veemon, though, had other ideas. "They really like us, Davith," he pointed out. "Might be fun!"

The little bouncing Punimon did look pretty happy to see them... and maybe there was something to those "fatherhood skills..." Davis looked at the red mass, then sighed. "OK, OK..." he grumbled. "You guys, uh, wanna play a game?"

The positive response was high-pitched and almost deafening. Like a reverse avalanche, the Punimon bounded on top of the two, dragging them to the ground and hopping happily on their stomachs and faces. Davis wheezed; what kind of day off was this?

* * *

"Boy..." Garurumon growled as he bit his way through another set of bushes, "these woods go on forever!"

"That's what the woods are like," Matt answered, looking around. "You think they never end... That's why they're dangerous; you could wander in them all your life, never knowing where you are..."

Joe coughed awkwardly. "Hey, don't talk like that!" he complained. "You're creeping me out!"

Matt chuckled wryly at the older boy's discomfort. "A jazz musician has to get his inspiration somewhere," he replied.

"Well, get your inspiration quietly, could ya?" Ikkakumon grumbled. "I've got enough problems going through here on foot... and there's sap all over my fur now!"

From his perch on Greymon's shoulder, Tai breathed in the deep scent of fresh pine and sighed; it was good to be back in the Digital World, all limits removed. Despite Matt's buzzkilling talks, he was enjoying himself a lot. It was true that they had been wandering in this woods for a while now, but he wasn't concerned. Sora and Birdramon were flying overhead, ready to guide them out if they needed it. Everything was just fine.

"I'm just glad we can travel now," Greymon rumbled. "It's a good thing the Emperor didn't get this far!"

He was right about that, Tai thought; the new kids had stopped Ken before he reached the far edges of the Digital World, and they hadn't seen any control spires for hours. Thanks to that, they had covered a lot of ground so far today. Tai's cell phone was almost out of memory, he had surveyed so much of the land.

"Did we all have to come the same way today?" Matt asked, sounding annoyed. "The Emperor's gone. We could split up and cover even more ground."

"There's safety in numbers," Joe answered. "We don't know how the Digital World looks anymore..."

"Actually, we never got out this far the first time, did we?" Tai asked, turning to his friends.

Joe and Matt looked at each other; Tai was right about that. As soon as Myotismon went to the real world, the kids had been forced to cut their trip short to go after him... and by the time they had returned, the Dark Masters had distorted the Digital World into the tall, menacing Spiral Mountain. This place was completely new to them.

"Well, I still don't like not knowing where we are..." Joe sighed, looking up at the forest canopy. "Sora! Are we getting close to an exit?"

To his dismay, no answer came. "Sora?" he tried again. "Hey!"

Tai's worries returned as quickly as they had gone. "Sora?" he called out.

Matt looked ahead and his eyes widened. "STOP!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Before the boys could ask why, the Digimon stepped out of the woods... and almost fell right off a sheer cliff! Greymon reared back, throwing Tai off his head. Ikkakkumon cried out and fell backwards, sending Joe rolling into a tree. All three Digimon were so surprised, they reverted to their Rookie forms.

Matt walked to the edge and looked down. What he saw made his stomach shudder. Both beneath the cliff and past it were the same thick, gray clouds; nothing could be seen beyond them. It looked like the literal end of the world.

"Woah..." Tai said, joining him at the edge. "Looks like Columbus was wrong!"

"Thanks for the warning..." Joe thanked Matt, rubbing at his sore back.

"Hey! You guys!" a familiar voice called.

The boys looked up to see Birdramon fly in from over the woods, a concerned Sora hanging onto one of her talons. "Sora!" Tai called. "Great timing!"

Matt was not in a joking mood. "Where'd you go?" he demanded. "We almost went off this cliff!"

"I'm sorry!" she apologized. "We lost track of you!"

"Next time we'll send up flares," Agumon suggested.

"Either way, it looks like this is it," Joe said, pointing at the clouds. "Looks like we've found the end of the Digital World!"

Sora looked down and her grip on Birdramon's leg tightened. She thought the Digital World was round, like Earth... Could it really be a drop into nothing?

Birdramon peered into the clouds, her sharp bird eyes making out a dark shape within them. "Maybe it's not the absolute end," she said. "Sora, I can see something out there..."

"What?" Sora asked.

Birdramon furiously flapped her wings and the clouds parted a little bit. Everyone gasped; a big chunk of land was floating out in the void, with what looked like a huge temple built on it.

"What IS that?..." Joe asked.

Gomamon shrugged. "Beats me," he said, sounding equally mystified.

"Well, we came to survey, didn't we?" Matt asked. "Sora! Birdramon! Can you check it out?"

"Be careful!" Tai cautioned.

Sora looked back at her friends and nodded. Birdramon gave a cry and flew towards the land mass, now vanishing back into the haze.

As they reached the cloud barrier, though, the wind picked up a freezing chill and a deafening howl. Sora almost lost her grip as shards of snow and ice pelted her from every side. Birdramon flailed about wildly, shrieking in shock and pain.

"SORA!" Tai yelled, his heart skipping.

"Get back!" Gabumon called. "Get back here!"

Somehow, Birdramon managed to pull away from the freak blizzard and slowly fluttered back to the cliffside. She collapsed on the ground and reverted to Biyomon, Sora shivering and coughing beside her. Bits of snow hung in her hair, and her caramel skin had whitened almost to Matt's color.

"What the hell was that?" Matt asked.

"I... I d-don't know!" Sora managed. "We... we were just flying, and..."

"Try not to talk," Joe warned her, reaching for his med kit. "I have a blanket in here, I think..."

Tai knelt down beside his friend, looking her over. "Are you OK?" he asked quietly.

She answered with a sneeze. "I'm fine..." she managed. "Just... cold."

Biyomon got to her feet and shook off her own icy flakes. "I feel like a grocery store turkey!" she griped.

Matt scowled out at the mysterious floating island. "We can't go any further this way," he declared. "I think that's enough for today."

"C'mon, let's rest in the woods," Agumon piped up. "I'll build a fire."

As Joe draped the blanket over Sora's shoulders, Tai helped her to her feet. "Yeah, that sounds good," he agreed. "We'll get you two warmed up in no time!"

"Wait..." Sora said, looking back at the clouds. "Get it on the map... We should tell Izzy."

As Tai led the others back into the woods, Matt raised his phone and activated the mapping program. An image of the dark, cloud-wrapped island appeared on his screen. With that, they turned and left.

"What do you think it could be?..." Gabumon asked.

Matt was silent, the scowl still on his face. Some mysteries in the Digital World, it seemed, just could not be solved.

* * *

Izzy stared up at the shining dome before him, at a complete loss for words. Yolei had told him what Metal City looked like, but her words didn't come close to what his eyes told him. It was far more elaborate than the Digital World technology that he had seen before: perfectly symmetrical, completely contained, and reflective against the desert's heat... It was right out of his science fiction books.

"I wouldn't be too excited," Tentomon spoke up next to him. "Aside from Andromon and the Gardromon, nobody else lives here."

The boy snapped out of his daydream and focused on the task at hand. He walked up to the city doors and knocked loudly. "Hello!" he called. "Andromon? Are you there?"

With a slow hiss, the doors slid open to reveal the tall, silver Andromon. He peered at the two of them for a moment, his circuits whirring, and then he smiled warmly. "Izzy. Tentomon. How nice to see you," he stated.

Izzy smiled. Kabuterimon and he had once saved Andromon from one of Devimon's black gears. It felt great to know that he hadn't been forgotten. "Nice to see you too, Andromon," he said.

"What can I do for you?" Andromon asked. "You look like you're on an important errand."

"We heard you have a pretty big computer," Tentomon spoke up. "Could we try using it for something, please?"

"Certainly," Andromon answered, turning. "Please, follow me."

They walked through the gray city towards the central computer's building. Tentomon had been right, Izzy observed; the only creatures he saw were Gardromon, shuffling along stiffly like palace sentries. There were no plants or trees; everything was the same shade of gray. He also noticed that there were no fire hydrants or traffic lights. Though it looked like the perfect city, it was obviously designed for robots, not humans. Nothing was perfect, he guessed.

Andromon opened the door and Izzy looked up in astonishment. The central computer stretched right up to the ceiling; the spire that Yolei had broken had been replaced with a tall, gray block with thousands of flashing lights and nodes. "Here it is," Andromon said. "You may access it through the console at the bottom."

Izzy walked to the console, plugged in his old laptop and started typing, just as he'd done in the Emperor's throne room. "Whoo!" Tentomon gasped at the readout on both screens. "Sure are a lot of numbers! Maybe we CAN find Gennai with it!"

"What are you looking for?" Andromon asked.

"Gennai tried to contact me, but the transmission was horrible," Izzy explained without taking his eyes from his work. "I want to try and find where he was sending from so we can meet him in person."

Andromon nodded. His own databanks didn't have much information on Gennai, but he knew enough to see how important it was. "Can I assist you in any way?" he asked.

"Yeah," Izzy said, turning and motioning for him to come over. "Use that console and run the first half of its transmission-tracing procedures, and I'll run the second half from my laptop."

The sound of four hands typing filled the chamber. Tentomon fluttered down next to Izzy, bored already. "Izzy, can I eat your lunch?" he asked.

"Suit yourself," Izzy replied, not looking at him. He was too busy watching every piece of data flowing into his computer. Would this help him find Gennai?

* * *

Just outside of town, TK, Kari and their partners stopped. "Is this like what happened before?" Kari asked him.

TK scratched his head. "Well, yes and no..." he admitted. "I mean, yesterday Veemon Digivolved without any problems..." He looked at Patamon. "Patamon, can you try Digivolving?" he asked.

"OK!" Patamon agreed. He strained his little body and flapped his wings wildly... but nothing happened aside from his sinking to the ground, panting and wheezing.

"I'll take that as a 'no can do,'" Gatomon muttered.

TK frowned at the spire on the mesa. "It's definitely active right now," he confirmed.

"But what does it mean?..." Kari asked, looking concerned.

"It could be something to do with that 'new enemy' you think is around..." Gatomon pointed out darkly.

Kari swallowed. "Should we tell the others?" she asked.

TK thought for a moment, then shook his head. "We don't want to get them worried," he said.

"But isn't it better to be looking out for trouble instead of being surprised?" Patamon asked.

TK sighed. "Normally I'd say yes, but when I think about how they would react..." he said. "Davis and Yolei would tear the place up looking for this enemy, and Cody still thinks Ken's going to attack again..."

She felt bad that they couldn't trust their new friends with these worries, but she could understand TK's point, too. "OK..." she resigned, "but shouldn't we at least destroy the spire? Let Veemon Digivolve?"

"I wouldn't mind breaking another one," Gatomon said, folding her arms. "Let's do it!"

TK nodded and they raised their D3... but before they could do anything else, a freak windstorm kicked up, hurling dust and sand at every part of them. They all yelled and covered their faces as the screaming winds ripped and tore at their bodies.

Then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped... but it seemed darker. TK pulled his hands away from his eyes and gasped; they were completely surrounded by tall, black control spires! The wicked pillars were so tightly bunched together, they couldn't see any of the landscape except for what was directly above them. "What the?" he cried out.

The others gave similar reactions. "This isn't funny!" Patamon yelled.

Kari looked around, worried. "Did... Ken do this?" she asked.

Gatomon hissed angrily. "No kidding!" she snarled. "Who else uses these things?"

TK looked at his D3 and scowled. "Well, we were going to Armor Digivolve anyway," he said. "Let's bust out of here!"

As the sounds of Pegasusmon and Nefertimon blasting away control spires drifted out of the black, shining forest, a mysterious figure in a blood-red robe and steepled hat chuckled quietly. That would keep those busybodies occupied. Her shaded eyes picked out the spire atop the mesa and her purple lips curled into a sneer. It was time for some fun in town.

* * *

"OK! OK! Now keep it up! Don't let it hit the ground!" Davis called, racing through the stampeding throng of Punimon. He was having way more fun than he thought he would. He had managed to make a ball out of some old tarp and had tried to teach the little guys some basic soccer moves... but given that they had no legs, it had degenerated into something more like volleyball (the nubs on their head worked just like human fingers, making them naturals). He didn't mind, though; they were thrilled to play, and Veemon and he actually liked playing with them.

"Over here! Over here!" Veemon called, waving his hands. The dirty blue ball sailed over and he bounced it back the other way. The Punimon ran right over Davis as they went after it, but he scrambled back to his feet and continued the chase.

Davis and Veemon weren't the only ones enjoying the Punimon's antics. Yolei leaned against a building a safe distance away, watching as they knocked Davis down again and again. "Heh heh heh..." she cackled. "Now THAT'S entertainment."

"I didn't expect him to take to them so well," Hawkmon admitted, "but the Punimon really like him now..."

She sighed, quietly agreeing. As zany as the whole thing looked, it was nice to see Davis acting like something other than a douche. Her idea had worked better than she had planned; playing with those little blobs, he really did come off as a father figure. Everybody had their good points.

"Well, I suppose we should be getting back to work ourselves," Hawkmon pointed out. "We've left two buildings without roofs."

"Right, then," Yolei agreed. As they turned to get back to work, Yolei suddenly whirled to her right, staring at the rocky cliffside.

"...Yolei?" Hawkmon asked. "What's the matter?"

Yolei blinked, took off her glasses and cleaned them, then blinked again. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she had seen something red dart between the buildings... but there was nothing there now. She stared a moment longer, then shook her head. The heat must have baked her brain; how else could she have seen Davis in such a positive light? "Never mind," she said to Hawkmon. "Let's go."

* * *

There was a great rumble, and Digmon stepped back as the rubble pile fell away, allowing a trickle of water to run under his toes. "Looks like we're connectin' up the sewer again," he chuckled. "This place was pretty well built; not too much damage like up top, eh, Cody?"

There was silence in the tunnel. Cody sat on Digmon's shoulder, lost in angry thought. That comment had made him think of the Digimon Emperor again. He would never forget how he was disgraced in battle by that tyrant; his favorite shinai, smashed to pieces! Breaking your opponent's weapon on purpose was one of the most heinous crimes in all of kendo! When he met the Emperor again, he swore he would...

"Cody?" Digmon asked again. "Did my drillin' put you to sleep or somethin'?"

Cody blinked and shook his head. "...It's nothing," he grunted. "Good work; keep it up."

Digmon nodded and they headed further into the tunnels. How shameful, Cody thought; now his anger is interfering with his work! He had to focus, he reminded himself; though the Emperor was sure to come back, he was not there right that instant. There was work to be done, and it had to be done well. He took a deep breath and relaxed his mind, trying to bring himself back to the task at hand.

Suddenly, though, something buzzed past him and his cheek stung fiercely. "Gah!" he hissed, clamping his hand over the place... and sucking in his breath when he saw a trickle of blood on his fingers.

"Hey, what the...?" Digmon asked, turning around. A tiny, purple ball with limbs and a jagged yellow thunderbolt on its forehead floated nearby, its eyes locked onto them with malice.

Cody saw it too, though he had to squint. "What...?" he asked.

"That's a Thundermon," Digmon told him. "Champion-level... but what's it doin' down here?"

Cody scowled. More importantly, why had it attacked him? "Why did you cut me?" he demanded. "We don't mean any harm!"

Thundermon's answer was darting all around Digmon and delivering a tiny set of electrically charged punches, as well as more slashes with its thunderbolt. Digmon flailed around, disoriented; the little thing moved so fast, he didn't know where the blows were coming from.

"Stop that!" Cody yelled angrily. "What's your problem?"

"Maybe he's got a ring!" Digmon suggested. "Can ya see one?"

From the few glimpses of Thundermon Cody could see, there was no ring on it... and its eyes were white with red pupils, but the blood-red glow of Imperial control was absent. It was attacking them for no reason!

"Cody, what do we do?" Digmon asked, still jerking around from the blows. "This is gettin' kinda painful!"

Cody bit his lip. If it was a free Digimon, should they fight? If word got out they were beating up on innocent Digimon, the Resistance would say they were as bad as the Emperor... not that they didn't already... but what should they do?

A bright, big spark burst around Digmon's right eye, and he howled in agony. Before Cody knew what was going on, there was a deafening explosion and Digmon was gone. He lay in the water with Armadillomon as chunks of stone were torn from the ceiling, flying around them in a tornado of debris.

Cody got back on his feet and looked up into the tornado, where Thundermon floated, still looking homicidal. "I don't know what we did to upset you," he tried, "but we can discuss this like civilized beings! Now-"

Thundermon disagreed. It ripped a giant hunk of rock out of the ceiling and hurled it right at him. Cody had no time to react as it came down...

There was a horribly loud crash... but Cody didn't feel anything. Surprised, he opened his eyes to find D3 flashing and glowing. A giant, gold-plated hand clutched him tightly, and he stared into a big, green pair of eyes. What looked like a mammoth-sized, golden dinosaur had bits of the shattered rock on its jagged, shelled back.

Thundermon buzzed angrily and dove at the newcomer in a sparking drill motion. The beast raised its free arm and swatted it into a wall.

Cody couldn't believe his eyes... but something about the monster was familiar. "A... Armadillomon?" he tried.

"Actually..." the thing rumbled, "it's Ankylomon now!"

Cody almost fell out off Ankylomon's hand. Armadillomon had Digivolved to the Champion level? But how?

Sensing his confusion, Ankylomon shrugged. "I don't know why, either," he said, "but lucky thing I did, huh?" He beamed at his partner. "Finally, I'm big enough to protect ya... and then some!"

Cody was still flabbergasted. Veemon couldn't Digivolve, and yet... What in the world was going on in this town?

Thundermon quickly recovered, and it didn't enjoy being knocked around. Angrily it flew around Ankylomon, punching and stabbing as it did with Digmon. This time, however, its opponent had thick, hard flesh and hardly felt it.

"Little punk's gettin' on my nerves," Ankylomon grunted, raising his free claw. "C'mere, you!"

Though Ankylomon's claw was huge, it couldn't match Thundermon's speed. Time and time again he reached for the pint-sized powerhouse, and time and time again it dove away and came at him from another direction. Ankylomon tried to turn to intercept him, but his girth didn't make it easy; he kept smashing into the sewer walls, bringing down more debris.

"Stop moving!" Cody warned. "You'll bring down everything!"

Thundermon let out a high-pitched snicker and charged from the rear. Hearing it coming, Ankylomon swung the only free appendage he had: his tail. With one big CRASH, the laughing stopped. Instead there was a tiny, angry groan.

Ankylomon grunted. "That oughta hold 'im for a sec... but these tunnels're no place for me!" he winced. "Whaddya say we go topside before he gets up?"

* * *

If the violent rumbles and explosions weren't enough to get the attention of Davis and Yolei, the gigantic, golden dinosaur bursting out of the ground sure was. "Holy shit!" Davis yelled, forgetting the Punimon.

Ankylomon set Cody down. "Now, you get back a ways," he said.

Cody swallowed. "You're not going to fight him?" he asked.

"Naww," Ankylomon answered, looking back where he had knocked Thundermon, "I'm just gonna scare 'im away..."

Even though Thundermon was small, he wasn't invisible... and Ankylomon couldn't see him at all. Before he could react, there was an explosion behind him, and Cody cried out. Thundermon had gotten behind them and created another rubble tornado, sucking Cody up into it! "CODY!" Ankylomon yelled.

Everything was spinning around for Cody, but he could see one thing clearly; Thundermon coming right for him. He could do nothing as Thundermon rammed right into his stomach, knocking him out of the tornado and out into the open air, where only unfinished, skeletal rooftops loomed beneath him. He clamped his eyes shut as he dropped, waiting for the crash...

...But it never came; he felt himself land on two rigid, spindly things. Thank goodness, he thought. Davis or Yolei must have caught me, and... He opened his eyes and the relief died. He was staring into the purple irises of Ken Ichijouji... the Digimon Emperor. He couldn't breathe.

A high-pitched, buzzing shriek came from behind them. Ken looked up, set Cody down on the wooden planks and raised his metal-covered arms. Cody's kidneys twisted into knots as a torrent of bullets flew from the right arm, the rapid, spattering burst sounds inspiring everything fearful in him. Thundermon, who had almost reached them, shrieked again and flew back a bit.

Cody leaped off the planks and ran for Ankylomon as fast as he could, his hands mashing into his ears; he didn't know what was going on, but he wanted to be as far from the Emperor as possible. "Are you OK?" Ankylomon asked him.

"No kidding!" TK's voice came. Cody looked up to see Kari and TK next to his partner, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon behind them. Davis, Yolei, their Digimon and all the Punimon were running in from nearby as well.

"Is that Armadillomon?" Pegasusmon asked, looking at Ankylomon.

"What's going on?" Kari asked.

Not able to suck in enough air to form words, Cody just glared back at the bullet-spewing Emperor and the zipping Thundermon. As the little Digimon flew back and forth, trying to dive at him, Ken remained cool and collected, hardly moving as he followed its movements with his horrible, noisy weapon.

Yolei stared at the gunner, forgetting to blink. "Is that...?" she asked.

Davis bit his lip. "Yeah, it IS!" he huffed.

The Punimon cried out in shock at the sight of the Emperor and fled, hiding behind buildings and under wooden planks. TK and Kari were just as surprised; Ken had returned?

Thundermon was getting sick of this game of keep-away; with one quick motion, it shot upwards and dove right at Ken's head. Ken was getting tired of it, too; his eyes narrowed the approaching creature, and the cannon on his shoulder locked onto it, clicking coldly. A wide, green beam split the air, almost like the rays that Kimeramon had belched. Thundermon gave a horrible scream, then dissolved into the beam.

Ken lowered his metallic weapons with a sigh. The Digidestined's mouths hung open; they were all horrified. Ken shot a cold glimpse at them, then turned and vanished behind a building.

The town descended into an eerie silence. "...He's back..." Kari finally said.

Yolei swallowed, her insides shaking with both shock and something else. "I... guess so..." she admitted.

Cody's eyes narrowed. Just as he thought, the Emperor had returned... and he had gone right back to his wretched practice of murdering Digimon, and in an even more cruel way now! "...Bastard," he snarled.

Ankylomon looked down at his partner. "I dunno, Cody..." he said. "He DID save ya when Thundermon hit ya..."

Davis scratched his head. "What the hell's goin' on, here?" he asked.

Everyone looked at him, then back at where Ken had been standing. That was the question on everybody's mind.

* * *

"Ugh... Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Izzy finally yelled. After hours and hours of work, he was still empty-handed, aside from all the sweat that had oozed out of his pores. He had hoped there would be some tiny speck of data left in his laptop that could tell them where Gennai was calling from, but Andromon and he had performed every test in the central computer's book, and there were nowhere nearer than when they had started.

"Come on, Izzy, don't get too mad," Tentomon tried to console him. "Since when have we ever called Gennai? He always calls us!"

"He is a mysterious figure," Andromon agreed. "We must not set our hopes too high."

"What, being able to call someone back is a crazy idea?" Izzy snapped, shaking his head and flicking sweat droplets like a wet dog. "Ohh, I give up!"

Almost on cue, the old laptop beeped just like it had in the Gigas. Izzy looked up with wild eyes as a shaky image of Gennai appeared, once again distorted and bleary. "..." it said, the audio skipping and popping.

"Gennai!" Izzy said, racing for the laptop and typing furiously; he was going to clear this up if it killed him. "Where are you?" he demanded.

Gennai's mouth moved, but very few words reached the other end. "Blockedhhhhhhfffffnnn... Newnnnnnnkkkk... enemyiiiiigagagagaga..." he mumbled. "Spiretttttttddddhhheeeee... Crestffffffrrrrmmmmmnnn..."

"What?" Izzy asked. "You're still blocked? What about spires?"

"Fzzzzt," Gennai said, and then the transmission died again.

Izzy couldn't take it anymore. With a primal cry of "ARRRRRRGHHH!" he slammed his hands down on the terminal.

"Geez, Izzy, take it easy!" Tentomon tried. "You've been around that Davis kid too long!"

Izzy slammed his head down on the terminal, gasping for air. He was so close... so close! How could he be so close and be so far away? Never in his life had he encountered a puzzle so infuriating! Would he ever get any answers?

"...Analysis complete," Andromon said bluntly. "Partial coordinates obtained."

Izzy looked up. "...What?" he asked quietly.

"When the transmission began, I activated the central computer's tracking systems," Andromon explained, his skeletal hands still clicking away on the terminal. "The transmission didn't last long enough to pinpoint the sender's location, but it has a triangulated estimation... Uploading now..."

The laptop's screen brought up the half-terrain, half-grid map of the Digital World, a large chunk of squares in the eastern half flashing in red. Izzy's heart leaped. "Is... is this computer accurate?" he asked.

"Margin for error is 0.32 percent," Andromon said, stepping away from the terminal. "It's a very trustworthy system."

Izzy was grinning from ear to ear. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it was a lot more than he had before. "Thank you, Andromon," he said. "Thank you!"

"My pleasure," Andromon replied, smiling. "Please give Gennai my salutations."

Izzy nodded. "C'mon, Tentomon!" he said, sprinting out the door, "We have to tell the others!"

Tentomon was about to follow, then remembered something important; he flew back and grabbed what was left of the lunch bag. Izzy may have been a genius, but he had completely forgotten to eat.

* * *

"OK! OK! Now pass it over- D'AGH!" Davis's command was cut short by the ball bouncing off of his nose. The swarm of Punimon raced up his front, then back down as they went after it; even at sunset, the little Digimon were still full of energy... and miraculously enough, so were Davis and Veemon.

Their work done, TK, Kari, Yolei and their partners sat on a nearby wall and watched the crazy game. Cody leaned against the wall, lost in thought. "Wow," Gatomon remarked. "we rebuild the whole town, and they're still crawling all over him."

"Maybe there's a cookie in his pocket," Patamon suggested.

"They really love him, don't they?" Kari asked, smiling.

"Keep it up, Davis!" TK called. "You're the most popular kid in town!"

Davis turned and grinned at them; he loved seeing TK eat crow. "Jealous?" he laughed.

The ball flew over his head and the Punimon ran him over yet again. TK laughed. "Not... really," he admitted.

Yolei sighed, thinking over the events of the day. "I thought maybe Ken had changed..." she admitted, "but the way he 86'd that Thundermon... and with guns and lasers?"

"It's weird..." TK said, looking over at the place where Ken had been firing from. "I checked all the buildings and stuff... not one hole or scuff."

Gatomon scratched her head. With all those bullets, Ken hadn't shot anything besides Thundermon? Had he been trying not to?... or was it just coincidence?

Just then, a familiar cry split the air, and Birdramon flew over the mesa, with Kabuterimon close behind. They landed in the middle of town and let their passengers off before reverting to Biyomon and Tentomon. "Hey, guys!" Tai called.

"Tai!" Kari exclaimed as the older kids came over. "Wait'll you hear what happened to us today!"

Joe laughed. "I thought that was our line!" he chuckled.

"I thought it was mine," Izzy admitted.

TK blinked. "Well, who's going first?" he asked.

As the three parties talked over each other about what they had done or discovered, Cody looked up towards the sky, the Digimon Emperor yet again on his mind. There was no way he could be doing anything except wickedness; just look at how he had murdered that Thundermon! It wouldn't be long before control spires were dotting the land again...

Just then, he blinked; something was different about the landscape. He looked around again and his eyes narrowed. "...The control spire," he stated.

The others quieted and looked at him. "What about it?" Hawkmon asked.

Cody pointed up at the ridge; the tall, black obelisk was gone. "...Wha...?" TK asked.

Biyomon and Tentomon flew up towards the mesa to investigate. Yolei looked at the older kids. "Did... did any of you knock it down?" she asked.

"No," Matt replied, folding his arms and frowning. "None of us did..."

Izzy just shook his head.

"Are you sure there was a spire up there?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, it's been there since we got here," Kari said. "We thought it's why Veemon couldn't Digivolve today... but then Armadillomon..."

Biyomon and Tentomon flew back down. "There's no debris or anything up there," Biyomon reported.

"What? Preposterous!" Hawkmon exclaimed. "Spires don't just vanish into thin air!"

Armadillomon was less than concerned. "Well, it's gone now," he pointed out. "Maybe that's how I got to Digivolve today! Sure hope I get to do it again; I liked bein' big!"

Cody looked down at his friend. Yes, that was a good thing that came from today; he had almost forgotten that Armadillomon had Digivolved... but Ankylomon was so big and awkward... Perhaps using Digmon was still the best choice... But then again-

Suddenly, he doubled over against the wall, feeling horrendously tired... almost as tired as when he had first used Submarimon. Armadillomon collapsed in the dirt. "Hey!" Joe cried, running to them. "What's the matter?"

"I... I don't..." Cody managed.

"C'mon, we'd better get them home," Sora said. "Where's the nearest portal?"

"Right outside of town," Yolei said, then turned to the crazy game that was still going on. "Davis! Pack it in; we're leaving!"

"What? So soon?" Davis yelled back, looking almost disappointed. "Aww, heck... Well, I've gotta go, little dudes... but I'll come back real soon!"

The Punimon cheered at this news, sending their big friends off with a happy song. As they left Suadi Arugula, the kids wished the whole day had been as happy as the little Digimon's had been.

* * *

A hot, sandy wind blew Ken's hair around as he watched the Digidestined vanish into the portal. How irritating, he thought; he let her get away... At least, though, he had destroyed what she left behind before it could do any damage.

He sighed and lifted his heavy arms; it was time to go home and plan for tomorrow. The next time they met, that woman wouldn't get away. Nobody had the right to abuse what the Digimon Emperor had created... and what he was going to destroy.

* * *

Cody hadn't fully recovered by the time of his kendo lesson, but he went anyway; he had to honor his commitments. Unfortunately, his mind was once again elsewhere, and fatigue showed in his motions; he kept doing the same moves over and over, just as his mind went in circles. How dare the Emperor return! How dare he murder another Digimon! How dare he-

A harsh whack to his head brought him back into the kendo room, and also made him see double. Chikara lowered his shinai and shook his head. "Iori, I'm disappointed in you," he scolded. "Kendo is about learning how to act and react, not just swinging your weapon around!"

Cody's legs were trembling so much, he had to fight to stay standing. "Forgive me, Sensei..." he apologized. "I'm..."

"It's like I said the day before," Chikara went on. "If you are not open-minded and willing to learn, you'll never grow."

Cody almost fell over, but righted himself. "Yes, Sensei," he said quietly.

Chikara looked hard at his grandson. He was really worn out... but why? They had only begun the lesson. He made a point to be a tough teacher, but he wasn't going to push his grandson to a higher level of exhaustion. "Perhaps we should stop for tonight," he suggested. "You seem far too preoccupied... and tired, as well. Go home and get some rest."

Cody looked down, ashamed. Once again, his mind interfered with his training! If only he could just shut it off when he wanted to...

As he began to shed his armor, though, his grandfather's words started to creep into his other train of thought. Though he had been ruthless, Ken _had_ saved him from hitting the ground... and he hadn't shot at anything besides Thundermon... Could he really have...? No. No, it must have been some other reason, he decided. Humans were incapable of changing as quickly as that, if at all. The Emperor was and always would be the Emperor, and the next time they met, Cody would make him answer.


	23. Needling Troubles

**CHAPTER 23**

**NEEDLING TROUBLES**

Sunday's events having left Cody and Armadillomon worn out, and Sora with a cold, the Digidestined opted to spend Monday resting and regaining their strength... but Tuesday was the start of a completely different story.

"God, I hate lunch duty..." Davis groused as Kari and he walked up the stairs from the school kitchens, hauling a steaming pot of something. It was every student's duty to serve lunches to the others in his class a few times each school year, and that day was their turn. It wouldn't have been so humiliating if it hadn't been for the white smocks and caps they had to wear to stay clean.

"It's not my favorite, either," Kari admitted, wiping her brow with her free hand. "These things are hot."

"Not to mention we look like a couple of out-of-work chess pieces," he grunted as they walked into the classroom. "OK, folks, get yer grub on!"

The pot contained a funky-smelling mixture of rice and peas. He winced; he hadn't cooked it, but he'd be catching the flack for serving it. He grudgingly thrust his ladle into the pot and started filling the little bowls before him. He envied the kids who brought their own lunches. "I bet the Digimon would love this stuff," he said to Kari.

Kari chuckled as she handed the bowls to each student. "Yeah, probably," she agreed. She could just see Demiveemon or Upamon wolfing down the whole rancid pot... and then asking if there was more.

Davis glanced at her, glad to see she was in a good mood. He had been thinking about something all of yesterday, and now might be a good time to say it. "Say, Kari," he said, "Whaddya think about Ken?"

Her smile faded. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I dunno..." he went on. "Just, after what happened last time... maybe he ain't such a bad guy..."

She sighed, remembering the horrible sounds of the bullets and the laser. She wanted to think that Ken had learned his lesson after what happened with Wormmon... but the way he had shown up like a one-man war machine... "I don't know," she replied.

He didn't like that answer; he tried something more. "He DID save Cody, y'know," he said.

That was true, Kari thought... but what if that was just coincidence? She shook her head; what had happened in Suadi Arugula was all too confusing. "I need to think about it," she finally answered, handing a bowl to another student.

Davis sighed as he plunged the ladle back into the pot. Maybe the others would be more open.

* * *

With a loud, angry grunt, Cody swung the stick. Davis watched him with both awe and irritation; the kid didn't even take a break at recess. Only a day of rest later, he was back to practicing kendo, this time in the schoolyard with his backpack on to imitate the weight of his armor.

"Anyway, like I was sayin'..." Davis went on, leaning against the wall, "maybe we oughta see if he wants to-"

Cody's answer was another angry snarl and another swing of the stick. His eyes were hardened, and he looked even angrier than usual; whatever Davis was selling, he was not buying it.

Davis frowned at him. "I'd think you'd at least think about it, seeing as how he saved yer crabby ass..." he muttered, then got up and left.

A volcano erupted inside Cody's mind. Saved him? It was a deception, and he knew it! Davis had been stupid before, but this was not amusing; this could ruin them all. He sucked in his breath and swung again. Never would he let himself think that the Digimon Emperor could change.

* * *

Classes done for the day, Davis leaned against the wall in the computer lab. Demiveemon, Upamon and Poromon sat tearing into what was left of the school's lunch, and Yolei sat backwards in a chair, staring off into space.

"I don't think he'll be givin' us any trouble any more," Davis went on. "I think he's really changed!"

Yolei sighed. "I really don't know..." she admitted.

"What?" he cried, genuinely shocked; Yolei was turning down a chance to work with Ken Ichijouji, her number-one eye candy? Had the world flipped upside down?

"I thought he HAD changed..." she admitted, "but then yesterday... the way he iced that Thundermon... That was total overkill! It was just like what the old Ken would do..." She looked at him and shook her head. "I can't trust 'im, Davis... and why do you think we should, anyway?"

Davis looked away frowning, more irked than usual. Kari said no, Cody said no, even Yolei! Why would nobody listen to him?... Well, he hadn't asked TK... but when did that kid ever see eye to eye with him? No, there'd be no help there. He threw Yolei one more disgusted look, then stormed out the door. If he was going to get anything done, as usual, he'd have to do it himself.

Demiveemon jumped up at seeing his partner go. "Davis! Wait for meee!" he cried, scampering out after him... almost running into TK as he stepped into the lab, clutching Patamon.

"Woah... What's going on?" TK asked.

Yolei sighed. "I think I pissed 'im off," she explained.

"How's that any different from usual?" Patamon asked... and was answered by a bop from TK's knuckle.

"No, I'm serious," she went on, "but he's gone nuts! He wants to get Ken to join up with us! He's been telling everyone that he's nice now, but I sure don't buy it. I mean, you saw what happened yesterday!"

"Yeah," Upamon interrupted, looking up from the food, "it's like Cody says: 'lepers don't change their dots!...' or something like that..."

TK looked out the window at the blue autumn sky. True, Ken had been pretty violent in Suadi Arugula... but he had saved Cody from getting hurt, and he hadn't damaged any of the buildings they had fixed... also, there was something different about his eyes now. The cruelty in them was gone. Maybe, he thought, maybe Davis wasn't entirely wrong...

"Anyway, we've got bigger problems," Yolei snorted, turning to the computer. "We have to figure out why the spires can turn on and off-"

She turned back and saw she was talking to thin air; TK and Patamon were gone. "What the hell?" she demanded, standing up angrily. "Does nobody say 'goodbye' any more?"

A sudden churning in her lower areas made her stiffen, dropping her D3 on the desk. Nobody was saying 'goodbye,' but something was about to say 'hello.' "...Be right back!" she yelped to the Digimon, and tore out of the lab.

"What was that?" Upamon asked.

"She once told me it's nature calling," Poromon explained. "I don't think so, though... I didn't hear her phone ring..."

Upamon was about to ask if it was an excuse humans made when they wanted to climb trees when the door started to open... and from the look of the rings on the fingers, it wasn't Yolei. Both Digimon did as they had been told to do; they zipped into the nearest cabinet, shut the door and stayed as still as statues.

Mimi Tachikawa wrinkled her nose; that poor excuse for a girl had left the room, but her stink lingered on everything she touched... That wouldn't keep her from getting what she wanted, though... and she _always_ got what she wanted.

Her eyes darted around and spied the red D3 on the desk. She gave one last wary look around, then snatched it, stuffed it in her bag and ran back out, slamming the door behind her.

Thirty quiet seconds passed. "Whew..." Poromon panted as he slid out of the cabinet, "that was close!"

The door rattled again and Yolei entered, looking far more comfortable than when she had left. "Are you feeling better now?" Upamon asked.

Yolei was about to declare she would never eat a 'fresh' egg salad sandwich from a vending machine when her eyes locked onto the empty place on the desk. "HEY!" she cried, darting around the room, looking over and under everything. "What... Who... WHERE'S MY D3?" she demanded.

Poromon fluttered up. Surely enough, the D3 was gone. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed. "Then..."

"That person musta took it!" Upamon blurted.

Yolei's wild eyes turned on them. "Someone came in here?" she yelled, grabbing Poromon and shaking him hard. "Who was it? WHO?"

"(ACK) I don't know!" Poromon gurgled, his pink feathers turning green. "We were both hiding, like you told us to... (GURK!)"

She let go of Poromon and screamed like a banshee, stomping up and down on the floor. How could this day get any worse?

* * *

The orange sky filled the Tamachi skyline, showing Ken that he was late getting home. Sighing, he gathered his things and took his assignment up to the front desk.

"About time," the teacher grunted; apparently he had places to go, too. "What's the matter, Ichijouji? You're usually first to finish this stuff."

"I'm sorry, sir," Ken apologized quietly, bowing. "I'll try to be faster next time..."

He slowly descended the stairs to the middle school's main hall, where a great crowd of students were gathered around the bulletin board. The results of yesterday's schoolwide math test must be in, he thought to himself... and he figured he knew what the crowd was there for. He stopped on the stairs and listened in on the throng.

"Look at that!" a student yelled. "I beat Ichijouji!"

"Most EVERYONE beat him," another boy remarked.

"What happened?" a girl asked. "Isn't he supposed to be a genius?"

"Ever since he came back from wherever he was..." a third boy said, "it's like he's given up..."

Ken took a different exit, not wanting to face a crowd of questions. Those kids were right, though; he had given up on schoolwork. It certainly looked strange; only a month ago he would have torn through those math problems like a tornado through a forest. They were right to be shocked. Even he was a little surprised at how awful he was doing.

As he walked along the riverside towards his apartment, the surprise faded. It was no longer important. Only one thing mattered anymore: destroying the work of the Digimon Emperor, and avenging Sam and Wormmon. With such a task ahead of him, why should he care about math? He knew he had several assignments for tomorrow, but he wasn't going to do any of them; he was going straight into the Digital World to continue his grim-

"Ken! Hey, Ken!" a voice called, making him jump. He turned around and blinked at the goggle-wearing boy and his little blue pet. Why were they here?

Davis raced up to him. "Good thing I caught ya," he said. "Can we talk?"

Ken stared through him, his defenses up; why would these infernal children not leave him in peace? "Why?" he asked. "What do you need from the Digimon Emperor?"

Davis frowned. "Knock it off," he said. "I wanna talk to ya. Seriously."

Ken sighed. This kid wasn't going to go away until he was satisfied; he had dealt with him enough to know that. "...Fine," he muttered, turning and walking away. "Come on..."

* * *

Davis didn't know how lucky he was; nobody else knew that the secret pondering spot of the famous Ken Ichijouji was beneath a small bridge. The two boys stood there, listening to the foot traffic above.

Davis glanced down at his feet, thinking hard about what he was going to say. He picked up a flat stone and tossed it across the water, watching it skip twice. "You good at that?" he asked.

Ken was in no mood for small talk. "Why did you come all this way?" he asked. "To rough me up again?"

Davis chuckled softly; he had scuffed Ken up a fair deal in the past. "Actually, no," he admitted.

"Then to condemn me?" Ken went on.

Davis shook his head. "C'mon, Ken," he said. "Ya did do some pretty rotten crap... but I don't think you're like that anymore."

He felt Ken's sideways gaze on him, but he didn't have much else to say. He picked up another rock and pitched it; that one skipped three times. "Yeah... I think you are sorry for all that," he repeated.

"And what led you to that conclusion?" Ken asked.

Davis didn't really have an answer for that... at least, not one he felt like he could say and not sound loopy.

Ken scowled at the water. "If you're just going to be silent, I'm going..." he muttered.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Davis urged, turning to him. "Look, whyn'cha come back to Odaiba with me, meet all my friends?"

Ken's scowl turned on Davis. "They all hate the Digimon Emperor," he stated bluntly. "They always will."

Davis bit his lip. Ken had him there; things didn't seem to be going his way at the moment...

Ken shook his head and turned back to the river. "There's nothing to discuss," he said. "I don't have any place among you."

"Hey, that ain't true!" Davis argued. "Look, Ken, we oughta be workin' together! Weird shit happened yesterday, an' the others are gettin' nervous..."

Ken's eyes hardened at the thought of that mysterious, silver-haired woman. That was one thing he agreed on.

"Besides," Davis went on, taking out his D3. "You've got one of these, right? That makes you a Digidestined, just like the rest of us! We SHOULD be workin' together!"

Ken's glare narrowed. "And what IS a 'Digidestined?'" he asked.

Davis wasn't prepared for a question like that; nobody had ever given him a clear definition, either. "Well, uh..." he tried, "that's when you can go into the Digital World, an' you have a partner..."

Ken's eyes softened; he looked at Demiveemon, then looked away, ashamed. "I have no partner," he murmured.

"But... Well, you've definitely made up for it, dude," Davis argued, growing energetic again. "You're packin' so much heat, you'd pop corn just by walkin' by!"

Ken gazed into the eyes of his reflection in the river. Why was this boy making such an effort to befriend him when he had caused him so much agony? Yes... that's right... The Digimon Emperor caused everyone pain and agony... That's why he had to work alone now, no matter what Davis said to him. "I can't," he said, then quickly turned to go.

Davis saw his plans were going out the window, so he played his last card. "Hey, wait," he urged, pulling a slip of notebook paper from his pocket and pushing it into Ken's hand. "That's my phone number and the e-mail address of my D-Terminal," he said, forcing a wry smile. "Y'know... in case you change your mind."

Ken frowned at the paper for a moment, then tore off a blank segment and scribbled on it. "This is just common courtesy," he stated, handing it to his assailant. With that, he turned and strode off into the sunset.

Davis's heart sank as he looked down at the writing. He had hoped for something a little more than "common courtesy."

Demiveemon had been silent during this whole scene, but now he looked up at his partner. "I don't get it," he said. "Why're you tryin' so hard?"

Davis sighed, not looking at him. "...It was Wormmon," he said after a moment.

Demiveemon cocked his head to one side; that didn't help. "Huh?" he asked.

"You were there; we met 'im in the Gigas," Davis said, staring up at the bridge's underbelly. "Up til then, I thought Ken was just an asshole waitin' for a boot, but..." He paused and sighed. "Wormmon wanted to save 'im... and that's what got me thinkin'... If he could take as much poundin' as he did, an' still believe there was good in Ken... Well, there's gotta be somethin' to that..." He looked down at Demiveemon. "Least I can do is give it a go, right?" he asked.

Demiveemon's mind drifted back to Wormmon and his eyes, full of sadness, but also devotion... and determination. Suddenly he felt bad for ever doubting Davis. "OK!" he chirped, stamping his foot. "I'll help ya, Davis!"

Davis chuckled at his little friend, then looked back at were Ken had disappeared. He hadn't made much headway... but at least he had won someone over to his cause.

He had won over more people than he knew; he hadn't seen TK and Patamon standing on the bridge overhead. "Gee..." Patamon said, scratching his head, "so, TK, what d'ya think? Should we give Ken another chance?"

TK shrugged; though he still had bruises from his fist fight with the Emperor, he was more open to it... but this situation had more than one point of view. The problem wasn't whether Davis, the other Digidestined or himself forgave Ken; the problem was that Ken didn't seem to forgive himself.

* * *

Dusk turned to night and Odaiba became quiet... well, most of it.

"NO!" Yolei shouted into the telephone, wishing for all the world she had a cellular one. "I HAVEN'T thought it over, ya moron! And how can you be asking me now? I've been farking ripped off!" She slammed it back onto the wall, her nostrils flaring. The nerve of that Davis, calling and asking if she'd changed her mind about Ken! Her D3 could be a hundred miles away by now! How could he be such an insensitive jackass?

She stormed into the living room, where she saw that her conversation, unfortunately, had not been private. All three of her siblings- her eldest brother Mantarou and her two sisters, Momoe and Chizuru- were all sitting on the couch... and it looked like all three of them had heard her latest blow up. "So... who was that?" Momoe spoke up first.

Yolei snorted. These three were always sticking their pop-culture-pimped-out noses into her life, and she hated it; was nothing sacred? "None of yer business," she snapped.

This answer never worked. Chizuru lowered her issue of Girly Girl magazine. "Was it Jun's brother?" she asked.

"None of your BUSINESS," Yolei repeated.

Momoe's face curled into an impish grin. "Yep, that's who it was," she concluded. "Jun says he's always griping about you, too; it's so cute!"

Yolei's teeth tried to break themselves on each other. Cute? Their eternal fisticuffs weren't cute! Did a person's brain shrink when she hit eighteen?

"Is there a problem?" Chizuru asked, as always the most direct of the Inoue family. "I'll bet it's about him!"

Yolei's face went half red and half green. "Like hell it is!" she snapped.

Mantarou stirred from his catatonic look. "It has to be important if you're this angry..." he observed, rubbing at one of his ear studs.

She sighed. Mantarou didn't talk much, but when he did, he was always right on target; maybe at age twenty, one's brain grew back to regular size... and then some. She stared at them all for a second, then sighed. "...OK, I need some advice," she caved. She wasn't going to tell them about her D3, but maybe they could help with her social problem. "There's this kid, and he's been givin' my friends and me hell since school started... but now he says he's changed... an' a few of my friends think we should forgive him and be nice..." She looked up at her siblings. "What would you do?"

The elder Inoues all turned pensive for a few minutes. Momoe was first to respond, taking the magazine from Chizuru. "Well, Miyako, your horoscope here says that this month is a time for fresh starts... so I say go ahead and forgive him."

"What?" Chizuru huffed, snatching the magazine back. "That is so total bull! Look at the facts; he's treated you bad before, so he'll just do it again! Drop 'im like a bad habit!"

Mantarou leaned forward, seemingly paying more attention to his ear studs. "I don't know..." he said. "Why don't you just wait a while? There may be some facts here that you don't know yet."

Yolei gawked at all three of them, exasperated. The ONE time she wanted their advice, and they all had different answers! Usually they were all united against her own opinion... Why couldn't that have happened now? At least then she wouldn't be even more confused!

Angry, aggravated and annoyed, she returned to her room and flopped onto the bed, staring up at the blotched ceiling. What was she going to do? What if Davis was right, and Ken really had changed?... but what if the others were right, and he hadn't? She groaned and rubbed at her forehead; it throbbed like a marching band was stomping around inside.

Poromon fluttered over from his nest. "Sorry, but I overheard you talking with your brother and sisters..." he said. "May I offer an opinion, too? Maybe you should ask Ken directly."

She blinked and looked at him, surprised. "What?" she asked. "I thought you'd be anti-Ken, too, being a Digimon and all..."

He gave what could have been called a shrug. "I don't like to take sides if I don't think I know everything," he replied. "I think there's stuff we don't know about yet."

She stared at him. Even though Mantarou had said basically the same thing, it made tons more sense coming out of the little pink bird... which made no sense in itself.

"Anyway, I say we talk to him," he finished. "It could solve everything."

She was about to agree when her mind snagged: she didn't know HOW to get in touch with Ken! Well, she would just have to wait until they met again in the Digital... No, wait! Her first problem smacked her like a pile of bricks. She COULDN'T go to the Digital World! Her D3 was gone!

All Poromon got for his suggestion was a rare performance of Yolei slamming her face into her pillow with muffled shrieks.

* * *

Even in the darkness of night, Ken saw the Snimon's glistening sickles fly at him. The giant bug's angry buzz in his ears, he rolled under it and launched a grenade upwards. As the Snimon turned around in confusion, the little bomb landed right on its head, blowing it to smithereens. The rest of the body quaked, then dissolved into nothing. Ken sighed and fell to his knees, sweating feverishly; that was one more gone from the world.

He looked up and a tired groan escaped him; a line of control spires stretched into the distance, blacker than the night sky. His work was nowhere near done. At this rate it would take months to destroy them all... maybe even years. Perhaps if he worked alongside the other children, they'd be felled faster...

He forced himself back up, angrily shaking his head. How dare he think of forcing this work on others! Nobody else needed to suffer for the crimes of the Digimon Emperor... and why would they help him anyway? The Emperor was their enemy, no matter what one of them said.

He glared at the nearest spire and started towards it. If destroying all of them took years, then so be it!

* * *

Izzy thought that Wednesday would be a return to business as usual for the Digidestined... but that changed as soon as he passed Mimi in the lab's hall. "Good afternoon, Mimi," he said.

She jumped, the grocery bag in her hands rustling. Without a word, she hurried past him. Her footsteps clopped away, and then a door slammed.

He started to go on, but then he stopped, a thought seizing his brain. Since when did Mimi come into this hall? She always said she wouldn't be caught dead around this "nerd zone," so... what was she even doing here?

Then he heard the familiar whoosh. He spun around to see the lab's window light up and he raced towards it. The computer was on, the Digital Gate was displayed, and Mimi was gone.

His eyes bugged at the screen. Had she gone to the Digital World? But how?

* * *

Palmon took in a deep gulp of air and let it out in a relaxed sigh. The fresh mountain air was far better for her body than the dusty atmosphere of Spaghetti Junction.

Both Biyomon and she had gotten tired of repairing that place; ever since the Resistance moved in, the public sentiment had grown increasingly anti-human... so they had gone south to a newer town, Muskaweegee Creek. It was a mountainous region coated with abundances of both rock and tree. Up a high hill from town stood a tall, stone dam that held back the mighty Lake Jessica, a wide, deep body of water. From what she had heard from the locals, it used to run freely, but they had dammed it up so they could build their town. A dry, deep river bed led all the way down the hill, a testament to its power.

Of course, Palmon wasn't thinking about geology at the moment; she had other pressing matters... half a dozen of them, to be precise. "Palmon!" a chorus of voices came from around her feet. She looked down and smiled. The little bear-head-shaped babies of the town, Yukimibotamon, were always energetic and ready to play. Since they had come, it had been both Biyomon's and her job to baby sit them... but Biyomon had been hit with a nasty cold a few days ago, so she was watching them all by herself. It wasn't awful, but she sure had to keep her eyes on them.

"OK, kids!" she laughed. "What do you want to play today?"

All of them bounced up and down, shouting the name of a different game. "Hey, hey, calm down!" she urged, waving her arms. "I've only got two ears!"

As quickly as they had become loud, the Yukimibotamon stopped, staring up at something above her head. "That's better..." Palmon said. "Now..."

Something moved in the grass behind her, and she set a new record for the time a plant could fly. She spun around with a battle cry, ready to protect both herself and the children...

...From a tall, bag-holding, smiling human girl? "Hi, Palmon!" she exclaimed happily.

Palmon froze, not quite believing what she was seeing. "...Mimi?" she asked.

"I had a free day, so I came to visit!" Mimi replied, holding up the grocery bag. "Let's have a picnic!"

Palmon just stood there, staring at her. From everything that had happened earlier, she had figured that Mimi hated the Digital World now... and yet, here she was, smiling and happy. She didn't know what to think.

The Yukimibotamon swarmed around Mimi, bouncing and chirping; they had never seed anything like her, and they were very impressed.

Mimi was impressed, too. "Ohh, you're such cute little things!" she cooed, fishing out a bag of marshmallows. "Who wants a treat?"

As the Yukimibotamon cheered and she passed out the air-puffed sweets, Palmon's befuddlement increased. This behavior was just like the old Mimi had come back... What was the big deal? "Mimi," she said, walking closer, "what's going on?"

"I'm feeding these little cuties," Mimi answered, still smiling. "Why?"

"But, I mean..." Palmon tried, "before, you were..."

"Well, that was before," Mimi replied, popping another marshmallow into a hopping Yukimibotamon's mouth. "Come on! Don't you want some?"

"But..." Palmon continued.

A nasty look from Mimi both shocked and silenced her, but it was only there for a moment; Mimi resumed smiling and stuffing the little babies. Palmon sighed; whatever was going on, she wouldn't be getting any answers now. "...OK, I'll have some..." she said, walking closer.

* * *

"Not here... NOT here... Not HERE!" Yolei huffed as she tore through her last classroom. So much for the D3 thief being in one of her classes. Her face was almost the same color as her hair, and she heaved and huffed like an angry bear. The crime itself had her angry enough, but to have her ideas fail one after another... Well, she could very well be the first fourteen-year-old girl to have an aneurysm.

Davis, Cody, TK, Kari and the Digimon watched her from a safe distance, none brave enough to get any closer. "Holy Hell," Davis grunted.

"Looks like she's gonna explode," Patamon remarked.

Upamon's eyes lit up. "Ooh! That'll be fun to see!" he exclaimed.

Kari scratched her head, puzzled by the entire situation; who would steal a D3 anyway, and why? Yes, it did look a lot like the new handheld games, but still...

Almost in response, her name was called from behind... or rather, it was wheezed. She turned to see Izzy charge down the hall and land right in front of them, panting hard.

Cody looked at his condition and frowned. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Izzy took a few big gulps of air, then looked up at them gravely. "La... lab..." he managed. "I think... I think Mimi... went... in!..."

That was enough to get everyone's attention; even Yolei looked up from probing the fish tank. They all raced up one floor to the lab, and surely enough, Izzy's worries had some merit.

TK looked at the computer screen. The Digital Gate warp had been set for an unknown sector in the east of the Server Continent... where the green blip that was Palmon flashed. All signs pointed to Mimi. "But..." he began, "how did she...?"

Yolei had the answer immediately, and her face turned an even darker shade of purple. "SHE took it!" she declared. "That pampered pink pissant!"

Gatomon folded her arms. "But why?" she asked. "I thought she was done with us..."

TK, Izzy and Kari exchanged glances. It really wasn't like Mimi to even associate with them, let alone steal a D3 and go to the Digital World alone... Something wasn't adding up.

"Who cares?" Yolei yelled, grabbing Davis by the collar and shaking him wildly. "Get in there and GET IT BACK!"

"Yolei, let go of him," Poromon objected, fluttering up behind her. "He hasn't-"

"SHUT IT!" she yelled, her free hand clamping around his beak.

Cody rolled his eyes; it was time to go. He raised his D3 to the screen without another word. TK and Kari did the same. Davis had enough air going to his brain to fish his own out as well.

There was another bright flash, and Izzy was alone in the room.

* * *

"MmmMMMmm!" the Yukimibotamon hummed as they swallowed more of the fluffy marshmallows. "Mimi! Mimi! These're yummy!"

Mimi laughed at her new friends' appetites. "If you think they're good like that, you should try them melted!" she said. "Palmon, could you go get some kindling? I'll watch them for you."

Palmon's befuddlement had faded now, and she nodded with enthusiasm and took off into the woods. Whatever was going on, the old Mimi was back right now, and she couldn't be happier. Firewood was not a problem.

She romped into the woods, gathering old sticks with one hand and wrapping them into a tight bundle in her other vines. It wasn't long before she had enough to make the perfect marshmallow-melting fire. Her fanged face curled into the biggest smile a plant could have; Mimi would just love this! Maybe then, she'd tell her exactly why she kept changing personalities.

On her way back to the little camp, though, the ground shook. It wasn't a violent tremor, but it was strong enough to feel it in her roots. She looked around, wondering just what could have caused it... and then she saw it.

Rising up in a nearby clearing, bursting up from the earth itself, was one of the Digimon Emperor's control spires! She gasped and dropped her firewood; how did one of those get there?

As she gawked, someone approached the spire's base... someone with silvery hair, dressed in a blood-red robe and a matching steepled hat. Palmon scooted closer and peered at the newcomer. Who was she? How did she get here? Only children could come to the Digital World... couldn't they?

The woman's lips muttered in low tones as she reached up and plucked a single hair from her scalp. On the last word of her mutterings, the hair stiffened between her fingertips, becoming like a long needle. With a small chuckle, she raised it to the spire and pushed it in.

The entire spire began to glow. Palmon's legs stopped working; she could only stare wide-eyed at what was happening...

* * *

The nearby bushes rustled. "Oh, good, Palmon's back!" Mimi said to her new friends. "Palmon? Did you find a lot of wood?"

What emerged from the underbrush made the Yukimibotamon shriek: a wiry, purple-faced, stinky monster with big, flashing eyes and wild hair. "MIMI!" it snarled, stomping up to her and clamping its hands over her shoulders.

"Hey! HEY! Hands off!" Mimi snapped. "This is a designer label!" She struggled and squirmed, but Yolei's grip of penultimate rage was absolute.

Just then, Hawkmon emerged from the trees, followed by the kids and their partners. "Oh, Yolei! Honestly!..." he sighed. "Let her go!"

Mimi's face went green. "What... what're you _doing_ here?" she demanded.

"Like you don't know," Davis rasped, rubbing at his throat. Because Yolei had been holding onto both Poromon and him, they had come into the Digital World without the help of their D3... but it sure hadn't been easy on him.

Kari folded her arms. "Mimi, did you take Yolei's D3?" she asked.

Mimi scowled at them, the sweetness she had shown the Yukimibotamon gone. "So what?" she huffed.

"If you wanted to come to the Digital World, why didn't you just ask us?" Patamon asked.

Mimi just looked away and sniffed. Instantly Yolei's hand clenched her pouty cheeks, yanking her gaze back into her eyes. "DON'T you even start!" she foamed. "Just give it back!"

Shocked at the rage, Mimi squirmed free. "OK, OK!" she huffed, reaching into her pocket. "Here's your stupid thing!"

Yolei's nose almost inverted itself as Mimi thrust it into her hands; her precious D3 stunk of spices and exotic fruits; it had been drenched in perfume! "What did you DO?" she demanded. "It stinks like... PINK!"

Mimi folded her arms. "I cleaned it up," she stated curtly. "You should thank me; it was absolutely foul!"

Yolei's jaw locked with an audible snap.

"Hoo boy..." Davis chuckled, backing up; even he knew to get back from one of these. "Get ready for a Miyako Meltdown!"

Her foot dragged forward. "Now, now, Yolei," Hawkmon tried in a pleading tone, "we have it back now... There's no need to—"

"Foul?..." she whispered dangerously. "_Ffffffoul?_ I'm gonna stomp on your eyeballs 'til the pupils squirt out!"

With a shriek, she dove at Mimi... but just as she clamped her fingers around Mimi's pale neck, a thundering roar rocked the woods. The Yukimibotamon cried out in terror and hid behind the nearest tree. Davis looked around. "The hell was that?" he asked.

Cody's finger thrust out. "That way," he reported.

The kids and the Digimon all ran to the edge of the dried-up riverbed, almost where the dam began. Palmon was running as fast as her stumps could carry her at the bottom. "Mimi!" she cried out. "Help!"

"What's goin' on?" Armadillomon asked, but nobody needed to answer. From the ground in front of Palmon erupted a mammoth stone Digimon with long arms and big fists. Its tiny, turtle-like head was covered with metal, and four small volcano-shaped openings jutted from its back. Its red, arched eyes locked onto Palmon with immense wickedness.

"Who's that?" Veemon asked; he had never seen a Digimon like that before.

The Yukimibotamon all shrieked in unison. "Golemon!" they yelled.

Mimi's eyes went wide with horror. "Palmon!" she yelled. "Run!"

"Mimi! Make me Digivolve!" Palmon called back. "We have to-"

"RUN!" Mimi screamed, flailing her arms.

Golemon's heated roar told Palmon she had to act now. She flung her tentacles at a tree near the kids and pulled herself away. Golemon was not impressed; it ripped a chunk out of the ground and hurled it after her, taking out both the tree she was latched to and the one behind it.

"PALMON!" Mimi shrieked, running to the giant slab and pushing at it. The other kids ran to help; Mimi may have been a twit, but Palmon didn't deserve to be squashed under a rock.

With a mighty effort, they pushed the rock away, revealing a badly-smashed-up plant. Sobbing uncontrollably, Mimi picked up Palmon and cradled her.

"Shit!" Davis swore, glaring at the rocky menace, "he ain't playin' around!"

Yolei's anger all but vanished as she looked at the lifeless Digimon in Mimi's arms. "Is... is she...?" she asked, not wanting to know.

Just then, Palmon coughed, and one of her eyes fluttered open. "Palmon!" Mimi gasped. "Are you OK?"

Palmon tried to raise her hand, but it fell back at her side. "The dam..." she rasped, trying to turn her head. "The dam!..." Her eye closed and her head fell back. Mimi started bawling again.

TK blinked. "The dam?..." he asked.

Patamon looked over at the structure and his wings shot up in alarm. "Look!" he yelled, pointing.

Golemon was already climbing the dam with its gigantic arms. "Whoo! Moves pretty fast fer a guy made of rock!" Veemon observed.

Kari swallowed. "You don't think... he's gonna break it?" she wondered aloud.

At that, everyone yelled and screamed at Golemon, telling it to stop; if it broke that dam, the town below would be totally washed away! Golemon, however, didn't seem to hear them; it kept climbing without even looking at them. "Well, he's either deaf, or he doesn't give a hoot..." Armadillomon growled, stopping his yells.

"That's it!" Davis huffed, raising his D3 and mashing buttons on his D-Terminal. "Everybody, get that rock-ass offa that dam!"

Nobody disagreed with that. In a flash, Raidramon, Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, Digmon and Shurimon bounded out of the woods and went after the rock monster. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon made the first move, concocting a golden noose and stringing it around Golemon's thick neck, pulling hard. Being the heavyweight that it was, however, Golemon didn't budge.

Now it was the ground crew's turn. Raidramon shot blue thunder at the openings on Golemon's back, but they absorbed them without incident. Digmon launched his drills at the big lug's hind quarters, but they just bounced off; the rock was just too hard to drill through. Golemon continued to climb, even with the two flying Digimon yanking at its neck. "Somebody break his ring!" Nefertimon called out, pulling her end of the noose tighter.

Shurimon sprung up and flew over Golemon, his keen eyes probing every area... but to his shock, there were no rings or spirals of any kind! "He isn't wearing one!" he reported.

Digmon looked up in surprise. That was just like the Thundermon that Cody and he had dealt with earlier!

Golemon decided that it was tired of its two passengers, and with one mighty thrust of its head, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon slammed against the dam, dropping the noose. Kari and TK cried out as their Digimon slid back down to the ground like smashed bugs.

"That does it!" Raidramon growled, and leaped at Golemon's back; maybe he could yank it off of the dam that way. As he got close, though, the volcanoes belched a thick cloud of stinking, red smoke. Unable to take the heat or the smell, Raidramon tumbled back to the ground.

Yolei's anger kicked in again; who did this rockhead think it was? "Shurimon!" she yelled. "Get its arms!"

In theory, that was a good plan; if Golemon's arms hurt, it couldn't climb... but when Shurimon sprung up and lobbed his shuriken into the monster's limbs, the blades bounced off with a loud clunk, their edges bent. Yolei swore at her stupidity; rock ALWAYS beat scissors!

Golemon certainly was rock, but it was also a very fast rock; its massive fist flew in out of nowhere and swatted Shurimon away. None of the kids could breathe as the same fist spun and plunged into the dam, tons of liquid spewing out into the riverbank.

"Nooooooo!" the Yukimibotamon cried, their shrieks the only thing audible above the raging waters.

"Dammit!" Davis swore.

"Change plans!" TK yelled. "Forget Golemon; stop that water!"

"Nefertimon!" Kari called, "plug up that hole!"

Weaving around the flood, Nefertimon zipped back up the dam. A safe distance away from Golemon, she launched four Rosetta Stones into the hole, stopping the flow. Aggravated, Golemon yanked at them, but they were wedged into the hole in such a way that they wouldn't budge. It roared and shook its fist at the retreating cat, then started climbing again.

Though the dam was re-sealed, plenty of water had gushed out, and it had to be stopped before it hit Muskaweegee Creek... but how? The Digimon already had a plan. Shurimon and Raidramon raced along the riverbank, Shurimon slicing through tree trunks and Raidramon zapping them out of the ground. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon wove another noose around the fallen brush, creating a sturdy wooden wall. They dropped it down into the riverbed behind Digmon, who thrust his drills into the ground and opened a wide chasm, then leaped in and dug his way under the wall to safety. As Pegasusmon and Nefertimon lifted him away, the raging water slammed into the trees, slowly draining underground.

"Whoo... Hope we never hafta do that again..." Digmon managed as they dropped him back onto the now muddy ground.

The kids all heaved a giant sigh of relief. "Thank goodness..." Kari panted.

A shriek from the Yukimibotamon told them that their troubles were not over. To their shock, Golemon was even higher up on the dam now, headed for the top. If it struck the top of the dam, the entire structure could burst open, and their little makeshift barrier couldn't stop an entire lake!

"Why does it want to break the dam?" TK thought out loud.

Cody's eyes narrowed. This destructive attitude was just like the Thundermon's. What was going on?...

Once again, Yolei was seized with dilemma. If they didn't stop Golemon, that town would be wiped off the map... but Golemon didn't seem to care, and it was too big and strong to knock away over and over. She bit her lip and stared up at it; what could they do?

Davis's face turned dark. They had exhausted all the other options; it was time to resort to extreme measures. "Kill it," he said. "We gotta kill it!"

"WHAT?" Yolei yelled, turning on him. "We can't do THAT! It's a living thing!"

Sweat was visible on his forehead, but he maintained his glare. "Hey, you got a better plan, let's hear it!" he growled.

She opened her mouth, but had no answer.

The Digimon once again tried to knock Golemon off of the dam, but no moves in their arsenal worked on it. As Pegasusmon and Nefertimon swooped down with another noose, its back spewed another toxic cloud, sending them crashing into each other and tumbling onto a surprised Raidramon. Digmon and Shurimon fired their projectiles, but a swipe of Golemon's hand sent them flying right back.

"He's not going quietly..." Pegasusmon growled.

"Raidramon!" Davis yelled, running to the edge of the bank, "Ya gotta take out Golemon!"

Raidramon looked up at his partner somberly; was he being told to kill another Digimon? "What?..." he asked, not quite believing it.

Mimi had been sobbing quietly, but now she bawled loudly. "Not again!" she yelled. "Not again!"

Yolei grabbed Davis's shoulder and pulled him around. "There had to be a better way!" she protested.

"Hey, the longer we drag this out, the better chance the dam gets wasted," Davis retorted. "We gotta do it!"

Cody glared at him, his eyes cold. "You sound just like the Digimon Emperor," he stated.

Davis's glared right back, horribly offended; how could Cody say that? "That ain't fair!" he snapped.

"Hey, now, wait!" TK interrupted, stepping into the argument. "Davis could be right!"

All three looked at him. "What?" they asked.

"Think!" TK huffed. "Golemon wants to break that dam, and he won't listen to us..."

Yolei gawked at him. "You, too?" she cried.

Cody shook his head. He used to respect TK...

Kari came up behind him, looking sad but determined. "Being Digidestined isn't always easy," she said. "Sometimes..."

"Every hero has to make choices like this," TK pointed out.

Cody looked up. That much was true... Sometimes criminals became so out of control, nothing could be done apart from killing them... His grandfather told him that his father struggled with these decisions as well... but he still wasn't sure; who were a bunch of children like them to decide when to take life?

Another scream came from the Yukimibotamon. Golemon had reached the top of the dam! Pegasusmon, Nefertimon and Raidramon all went at it again, but another gas cloud sent them back to the ground, crashing onto Digmon. All of them reverted to their Rookie levels.

"Aww, shit!" Davis swore again.

Shurimon's eyes narrowed; it was all him now. He leaped up to attack, but Golemon's fist was waiting for him. With one punch, the ninja tumbled, shrank back to Hawkmon and landed face down in the mud.

"Hawkmon!" Yolei yelled.

Hawkmon, barely moving, managed to pull his face out of the ground. "Urrgh... Forgive me..." he coughed. "He's too... strong..."

The kids all stared up at Golemon, dreading what came next; nothing could stop it now! Golemon laughed tyrannically and raised its mammoth fist to crack the center...

...But a grenade flew out of the woods and exploded on its hand, sending a rush of wind and noise ripping through the woods. The Yukimibotamon cried from the sound, and the kids had to cover their faces to avoid getting nicked by slivers of wood. Ken Ichijouji rushed out from the trees and onto the top of the dam, his guns trained on the surprised Golemon.

Davis whooped loudly. "Thank God!" he yelled. "See, guys? He's helping us!"

Golemon turned on the newcomer with a snarl, and Ken answered him with a rain of bullets. Golemon staggered backwards, giving what could have been described as a shriek of pain.

Cody turned on Davis in a rage. "He's going to kill it!" he snapped.

"Well, what else can he do?" Davis rebuked.

"How is he any better now?" Cody demanded. "You're an idiot!"

Davis fumed. "Listen, you little-" he growled.

Before he could lay into Cody any more, Mimi glared up at them. "Shut up!" she screeched. "Palmon's awake!"

They stopped and looked down at the plant in her arms. Palmon groaned quietly, and her eyes opened. "Are you OK...?" Mimi asked softly.

Palmon coughed loudly. "Mimi..." she whispered, "not real... Not real!..."

Everyone took their eyes off of Ken and looked down at her. Not real? "What do you mean?" Kari asked.

Palmon took a few deep breaths. "I was... walking..." she rasped, her voice almost inaudible over the gunfire, "and... a spire came... Woman... took a hair... Made the spire... Golemon..."

Everyone had the same reaction. "WHAT?" they yelled.

"No way!" Davis exclaimed. "How the hell...?"

TK's eyes widened. Spires appearing... then monsters appearing when the spires vanished? Suddenly the incidents in Suadi Arugula made sense.

Cody bit his lip. No wonder that Thundermon and this Golemon seemed heartless; they actually DID NOT have hearts!

Kari looked up at Ken, who was having to back up as Golemon forced its way through the bullet barrage. "Did Ken figure that all out?..." she thought aloud.

Two surges washed over Yolei: one of shame, and then one of relief. She had made some of her friends angry... but now she knew she was wrong. She had been wrong about Ken... and for the first time in her life, being wrong felt good.

Suddenly, Golemon lurched at Ken and swung too short, faking him out. Before he could get completely out of the way, its other fist caught him on the side, sending crashing onto the stone.

Yolei glared up at the stony monster. Ken needed help... and she knew just how to give it. "Hawkmon!" she yelled, seizing her D3, "can you still fight?"

Hawkmon coughed and slowly got to his legs. "I don't know how long I'll last..." he admitted, "but I'll do my best!"

"Good!" Yolei said; that was the Hawkmon she could count on! "Now, get up there and help Ken out!"

Just then, her D3 glowed with a bright new light. The Yukimibotamon oohed and ahhed. Mimi shielded her eyes. Palmon stared down at Hawkmon, who rose up from the ground, enveloped in a similar light. Yolei smiled wryly at the D3. She knew what was going to come next.

Hawkmon spread his wings and leered up at Golemon. "Hawkmon, Digivolve to..." he called, and then he was no longer Hawkmon. He became more birdlike than before: his wings grew long and wide; his feet became hard, sharp sets of talons; and his little bandanna fell away as two long, sharp horns burst from his skull. He flapped upwards, creating powerful gusts of wind beneath him. "...Aquilamon!" he finished.

Yolei's heart pounded with glee. Finally, her very own Champion-level Digimon! He was no super awesome ninja, but he would certainly do. "YEAH!" she yelled, "Aquilamon! Blow that phony away!"

Aquilamon smiled as wide as a bird could smile. Finally, he matched Veemon and Armadillomon with three Digivolutions... and he could tell that this one had plenty of power behind it. Without another moment's hesitation, he soared upwards towards the dam's top.

Ken disabled for the moment, Golemon had turned back to its business of breaking the dam... but then the sky grew dark. It looked up to see Aquilamon descending from above, a low, trembling screech bursting from his beak. "I think you've caused enough trouble," he rumbled, flapping his wings in its face.

Angrily, it hunched over and ejected another plume of sulfur from its back, but the newcomer flapped his mighty wings and blew it all away. Cornered, Golemon flailed its arms around in a red wrath, roaring.

Aquilamon dove in, belching three wide, spinning, purple energy rings from his mouth. He flew up as they bore into Golemon's midsection, tearing at its flesh and sending dust every which way. When the smoke cleared, any texture on the monster was gone; all of the kids saw it was just a shiny, black sculpture; a moving control spire.

"Ken!" Aquilamon shouted at the fallen boy. "Quickly!"

Ken was back on his feet, his laser trained on the obsidian statue. The green beam pierced its center, sending cracks racing through its entire body. Golemon raised its flaking arms and let out one last roar... and then crumbled into black dust on the top of the dam.

The Yukimibotamon leaped up and down, chirping happily. "HELL YEAH!" Davis yelled, joining them.

"Thank goodness..." Kari sighed.

Unlike the others, Mimi's attention was entirely on Palmon. "You're going to be OK..." she whimpered. "Please be OK!..."

Palmon coughed once more, then slid out of her partner's grip. She wobbled for a moment, then stood firm on her feet. "That's better..." she admitted. "See, Mimi? I'm fine!"

She certainly wasn't a second later, when Mimi had her arms around her in a surprisingly powerful hug, sobbing loudly once again. "Wha... what's wrong?..." she gurgled.

Yolei took her eyes off of her new Digimon and stared at the pampered princess. There seemed to be a lot of different Mimis within her: spoiled, happy, angry, caring... Which one, though, was the real Mimi? And why did she change so much?...

She didn't have much time to think this, though; suddenly she was exhausted and felt her knees give way. "Woah!" TK cried, catching her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm OK... I'm OK..." she managed, feeling like she had just gone a week without sleep... but then her eyes snapped open; usually it wasn't just the human who got worn out... and... "Hawkmon!" she exclaimed.

Cody nodded and looked up at the dam. "Let's find a way up..." he declared, starting into the woods.

* * *

After gathering their pooped Digimon, the kids found a trail up to the top of the dam. Ken stood there, clutching an unconscious Hawkmon in his metal-encased hands. Now that they were face-to-face with him, they were surprised at how worn he looked. His shoulders sagged, like he carried heavy weight. His eyes were lined with dark circles and bags, like he hadn't slept much.

"Ken! Hey!" Davis laughed as they arrived. "Thanks for coming! You really saved our-"

He was cut off- or rather, pushed out of the way- by a very furious Mimi; so THIS was the creep who hurt Palmon! "HEY!" she yelled. "Who do you think you are, trying to take over the Digital World?"

"Mimi..." Kari tried.

Mimi would not be silenced. "You think you're so much better than everyone else?" she went on. "You think you can do whatever you want? Do you understand just what this world is about? DO YOU?"

Yolei stared at her from her place on TK's side. This outburst wasn't brought on from selfishness or aggravation; it was genuine anger. That was one more side of Mimi she had seen now...

Ken took it all in stride, then set Hawkmon down and bowed low. "There's no excuse for what the Emperor did..." he said, fatigue apparent in his voice, "but I have nothing to do with this woman."

"Yeah, what's that all about, anyway?" Davis asked, making his way past Mimi again. "Palmon said she did somethin' to a spire?..."

Ken shook his head. "All I know is that she's up to something..." he said. "I've been following her for days, destroying the spire-borns as I went... but I haven't caught up to her yet..."

"Spire-born..." TK repeated. It was an apt name... and creepy to boot.

"But how can anybody turn a lifeless spire into something like that Golemon?" Kari asked.

"I don't know that, either," Ken admitted with a sigh, then stared out over the riverbed. "But I can't rest until every spire is gone... until the Emperor is gone..."

Davis chuckled. "Damn," he remarked, "you sure have guts, man."

TK wasn't so sure that guts were the reason. Ken was certain driven... so driven that it was a little scary. That cruelty that had been in his eyes as the Emperor was gone, but...

Cody remained stone-faced. "And why didn't you say anything sooner?" he asked.

Ken turned a cold glare on him. "Would you have believed me?" he replied.

Cody stared at the ground. No, he wouldn't have believed him... just as he didn't now.

"Well, I don't know 'bout everyone else," Davis broke in, "but that whole mess's got my mind made up! Ken, ya gotta join up with us!"

Ken sighed sadly and shook his head. "This is my responsibility..." he muttered, turning to leave, "and you'd best stay out of it... for your own good." With that, he walked across the dam and disappeared into the woods.

"Well!" Mimi huffed. "That's the smartest thing I've heard all day! Now, take me home, right now!"

Palmon looked at her partner and sighed again.

Davis grunted an obscenity, then stared after Ken. Why wouldn't he work with them? He took the slip of paper from his pocket and looked it over. Maybe he should write to him in private and get some answers-

Yolei's eye zeroed in on the paper. "He... gave you his e-mail address?" she coughed.

Davis looked at her. "Yeah?" he asked. "So?"

* * *

Finally, Tamachi was blessed with the cool darkness of night. There was a flash from a lone window. Tired, haggard Ken Ichijouji dragged himself out of his chair; he had done plenty today, but more of the same waited tomorrow; he had better get a few hours of sleep... but a hot shower sounded better at the moment.

As he turned for the door, his computer beeped; he had a new e-mail, from a one "1337crusherY." Curious, he decided to open it. The bright yellow letters and the hazy purple background stung his eyes, but he could make out the following:

_Thanks for helping us today._

_I hope you'll join us soon._

_-Yolei_

He stared at the message for a long while, then leaned on the back of his chair, lost in thought.

* * *

With a happy sigh, Yolei flopped onto her odorous bed, Poromon already out like a light in his nest. Finally, the day had gone from bad to good; even though it had started out crappy, they had learned more about the strange events in the Digital World, she had her own Champion-level Digimon... and Ken was back on the "good" list.

As she looked at her darkened ceiling, her thoughts turned completely on Ken. She hated to admit it, but Davis had been right; Ken did seem to want to do the right thing now... but why was he so cold? Maybe he just needed some more friends to warm him back up... Yes, she could do that; she would work on him, get him to be friendlier so he would fit in with the other Digidestined. She sighed happily again; things were looking better and better.

Speaking of which... She glanced over at the clock: it read 12:32 AM. Ken was no longer a fiend. The family was asleep. Poromon was dead to the world. A familiar, comfortable warmth washed over her. Her hands crept down around her belly, her toes stretched out, and a wry smile came to her lips. She was tired... but not _that_ tired.

It had been a long time since the sound that came next had been heard in the apartments...

"Ken-chaaaaaan..."


	24. Inheritance

**CHAPTER 24**

**INHERITANCE**

The tinkle of the shop bell made Toshiko Takenouchi look up from her plant trimming. "Oh, hello, Tai," she greeted the boy who stepped in.

"Hi, Mrs. Takenouchi," Tai said, shutting the door behind him; it was getting colder out, and the flowers had to be kept warm. "Is Sora working today?"

"Well, yes," she answered, looking concerned. "She's in the back room, but she's not her usual self... How ever did she catch that cold so quickly?"

Tai coughed. "Well, you know, it's that time of year..." he tried. "Musta got it from someone at school."

"Well, just be careful you don't get it from her," she said. "Build up your immunity when you get home; orange juice helps a lot."

Tai beamed at her and headed for the back room. Behind closed doors, he sometimes referred to Sora's mom as his second one; she always acted caring to all of her daughter's friends. He wondered if, because Sora's dad spent so much of his time elsewhere, Toshiko had grown to see all of her daughter's relations as extended family...

He pushed through the swinging doors into a world of warm greenery and exotic-colored petals. Sora stood with her back to him, a little sprayer in her hands. "Hey, Sora," he called. "It's me."

His answer was a loud sneeze. She turned around, revealing her red-encircled eyes, which did nothing to help the little facemask that she had to wear. "Heygh," she gurgled, both the mask and the snot contained inside it destroying her speech capabilities. "How'zth i' goigh?"

"Pretty good," he answered, setting his backpack down in the corner. "Izzy has a rough idea of where Gennai is, so Joe, Matt and I were off mapping out the northeast of Server... Sure wish you'd been there, though. Rough terrain for us ground-only types."

"Wehll, u wuddun' wan' this, trughstch be," she tried. "I' suggs!"

"Come on, take that off," he said, producing a packet of tissues. "I can't understand half of what you're saying, and I don't wanna start laughing."

"Ogayyy," Sora muttered, and peeled off the mask, a healthy portion of clear snot coming with it, leaving little strands hanging off her nose and cheeks. She quickly took the pack and cleaned herself off. "I don't even know why I'm wearing it," she admitted. "Flowers won't catch this!... Did Izzy say what that crazy place was, anyway?"

He shook his head; whatever that eerie, frozen palace was, nobody could figure it out. "I guess we just won't go near it again," he reasoned. "You sound bad enough to stop anyone."

"I hope Biyomon's doing better than I am," she grumbled, blowing her snotty nose. "Anyway, has he got enough data to find Gennai yet?"

He sighed. "No..." he admitted. "He's got another program working on it right now... a 'more accurate algorithm,' he said..."

She had to chuckle at his miniature Izzy impression, then blew her nose again. "How about the new kids?" she asked. "What're they doing?"

"Well, Kari says something big's going on," Tai said, frowning. "Someone's started making control spires on their own... they can turn them on and off... and they can make them into phony Digimon, too!"

"WHAT?" she demanded, almost dropping the sprayer.

"Yeah, but it's not all bad," he went on. "Yolei came back all worn out on Tuesday... but TK said that Hawkmon Digivolved to a Champion! That means all three of them can Digivolve normally now."

Sora didn't know whether to be relieved or bothered. On one hand, that meant they were getting stronger and could deal with these problems... but what if they were getting to be stronger than the older kids? Were they going to be rendered useless once again, so soon after they had regained some of their strength?

Tai could see all of that worry and clapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry so much," he assured her. "When Izzy finds Gennai, we'll get all the answers we need!"

She sighed heavily, then blew her nose again. She just hoped the answers they got wouldn't be ones that she didn't want to hear.

* * *

"Whew! Time for a break!" TK sighed, kicking off his shoes and taking a big bite of his sandwich. The Digidestined had spent the entire day working on the shores of Mukaluk River, just south of Muskaweegee Creek. The townsfolk had been so grateful to them for saving the dam a few days before that they requested that they fix the fallen stone bridge as well... and that's exactly what they had been doing.

Davis dug his grungy fingers into a bag of carrot sticks, looking annoyed. "If this is their idea of a reward, they're really messed up," he grunted. After having his hands scraped by bricks, his legs caked in quick-dry cement dust, and his back almost skewered by the star on Shurimon's back, he wasn't in the best of moods.

"It's a poor town, Davis," Kari pointed out. "It's the least we can do for them."

"Besides, we should do a lot of things like this," Cody stated. "The Resistance is trying to make us look like villains, and we have to prove them wrong."

"Yeah, but does it hafta be so hard?..." Davis groaned, looking at his gray legs.

TK laughed. He had to admit he didn't realize how hard building a bridge was, either. "Well, we got it done, though," he pointed out, "and in just one afternoon, too! That's working together for you."

"And no signs of control spire monsters, either," Patamon added. "It's been a good day!"

Yolei quietly sat off to the side, sipping a juice pack and staring at the flowing river. After resting yesterday, Hawkmon and she were re-energized and back to themselves... sort of. Ever since the fight with Golemon, one thing had taken up her whole mind: Ken. How could she get his attention? After all, now that the sexy, dark-haired genius was back on the good team, she didn't see why she couldn't try to appeal to him... but something else bothered her, too...

Hawkmon noticed her silence and nudged her. "I say, Yolei, what are you thinking about?" he asked.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. "Oh, well, I'm kinda worried about Ken..." she admitted.

The others all turned and looked. "Why?" Veemon asked.

"Well," she went on, "if what Palmon said was true, and there's a woman out there who can make new spires and stuff, then maybe she thinks he's in her way... I mean, he's knocking down the spires... She might try to..."

"Hey, if that's all it takes, then we're just as much in the way," Gatomon pointed out. "There's as much chance she'd come after us."

"Yeah, but we're in a big group," Kari pointed out, starting to see Yolei's point, "and Ken's alone..."

Cody folded his arms. "We don't know that the Emperor is destroying spires," he answered bluntly.

"He's destroyed spire-borns," Armadillomon pointed out.

"Yeah!" Davis argued. "Same thing!"

"As far as I'm concerned, it isn't," Cody said, standing up. "None of us have seen spires turning into monsters..."

"But Palmon said she saw it," Patamon objected, "and I know her; she doesn't lie!"

"If you're trying to say something, Cody," TK said, "what is it?"

Cody shook his head. "It's all some cheap display," he said. "That woman is the Emperor's new ally, and he's just trying to worm his way into our company. Then, when we least expect it..."

Davis wrinkled his nose. "God, Cody," he grunted, "you're so frickin' paranoid."

"And YOU trust people too easily," Cody returned, scowling at him. "People don't change as often as you want to think!"

Yolei sighed. "I thought like that for a while, too, but then when we fought Golemon..." she remembered, "there's just something different about him now."

TK and Kari quietly agreed, but Cody remained unpersuaded. "That's called 'acting,'" he snapped, looking off into the distance. "Even now, I'm sure he's out there, planning some new wickedness..."

Davis snorted and looked away. TK, Kari and the Digimon grew silent. Yolei sighed and stared back at the water.

* * *

The control spire's glare was almost blinding in the afternoon sun... but the blackness could still be seen. Ken stared up at the obelisk, fury and sorrow sharing his heart. He didn't know what to think any longer.

When he was the Digimon Emperor, he knew how the spires worked... at least, he thought he had; they blocked Digivolution and sent power to the dark rings, and that was it... But if that woman was able to transform them into monsters with just a few hairs from her head, then there was far more to them than that... but what? He had CREATED them... hadn't he? Why couldn't he understand how she was doing it?

He hung his head, the weapons he wore becoming heavy. Ever since those kids had crashed the Gigas and defeated him, all of his complex, genius-worthy thoughts had shriveled up and disappeared... He could no longer think like he used to, and it was starting to get to him. Why couldn't he figure this out? Did he have to be evil to be smart?

His eyes found the base of the spire and he stared back up at the object, piercing the blue, cloudless sky with its ebony hue. It didn't matter, he decided; it didn't matter whether he knew or not. Looking at these things nauseated him. They all had to go.

With one sweep of his shoulder laser, this one did just that. The crash echoed through the whole area. Ken turned and headed off for the next one.

* * *

"Well..." TK said, breaking the silence by crumpling up his bag, "I think we did pretty well today. Good work, everyone."

Davis wouldn't be deterred from the previous topic so easily. "I still think we oughta get Ken to join up with us," he said.

Yolei said nothing, but the look in her eyes showed she agreed. TK and Kari glanced at each other. Ken did seem to be different now, and if both Davis and Yolei wanted to trust him...

A vein bulged on Cody's forehead. "Haven't you heard any of what I said?" he demanded. "It's a complete sham!"

Davis turned on the little boy, equally furious. "Why won't you give 'im a chance?" he asked.

"What makes you dumb enough to?" Cody rebuked.

Veemon looked up at him. "It was Wormmon," he said. "That's what Davith told me..."

A morbid silence fell over all of them as their minds drifted back to the final battle with Kimeramon, and what Wormmon had done to save Magnamon. Ken's own partner had turned on him and attacked the crazy monster... Is that what had Davis thinking the former Emperor could redeem himself?... Cody frowned. That seemed more like an incident of madness than love. He just didn't understand Davis's view on this at all...

Gatomon coughed. "We, uh, we should start home; it's almost sundown," she spoke up.

"Yes... right," Hawkmon agreed. "Shall we, Yolei?"

The kids slowly packed up their things and started off into the woods, towards the portal they had come from. Davis watched them go, once again angry and irked. Nobody ever wanted to listen to him! Why was Cody so damn stubborn, anyway?

* * *

What none of the Digidestined knew, however, was that they were not alone. On a bluff on the other side of the river, hidden by the underbrush, was the mysterious silver-haired woman. She smirked at the pathetic little bridge they had made; stone may have been acceptable for construction in the human world, but in the Digital World, they might as well have built it out of pretzel sticks. What stupid children, she thought, to try to stop the inevitable! They needed to be taught a lesson.

She turned around, raised her arm and chanted in a low, solemn voice. Slowly, with a hollow groan, a control spire rose up out of the earth, scattering dust and debris and making birds fly away. Her chanting changed and she plucked a hair from her scalp, and it stiffened into a sharp needle. On her final word, she plunged it into the spire, which twisted and contorted, taking the shape of a tall, beefy minotaur monster with a mechanical drill in place of its left arm.

"Minotarumon," she stated, stepping aside and motioning to the bridge. "That offends me."

With an angry snort, the spire-born terror stomped past her and headed for the riverside.

* * *

"Davith, let's go," Veemon said, tugging at his partner's pant leg. "We don't wanna get left behind."

Davis was about to agree when he heard a familiar whirring noise. He recognized it immediately; it sounded like what the dentist always put in his mouth, but a lot louder. His eyes immediately shot down to a muscle-bound, mythical monster with a giant, spinning drill grafted into its arm... and it was headed straight for the base of the bridge. "Aww, shit-" he hissed. "GUYS! GUYS, COME BACK!"

The other kids and their partners were quickly at his side. "What's goin' on?" Armadillomon asked.

Yolei's eyes locked onto the monster and twisted into enraged half-moons. "HEY!" she yelled. "Get away from that!"

While the others yelled, Davis was already reaching for his D3. That thing wasn't going to listen; it was a Spire-born, he was sure of it!... and NOBODY was going to wreck something he'd worked on all day! In a flash, Raidramon appeared where Veemon had been, and he raced down towards the river, Davis holding on tightly.

With a loud snarl, the monster plunged the drill into the side of the bridge, sending cracks racing through the entire thing. "Oh, HELL, NO!" Davis yelled. "FRY his ass, Raidramon!"

Raidramon roared and leaped at the intruder, but Minotarumon saw them coming. Quicker than it takes to write it, its drill jerked out of the bridge and came right at him! Raidramon took a hit to the shoulder and both Davis and he crashed into the river beneath.

"Davis!" Kari yelled as the others ran down to the riverside. "Oh, no!"

Davis's head emerged from the water, along with his shoulders and midsection, and he spewed a stream of water. Thankfully, this was a shallow part of the river. "Raidramon!" he snarled.

Raidramon burst out of the water and went for the monster's throat, but its other fist came in at lightning speed, knocking him to the dust before he saw it coming.

"Ultima suxxorz!" Yolei swore angrily; Davis's screwing up was going to cost them the bridge! Well, she had a new toy to show this construction critic... "Hawkmon!" she yelled, raising her D3.

In a flash, Hawkmon was Aquilamon, and he flew right at Minotarumon. "Stop this at-" he began, but couldn't finish; he had to swoop away from the giant drill.

"Get him outta here!" Yolei yelled, stamping her feet.

Aquilamon dove in from behind and caught the beast on its shoulders, flapped his wings and lifted it into the air. Minotarumon, however, wanted off the ride, and told him so with a drill to the foot. Aquilamon screeched in pain and his legs spasmed, and the monster crashed down onto the top of the bridge, leaving a huge crater.

"AUUGHHH!" Yolei screamed, ripping off her cap and hurling it to the ground; that was NOT what she had in mind!

Kari squinted at the monster; there was something different now... Along Minotarumon's shoulders were long tears where Aquilamon had grabbed it... and there was something black underneath. "It's a spire!" she gasped.

Cody's eyes narrowed. "Right," he grunted, raising his D3. TK did the same.

Pegasusmon flew in and shot Minotarumon point-blank with an Equis Beam, but the burly beast got back on its feet without hesitation. Digmon fired his drills, but it swung its own drill and sent them all into the water.

"Oh, man..." TK gulped. None of their moves were leaving a scratch any more! Why? And how could they beat this thing?

Davis hauled himself out of the water to safety. "Hey!" he called to the others. "I've got a plan! Kari! TK! Noose 'im!"

TK and Kari exchanged confused looks, but they didn't have any ideas themselves. Kari raised her D3 and Nefertimon joined the battle, zipping around the snorting, snarling Minotarumon. Pegasusmon and she crossed and formed the noose, then swooped down and strung the monster up around its middle. The monster strained and screeched, and the golden threads started to give.

"Great! What now?" Yolei demanded.

"Get 'im in the water!" Davis ordered.

"Allow me," Aquilamon said, zooming in behind Minotarumon and flapping his mighty wings. Minotarumon couldn't balance himself and toppled off of the bridge, landing with a giant splash.

Davis grinned wickedly. "NOW!" he yelled, pointing.

Raidramon's spikes sparked with blue electricity, and he flung the whole bolt into the river, setting off a zapping, jolting light show that everyone had to turn away from. When the noise stopped, Minotarumon was gone. A fine layer of black soot floated away on the river's current.

"YEAH-HAH!" Davis laughed, pumping his fist. "Mission accomplished!"

Another splash caught his ear. He looked up and instantly his heart sank. The bridge they had worked so hard on lay in waste, peppered with craters and lined with cracks. Parts of it were already crumbling and falling into the water.

"'Mission accomplished,' eh?..." Aquilamon grunted.

"...Wonderful," Cody groused. "Now we have to rebuild it completely."

TK sighed and opened his backpack again. "Well, let's get started..."

"Dammit!" Yolei cried. "I wanted to get home on time tonight!"

Davis stared at the crater that Minotarumon had made, then sighed dejectedly. "Ugh... I've never felt so... verified," he muttered.

Cody rolled his eyes. "'Violated,'" he muttered.

After three long hours, the Digidestined were not glad to return to the computer lab to see Izzy with his arms folded, like an angry mother. "Where've you been?" he demanded. "It's almost eight o'clock! I've had to hide from the janitor twice!"

"Bull in a concrete shop," Gatomon grunted.

"Some minotaur Digimon trashed our bridge, and we had to fix it again," TK explained, motioning to the dust all over his shirt. "Sorry."

Izzy's mood changed completely when he heard that. "Another spire-born?" he asked. "It was, wasn't it?"

Yolei blinked, baffled; Izzy knew about spire-borns? "How'd you...?" she began.

"I told him about what happened before," Kari told her, then turned back to Izzy. "Have you found anything?"

"A little," he replied, motioning to the laptop on the desk. Two images were displayed: one of Thundermon, and one of Golemon. "Now, what was the one you fought?" he asked.

"Big bull cow thing with a drill fer an arm," Demiveemon chirped. "Real mean!"

Izzy typed for a second and an image of the creature appeared. "A Minotarumon?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's him," Upamon huffed. "Jerk wrecked our bridge!"

"So what's the secret?" Davis pushed. "Any way we can pop these zits fast?"

"Well, from the looks of this," Izzy said, "all spire-borns are at the Champion level of evolution... so I'm afraid your Armor Digivolutions won't be of much use against them. You'll have to fight them with your own Champion forms from now on." He turned to TK and Kari. "That goes for you two as well," he finished.

Patamon did a winged backflip. "Yay!" he laughed. "Angemon, here I come!"

TK smiled at his little friend. He had a right to be excited; he hadn't Digivolved to that form in a long time.

Gatomon, however, was not smiling. Unlike the other Digimon, she was already in her Champion form, which, since she was so small, she could stay in for far longer periods than the others. With her tail ring destroyed, though, she only had a fraction of her strength... and if she couldn't become her Ultimate form, Angewomon, and her Armor form wasn't going to be of any use... "Are you sure?" she asked.

"It certainly looks like it..." Izzy admitted, scratching his head. "Sorry."

Gatomon looked down at the floor. Kari patted her little friend on the head. "Don't worry," she said gently. "We'll do what we can."

The others hadn't heard them; they were busy poring over Izzy's data. "Is that all you have?" Cody asked, frowning.

Izzy nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Sorry I don't have more..."

"Ahh, we'll figure it out on the next trip," Davis reasoned, scooping up Demiveemon. "C'mon, we gotta scram before the janitor comes this way again."

Cody, Yolei and TK grabbed their partners and followed Davis out the door. Kari, however, wasn't finished talking with Izzy. "How's the search going?" she asked.

Izzy typed on his computer and a different program sprung up, showing a partially-complete map of the Digital World and a lot of flashing lines and numbers. "Thanks for letting us use your D3 yesterday," he said. "Tai, Matt, Joe and I mapped out a good deal of the area I suspect he's in..."

Gatomon hopped up and looked at the screen. "Is this the program?" she asked.

"No, this is just a window I use to look in on it," Izzy said, closing the laptop. "My computer at home is running the real thing... Hopefully, I'll have a fix on Gennai's whereabouts in a few more days."

"A few more days?" Gatomon asked. "Can't it go any faster?"

"It's already going at maximum speed; I shut off all the nonessential functions," he replied. "The Digital World is immense; that's as fast as it'll go."

"Well... that's better than nothing," Kari admitted with a shrug. She really wanted to find Gennai, too; he might be able to explain the terrible feelings and dreams she'd been having... but that was in the back of her mind right now. If they had to fight without their Armor Digivolutions, then Gatomon needed to get stronger... but how?

* * *

Deftly avoiding the janitor's office, Davis and the others slipped out of the school doors. "Whoo!" Davis laughed. "There's gotta be an award for that!"

"There oughta be an award for rebuilding crappy bridges," Yolei mumbled.

Davis turned on her. "Crappy?" he demanded. "Whaddya mean 'crappy?'"

TK knew enough now to follow Cody out of the way.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm just saying..." she went on, letting Poromon go, "that good-quality bridges have been tested for weight, and they're built to hold it. I don't think I saw you doing any testing."

"Yeah?" Davis snarled, dropping Demiveemon and grabbing her jacket collar, "well, I'll do some NOW!"

Three seconds and a lot of cursing later, both of them were ringing out their clothes by the side of the pond. "Brrr..." Yolei shivered, rubbing herself all over. "It's gettin' too cold to do that!"

"Fine," Davis agreed, slapping his goggles on his pant leg. "Come winter, I'll chuck ya in a snowdrift instead."

"YOU, chuck ME?" she returned, getting in his face. "HAH!"

As they snarled at each other, TK and Cody rejoined them, the Digimon at their sides. "Nice form today," Poromon said.

"Yay!" Demiveemon laughed, clapping. "Do it again!"

"Err... I don't think so, little buddy," Davis muttered.

"You might have to," Patamon said, pointing behind them. "You had an audience."

The two combatants whirled around to see Tai and Sora at the gates, clapping. "Great show, you two!" Tai chuckled. "It looked so real!"

"Does it run every day, or just on special occasion?" Sora asked.

Yolei went red and muttered to herself. Davis spluttered angrily. "What're you guys...?" he tried.

"We just came to see what was going on," Tai explained. "After all, you're kind of late..."

"Err, yeah..." TK chuckled lightly. "We had a little setback..."

Sora blew her nose on a tissue and snorted; she had taken off the mask so she could speak, but the snot still flowed freely. "Well, don't keep us in the dark," she said. "What happened?"

"Oh, man, it's been nuckin' futs lately!" Davis said. "Spires're poppin' up an' turnin' into monsters an' kickin' our asses!"

"Not completely," Cody said. "We've been able to Digivolve in new ways, and that's always defeated them."

"Not always!" Demiveemon blurted. "I beat Minotarumon as Raidramon!"

"Only because you electrified the river water," Cody rebuked. "If we hadn't been near one, you'd have had no chance."

Demiveemon's little ears sagged. "Hey, lay off!" Davis snapped, snatching his partner up.

"Izzy did say they're all at the Champion level, so our Armor forms won't be any good anymore..." TK pointed out. "On the good side, you guys can help us again!"

Just then, the school door slammed shut, and the patter of feet approached them. "Hey!" Kari's voice called as Izzy, Gatomon and she appeared from the darkness. "What's everyone doing out here?"

Tai's watch suddenly buzzed. "Good grief; 8:30 already?" he reported, looking at it. "We have to get moving, or mom and dad'll worry..."

He started off down the way with Kari. "Well, we've still got plenty to tell ya!" Davis said, running up beside him. "You ain't seen Exveemon yet, have ya, coach?"

"And the Emperor is still sneaking about..." Cody muttered, running up beside Kari. "We have to do something about him, too..."

"How about your surveying?" TK asked, coming up behind them. "How's that going?"

As that crowd moved off, Sora laughed at the energy of their young friends... then coughed sharply. Yolei turned to her, concerned. "You OK?" she asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." she muttered, dabbing at her nose again. "It's this cold I picked up in the Digital World."

Yolei blinked. One could catch a cold in the Digital World? "What if it's a computer virus and not a cold?" she asked.

Sora thought for a moment, then laughed. "I hadn't thought of that!" she admitted. "But colds ARE viruses... so maybe you get the same symptoms from a computer one."

"Heh, yeah..." Yolei trailed off as they started walking, her thoughts turning back to Ken. Was there any way she could attract him? She looked over at Sora. She was the Digidestined of Love; maybe she knew some secret. "Hey, Sora? I've got a, um, girl question for you..." she tried.

Sora blew her nose again. "Really?" she asked. "What?"

She put her hands behind her back, thinking hard; she shouldn't mention Ken to Sora, given how Mimi reacted to him the other day... "Well, there's this guy..." she started, "and, I, um..."

Sora smiled. "Ah, one of those questions..." she said.

"Well, he knows who I am, but... I wanna get closer, y'know..." Yolei went on. "Thing is, I don't have a clue how to do it!"

"Well, I don't call myself an expert on romance," Sora admitted, wiping her upper lip with a handkerchief, "but I think the most important thing for you to do is be yourself. That's what's best."

That was a typical Sora answer, Yolei thought... but did it work? "Is that the secret you have with Tai?" she asked.

Sora spluttered, and not from the cold. "W-what?" she managed, applying her hankie again. "I told you, there's nothing like that going on!"

"OK, OK!" Yolei surrendered, holding up her hands. "Sheesh..."

"There's some more advice for you: keep your mind out of the gutter," Sora muttered, turning to go in her home's direction. "See you tomorrow."

Yolei watched her go, scratching her head. Why did Sora get so angry whenever she brought that up? It seemed apparent enough, but still...

* * *

It seemed like no time at all had passed between when Yolei had gone to bed and when her alarm was buzzing... but something certainly had changed; she felt absolutely yucky inside.

"Come along, Yolei," Poromon chirped, instantly awake. "Mustn't be late for school."

Lifting her arm to shut off the alarm was like using a log to push down a mountain. She rose like a zombie from the grave, with a matching groan. Had she caught Sora's cold? No, she couldn't have... A cold would mess up her nose and throat; this ailment felt like it was coming from the pit of her stomach.

"Are you all right?" Poromon asked, fluttering over. She looked pale- more pale than usual- and he naturally became worried.

"I'm ogayyy..." she slurred, her feet slithering onto the ground. "I jus'... jus' need a bathroom..."

Ignoring pants for the moment, she jammed on a sloppy t-shift and shuffled out. Thankfully, her siblings were nowhere in sight; she had the latrine all to herself. She opened the door and walked in, not bothering to close it behind her.

Poromon rarely ventured out of the safety of Yolei's room, but today he made an exception. What was the matter with his partner? Groans? Not in a hurry on a school day? Leaving the bathroom door open? Something had to be wrong, and it was his responsibility to figure it out! He fluttered through the corridor to the open door. "Are you ill?" he asked. "Do you need to stay home?"

She wasn't doing any of the usual bathroom activities; she was just leaning on the sink, staring hollow-eyed at her reflection in the mirror. Sora's words sounded hollow and useless in her morning-afflicted brain. Be herself? Be this gawky, flat-chested, big-mouthed, stinky girl? There were girls like her who got romanced in her doujins... but that was all fiction; the real world could hardly be like that. Her tummy twisted itself into three knots. Be herself? Sure... if she was looking to join a convent. Why would Ken want her? Why would anybody want her, for that matter? "...That'll never work," she muttered out loud.

"Of course it will," Poromon argued. "If you really are sick, you _must_ stay home! You don't want to give it to your friends, do you?"

She grunted and looked back into the mirror. Sora's advice was no good. There was only one person who could help her... but the thought of going to HER for help made her stomach hurt even more. Still, if she wanted a chance at Ken...

"Now, you need warmth and rest," Poromon was going on behind her. "Go on back to bed, and for heaven's sake, put a cover over yourself, and-"

"I'm just fine," she snapped, nudging him out of the bathroom with her foot and shutting the door.

* * *

Friday passed with little incident for Izzy. He went to school, performed splendidly on his assignments, then went home again; he usually would stick around to monitor the new Digidestined, but today he absolutely had to get home. He had to check the program; it could have found Gennai by now!

He raced into his apartment, kicked off his shoes and rushed into his room. The computer's extended use had made the air toasty and metallic smelling, but he didn't care; his palms were sweaty enough already.

As he jabbed the space bar and the screen lit up, though, his heart sank. The program was still running, with no prospective ending time in sight. He fell back into his swivel chair wearily, finding sense in Kari's impatience. He had already been running this for two whole days; how long did they have to wait? He pulled up another map of the Digital World and scowled at it. Maybe he had the region wrong? Maybe he should conduct a search from File Island, or that mysterious place Sora found, or...

He froze. Had something just flashed on the map? He stared without blinking, and surely enough, a bright orange dot blipped on a section of the Forbidden Desert. He shook his head and looked again, and once again it appeared. Something really was there!

But what? He looked back at the locator program, but it wasn't finished. It couldn't be Gennai; it had to be something else... but what? He typed on the keys and a readout appeared. Whatever it was, it was emitting a powerful amount of energy, far past any control spire. His eyes narrowed as he stared at it; what could it be?

He opened his e-mail program, jotted down a quick e-mail and sent it off to the five D-Terminals. Whatever it was, it was worth checking out...

Just then, he looked up, surprised. Had he just seen another colored dot around the first one? He stared at it again, but nothing changed. He leaned back in his chair, arms folded and brow knitted. Something was definitely going on in that desert...

* * *

Davis kicked the trashcan with a grunt. It was bad enough that Izzy wasn't in the lab, but where the hell was Yolei? "Didn't she say ANYTHING?" he asked Poromon.

Poromon sat on the desk next to the computer, looking equally annoyed. "No," he huffed. "Now stop asking me!"

"It's weird," TK agreed, glancing at his D-Terminal again. "Usually she's here, and with a message like this..."

Cody folded his arms. "Maybe she got sick and had to go home..." he suggested.

"Good idea," Kari agreed, getting up and pulling out her phone. "I'll call her and ask."

Gatomon sighed and sat down on the floor, gently scratching at the false wooden floor. "I wonder what this new energy could be..." she said aloud.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Demiveemon chirped, hopping up and down, "maybe it's a new DigiEgg!"

"No, it couldn't be that," Patamon replied. "We've found eight of them already..."

"Yeah," TK murmured quietly; there were only eight crests, so there were only eight eggs... weren't there?

"But Davis found a third DigiEgg," Upamon spoke up, "so that's nine eggs!"

"Maybe it's another one like it," Demiveemon suggested. "To beat this new lady fast!"

"I don't know..." Gatomon muttered. "That seems too easy..."

They would have imagined more, but Kari cut them off with a sigh. "Her mom says she hasn't come home..." she reported, closing her phone.

Poromon sighed sadly. Davis grunted a swear. What was more important than going to the Digital World?

* * *

Mimi had been in a really great mood before she had walked though the door of her apartment; after all, she had just humiliated the jock who had broken up with her by creating a rumor about his lower regions. Of course, this was before she had gone inside.

"I'm home, mo-" she began as she rounded the corner, but she couldn't finish the word. Her mother, Satoe Tachikawa, was hanging curtains over the sink... while that purple-haired, stinky girl was sitting at the dining room table! HER dining room table! In HER apartment!

"Hi, sweetie," Satoe said with her usual sunny smile. "You have a friend waiting for you!"

Yolei noticed her and looked up with a feeble smile. "Um, hi," she said with a wave.

It was a whole thirty seconds before Mimi could manage to blurt out "what's SHE doing here?"

Satoe blinked. "Well, she said she was a friend of yours, so I let her in..." she said. "Why?"

Mimi boiled inside. Sometimes her mother could be such a thoughtless airhead!

"Thanks for the chair, Mrs. Tachikawa," Yolei said, taking the hints and standing up, "but I think I'd better talk with Mimi outside now."

"Of course, honey," Satoe replied. "Come on back whenever you like!"

Mimi's face was almost purple; that was one thing she would NOT let happen again. "...Come on," she grunted, taking Yolei's arm rather roughly and dragging her out onto the balcony. Safely out of earshot, she dropped what was left of the sweetness act and glared at her "guest."

"Now-" Yolei began.

"What the HELL are you doing here?" Mimi snapped. "Don't you know what 'get lost' means?"

Yolei sighed angrily; pride tasted very bitter when swallowed. "I need... your help," she strained.

"Forget it!" Mimi huffed, folding her arms. "Now go away!"

Yolei wouldn't budge. "I need to know... how to be attractive," she went on. "There's... a boy."

Mimi blew a raspberry. "A boy? Hah!" she sneered. "You're a lost cause! Who'd like you?"

"That's exactly the point!" Yolei argued. "I'm... not good at bein' pretty."

There was a thick silence. Mimi's glare softened a bit. This repugnant and pungent girl KNEW she wasn't attractive?... and she was asking for HER help to change? She sniffed; it could be a trick. "And why should I help you?" she asked. "You've said some pretty mean things about me!"

Yolei bit her lip, then bowed slightly, expressing her meekness. "Please," she said, feeling worse with every breath. "If you help me this one time... I'll take back everything I said... and leave you alone for the rest of your life."

Mimi harrumphed; that was a likely promise... but she certainly sounded like she meant it. Her view of Yolei changed as she looked over her ratty clothes and unkempt hair... Maybe she COULD do something for this bit of clique rubbish... and to have transformed this toad into a princess would be a gold mine for her reputation! Her mind spun as she looked over Yolei; this project was her ticket to becoming queen of the cheerleaders... no, queen of the whole school!

"Hmmm..." she mumbled, drumming her fingers on her arms, prolonging the torture. "Well... I can't promise miracles," she said, "but maybe we can get you looking at least... adequate."

Yolei looked up, her chest swelled with hope. "Really?" she asked.

"Now, what should we start with...?" Mimi said, looking her over from all angles. "Your clothes... your hair... or that smell?..."

They wouldn't be starting with any of that; Yolei's D-Terminal beeped loudly. Thankful for the interlude, she yanked it out and read the message inside. She turned to Mimi with a frown. "Sorry, but I've gotta go," she said. "Something big's going down, Digi-wise!"

"What? What..." Mimi began, but then covered her concern with her usual frown and sniff. "Well, we'll start on Sunday at eleven, then," she stated. "Be on time, or the deal's off."

"...Got it," Yolei grunted, stuffing the device back in her pocket and rushing for the stairs. What could be happening in the Digital World?... but more importantly... what kind of deal had she just made?...

* * *

With a low groan, the spire cracked at its center and toppled into the swampy muck around it. Ken lowered his grenade launcher, glaring at the obelisk with complete disgust; he hadn't placed that one at all.

He paused, then sat down on a nearby rock, brooding deeply. It was true that he had dropped spires all over the place with the Gigas, but he distinctly remembered that its flight plan took it too far west of this swamp. Someone else had built it. His heart skipped a beat as he hit a terrible thought: could that woman create spires of her own? He turned and looked back at his trail of splintered blackness. If she could, then... how many more did he have to destroy?...

His stomach complained loudly; hunger had finally caught up with him. His thoughts drifted to food, and home... His parents would worry again if he didn't show his face... and a cup of tea and some of his mother's cookies sounded very appealing.

With a sigh, he forced himself up. There was a TV portal back a ways... He turned and started back. Yes, he thought; going home to eat would be a good idea. He had to keep up his energy until the Emperor was dead. After that...

* * *

A familiar blast of sand and wind flew in the faces of the Digidestined as they arrived in the Forbidden Desert. The Gigas was exactly where they had left it before, ruined and abandoned in the sands.

Davis, naturally, had his mind on totally unrelated things. "The hell were you?" he snapped at Yolei. "Ya kept us all waiting!"

Yolei snorted. "Like I'd tell you," she grunted.

"I hope you'd tell the rest of us, then..." Kari said. "It isn't like you to be late."

"Yes, we were all worried," Hawkmon said. "Was it something important?"

"None of your business," she huffed. "Now let's get goin', OK?" She stomped through the sand, kicking up a lot of it as she went.

The others exchanged looks. It wasn't like Yolei to keep secrets; she usually blurted them out sooner or later. Still, she didn't look in the mood to talk about it. Deciding to wait until later, they struck out after her.

They climbed a dune and got a better view of the land... but things were different now. Several control spires encircled the fallen battleship, like vultures feasting on a carcass. "Hey..." Armadillomon spoke up, "those weren't here last time, were they?"

Cody's eyes narrowed. "No, they weren't," he growled. Just as he thought, the Emperor was still up to his old tricks.

"Should we knock them down, or just head inside?" Gatomon asked.

Kari looked around the deserted land. There didn't seem to be any other signs of life, and they would be able to see enemies coming from miles away. "I guess we can skip them for now..." she began.

"No, wait!" Patamon argued, fluttering before them. "If those spires just showed up... Maybe that woman doesn't want us going in."

"All the more reason we SHOULD go in!" TK said, making a fist.

Davis frowned at the spires, trying hard to think about it like the others. Why would anyone surround that base? What could possibly be in there?...

Veemon looked up at him. "Too bad Ken ain't here," he said. "I bet he'd know what it's all about."

Davis's eyes lit up. "That's it!" he cried, reaching for his D-Terminal.

Cody's glare darted onto him. "You're not going to write to him, are you?" he snapped.

"Why not?" Davis retorted, opening the gizmo.

"Because he's the Digimon Emperor, that's why!" Cody huffed, clamping his hand down on the screen. "For all we know, this is a trap... and if we willingly invite him here..."

Davis yanked his D-Terminal away from the boy and started typing. "You worry too much," he grunted.

Cody folded his arms and looked away. Davis would be sorry sooner or later... he just knew it.

"It must be important to surround it with spires," Hawkmon said. "That prevents us from using our new Digivolutions."

"D'ya think it's the reactor about to go kablooey?" Armadillomon suggested.

Yolei scratched her head. Important? Izzy had said it was some kind of energy, but... "No, that can't be it," she concluded. "Remember? The reactor turned into the golden DigiEgg and disappeared."

"Oh, yeah..." he replied, scratching at his chin. "But what else could give off energy in there?"

The wind blew over them again, and suddenly Kari shivered. For an arid, hot desert, that gust had been awfully cold.

* * *

"Ken!~" Mrs. Ichijouji called outside her son's door.

Ken opened it and smiled; a plate of cookies and a cup of green tea were in her hands, just as he had hoped. "Thanks, Mom," he said. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, I know how hungry studying can make a boy your age," she laughed. "Just remember to keep things clean in there."

"I will," he said, taking the snack from her. "Thanks again."

She beamed and walked away. He sat down at the desk and nibbled at a cookie. It was an apricot jam cookie, his favorite kind. Suddenly he felt bad for misleading her; after all, he hadn't really studied in a week. But what he was really doing was far more important... and neither she nor his father could ever know. After all, what would they do if they learned their remaining son was a cruel digital despot? That was a secret he would take to his grave.

Well... enough about that for now; it was time to relax... but fate had other plans. Just as he took his first sip of tea, a buzz made him jump. The computer monitor flickered, then sprung to life... and he found himself staring at the last person he wanted to see. "Well, well, well..." the silver-haired woman cackled, her purple lips curled, "isn't this just so... domestic."

The cup dropped from his hand. "YOU!" he snapped, leaping out of his chair.

"The big, fearsome Digimon Emperor, sipping afternoon tea!" she cackled. "You'll be wearing a sweater and playing a guitar for preschoolers next."

"Why do you keep calling me?" he demanded, shoving his snack to the side. "What do you want?"

She snickered snidely. "You're so self-centered," she said. "What makes you think I want anything? Does one try to lick honey from an empty jar?"

Not understanding why she would use a metaphor like that, he changed tactics. "Then what are you going to do with the Digital World?" he asked.

"Goodness, you're a nosy little brat," she sneered. "It's really none of your business."

"Of COURSE it's my business!" he yelled. "You're using the Emperor's control spires!..." He hesitated, his head sagging. "..._My_ spires... My shame... My burden..."

In response to his self-loathing, the woman simply laughed. "Oh, not only nosy and self-centered, but oh so moral!" she mocked, feigning a sad look. "'Oh, what a horrible person I am! I've done so many bad things, and now I simply MUST clean it all up!'" She paused, then cackled again. "Think hard, little boy Emperor: was it really YOUR idea to make the control spires?"

Ken's eyebrow lifted, his memories churning in his brain, taking him back to his first day as the Digimon Emperor... That whole throne room had been there already, data readouts, schematics and all... and the mountain he had crafted into the Gigas fortress. Lightning shot through his head as that long-forgotten fact burst into the open; the plans for the spires were already there! He HADN'T made them himself!

His face must have shown it, because the woman smiled unpleasantly. "That's right," she purred, "it was all there... Rings, spires, the whole shebang... Anybody could have picked them up; anybody at all..."

Ken's limbs went numb and his mouth hung open. All those atrocities he had committed, all the pain he had caused, all the Digimon he had murdered... and it was all someone else's plan? He had been... used?

* * *

"So, uh, Davith..." Veemon started, twiddling his thumbs, "anythin' from Ken yet?"

Davis looked away from the D-Terminal to shoot him an angry glare. "Sixth time... no," he grunted.

Davis wasn't the only annoyed one; the others had all sat down in the sand, trying hard to keep the blazing sun off of them. Armadillomon had dug himself a hole and curled into a ball. Yolei had pulled her cap over her face and lay sprawled out like she was going to make sand angels. Gatomon lay with her paws up in the air, trying hard to catch the tiniest breeze.

Only Kari seemed unaffected by the heat... In fact, she almost looked cold. "Davis..." she said, "maybe Ken just isn't coming today."

"We're better off without him," Cody muttered, kicking the sand off of his shoes. "Come on, we should head inside before it gets later."

The others began to shuffle and get up. Davis winced; once again, nobody wanted to go with his ideas! Well, there was one thing he hadn't tried yet... "Wait!" he urged. "One last try!"

"It's been fifteen minutes!" Patamon exclaimed, sweat flapping off of his wings.

Ignoring the pig, Davis mashed his D-Terminal again. "Ya think Ken'll answer this one?" Veemon asked.

"I ain't e-mailin' Ken," he replied. "I'm e-mailin' Izzy."

This certainly made everyone stop. Izzy? Why would Davis be writing Izzy?

* * *

Ken's eyes burned into the screen and its accursed image. She, however, was enjoying the scene. "And here you thought you were behind the whole thing," she smirked. "Why the long face? You've been vindicated!"

His teeth gnashed, and her smile became even more cruel. "You have to admit, though... it felt good," she laughed. "Enslaving lesser beings and crushing the life out of them? Ruling an entire world? That's a treat anyone could get addicted to."

Ken swallowed three times before he found his voice. "Why... me?" he whispered.

The woman yawned. "Again?" she asked. "It's all about you, isn't it..." She stroked at her hair with her purple gloves. "Like I said, it could have been any stupid child."

"But it was ME," he hissed, hunching over his desk like the knowledge made him physically ill. "Why... was... it... me?"

She hesitated for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly. "No real reason behind it, really... Except..." She paused, then smiled at him again. "Traumatized children are much easier to manipulate, you see," she whispered, "especially guilty ones."

Ken's blood froze. He couldn't feel his hands pressing down on the desk any more. She knew about Sam? But how? Nobody knew what really happened except him! How did she know?

"Oh, I've upset you, haven't I, little boy Emperor?" she chortled, flicking a strand of hair back. "Don't be too upset... I'm sure there were others whose hands were just as bloody... Just call it a lucky break."

"Lucky...?" Ken huffed, slamming his palms against the wood, the sting bringing feeling back. "Lucky?"

"Of course, I have to tell you again not to interfere," she said, frowning. "Your part in this play is over... and nobody likes a scene stealer."

His eyes burned into her sunglasses with raw hatred. His mind locked itself into one train of thought; this woman had to be stopped. Every last one of the control spires had to fall... otherwise, Wormmon and Sam would never rest in peace... nor would he. "I'm going to kill you," he whispered harshly.

She laughed. "I'd love to see you try!" she taunted. "As if those little pop guns could even scratch me!"

He could have broken that desk in half, but a knock at the door threw off his mantra. "Ken?" his mother asked, making him whip around. She was looking through the door, offering the phone. "There's a call for you," she said, still smiling.

The woman snickered behind him. Ken blinked. Who could be calling him? As his mother closed the door, he put the phone to his ear. "...Hello?" he asked.

"Uh, hello," the voice of an older boy spoke, "my name is Koushiro Izumi, and I'm calling on behalf of Davis Motomiya..."

Ken's eyes widened; another Digidestined was calling him? "What is it?" he asked sharply.

"Davis wants to know where you are," Izzy explained. "Something's happening at your... the Gigas wreck, and he's been sending you e-mails. Have you received them?"

There was a long silence as the phone dropped from Ken's grip. "Hello?" it crackled. "Ken? Hello?"

Ken turned around and glared at the woman once again. "You were distracting me!" he shouted.

"So, you're still pretty bright..." she chuckled, adjusting her shades, "but I'll warn you one more time: it isn't your world any more, so keep out of it!" The image fizzled out, replaced with his usual desktop.

He stared at the screen a few moments more, then realized that whoever was on the phone was still there. "Hello?" the voice asked. "Ken, are you there?"

Ken raised the phone again. "Nobody tells the Emperor what not to do," he growled, and pulled out his D3.

Before Izzy could ask what that meant, Ken dropped the phone and vanished into the computer.

* * *

Cody rose from his squatting position, his face a mix of irritation and anger. "All right, let's go," he announced.

The others began to stir. Davis turned on them angrily. "Whaddya mean?" he demanded. "We've gotta wait for—"

"It has been TWENTY minutes," Cody snapped quickly. "We are NOT indulging you any longer."

"Ya gotta admit," Veemon spoke up, "it's gettin' real nasty out here..."

Yolei wiped her forehead on her already-soaked sleeve. She wanted Ken to show up, too, but this heat was too much for her; she was all for heading inside right that minute.

"Sorry, Davis," Gatomon grunted, "but majority rules. Come on."

Everyone started towards the ruins of the Gigas. Davis bit his lip and stomped in the sand... but he saw that nothing could convince his friends now. He swore loudly and raced after them.

* * *

Neither the sand burning through his shoes nor the weight of his metallic arsenal meant anything to Ken as he charged across the desert, his mind going as fast as he was. He didn't even stop to destroy the control spires he passed.

She had been trying to distract him... but was what she said true? Was his whole role of the Emperor just a farce? Was he just a puppet dancing for her, yanked about by chains of grief and guilt?... And, most importantly, if she was the one who really made those control spires... then could he ever destroy them all?

Over the next dune loomed his old base. Once again, his path led back to it... but now he knew it was just a dollhouse for a toy king. The spires weren't his, nor were the rings... That ruined base was the only thing that he had actually created on his own... and even that hadn't started off as his.

His chest heaved, a strange new sensation coming over him. This was all too much. If the Emperor had been a lie... then he never really existed, either. He looked at the fallen fortress, a new understanding awakened. The lies, the cruelty... they all had to stop. This energy source in the base would certainly be explosive... He would end it once and for all, right there, right then.

His fists clenched and his jaw locked, he raced down the dune towards the ruins.

* * *

"Yeah, look," Yolei said, pointing ahead at a gaping hole in the Gigas's bulkhead. "Cody and I went in through there once."

"Whew... I sure hope it's cool in there..." Patamon panted, sweat flicking off the tips of his wings.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, blowing sand across their faces. When they could finally lower their arms, a mysterious, red-cloaked, silver-haired woman stood between them and the entrance, the afternoon sunlight glistening off her sunglasses. "Go home, children," she said sternly, her purple lips curled into an icy smile. "This isn't a playground."

Kari frowned. A red cloak and silver hair? This had to be the woman that Palmon saw! "Are you the one turning spires into monsters?" she asked.

"What do you want?" Hawkmon asked.

Cody glared at her. "You work for the Emperor, don't you?" he demanded.

She looked at Cody for a moment, then laughed. "What rude questions!" she exclaimed. "Well, if you won't leave on your own..." She pulled not one, but a fistful of hairs from her scalp. "...Then you won't leave at all."

TK's grip tightened on his D3. How many hairs had she yanked out? Then there would be that many Spire-born! "Get ready!..." he managed.

Chanting loudly, the woman raised the stiffening hairs above her head. On her last syllable, they flew from her grip, piercing the ten spires surrounding the Gigas. However, instead of ten spire-born Digimon appearing, the earth shook and the spires all lifted into the air. They met over the top of the base and smashed into each other, fusing, twitching and bending like an evil smelting project. The black mass stretched and contorted, thinning in some places and thickening in others, until it had taken a truly hideous shape. The kids jumped back as a gigantic, gray insect Digimon buzzed down and crashed into the sand before them, a murderous shriek on its mandibles. TK swallowed. That looked a lot like another insect Digimon he had seen before... but way bigger.

The woman smiled with satisfaction. "Okuwamon," she purred, "slice them to ribbons."

Okuwamon shrieked again, and Davis wrinkled his nose; for something born only ten seconds ago, it had breath like the inside of an old grease drum. "OK!" he announced, pulling out his D3. "Remember what Izzy said!"

Cody, TK and Yolei also raised their Digivices, and their partners transformed into their higher forms. Aquilamon, Ankylomon, Exveemon and Angemon all flew at Okuwamon with brave yells. Gatomon, unable to Digivolve any higher, stayed at Kari's side, prepared to protect her if necessary. "Woah!" Yolei exclaimed as the angel flew over her, his wings glittering; she had no idea Patamon had that kind of Digivolution... and he was kind of hot.

Cody was surprised, too, but he kept his bearings. Hopefully Angemon fought as well as he shone.

Ankylomon tumbled forward and smashed his spiky tail into the bug's foot, but it didn't even seem to notice. "Boy! Pretty thick fer a Champion..." he grumbled.

Aquilamon launched his Blast Rings, but the sound waves just fizzled out as they hit Okuwamon's wings. He swallowed. Those rings had torn through Golemon like rocks through a wet napkin... Was this thing really a Champion? "I don't think-" he began.

Before he could finish, Okuwamon turned on its assailants with an ear-shriveling shriek. Aquilamon didn't even see its massive claw coming in, and went sailing through the air in a hail of dislodged feathers. Ankylomon tried to jump back, but a swift kick planted him upside-down in the sand. Both of them wavered, then shrank back to Hawkmon and Armadillomon.

Cody's fists clenched as tightly as his jaw had. "What...?" he managed.

Yolei swallowed hard. "I don't think... that thing's a Champion," she concluded.

Exveemon flew overhead and launched his V-Laser, but the blast dissolved on Okuwamon's exoskeleton without incident. TK swallowed; it was up to Angemon now. "Angemon!" he yelled. "Full power!"

"Yes," Angemon agreed. The golden rod he carried flashed a brilliant orange, which leaped into his free hand, making it glow as well. This was the dreaded Hand of Fate attack that TK knew well; it performed best against evil, unholy Digimon... but it never failed to decimate whatever was on its receiving end.

With a valiant cry, Angemon swung his fist. A divine ray of orange energy shot out and crashed into Okuwamon's mandibles. TK thought that had done it... until the light faded. Okuwamon looked just as it had before; the Hand of Fate had done absolutely nothing! "What?" he gasped.

Kari swallowed hard. "Angemon can't hurt spire-borns?" she asked aloud.

Gatomon felt sick. "It isn't even a real Digimon..." she explained gravely, "so...!"

Angemon was so surprised that Okuwamon was able to grab him with ease. He struggled and swatted at the claw, but the fake monster's grip was as solid as the spires it was made of. Okuwamon screeched, and the two sharp edges of the claw slammed together. A horrible sound split the air.

"NO!" TK wailed.

A trickle of blood ran in the sand beneath Okuwamon, followed by a few angelic feathers. Okuwamon released its grip and Patamon tumbled out, soundly defeated.

"Good God..." Cody murmured, looking away from the blood; he had hoped to never see gore like that again.

The woman folded her arms. "Oh, dear," she murmured, still smiling. "Looks like he managed to stay alive..."

Yolei glared at her. "You're sick, lady!" she yelled.

"What, you expect them to just blow up or disappear?" she asked. "What sort of world do you live in?..."

Yolei fumed. This thing was way stronger than a Champion! They needed more power, and the only boost she could think of was... "Davis!" she yelled, whirling around. "Get Magnamon out here, pronto!"

Davis frowned. "Ya think I ain't thinkin' that?" he asked. "It's gone, remember?"

Everyone instantly turned and stared at him. Yolei's eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "WHAT?" she shrieked.

Exveemon winced. "Aww, crap," he thundered.

Despite the heated battle, Yolei marched over and grabbed Davis by the collar, hoisting him into the air. "Whaddya MEAN it's GONE?" she yelled, shaking him violently.

His face paled as he realized his error; he hadn't told anyone that the golden DigiEgg had disappeared!... Yolei was pissed, presumably along with everyone else... And now it was just Exveemon against this mammoth bug, with no escape! "...Shit," he muttered under his breath.

Exveemon looked at his partner, then leered at Okuwamon. So what if he couldn't become Magnamon! He'd show them all he could beat this creep! With a yell, he descended on the bug and slammed his fists into its back over and over again... but it was unaffected. He kicked with all his might, but it still wouldn't falter.

"Okuwamon, wrap this up," the woman instructed, stifling a yawn. "I've got better things to do."

With another shriek, Okuwamon thrust its backside upward, throwing Exveemon into the sand. Exveemon couldn't get up fast enough, and the bug's foot pinned him down. He swallowed hard as the snarling insect's foul breath blew over him, its mouth dripping with thick saliva. "Uh, Davis...?" he managed. "Little help here?..."

Davis wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do! This thing was way too powerful, and without the others to fight, and with Ken missing in action... "SHIT!" he yelled out loud. "JUST... SHIT!"

Almost in response to his profanity, a green laser tore through the air and struck Okuwamon in the cheek, forcing it to stagger backwards. Exveemon scrambled to freedom as fast as he could, then went back to trying to make a dent in the monster's exoskeleton. Davis's heart leaped as Ken charged over the top of a dune; Izzy had gotten through... and Ken had come!

Yolei had a loud joygasm and dropped Davis. The boy of her dreams was coming to her rescue!... Well, he was coming to all of their rescue, but she was included!

"Thank God!" Davis exclaimed as the dark-haired boy approached. "You really saved our-"

"What are you doing here?" Ken demanded hotly.

The Digidestined jerked back at bit at the anger, but recovered. "There's some energy thing inside the base," Davis explained, "but creepo n' ugly won't let us in."

Ken leered at the woman, who smiled coldly and brushed her hair back. So, it was important enough to distract him and sic a monster on the Digidestined... This energy source would be just what he needed to finish this.

"Now here's my idea," Davis broke into his thoughts. "You an' Exveemon keep Mothra here busy, and the others'll get inside and-"

Ken turned the glare on him. "No," he snapped. "Leave. All of you. Now."

Davis blinked a few times, and then his confusion turned into the usual anger. "What?" he yelled.

"Whaddya mean, leave?" Yolei snapped. Being rescued was great, but she wasn't going to be coddled.

"I'm going to destroy the base. I'm going end this," Ken said, looking back at the woman again. "This is my problem, and mine alone."

"Are you crazy?" Davis roared. "If you try fighting this thing alone, you're gonna get menstruated! Hell, you might even DIE! That happens here, ya know!"

Ken didn't look at him. "The Emperor is just a diseased puppet," he said coldly. "If that's the fate that awaits him, then so be it. Nobody else has to share it."

Davis hesitated; he didn't understand that at all, but it didn't sound good. "Say what now?" he asked.

"When the Emperor is dead, then Sam and Wormmon can finally rest in peace," Ken said, staring up at the sky, "and so can I."

It dawned on them that something was very wrong with Ken; just what was he going to do? "Hey, now, what're you sayin'?" Davis demanded. "Are you gonna-"

"I am the Digimon Emperor!" Ken yelled, turning on Davis with wild eyes. He yanked out his black D3 and held it up, as if showing it to the powers that were. "The Digimon Emperor... has to vanish from this world!" he declared.

"What?" Yolei cried; the handsome princes in her books never talked like this! "N... No!"

Davis suddenly felt very sick. Now he knew exactly what Ken was planning... and he was both terrified and enraged. Without a second thought, his fist broke across the boy genius's face. Ken lurched to the side, his equipment dragging him down to one knee.

"Davis!" Yolei yelled at him. "Why'd you do that?"

Ken looked up to see the goggle-headed boy glaring down at him... but it wasn't a hateful glare, as he was so used to seeing. "And what the hell is THAT gonna do?" Davis demanded. "You wanna fix things? How can you if you ain't here?"

Ken froze, staring at this boy, his mind suddenly grinding to a halt. If he did destroy the base... then how could he bring down the remaining control spires? How could he defeat the woman who was defiling Wormmon's world?

Davis wasn't finished. "What about your parents?" he yelled. "Hell, what about your friends?"

Thinking of his parents overwhelmed Ken with shame. They had already lost one son; did they deserve to lose another?... But as for friends... His jaw clasped. That's right... He was the Digimon Emperor, the scourge of the Digital World. Staying alive for just his parents when an entire world wanted his head was the same selfish thinking that had brought him to this end.

"Ken..." Yolei whimpered.

"So, c'mon!" Davis huffed. "What'll this do for your friends?"

Ken leered up at him, his passion for destruction rekindled. "I HAVE NO FRIENDS!" he snarled, both rage and sorrow thick in his throat.

Davis was going to reply when a shriek caught their attention. "Look out!" Exveemon yelled, but it was too late. The two boys whirled around just in time to be snared in Okuwamon's iron claw, which then swung left and knocked Yolei flat on her back.

"Enough with Digimon," the woman cackled. "Let's hear how human flesh rips!"

"DAVIS!" Kari yelled.

"Dammit all!" TK snarled, clutching Patamon protectively.

"Armadillomon!" Cody growled, urging his downed partner to stand, but to no avail. "You have to do something!"

Okuwamon raised its claw high into the air, a screechy laugh scraping through its mandibles.

"Leggo, you shitty ol' bug!" Davis howled, pounding and kicking on the gray exoskeleton. "LEGGO!"

Ken's arms were pinned down, so he couldn't use any of his weapons; he just stared at the ground, awaiting his fate. "Sam..." he murmured. "Wormmon... I couldn't..."

"I'd like to say it was a good fight," the woman purred, "but I've seen more dangerous paper bags. Farewell! Okuwamon!"

Davis felt something sharp pushing into both his stomach and his back... and then something cracked. His heart leaped into his throat. This was it; he wasn't going to get out of this one! Would getting sliced in half hurt for very long?

Just as he felt the blades sink in, though, there was a furious roar. Exveemon crashed into the claw at high speed, pounding on it with his fists and tail. Okuwamon was so surprised, its claw snapped open and Ken and Davis tumbled back to earth, safe. "You wanna cut something?" Exveemon yelled. "Get an origami kit!"

Okuwamon shrieked again and went after him, swinging its claws like giant hammers. Exveemon dodged them easily enough, but inside he was very worried; how could he defeat this thing if he couldn't even make a dent in it?

Davis was pretty sure he was still in one piece, but now something smelled really bad, and when he opened his eyes, he saw only purple. An angry, muffled noise rose up from beneath him, and then he flew onto his back. "Well, ya make a good cushion, at least," he coughed.

Yolei pulled herself up and swatted the sand off; Davis was a lot heavier than he looked. "Oh, shut up," she grunted. "Where's Ken?"

A nearby wail got their attention. Ken was on his knees in the sand, clutching his D3 and staring at it. "Ken! What's the matter?" Davis asked as they ran to him.

Looking abysmal, Ken held up his Digivice, revealing a mammoth crack in its screen. That must have been the noise that Davis heard when Okuwamon had squeezed them.

"Woah... They can break?" Yolei gulped, looking down at her own.

"All I had left..." Ken whispered quietly, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Wormmon... Why...?"

Davis felt really bad for Ken. All the stuff he had gone through was bad enough, but to add in a broken D3... Could he even get home now? He coughed awkwardly. "Well, uh... Maybe it ain't totally busted," he tried, pointing at it. "See? The screen's still glowin'!"

"Wha..." Ken gasped, and looked down. Surely enough, the shattered screen was glowing a warm green... and it glowed far brighter than any of the D3s had before. Then something even more strange happened: the glow seeped out of the crack and rose into the air like a pillar of smoke, floating and flickering around like a vertical windsock.

Davis and Yolei gasped. Cody, TK, Kari and their partners turned and watched with surprise. Even Okuwamon and Exveemon ceased their fighting and ogled it.

Ken stared at the dancing light, the tears flowing freely. "...Wormmon?..." he dared to whisper.

The light floated there for a few moments more, then flew around in the air like a giant, glowing serpent, darting this way and that like it was searching for something... and then it went right for Davis. "HOLY-!" he yelled, and covered his face.

The giant light plunged right into his D3, and its screen flashed in the same brilliant green, pulsating like a strobe light. With a cry he dropped it into the sand; was it about to break, too?

A scream made them all change views from one wild event to another. Up in the air, Exveemon was writhing and twitching, his body surrounded in the same green glow. As they watched, he distorted and changed colors until a flash blinded the Digidestined. When the light cleared, they all looked up, anxious to see what had happened.

Something that kind of looked like Exveemon floated there. He still had the tail, but now there were two sets of wings on his back. His whole body was encased in black and green armor, almost military-style. His hands were covered in black armor, from which sharp sets of metallic claws jutted. His head bore a shining, red helmet lined with more spikes. Lastly, two large, rectangular guns hung at his loins.

Yolei almost fell over again. "Who is HE?" she yelled.

The mysterious woman lost her smug attitude and gawked at the creature. "WHAT?" she roared.

Ken just stared at it, trying to understand. Was it Exveemon?... or was it Wormmon?

Davis didn't exactly know what was going on, but he scooped up his D3 with a cocky grin: this was their ticket to victory.


	25. Quicksand

**CHAPTER 25**

**QUICKSAND**

Both parties were stunned at the appearance of the amazing new Digimon, but he didn't seem to be in very great shape. He floated in the air where Exveemon had been, his body fritzing and slipping in and out of focus like a bad television connection. In turn, Davis's D3 spat sparks every few moments; he had to point the screen down at the sand to avoid getting burned.

Ken was the first to regain his voice. "Are you..." he gulped, "are you... Wormmon?..."

The Digimon looked down at the children, and his body snapped into solid form. "My name... is Paildramon," he said in a strange voice; it sounded like Exveemon's, but it had a second, lower voice behind it.

Ken stared down at the sand. Davis wasn't sure what to make of it, either; that freaky light from Ken's D3 had changed his Digimon? "But, uh, you're still Veemon, right?" he asked.

A shriek from Okuwamon brought everyone back to the problem. "Get inside the base," Paildramon instructed them all. "I'll take care of this!"

"What?" Davis asked. Exveemon couldn't do anything to Okuwamon; how could this be any different? "But..."

Okuwamon lunged at the newcomer. Faster than it takes to write it, Paildramon swooped under the bug's jowls and plunged his foot into its neck. Okuwamon flew backwards and smashed into the side of the Gigas, sending a powerful crash through the air, along with a wall of sand.

Yolei couldn't close her mouth. "WOAH!" she yelled.

"My thoughts exactly..." Hawkmon commented.

Okuwamon struggled and leaped up with another angry roar; apparently, it didn't appreciate the blow. Its claws snapping and its wings buzzing, it tore across the sand towards Paildramon. The newcomer dove beneath it and his claws shot out like cable guns, wrapping around its bottom legs. Before Okuwamon knew it, Paildramon had hurled it into the side of the ship again.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Patamon cheered, throwing little punches with his trotters. "Get 'im! Get 'im!"

"Good grief..." Kari remarked, looking up at Paildramon. With all that power, he couldn't be a simple Champion-level Digimon... "Do you think he's an Ultimate?" she asked aloud.

"Sure looks like it," TK agreed.

Gatomon was equally shocked, but she also felt annoyed; why could Veemon get to an Ultimate level, but she couldn't? It didn't seem fair...

Cody wore a frown as he looked over at Davis and Ken. Just what had happened when Okuwamon grabbed them?... and what was that light?...

Okuwamon came at Paildramon again, but he was ready and put its face in the sand with another kick. Despite how big the bug was, it certainly didn't learn from its mistakes.

Davis cheered and war-whooped, jumping up and down and waving his arms like he was at a rock concert. This new Digimon kicked serious ass! There was no way that creepy lady could stop them now! Ken, however, just stared at it, his eyes wavering with amazement, but also horror. Had whatever remained of Wormmon abandoned him for this other boy?... Or did it mean something else?...

With another mighty yell, Paildramon threw Okuwamon down for a fourth time, then turned to the children. "What're you waiting for?" he demanded. "Get moving!"

Davis blinked for a moment, then snapped back to the situation at hand. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed. "C'mon, Ken!"

The two boys raced under the battling giants, headed for the base. Ken didn't understand why he was going along with the goggle-headed boy... but something had changed. He had to know what Paildramon meant, and for that, he needed to follow him.

"Hey, wait up!" Yolei yelled, dragging Hawkmon along as she chased after them. TK, Kari, Cody and their Digimon also turned and ran. As weird as it all was, they had their chance to get inside and they weren't going to blow it.

The woman snarled as she saw the kids break for it; she couldn't allow this! "Okuwamon!" she yelled, pointing at them.

Moving far faster than a bug its size would be expected to move, Okuwamon planted itself between the children and the opening... but Paildramon's swift kick knocked it away, allowing all six kids and four Digimon inside. "Sorry, but kids aren't on the Friday menu!" Paildramon huffed. "We've got plenty of knuckle sandwiches, though!"

"You..." the woman snarled, losing her cool. "Okuwamon!" she yelled. "Playtime is over!"

Okuwamon staggered back up and shrieked louder than it ever had, its claws snapping madly. Paildramon braced himself; could he buy the kids enough time to find the energy source?

* * *

The first thing that the children noticed as soon as they got inside the Gigas was how different the air felt. Being shielded from the sun, naturally they knew it would be cooler... but it almost felt like they were in a walk-in refrigerator. "Whoo!" Yolei gasped, rubbing at her arms. "Shoulda brought a scarf or something!"

She took a step forward and felt herself sink a little, a squelching noise coming from her foot... but when she looked down, she was on solid steel. She moved again and got the same feeling and noise. "Weird..." she murmured.

"Indeed," Hawkmon agreed, fluttering forward and hearing the same noise. "Seems rather mushy for metal..."

Davis looked over and saw Cody, but there was something different about him; all the color on his face and clothes was dulled, like in a black-and-white photograph. Armadillomon was a pale gray instead of his usual yellow. "Hey, you guys feelin' OK?" he asked.

"...I was about to ask you the same thing," Cody replied.

"Yer all... gray," Armadillomon piped up.

Surprised, Davis looked down and jumped. His bright, flashy clothes were just as dull and dingy as Cody's were! A quick look around told him that everyone else was in the same state. Kari looked absolutely terrified. "What's the matter, Kari?" he asked, rushing over to her.

Kari hugged herself, shivering. "This is just like the ocean..." she murmured.

He scratched his head. Ocean? What ocean? The beach across the street from school? Or was it whatever she had been talking about that other time? "Whaddya mean?" he asked.

"Yeah..." TK agreed quietly, his face stony and grave; he felt the same things from this place as he had at the bottom of that whirlpool, and in the Deadmon factory. Kari scooted closer to him, and instinctively he went to her side; nothing was going to hurt her while he was there. Davis fumed at them, his teeth grinding. Why did TK always know what she was talking about? And why did she always go to him?

Ken grunted in agreement, his eyes darting around warily. He knew this atmosphere as well; it was just like what he had felt when that eerie voice had spoken to him, and when Kimeramon had disobeyed. Something sinister was at work in this base... something far worse than the Digimon Emperor.

Davis looked at him and was suddenly very annoyed; did everybody know what was going on except him? "Will somebody clue me the fark in?" he demanded.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Hawkmon sighed, shrugging.

"Well, I don't wanna stay in here any longer than we have to," Yolei said, whipping out her D-Terminal and starting to type. Hopefully, Izzy knew where that energy source was so they could get to it and then scram.

Ken was the first to snap out of his thoughts. "Did you come to destroy the base, too?" he asked Davis.

"What? No," Davis replied. "We're just checkin' out whatever Izzy said was in here."

Ken nodded sternly. "Good," he said. "I built this place... I'm the one who destroys it."

"Uh... OK," Davis replied, not quite knowing what else to say.

Cody scowled at the Digimon Emperor. If he was planning to destroy this base, he might do it while they were all in it. He would have to be ready to act the moment he saw something suspicious.

"Ken, we're looking for some new energy source," TK said, turning to the boy. "Was there a backup engine or something in here?"

Ken shook his head. "No," he answered. "All of the power in the base came from that black thing... and that's gone now."

"Yeah, and we all know whose fault THAT is," Yolei grunted, leering at Davis. "How could you lose it?"

"I didn't lose it!" Davis snapped. "It just freakin' disappeared!"

"Yeah, sure it did!" she huffed, getting in his face again. "What'd it do, just magically hop out of your D-Terminal and-"

Just then, Gatomon's ears perked up, and her tail twitched angrily. "Shut up!" she hissed.

Everyone turned and looked at her. "What's the matter, Gatomon?" Armadillomon asked.

Her ears swiveled back into an agitated stance, and she protectively stood before Kari. "Something's coming..." she growled.

Everyone quieted and listened, staring into the darkness ahead. Slowly, the sound of shambling feet came to their ears... First one pair, then two, then... none of them could tell. A chorus of low, foreboding groans reached them, making their neck hairs stand on end.

Cody's eyes narrowed and his heart raced. His fingers clenched his D3 and his feet backed him towards the others. "Get ready..." he breathed.

Instinctively, all of the kids bunched into a group and gripped their Digivices, their partners taking brave positions before them. Large, boxy shapes took form in the darkness, and nobody avoided gasping in terror as they came into the light. They were Mekanorimon, but they were a far cry from the ones that the children had seen before. Most of them were dented and scratched, and some even had missing claws, from which loose wires dangled. Not one of them had an eye; there were only empty sockets dripping a black fluid all over their torsos. Long, low groans shuddered from their exhaust vents.

"Wha... what..." was all Kari could manage.

Ken swallowed hard. "...They're dead," he choked.

Yolei turned wild eyes on him. "DEAD?" she squeaked.

"Patamon...!" TK growled, raising his D3.

Davis bit hit lip so hard, he could taste blood. Zombie Digimon? What the hell was going on in here?

* * *

Yolei's e-mail flashing on his laptop, Izzy looked over the energy signal's readout, trying to see exactly where in the Gigas it was. How stupid he was, not telling them that in the first place! He must have been too preoccupied with finding Gennai to add details.

He hit a few keys and sighed; the source was at the back of the base, close to the top... almost the first place to hit the ground when it crashed. He raised an eyebrow at this; was this energy source something that was inside the base, or was it something that had been in the desert before?...

Whichever it was, he had a letter to send. He opened a fresh e-mail and started writing:

_Yolei,_

_The energy source is coming from the back of the ship, close to the_

His eyes darted back to the map. He was sure there had been another colored circle around the mysterious orange one just a moment ago... but once again, it was gone. He frowned; he didn't like that at all. Feeling it was better to err on the side of caution, he resumed typing:

_The energy source is coming from the back of the ship, close to the top... but something weird is happening around it, so be extremely careful._

He pushed the button to send the letter, then turned and glared at the blipping orange light. Just what had he sent the new kids after?...

* * *

Izzy didn't know it, but his advice was redundant; the party was already surrounded by the swarm of undead Mekanorimon. None of them liked it, but Yolei took it the least well. "Nooo!" she shrieked, grabbing Ken around the waist and Davis around the neck. "Make them go away!"

Cody was the first to respond. "Armadillomon!" he growled, raising his D3. Ken wrenched himself free of Yolei's amazingly iron grip and took aim. TK thought to have Patamon become Pegasusmon, but there was hardly any room to fly in the crashed base; he wouldn't be able to help at all.

As hard as they fought, though, absolutely nothing stopped the lumbering creatures. Digmon's drills ripped through countless Mekanorimon middles, and Ken's waves of bullets sent limbs flying every which way, but the beasts marched on, not even reacting to the damage. All that changed was the amount of black slime they leaked; it ran from all parts of them like open sores. "Aww, now that's just nasty," Digmon growled.

Yolei throttled Davis with both hands. She couldn't take this any more; was she the only one who knew how to deal with zombies? She hit a button on her D3 and raised it, and Hawkmon became Shurimon. "Take off the heads!" she hyperventilated.

Shurimon moved to intercept the Mekanorimon, but then hit upon a flaw in Yolei's plan. "Yolei..." he said, glancing back at her, "they don't HAVE heads!"

Yolei's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, and she screamed and squeezed Davis even harder. With an angry gurgle, he clamped his hand into her thigh, pinching hard. She cried out and he wriggled free. "Get the hell off!" he snapped.

Yolei would not be calmed so easily. "They're gonna get us!" she yelled, grabbing him by the shirt and shaking him. "They're gonna get us!"

"Please, Yolei, calm down!" Kari urged her. "We have to keep level heads-"

Yolei screamed again, pointing past her. Kari turned around and wished she hadn't; a Mekanorimon had managed to get behind the Digimon and bore down on her, its eye socket running with goo. The lid on the top of its body snapped open, revealing a sharp set of glistening fangs in a guttural roar. She felt her legs freeze in place; those certainly weren't supposed to be there!

"BACK OFF!" Davis yelled, throwing himself into the Mekanorimon, knocking it back and spattering its gunk all over the floor. Paildramon may have been busy, but nothing was going to hurt Kari if he could do something about it!

"Davis, no!" TK yelled, but the goggle-headed boy held on tight, pounding on the monster with his free hand. The Mekanorimon was unimpressed, and raised its remaining claw to gouge him. Patamon ralphed a blast of air onto it, but to no effect; the monster swatted him away and turned back to the pest clinging to it.

Gatomon's tail twitched. She was through staying back. Her friends needed help, and she was going to give it! Before Kari could stop her, she leaped at the Mekanorimon with a hissy screech, her claws sparking with electricity.

Nobody expected what happened next. The second her claw met the monster's metal, torso, its whole body shook in violent spasms, throwing Davis off. An unearthly, horrible shriek rang from its vents, and then it slumped to its knees, vomiting another oily puddle before going totally silent. A plume of black smoke rose up from the top.

TK blinked a few times, then looked at Gatomon. "...Wow," was all he could say.

Gatomon couldn't quite believe it herself. She stared down at her claws as if they were alien tools.

Davis picked himself up, trying to flick away some of the black ooze on his jacket. "Heh... Thanks," he admitted sheepishly.

Kari stared wide-eyed at the defeated monster. Black smoke? That was what happened to the Airdramon in the Dark Ocean! Then... "Gatomon!" she yelled.

Gatomon's eyes snapped back into focus. "Right!" she huffed, racing to the front of the battle. As quickly as she could, she scampered up the back of a very surprised Digmon and leaped onto the nearest Mekanorimon. Just like before, it collapsed with a tortured scream. She bounced from one machine to the next, each one falling like the one before. When she was done, fifteen or so Mekanorimon lay in a dark pool of their own bodily fluids, once again deactivated.

Digmon and Shurimon reverted to Armadillomon and Hawkmon. "Whew... Ain't that a kicker..." Armadillomon sighed.

"Goodness, Gatomon," Hawkmon exclaimed, "how ever did you do that?"

Gatomon heaved hard; all that jumping around had taken its toll. "I... don't know..." she wheezed, turning to her partner. "...Kari?"

Kari just shook her head, not knowing what to say.

Yolei, however, did; she let out all her air in an exasperated, high-pitched squeal.

"They're dead, OK?" Davis grunted, rolling his eyes. "Quit it."

She was going to snap that they had been before when her D-Terminal beeped. She snapped it open immediately; anything to take her mind off this mess! "OK, Izzy says it's at the front of the ship!" she reported in half yells, pointing ahead. "Let's get going!"

Ken said nothing; he just took off into the darkness. "Hey, wait!" Davis yelled. "Ken, wait up!"

Davis ran after Ken, Yolei and Hawkmon chased after Davis, and Cody and Armadillomon warily ran after all of them. TK and Kari lingered, looking over the broken-down Mekanorimon. "Why're they here?..." Kari asked quietly, her mind flooded with panic. What were those things? What did they want?

"I don't know..." TK admitted, questions flowing through his knotted brow. Were the Deadmon after Kari again? Did Devimon have it in for him?... or was there something else?...

Gatomon stared down at her gloved claws. Without her tail ring, she had destroyed dozens of Digimon in just moments? What kind of mysterious power did she have?

"Hey!" Patamon chirped, breaking them all from their thoughts, "we'd better get moving, or they'll leave us behind!"

"Oh! Right!" Kari exclaimed, turning towards the path further inside. "We'd better hurry!"

The four of them raced off after the others... but not one of them noticed that the fingers of one of the Mekanorimon had begun to twitch...

* * *

With a mighty cry, Paildramon hurled Okuwamon into the sand once again, the gray bug finally collapsing in exhaustion. For just being a hunk of control spires, it sure put up quite a fight.

He turned around and glared down at the red-cloaked woman near the base; now it was time for some answers. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What's your angle here?"

The woman snarled, then grew calm, a wicked smirk on her lips. "You'd better worry more about yourself," she cackled.

"What?" he asked. "What kind of answer is-"

Something clamped around his foot and he was flung down into the sand. Okuwamon hovered over him, buzzing furiously through its clicking mandibles. He swallowed hard. This fight wasn't over yet.

* * *

"Aww, shit! Again?" Davis swore, kicking at the obstructing pile of debris they had run into. The Gigas had been difficult to navigate before, but now it was nothing short of a ruinous maze. A mixture of slag and sand had taken hold of most of the dark corridors, and the group had hit three dead ends already.

"This is gettin' annoyin'," Armadillomon remarked; he had tried to dig through the refuse several times already, but the sand was amazingly hard. "Are we even goin' towards the back anymore?"

"I don't know; I'm all turned around..." TK sighed.

Yolei clenched and unclenched her fists over and over, small whimpers escaping her throat. "Yolei, please try to keep a level head," Hawkmon assured her.

"Level head?" she snapped. "We could be in here forever! And what if there're more Digi-zombies?"

Davis scratched at his chin. Yolei had a point; without some knowledge of how this place was supposed to look, chances of reaching the front of the ship were slim... but there _was_ someone who knew. "Hey!" he said, turning to Ken, "why don't you take the lead?"

Everyone went dead silent. Ken blinked; he was just as surprised as the others. "Me?..." he asked.

"You know how this looked before it crashed," Davis went on, "so you can tell us where to go!"

Ken hesitated, then sighed and shook his head. "It's so damaged, even I may not know where I'm going..." he admitted.

"It's better than us pissin' around in here," Davis replied. "C'mon, Ken, give it a try!"

Rendered speechless, Cody gave Davis a furious look; this was going way too far. They couldn't afford to trust him! The Digimon Emperor was still behind all of this; he was certain of it!

There was an unpleasant silence. Ken glared over at the little boy as if he could hear his thoughts. Cody glared back, determined that the Emperor would be able to hear them. Armadillomon looked up at his partner, not knowing what to say.

TK looked around at his friends, then coughed awkwardly. "...Let's let him try," he spoke up.

Ken, Davis and Cody all turned surprised looks on him. "What?" they all said at once.

"Davis is right; he knows this place better," TK went on, "and we'd have more of a chance of finding this thing."

Patamon was the only one who didn't look surprised. He knew his partner couldn't hold a grudge for long, even to someone like the former Digimon Emperor.

Kari blinked, then nodded; the sooner they got out of these evil-slathered catacombs, the sooner she could relax. "Right," she agreed.

"Sure! Sure!" Yolei chirped, partly from excitement, but mostly from terror. Of course she trusted Ken; she just wanted to get out of this place alive!

Gatomon sighed. "If our partners say it's OK, then we'll trust you, too," she said to Ken.

Ken stared at her for a moment, lost in thought. A Digimon who had felt the crack of his whip firsthand would say such a thing? Then she must honestly be placing her trust in him, just like everyone else. How could he refuse now? "All right," he said quietly, making his way to the front, "come on."

The party set off in the direction Ken was going... with Cody at the very back, his D3 ready. The Emperor may have caught everyone else up in his web of sweet talk, but he didn't buy into it for one minute. The minute that fiend revealed his true colors, Digmon would be there to do what they should have done when they had the chance.

* * *

With an irritated grunt, the mysterious woman scowled back at the fallen Gigas. How annoying this had turned out to be! Those kids better have been wiped out; she was holding up her end of things well enough!... Or rather, Okuwamon was holding it up. The big, gray bug had the Paildramon clasped firmly in its pincer, helpless. "What a fool you are," she said, turning back to her opponent. "If you hadn't Digivolved, you wouldn't have to die now... Okuwamon!"

Okuwamon screeched and raised the new warrior high above its head, savoring his terrified look before the head vanished into its digestive tract... but nature decided to intervene and prove that the monster had eyes. The setting sun's rays hit Paildramon's armor and the glare made Okuwamon reel, momentarily blinding it. Its grip loosened, and Paildramon yanked his hands free to demonstrate yet another technique; A long, sharp needle thrust out of the top of his claw and pierced Okuwamon's cheek, shattering the flesh and revealing the black control spire beneath.

Okuwamon lost its grip on him completely, flailing around and shrieking at the pain of the wound. "I've still got plenty of time!" Paildramon retorted, landing before the woman. "Now, who ARE you?"

The woman simply chuckled again. "You seem a little busy," she purred, casually pointing behind him.

He had only turned halfway around when Okuwamon's claw smashed into the top of his head. The big bug towered over him, half of its face crumbling away... but it looked more violent and angry than ever. Paildramon swallowed hard; couldn't anything stop this spire-born?

* * *

"Oh, boy..." Gatomon muttered as she climbed over another mound of scrap metal. "Are we getting anywhere close?"

"I'm sure we are," Kari assured her. "Just be patient."

"Yeah, Ken'll get us through it," Davis added. "Just chill."

"I don't know..." the cat replied, casting a worrisome look at their navigator. "We've hit a few dead ends already..."

"Hey, c'mon!" Davis argued. "He's doin' fine!"

Ken sighed sadly, hearing the dissent in the party. Though he carried himself like he knew where he was going, he felt as lost as any of the others. The whole ship was lopsided, and who knew how many passages had caved in completely; maybe they couldn't even reach the front anymore... but if he gave up, they would think he had tricked them, just as the smallest one insisted. He bit his lip and looked around; when had this become so complicated? The last time he had come in here, he knew what he was destined to do, but now...

...His eyes lit up. Maybe he DID know the way!... well, partially. Before, he had gone far enough in to reach the throne room, and that was in the center of the ship; he could lead them there, and then maybe there would be a way to the front. Yes, that's what he would do... Until he understood what had happened outside, he had to keep these kids alive.

"Hey!" Patamon chirped, fluttering a little ahead of him. "There's a door here!"

Ken snapped out of his thoughts to a wonderful surprise; the door to the throne room stood right in front of him. He hadn't been paying attention, but he'd brought them anyway; Sam and Wormmon must have been guiding his feet.

"Maybe it's in there?" Hawkmon suggested.

Ken knew there wasn't anything in the throne room; he had cleaned out what was left the last time... but he wasn't going to stop the others if they wanted to look. He stepped through the dark portal, allowing the others entry.

The Digidestined all looked around, realizing what this place was. "Woah..." Yolei gasped, momentarily pushing away all of her terrible thoughts to gawk at the trashed technological treasure trove.

"Is this... the control room?" TK asked.

Ken nodded silently, his thoughts drifting back to his Imperial days. He couldn't count how many hours he had spent in that throne, launching dark rings and erecting control spires... He had enjoyed it immensely then, but now the very sight of that toppled chair pained his stomach.

Cody scowled at the throne, and again at Ken. He knew this place well for a different reason; it was where he had fought the Emperor face-to-face... and also where he had suffered a vile defeat. "...There's nothing in here," he muttered. "Let's go."

"Yeah, this isn't the back..." Kari agreed. "We should keep moving."

Ken continued to stare at the throne, his thoughts whirling again. What was it all for? Was his only purpose to supply that wicked woman with control spires? Had he just been a delivery boy? A pawn making way for stronger pieces?...

"Um, Ken," Patamon's voice popped into his ear. "Should we try the next hall?"

Ken looked at the little pig for a moment, then silently left the room and made a right, heading down a new path. There was still danger here. Thinking would have to wait.

* * *

Okuwamon dove for Paildramon again, but the new warrior leaped straight up and kicked it in the face, knocking it backwards once again. Then, to his surprise, it flapped its wings and rose, kicking up a wild sandstorm. That wasn't good; he had to see it to fight! He fired his cable-gun claws into the whirlwind, hoping they would latch on so he could yank the monster out.

The claws hit something, but things didn't go as planned; Okuwamon clamped its pincers onto the chains and yanked Paildramon into the storm with it. "Hey, no fair!" Paildramon yelled, but it was too late; he was once again trapped in the gray bug's steely claw. With a triumphant screech, Okuwamon dove into the sand and vanished, taking him along. The battleground grew silent.

The woman smiled, finally pleased again. Power was useless when one had no air.

* * *

Having passed the throne room, the party continued down a new maze of wreckage. Ken was starting to remember how the passages went, and though he sometimes hit dead ends, he led the others quickly and well.

However, the passages themselves were starting to change, and this didn't sit well with the party. The light grew dimmer and dimmer, and Gatomon grunted at how much more sand was on the ground. "How far down did this thing crash?" she asked. "This won't be good on my fur..."

"If it went down like it looks like it did, then we're in for a lot more sand," TK said.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Kari asked.

Gatomon frowned and shook her head. "I'll be fine," she muttered; a little sand was nothing compared to looking pampered in front of the others.

Yolei was by far the worst off; her eyes darted every which way, and she was never short of a whimper. "Yolei, what is the matter?" Hawkmon finally demanded.

She swallowed hard. "The Mekanorimon..." she choked. "I bet they're after me!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," he muttered. "Why would they be after you?"

"Because I'm the one who blew 'em to bits!" she squeaked. "They've come back for revenge! It's just like in 'Occupant Wicked VI!'"

"You play too many video games," Cody repeated himself.

Suddenly, Ken came to a stop, making the others bang heads. "Hey, what's goin' on?" Armadillomon asked.

Ken silently pointed ahead, and everybody groaned aloud. The rest of the passage was completely blocked by a wall of sand. "Oh, great!" Patamon huffed. "NOW what do we do?"

Armadillomon ambled over and sniffed at it, then dug out a chunk with his claw. "This stuff is soft," he reported. "I reckon we can just dig through it."

"I've got a better idea!" Davis said, grinning at Ken. "Why don'tcha blast a big hole right through?"

Ken frowned and shook his head. "No," he said.

"What?" Davis asked, getting angry. "Why not?"

"If I use my stronger weapons in here, the shock waves could collapse the entire ship," Ken replied.

Davis winced; he hadn't thought of that. "Err... OK, then..." he mumbled. "I guess we'd better start diggin', then."

Armadillomon grinned; now was his time to shine. "Leave it to ol' Armadillomon!" he declared.

Before anyone could stop him, he was already deep into the sand, burrowing as fast as Digmon could drill... and the hole was amazingly large enough for the humans to walk through... provided that they kept their heads down. "Niiice," Davis laughed, starting in after him.

One by one, the others filed into the dark, sandy tunnel and crept along, using the sound of the person ahead of them for guidance. The crawl was mostly downhill, and the sand seemed to get wetter as they went... and sloppier, too; almost like mud. "Ugh," Hawkmon grunted, flicking some off of his wings, "I'm certainly going to need to bathe tonight."

A large glob of sand fell from above and splattered across TK's shoulder. "I think that goes for all of us," he admitted.

Davis glanced back at Ken through one eye. "How long d'ya think this goes on?" he asked.

"This hall was a direct path to the engine room," Ken answered, his metal-laden arms scraping along the tight walls. "I suppose it won't be-"

There was a loud clang ahead, and Armadillomon yelped in pain. "Criminitley!" he howled, dancing around on his back legs and waving his front paws around.

"Armadillomon! What's the matter?" Cody demanded from the back.

Davis looked ahead and grinned. Traces of metal peeked out from the sand in the place where Armadillomon had stopped. "Looks like there's a door," he reported to everyone.

Ken nodded darkly. "The engine room," he muttered.

"Fine time to have it closed!" Armadillomon winced, nursing his paws. "Sand's fine, but I can't do nothin' with metal 'cept learn a buncha new cuss words!"

Ken glared at the door and began to scoot forward. "Move," he ordered Davis.

Ordinarily Davis would have given a sarcastic "where?" to this, but Ken didn't look like he was in a joking mood. He scooted as far right as he could and ducked as Ken made his way past. Ken knelt down, played with a few buttons on his right-hand gun and aimed his laser at the door.

"What are you-" Cody began to snap, but the laser lit up and whirred loudly. A small, red beam pierced the top-left corner of the door, slowly moving down and right and leaving a burning line of melted metal. It then rose up to the top-right corner and repeated the process to the bottom left. Ken shut the laser off, then rose and ran at the door. With one impact of his metallic armaments, the barrier broke apart with a deafening clatter.

"Whoo!" Davis laughed. "Awesome!"

The group stepped out of the portal into a curious, eerie sight. They stood in the large, empty chamber that used to be a seemingly bottomless pit, with the mysterious engine room in the center, but things were incredibly different. The chamber now had a floor and a ceiling, both made of gray, cold sand. In fact, it wasn't just that which was cold and gray; the entire room was devoid of color and as cold as a refrigerator. A dark haze floated around the ground, almost up to their ankles. It was deathly quiet as well, like a crypt.

"Whew..." Davis whistled. "Definitely got a creepy makeover..."

Kari hugged herself again, looking around. She was more nervous now than she had been before. This felt exactly like that empty beach. Was it involved in this energy somehow? Were they going to run into more of those... things?

Gatomon looked at her and touched her leg with her paw. "Don't worry," she said, reading her thoughts. "I'll protect you."

Something in the distance caught Davis's eye, and he peered into the haze. Was there some small, orange light flickering in the distance? "What's that?" he asked, pointing towards it.

Everyone turned and looked. Surely enough, something over there was glowing. "Maybe that's what Izzy was talkin' about," Armadillomon suggested.

There was one way to find out, TK figured. He ran towards the glow and started digging through the sand around it. "Come on!" he urged.

Davis, Ken, Kari, Patamon and Gatomon all raced over and started digging, too. Armadillomon looked up at his partner. "See, Cody? There really was somethin' down here!" he said.

Cody stayed silent, watching Ken's every move. It certainly looked like Izzy had been right... but they would know soon enough if it was a trick or not.

Yolei was off in her own terror-filled world, walking around the chamber and shuddering violently. "Yolei, what's the matter now?" Hawkmon asked. "I know it's cold, but..."

"I was just thinking..." she said, her voice slightly less screechy. "This is a desert! What could suck away all the heat in here? And what about the color? It has to be something really awful!"

Hawkmon frowned. It would be a lie to say he wasn't concerned about their surroundings, but he kept his cool far better than his partner. "Even so..." he tried to change the subject, "there's nothing to be afraid of. We have our friends nearby, and we've already defeated those Mekanorimon."

Her eyes snapped onto him. "Did we?" she asked hotly. "Did we, really? Did you see them disappear?"

"Here, now, stop frightening yourself," he snapped. "Come on, let's go and help the others."

They walked over along with Cody and Armadillomon, but the others didn't really need help, though; with the six of them digging, it wasn't long before the glow was uncovered. Kari, TK and their Digimon let out gasps at what lay before them. Ken stared at it, his expression unreadable. Davis looked at his friends' shocked faces and scratched his head. "Uh..." he said, "what is it?"

What lay in the sand was a piece of an orange object, broken into the shape of a lightning bolt. A partial image of what looked like a sun was engraved on it.

Davis picked it up and turned it over in his hand. "Orange... plastic?" he asked, getting angry. "A shitty piece of orange plastic?"

"What?" Yolei shrieked, her fear momentarily replaced by murderous rage. "Ripoff! Total ripoff!"

"It's NOT just plastic!" Patamon yelled, snatching it from Davis and dropping it in TK's palm.

TK and Kari didn't know what to make of it. That partial sun symbol was the Crest of Courage! Was this... "a piece of Tai's...?" TK murmured quietly.

"I don't understand..." Ken said, staring at it. Wasn't "Tai" one of the older children? What did it mean?

Something dripped onto the top of Yolei's hat. At first she thought maybe sand had fallen from the ceiling, like in the tunnel, but then a big dollop of black, blood-like goo slithered down her right lens. All of her joints stiffened, she slowly turned around... and the scream shook the whole room. A broken Mekanorimon towered over her, its eye spurting violently.

"Watch it!" Gatomon yelled, leaping right over Yolei and slashing the undead thing in the face. It screamed and slumped over, just like the ones before.

Yolei was breathing very loudly after that, clutching at her chest. She could very well be the first pre-teen to have a heart attack.

Hawkmon frowned at the broken-down device. "It must have followed us through the tunnels," he explained.

A low moan came from behind Cody. He spun around and his eyes widened. "I don't think so..." he rasped.

Everyone jerked around wildly as a dozen more zombified machines seeped out of the shadows, lurching towards the party with their remaining arms outstretched. "Aww, shit..." Davis swore.

The whole room's aura shifted, becoming more cruel. The haze started to drift towards the orange piece in TK's hand, as if it were drawn to it. TK cried out as the vapors whirled and crossed over the piece, stinging his hand and forcing him to drop it. The orange thing didn't seem to like it either; it started to twitch, then spark, then finally started a loud, malicious hum. Everyone jumped back as a bright, orange beam shot out of it, leaving a giant hole in the ceiling above. Another one shot out to the right and pierced a Mekanorimon, burning it to ashes.

The death of their comrade didn't faze the other Mekanorimon; they just kept coming. Gatomon flexed her claws. Ken readied his machine gun. Yolei bawled loudly and grabbed Hawkmon by the throat. The orange object gave another howl and tore another hole in the ceiling. Davis swallowed hard; whatever was going on in this place couldn't possibly be good for any of them.

* * *

Izzy had been quietly watching the energy source until then, but now he bounced out of his swivel chair, knocking it to the floor. The output increased at an alarming rate. Sweat burst from his temples as the readout jumped past 150 percent... 200 percent... 300 percent and still going! The screen flashed a violent red; explosion was imminent!

"Holy...!" was all he could say, and then he wildly banged out a new letter to the kids. They had to get out, and right that second!

* * *

As Demiveemon, Paildramon had undergone plenty of baths and scrambles underneath bed sheets, but sand was a new and unwelcome cover for him. He struggled as ferociously as he could, but Okuwamon's grip was as solid as it ever was... and his air was almost gone, too!

Through the sand, he heard Okuwamon's shrieking laugh; it didn't need to breathe, being made of control spires. He couldn't give up; Davis and the others were counting on him!... but what could he do? He couldn't see Okuwamon and his claws wouldn't be effective in this sand... did he have any other weapons?

His oxygen-starved mine snapped into place. Yes! He DID have another weapon! Forcing his way through the sand, his hands made their way down to the twin guns at his loins. With the last of his strength, he thrust them towards that screechy laughter and fired off three rounds.

A metallic shriek rocked the desert, and suddenly he found himself back in the open air, the setting sun stinging his eyes. Greedily he sucked in a deep swig of air and spewed it out with elation; he was free!

Okuwamon crashed down before him, all of the flesh around its face gone and the black spire sheen exposed. With an angry shriek, it raised its claw and charged at him.

"End of the line for you!" Paildramon declared, grabbing the guns and pointing them again. "Desperado Blaster!"

The guns had an even greater effect out in the open. Torrents of shining bullets ripped into Okuwamon's body, removing the rest of its phony Digimon skin and reducing the spire beneath to smoldering rubble. All that remained was its claw, still open and ready to grab Paildramon. He kicked it over and it fell to pieces in the sand. "Whoo..." he sighed, clutching at his chest, "that was too close!"

Just then, the sound of an explosion caught his ear. He turned around just in time to see three orange rays burst out of the base wreckage. His heart leaped; Davis was in trouble! "Hang on!" he yelled, taking to the air and flying towards the blasts.

The mysterious woman had remained cool all though the battle, but she couldn't hold her anger any longer. "You wretched rag bag reject!" she roared, shaking her fist at Paildramon as he disappeared into the base. That freak of nature had beaten Okuwamon? Those brats in there had better have been taken care of, or...!

* * *

Too many orange rays shot around the chamber for Gatomon to deal with the zombie Mekanorimon. Every time she got ready to attack one, she had to leap out of the way of a stray blast. Often one of them tore through a monster, but for every one that was destroyed, two more emerged from the blackness.

The orange piece glowed almost yellow, it shook even more wildly, more lasers fired, and the hum changed to a horrible, unearthly shriek. "Shit!" Davis yelled, jamming his thumbs into his ears.

"It's gonna blow!" Yolei cried, almost throttling Hawkmon. Cody just stared at the wild object, eyes wide.

Ken swallowed hard. Things couldn't end here! He had to learn what Paildramon was!

TK looked at Kari. "NOW what do we do?" he yelled, trying to hear himself through the scream.

Kari was about to say that she had no idea when the room shook, and sand poured down from above. She looked up in horror; was the thing causing earthquakes now, too? Would they all be buried alive in here?

The room shook twice more, and then yellow light burst forth from above. Everyone's hearts leaped as Paildramon flew in through the opening. "Somebody need help in here?" he asked.

"No shit!" Davis yelled, taking one finger out of his ear to point. "Do somethin' about that!"

Paildramon dodged an orange ray, then trained his guns on the strange object and fired away. One bullet sent it flying into the air, and a second one blew it into oblivion. "Game, set, match!" Paildramon laughed.

"Whoo! Thanks, Pa-" Davis began, but he was cut off by a low, furious snarl thundering through the room. One by one, the zombie Mekanorimon turned completely black and melted away into the haze like chalk drawings on a rainy day.

Yolei's eyes darted around. "Is... is it safe?" she squeaked.

"Whoo-whee..." Armadillomon whispered. "Whaddya think that was?"

Cody looked around and listened intently, but he could hear nothing. "I think we're safe for now..." he concluded.

Davis glanced around again, then grinned at his partner. "Nice one," he said. "You take care of that big bug, too?"

"Consider him squashed!" Paildramon answered with a thumbs up.

TK looked over at the place where the strange, crest-like thing had rested. "I guess we'll never know what it was," he sighed.

Kari wasn't so sure about that; she was getting another unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, like this was the beginning of a whole new set of problems for them. "TK..." she began.

Suddenly, the whole base shook more violently than when Paildramon had entered, and a river of sand poured in through the holes in the ceiling. Ken knew right away was was happening; the base was sinking into the desert! "We have to leave!" he yelled to the others.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Yolei yelped, running for the door they came through, dragging Hawkmon along with her.

Everyone scrambled back through the sandy, thin halls, leaping over heaps of junk like they were anthills. Paildramon brought up the rear, just in case there were any stragglers. The shaking and shudders got stronger as they went, and the kids had to dodge falling debris far more often than they wanted to.

Yolei laughed with delight as the light from the hole they had entered came into view... but it quickly changed to a scream and she stopped dead, everyone behind crashing into her. "What the hell, Yolei?" Davis demanded.

Yolei pointed. Standing between the kids and the exit were a dozen more zombie Mekanorimon, looking just as awful as all the others.

"Don't they care this place is goin' down?" Armadillomon grunted.

"They don't; they're dead," Cody said bluntly.

Gatomon raised her claws. "Just leave 'em to me!" she declared.

The Mekanorimon shuddered, then turned completely black, just like the ones in the chamber had... but this blackness didn't fade away; it all oozed together, piling up into one big wad. The giant ball shuddered and wavered, then split apart to reveal a giant, black bear with wicked eyes and stitches over its mouth. It roared angrily and waved its giant claws. Kari swallowed hard; they had Digivolved into a jumbo-sized Warumonzaemon!

"Oh, come ON!" Yolei screamed, exasperated.

"Err..." Gatomon winced. "Maybe not..."

Paildramon leaped in front of everyone, his own claws ready. "All of you get goin'!" he yelled. "I'll deal with fuzz-face, here!"

Sand began to pour through the opening. Davis looked up at him, shocked; for the first time in his life, he was genuinely afraid he was about to lose his partner. "But-" he tried to object.

"GO!" Paildramon yelled, charging the giant bear. Warumonzaemon roared and flew at its assailant as well.

Running as fast as they could, the kids weaved beneath the fighting monsters' legs and pushed through the sandy stream into the burning desert light. TK turned around and saw that Davis had stopped near the entrance. "Davis!" he yelled. "Come on!"

"But Paildramon-" Davis began.

"You'll be sucked back in!" TK urged, grabbing his arm and yanking hard. "Come ON!"

Reluctantly, Davis let TK pull him away. They retreated a safe distance to where everybody else lay sprawled out on the sand, exhausted. "Vuooo..." Yolei groaned. "That was... too much..."

"Yolei..." Hawkmon rasped, tugging at the arm around his neck, "may I breathe now?..."

Ken looked at Davis. "Where's Paildramon?" he demanded.

Davis opened his mouth to talk, but then he was almost blown over by a massive explosion behind him. He whirled around to see black smoke pouring out of the shrinking opening... and a shadow zipping over the dunes as Paildramon flew towards them. "All RIGHT!" he laughed, jumping up and down. His little buddy was safe and sound!

Paildramon floated above them, then glowed a gentle yellow and shrank almost into nothing. Davis certainly was surprised at what dropped into his hands; it looked like a blue sock with another sock stuffed inside of it. "Uh... Hey, there," he tried.

The sock thing laughed. "Davis, don'tcha recognize me?" it asked.

"Sure I do!..." he said, then frowned. "Uh... sort of..."

It laughed again. "I'm Chibumon," it said. "I'm the Baby form of Veemon! Better take care of me so I can get big again!"

Davis beamed. "You bet, little buddy," he said. "You're gettin' a six-course meal after what went down today!"

"Aww, what a cutie!" Kari cooed, stroking Chibumon on the forehead with her finger. "You're lucky, Davis."

Davis grinned again, his cheeks reddening. Maybe he wouldn't be in such a hurry to help Chibumon grow; he had his uses.

The ground shook once more, and everyone turned around just in time to see the topmost part of the Gigas vanish beneath the desert. "Well, that's the end of that thing," TK muttered.

Ken's eyes stared at the empty skyline. That's right, he thought, be buried and forgotten. That's what must happen to every trace of the Digimon Emperor.

* * *

A callow sigh on her lips, the mysterious woman turned and started walking. This was indeed a bothersome outcome; who would have ever suspected those brats could cook up an Ultimate Digimon? No, it wasn't just them; if that insolent Ichijouji boy hadn't gone sticking his nose in again, she would have...

She paused, then unclenched her fists. This wouldn't do. No, it wouldn't do at all to get angry. This unfortunate setback would change a few tiny things, but in the end, she was still going to win. She sucked in a deep breath of air and let it all out. That satisfied her, and she resumed her walk. Yes, she would still win. After all, she had a greater power than anything any of those children could imagine.

* * *

"Well, that's about as much as I can handle for one day," Patamon chirped. "Let's go home!"

Ken started to leave, but a hand touched his shoulder. He looked over and saw Kari smile at him. "Ken?" she said. "Thanks for coming today."

He stared right through her, the comment seemingly not getting through. "She's right," TK added. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"You really saved our asses!" Yolei beamed, then caught herself. "Oh, um, I mean... thanks."

Cody said nothing; he scowled and looked away. "Uh..." Armadillomon tried, "Cody says thanks, too."

Ken shook his head. "It wasn't me," he said. "It was Wormmon."

The others exchanged confused looks. Davis grinned. "Yeah, you're right!" he agreed.

"...What do you mean?" Gatomon asked.

Not hearing the cat, Davis offered his hand to Ken. "But you were a major, MAJOR help today, and I guess that makes ya one of us now!" he said. "Welcome to the crew!"

Ken looked at Davis's hand with more focus than he had before, but his mind was still distant. It was true that what remained of Wormmon had flown into Veemon... but he didn't know what that meant. Whatever it did mean, though, he couldn't accept their friendship yet. Despite the Gigas being destroyed, the Digital World was still in ruin... and he couldn't begin again until he had cleaned up all of his past wickedness. "I'm sorry," he said, turning away, "I can't." With that, he turned and walked away.

Davis felt like someone had thrown ice water in his face. "Wait, what?" he yelled. "Hey!"

"Come back!" Chibumon called. "Pretty please?"

Ken seemed to hesitate at Chibumon's call, but then he doubled his walking speed and vanished over a hill.

Yolei sighed. Why wouldn't Ken join them? Was it something someone had said? Or something she didn't say?

Kari shook her head. "Well... we can't force him," she said to Davis. "It has to happen naturally."

Cody snorted. "Friends like that, we don't need," he stated bluntly.

There was a long silence. TK glanced over at the setting sun. "At any rate, we should go home," he said. "It's almost night..."

"I'll second that," Gatomon agreed. "I really need something in my tummy-"

Just then, Kari's D-Terminal beeped. Curious, everyone stopped and watched as she pulled it out and read the message. "It's Izzy," she said. "He wants us to come to his place and tell him about what we saw."

"What?" Davis roared, his pent-up anger bursting to the surface. "You BET I'm gonna tell him! What the hell did he send us into?"

"That's exactly what we'll learn," Cody said. "Come on, let's get moving."

* * *

"Sorry to call you all in so late," Izzy said to the assembled throng in his room. The kids all looked (and smelled) worn-out and cranky, especially after having to sneak past the janitor's office in addition to what they had gone through.

"Ohhh, no trouble!" Yolei said, nodding wildly; this was a hundred times better than a colorless, undead-laden base. "No trouble, none at all!"

"Not a problem," Cody muttered, balancing Upamon on one knee. "I'm used to my mother yelling at me for being late anyway..."

"Right..." Izzy said, ignoring the sarcasm. "Now, what was the energy source?"

"You're not going to believe this, Izzy," Kari said, "but it was a piece of Tai's Crest!"

Yolei and Cody gave her puzzled looks, but Izzy almost fell out of his chair. "Tai's Crest?" he yelped. "Are you sure?"

"It sure was," TK agreed. "It was a little orange plastic-looking piece with part of a sun on it."

Izzy was quiet for a second, his mouth open but no words coming. "Did you... did you bring it back?" he finally asked.

Gatomon's ears sagged. "We couldn't," she admitted. "Paildramon blew it up."

"WHAT?" Izzy yelled, jumping up and grabbing at his hair repeatedly. "You...? How could you...? Why did you...?"

"If he didn't blow IT up, it would have blown US up," Patamon summarized. "It's like that dark haze made it go crazy!"

TK blinked, then looked at Kari. "Hey, maybe that stuff was drawn to it..." he suggested. "Maybe that's why all the creepy stuff was there..."

Kari shivered, even though Izzy's room was warm. What would those... things... want with a piece of a Crest?

"Paildramon...?" Izzy managed to say, breaking out of his enraged stupor. "Who's Paildramon?"

"It was amazing," Poromon spoke up. "Some kind of energy went into Exveemon, and then he turned into Paildramon, and boy did he know how to fight!"

Izzy's train of thought instantly switched tracks. "Went into...?" he asked.

"Ken's D3 broke... and then some crazy light came out of it and went into Exveemon..." Yolei said, her voice oddly soft. "He seemed to think... it was Wormmon."

"But that's crazy talk," Gatomon argued. "Wormmon's gone! How could it be him?"

"It made him act weird for a second, too," Patamon recalled. "He flickered and fizzed, and Davis's D3 sparked a lot!"

Izzy leaned back in his chair, scratching at his chin again. Wormmon went into Exveemon and made him change? It sounded oddly familiar to him; two summers before, Tai's Wargreymon and Matt's Metalgarurumon had fused together to form Omnimon, a creature capable of defeating the freakish Diaboromon. However, both of his friends' partners were at the Mega level at the time... and they were both alive, too. And what was that flickering and sparking about? "This is going to require some more research..." he finally said. "A LOT more research..."

"Well, if it's helpful, I'm all for it," Upamon said. "Paildramon's super strong!"

"We sure need it," Yolei agreed. "That woman's getting to be a major pain. She's got way worse stuff than we thought..."

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked.

"She used TEN spires to make Okuwamon," she went on, "and that thing was too strong for anybody but Paildramon!"

Cody frowned. "Perhaps the number of spires used will alter the type of monster she creates..." he reasoned.

"Okuwamon..." Izzy murmured, typing on his computer. An image of the gray bug appeared. "That's an Ultimate-level Digimon," he reported. "You say ten of them made it?"

"So one makes a Champion, and ten make an Ultimate?" Patamon summarized. "Scary!"

"It could be even scarier," Izzy said gravely. "If that's true, and more spires make a stronger monster... this woman could create even stronger spire-born... Maybe even Mega-level."

Both TK and Kari shuddered from that realization and looked at each other. Mega-level spire-born? How could their little band possibly fight something like that?

"Mega?" Upamon gulped. "That's, um... that's bad, isn't it?"

Even Cody looked bothered; there was a level above Okuwamon's? "Yes..." he agreed.

"But... we're getting ahead of ourselves," Izzy said, trying to reassure his young friends. "For now, we should concentrate on knocking down control spires. That woman can make her own, but she'll have less ammo to begin with... and if she makes any Ultimate spire-born, Paildramon can deal with them."

Yolei pouted. "Man, why does Davis always get the cool monsters?" she grouched.

She expected a retort, but none came. In fact, Davis had been oddly quiet since they had been there. Surprised, everyone turned to him. He was just staring out the window, a pensive look on his face and Chibumon on his lap. "Davis?" Izzy asked. "What's wrong?"

He hesitated, and then, realizing that he was being spoken to, turned. "Heh? Oh, nothin'..." he replied with a shrug. "I was just wonderin' why Ken won't join up with us... I mean, I'D want to be friends with me..."

"Again?" Cody grunted. Davis's obsession with the Emperor was really getting on his nerves.

"Well..." Izzy said, "let's just wait and see what comes of that."

Chibumon smiled and bounced on to Davis's knees. "Don't worry, Davis!" he chirped. "I know Ken'll see how much fun it is around us!"

Izzy blinked, then stared at Chibumon in surprise. "You're certainly full of energy," he commented.

"Yeah?" Davis asked, scratching at his ear. "Guess we have some left over still."

"I'm all geared up for dinner, that's for sure!" Chibumon laughed. "Can we have pork chops, Davis? Please?"

Izzy didn't know what to make of it. When Veemon had become Magnamon, Davis had been out cold for three days... but here his Digimon had freakishly become an Ultimate-level Digimon, and he looked no worse than usual! Usually after Digivolving, both the Digimon and his or her partner were completely worn out; why hadn't this Digivolution done that?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Uh-oh!" Upamon gulped. "Toy time, everyone!"

The Digimon all went limp and motionless as the door opened. "Izzy? Dinner's ready, and..." Yoshie Izumi started as she looked in. "Oh! You have company?"

"Uh, it's OK, Mrs. Izumi," Kari said, smiling and scooping up Gatomon. "We were all just about to leave."

"Oh. All right..." Yoshie said, then looked down at the little cat... and then at the other colorful "dolls" the children had. "Those are so cute," she remarked. "Izzy, didn't you have someone like that? Tentomon, right?"

Yolei, Cody and Davis looked at each other, baffled. Izzy's mother knew about Tentomon?

"Where did he go?" she asked. "I haven't seen him in a long time."

The other kids looked at him. Izzy coughed, his cheeks reddening quickly. "Well, uh..." he tried, then trailed off in an awkward laugh.

* * *

A cool autumn night claimed the Tamachi district, along with the rest of Tokyo. Ken Ichijouji lay in his warm bed, staring up at the ceiling. His mind slid back into the burning desert of the afternoon. Why had Wormmon left him? Had he abandoned him for a more compassionate human by leaping into Exveemon? A tear formed on his eye. That very well could be... He had been a horrible partner. Any other Digimon would have left much sooner.

However, could it have been something else? He blinked the tear away and turned his gaze on the far wall. Maybe it was a sign. Paildramon was strong and warmhearted. Maybe Wormmon was saying that he trusted those other children, and that he himself should, too? He groaned and sat up, staring down at the floor. He just didn't know what any of it meant. Should he continue on his own path to destruction? Or should he throw his lot in with the Digidestined? "Sam..." he said, looking longingly up at the ceiling, "do you trust them, too?..."

His only answer was silence. He lowered his head, feeling all too alone.

* * *

"Hmm..." Davis muttered as he studied the wing piece between his fingertips. He wanted to get its angle to match the picture on the model's box, but he didn't have any way to measure it, and the instructions didn't seem to consider it important. This was the first time in a while he had the time or energy to work on a plane, and he wanted to make the best of it.

"I can help, Davis!" Chibumon yipped, hopping next to the kit supplies and grabbing the little plastic-cutting knife in his mouth and swinging it around. "Ffee? I k'n k't th' psses!"

"Woah, stop! Stop!" Davis huffed, pushing his chair back in fear of the flailing razor. "You're gonna cut someone's eye out!"

"Oh..." Chibumon said, spitting the blade out and looking disappointed. "OK..."

Davis smiled and patted the little thing. "This is work for those of us with, um, hands," he said. "Once you get back to Demiveemon, then we can keep working on it, OK?"

The door flew open with a slam, and in bounded Jun. "Ooh, Daisuke!" she beamed. "I heard you say Demiveemon! That's your doll's name, right? Can I play with him again?"

Davis's neck hair shot up. He didn't have Demiveemon with him!... Well, not exactly... What could he tell her? His automatic response kicked in. "Bug off," he grumbled.

"Oh, that's nice," she teased, looking at his messy desk. "No wonder no girl wants to-" her insult changed to a delighted scream, and she snatched up Chibumon. "Who's this little guy? You bring home the sweetest toys!"

"Hey!" Davis snarled. "That's not-"

"Oh, and he's so squeezably soft!" Jun giggled, pressing the little blue critter against her chest; Chibumon's tail-like thing rose slightly. "This'll do until you find Demiveemon!" she declared, and dashed out of the room.

Davis could have used his head to bulldoze his new plane. "Here we go the hell again..." he groaned, sagging against the desk.

* * *

The lights continued to burn in Yolei's room; she couldn't bring herself to shut them off; the day's events replaying in her mind wouldn't allow it. She saw the diabolical woman and the Okuwamon she created. She saw legions of torn-up, undead Mekanorimon lurching towards her, followed by a roaring Warumonzaemon... Ken and his pained (but sexy) face... and then the most frightening vision of all: Mimi's smug grin, and the order to appear before her on Sunday.

She sucked in the smelly air around her and exhaled in a whiny sigh, looking over at the sleeping Poromon. Her worries used to consist only of who would be available to play online after homework. Just what the hell had she gotten herself into?

* * *

As the night seeped into Odaiba, all of the lights slowly went out... but one cold, pale glow remained in the Izumi residence: Izzy's computer. Though he himself slept (lightly), the locator program continued to run, scanning the unknown reaches of the new Digital World for any sign of its prey. It had been running for over a day and a half now, and other computer geniuses would worry about the damage done to their machines... but Izzy knew she could take it. She was his baby. He had absolute confidence in her.

The screen flickered, and then it beeped. Izzy shot up like someone had dropped ice in his pants and sprang into the chair. He looked over the readout and forgot to breathe. His confidence had payed off. "I did it!..." he whispered. "I did it!" he exclaimed. "I DID IT!" he shouted, throwing up his arms in unbridled joy.

They had to be told! Right away! He dove for his cell phone and hit the first speed-dial button his finger touched. It rang once... twice... "Come on, pick up! Pick up!" he laughed.

The response he got certainly wasn't what he expected. "Mrrgh... Who'zzis?..." Tai's sleepy voice mumbled.

"Tai!" Izzy said. "It's done!"

"Izzy?" the voice asked, becoming angry. "For cryin' out loud, it's three in the morning! What the hell?"

"That's not important!" Izzy said, unable to contain his laughter. "I did it! I found him!"

"'Him?'" Tai snapped. "You called me at 3 in the freaking morning? You found WHO?"

"GENNAI!" Izzy exploded. "I found him! I found _Gennai_!"

There was a momentary silence on the line. "You call Sora," Tai said, sounding as excited as Izzy had. "I'll call Matt!"


	26. Reunion

**CHAPTER 26**

**REUNION**

"Oh, for the love of... Where IS he?" Yolei grouched as Cody, Kari, TK and herself stood at the side of the school building, waiting for Davis. It was a morning ritual to release their Digimon partners for the day, so they could at least start out in one group... but Davis was nowhere to be seen.

Cody frowned and folded his arms. "Does he think the weekend starts on Saturday?" he asked. "Impossible..."

"Maybe he's been delayed somehow," Poromon suggested.

TK glanced at his watch and winced; only ten minutes remained before the bell rang, and that was cutting it too close for his comfort. "Well, we'd better just go," he began. "It's—"

A panicked yell of "HEY!" cut him off. Everyone looked up as Davis tore up the walkway and, with one charged leap, planted himself in front of them. He was breathing hard, and wiped the sweat from his brow three times before he looked up and grinned. "...Mornin'," he managed.

"Well, you decided to show up after all," Gatomon said, rolling her eyes.

"Where've you been?" Patamon asked.

"Heh... sorry..." Davis managed, unzipping his jacket and letting Demiveemon crawl out into his hands, "but I had to get 'im away from my sister... Pain in the ass..."

"Hey!" Kari beamed, looking over the little blue critter, "you're back!"

"Yep!" Demiveemon chirped, beaming at her. "All I needed was a pork chop an' a good night's sleep!... but I think Jun's boobs mighta had somethin' to do with it, too!"

Yolei shot an irked look at his partner. "Hey, it ain't my fault she keeps comin' in and taking him," Davis retorted, jamming his hands in his pockets.

"Well, no time for that now," Cody said, placing Upamon in the browning grass. "You keep out of trouble until school's out."

"Trouble? Me?" Upamon asked, grinning.

Suddenly, a hand clapped down on Davis's shoulder and he jumped with an involuntary curse. Tai stood behind him, laughing. "Geez, coach!" Davis wheezed. "Don't DO that!"

"Those are the reflexes I like to see!" Tai replied. "Make sure you use them at practice today; I'm gonna be gone, so it's a solo act."

Davis's jaw dropped. "Whaaat?" he objected. "But you NEVER miss a practice!"

"And I don't like to, but I've got something important to do," Tai said, slightly amused by his pupil's bewilderment. "I'm sure you can all do fine on your own."

Davis struggled for some sort of objection, but none came; if it was something important, he could hardly complain about it. "Uh, well... OK, coach," he surrendered, scratching his head.

"Good," Tai answered. "Now you guys'd better hurry; the bell's about to go off."

Yolei, Cody and Davis raced into the building, and the Digimon made themselves scarce in the bushes. Tai looked around, then looked at Kari and TK, who had stayed behind. "Don't forget, you guys," he said. "Right after school."

The two nodded and then jogged for the door. "You're going, right?" Kari asked TK.

"Yeah," TK agreed, "but I sure wish Izzy had waited to call us... Mom was really mad."

Kari giggled. "Ours wasn't too happy about it, either," she replied.

Chuckling and talking about whose mother took 3 AM calls worse, the two disappeared into the school.

* * *

Within half an hour of the closing bell, the seven Digidestined met at the old playground. Izzy looked over his friends and nodded with approval. "All right, it's good to see we all made it," he stated.

"Hey, Izzy," Matt spoke up, the ire thick in his voice, "next time you figure something out, wait until morning before you call us, OK?"

"That was the fist night's sleep I'd had in a while that wasn't medicine-induced," Sora added, her cold still present but fading.

"Err... Of course. Sorry," Izzy apologized. "But you can't blame me for being excited; this is a prodigious event!"

"Yeah, we should all go see Gennai ASAP!" Tai agreed.

"You think he'll answer our questions?" Joe asked; as he remembered it, Gennai never really gave direct answers to anything he wanted to know.

"I sure hope so," TK said. "Since we found part of Tai's Crest, there're even more..."

"All right," Izzy agreed. "Now, when can we all go?"

"How about tomorrow, around noon?" Tai spoke up. "I know I don't have anything."

"It works for me," Izzy answered. "What about everyone else?"

One by one, each of the kids said they would be able to make it... but Joe stayed quiet. "What's the matter?" Sora asked him. "Does Sunday not work for you?"

"Oh, it works..." Joe said, looking up with a sad expression, "but I was just wondering if we should ask Mimi..."

There was a quiet groan through the rest of the group. "This again?" Matt snorted, folding his arms and leaning on the bench. "Forget it."

"But..." Joe tried to protest.

"She's made it pretty clear what she thinks of us now," Tai sighed. "Besides, I don't think she'd come even if we did ask."

Joe looked around at his friends, but it was obvious he was defeated. "...All right," he surrendered.

"All right," Izzy restated. "So we're meeting Sunday at noon... How about at Tai's and Kari's?"

TK scratched his head. "Didn't we all meet there last time?" he asked.

"Yes, but they have the space for all of us," Izzy pointed out. "I'd offer my own place, but I'm letting my computer rest after all the work it did..."

Kari nodded in understanding; Izzy treated his computer like a living entity. "OK, then," she agreed. "We can use my room."

"Sounds like a plan," Sora said, glancing at her watch. "Are we done?"

"One other thing," Matt said, looking over at his brother and Kari. "Don't tell the new kids."

Everyone- not just TK and Kari- looked at him. "What?" TK started.

"But why?" Izzy asked.

"They've never met Gennai; they wouldn't understand," Matt replied, his eyes cold.

Tai frowned. "Of course they-" he began.

"They aren't a part of this," Matt snapped.

"But-" Tai tried, but Matt's glare bored into him, so his own face twisted into a defensive scowl. There was an unpleasant silence as the boys locked eyes. For a moment, the others wondered if there would be another fist fight, as had happened too often before.

Finally, Tai just sighed and shook his head. "...Fine," he mumbled. "I guess if we're going to ask about them, it'd be less hurtful if they weren't there..." He looked over at his sister and TK. "Can we count on you guys?"

TK and Kari exchanged worried looks. Once again, they were being asked to go behind their new friends' backs by their old friends. When they had first met Davis, Cody and Yolei, this request would have been easy for them... but after spending so much time with them, the line between their new friends and their old friends had blurred considerably. Still, if both Tai and Matt thought it was for the good of the team... "...Yeah," TK agreed quietly.

"OK..." Izzy said, getting off of the bench he was on, "then is there anything else before we go?"

Kari hesitated, then coughed. "There is one thing," she piped up. "I'm worried about what Ken's doing."

The gazes of the others fell on her, and she swallowed; she knew how Mimi had reacted to the former Emperor; had this been a mistake?

"What's wrong, Kari?" Tai asked. "Go on."

"Well..." she said, playing with her hands as she forced out the words. "He's not... hurting Digimon any more... but the way he's knocking down the spires... it's like he doesn't care about his own safety." She swallowed again and licked her lips. "I'm... I'm afraid he's going to do something really dangerous."

There was another pause as the older kids chewed over her words. Matt was the first to speak up, and his answer didn't make her feel any better. "He can do whatever he wants," he grunted.

"Matt, come on!" TK protested, frowning at him. "You're not saying you WANT him to get hurt?"

Matt's eyes softened for a moment, but then he shifted his weight and looked away.

Sora sniffed hard, then turned a gentle smile to them. "Maybe... he just doesn't know what to do," she said. "If we give him a little time, I think he'll calm down and figure it out."

Kari quietly stared at her legs. Tai cleared his throat. "Well, I think that's it," he announced. "Remember, tomorrow at noon, my place!"

With that, the meeting was over. Little by little, Joe, Izzy and Matt faded into the darkness that had overtaken the park. Sora shivered and shrugged her jacket into a tighter position. "It gets dark a lot sooner now..." she remarked.

Tai looked at her. "Want me to walk you home again?" he asked.

She nodded, and he looked over at TK and Kari, who were just getting off the bench. "You guys go on home," he said, "I'll be back later."

"Right..." TK agreed, and Kari and he started off.

Tai and Sora went in the opposite direction, towards the Takenouchi residence. The chilly night was devoid of natural sound; the crickets had all begun their hibernation for the winter. All that could be heard was the low hum of the Tokyo traffic.

"Boy, that Matt," Tai grumbled. "What's his problem?"

"I don't know," Sora admitted, "but I'm sure there's a reason... There always is."

He blew a visible stream of heat into the air; it was cold enough to see things like that. Once again, Sora was right... but he hoped Matt would work it out of his system before things came to blows. "Maybe Gennai's answers will get him to ease up," he suggested.

Sora stared up at the midnight blue sky, a pang of fear in her heart. "Whatever he has to say..." she spoke out loud, "something tells me I don't want to hear it."

Tai looked at her with sympathy, then clapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, it'll be fine," he chuckled. "Old Gennai'll set the record straight."

She smiled at him; that was Tai, always looking on the bright side. She wished she could do that more often.

* * *

The bright side of that night's dinner was quickly snuffed for Yolei. The good news was that her parents had brought home pizzas, and one of them was topped with pepperoni and sausage, her favorites; the bad news was that those happened to be all three of her siblings' favorites, too. Before she could lift a finger it was all gone in a flurry of hands, jangly wristbands and gossip, save one measly slice... the tiniest one of the eight. "Heyyy!..." she groaned, her reaching hand clenching.

"Too slow," Chizuru replied curtly.

"I'd think you'd have quicker fingers, with all the games you play," Momoe piped up, her cheek swollen with gooey cheese.

"Can't you all get along?" Yolei's father grumbled, shaking his head.

"Here, Miyako," her mother said, offering the other pizza. "There's more than enough of this one."

Yolei took one whiff and recoiled. The "veggie lovers' special" may have been all right for some people... but the hot stink of onion, the sheen on the slimy green peppers and the total absence of any kind of cheese made it hard for her to keep lunch down. "No thanks..." she mumbled, and took the last meager slice of the first one.

The three older Inoue kids had already forgotten the injustice and were chattering amongst themselves. "Hey, now, dinner's a family time," Yolei's father spoke up. "Don't sit there like we aren't here."

"Yes, what's the word on the street today?" her mother asked.

"Well!" Momoe said, all three of them spinning around to address the rest, "we were just hearing about Chizuru's friend's sister's new boyfriend."

"Yeah, she roped him in at the mall," Chizuru broke in. "She was in the music store... and it turns out they both like the Teenage Werewolves!"

"No way!" Momoe bubbled.

Yolei blinked. This type of pointless, rambling drivel drove her crazy; why couldn't she eat her dinner in peace and quiet?

"Isn't this the guy who was her brother's best friend, but they got into a fight when he learned he was dating HIS girlfriend?" Mantarou asked.

"Yeah, but they worked that out last week," Momoe said quickly. "Now it's a perfect match, just like Jun and Matt!"

This, of course, Yolei DID know something about. "Woah, hold it! Back up!" she blurted. "Matt doesn't like Jun at all!"

Silence gripped the table. The siblings all looked at her, as did her parents. "How would YOU know?" Chizuru asked.

"Well, when I was up... camping that one weekend, she just showed up, and he-" she began, trying to avoid mentioning anything digital.

"I know!" Momoe beamed, cutting in abruptly. "Wasn't that so romantic, the way she followed him?"

"It was creepy, that's what it was," Yolei replied, "and he didn't look at all happy she was there, either."

"Maybe you just missed some important detail," Mantarou suggested.

"Besides, how do you know what Matt thinks?" Chizuru huffed. "He wouldn't tell someone like YOU who he likes!"

The siblings went back to their chatter about so-and-so and what's-her-name. Already angered by their taking all the good food and their snippy shutdown of what she had to say, she banged her elbows on the table. "Doesn't anyone want to know what _I_ did today?" she asked.

"We know what you did," Momoe replied. "You woke up, you went to school, you played your video games. Just like every other day."

"Maybe if you weren't so boring, you'd be worth listening to," Chizuru quipped.

Yolei went beet red. "Mom!" she complained.

"Be nicer to your sister, Chizuru," Yolei's mother scolded, then turned an eye on Yolei. "But... maybe it would help if you were more sociable, Miyako... made more friends."

"What?" Yolei snapped, turning defensive. "I have friends!"

"You hardly hang out with them outside school," Mantarou pointed out, "and throwing Jun's brother in the pond isn't what I'd call being sociable."

"If you did more, met more people, you'd have more to talk about," her father added. "Why don't you do something after school for a while? Something other than work at the store or in that computer club, I mean."

The conversation went on, but Yolei could contribute no more; she had been struck dumb by her family's words. She silently chewed her pizza, her thoughts drifting towards tomorrow's meeting with Mimi.

* * *

Dinner at the Ichijouji residence was the exact opposite of the Inoue's. The only noises were the clatter of silverware on the plates. Usually his parents would chatter about work and their social lives, but tonight they were too engrossed in the meal.

Ken forced himself to eat, trying to ignore the deafening silence. It had followed him everywhere since the incident in the Forbidden Desert yesterday. For the first time in his life, he felt adrift, aimless, and lost. He no longer knew his place, or what he was to do. He desperately wanted a sign, something to show him the way... but there was nothing. He shoved another wad of rice down his throat, questions punching at the insides of his skull: why had Wormmon disappeared into Paildramon? What did it mean? Why didn't he know? Why couldn't he figure it out?

"Ken, are you all right?" his mother's voice broke in, startling him.

He looked up to see both of his parents looking at him intently. "Um... Sorry, what?" he asked.

"You've been looking pale lately," his father said. "Are you sick? Want to see a doctor?"

Ken frowned. He did feel tired more often, but he knew that was because of all the time he spent destroying spires in the Digital World... but maybe it was starting to show. He hardly ever looked at mirrors, so perhaps he did come off as haggard and worn out... and this silence was almost the same as he had given at dinner when he was the Emperor. Not wanting to worry them, he cleared his throat. "Oh... No," he said. "I've just been working on a big project... Nothing serious..."

"Well, don't push yourself too hard," his mother said. "Overworking yourself is just as unhealthy as not doing anything."

Ken nodded and stared down at his meal... but he wasn't really hungry anymore. Now that his parents had engaged him in conversation, he wanted to ask them about his problem. After all, they were his parents; they had to have some kind of answer... "Actually, can I ask you guys something?" he asked.

"Of course," his father said. "Ask away."

"Well..." he said, tapping his fork on the side of the plate, "it's about the project, really... I knew where I was going to go with it at first... but then I met some other kids who have suggested some other ways to do it... and now I have no idea what the best thing to do is... and nobody's giving me any pointers." He looked up again. "What would you do?"

Surprisingly, his mother was beaming. "Oh, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "You've made some friends!"

He blinked. Friends? He didn't once use that word in his question; how did she get that? "Well, it's not..." he tried to correct her.

"It's always good to have more than one option," his father interrupted. "It's like that American expression, 'there's more than one way to skin a cat.' There's never just one way to do things... and I think that's a big relief."

The silence broken, his parents began chatting with each other about marginally-related topics in their own lives, and a warm atmosphere came back to the dinner table. Ken was glad for the change in mood, but now he had one more question rattling around his mind: could those kids really be friends? Who would ever truly be a friend to the Digimon Emperor?

* * *

The sun hung high in the sky, not quite yet at its apex, but close enough for Cody to guess the time was around 11:30. A cold wind blew across the balcony and chilled him through his gi, but he didn't mind; it helped him keep his focus. Sunday mornings in November were perfect for kendo practice.

As he raised his shinai for another swing, though, something below caught his eye; his balcony was at such an angle that on the eastern side he could see the Inoue apartment beneath, and Yolei was stepping out of the door in her frumpy green fall jacket. Normally, this was not an oddity- Yolei often went in and out of her own house- but he hardly ever saw her on Sundays, except online. Even stranger was that Poromon didn't seem to be with her. "Good morning, Yolei!" he called cheerfully, waving his shinai; he didn't want to feel he was spying on her.

The jump she did startled him as much as his call had spooked her. She turned panicked eyes on him, then shook her head. "Agh! Uh... Hi, Cody," she said quietly, her eyes darting around.

"It's odd seeing you on a Sunday," he explained, walking to the railing and leaning on it. "Are you working at your store today?"

"Uh... n-no," she stammered, still looking around like she thought others were watching. "I'm, uh... just... going for a walk! See ya!" With that, she tore off, vanishing down the staircase in a series of frantic clomps. Cody, genuinely muddled, scratched his head. Since when did Yolei exercise at all, let alone on a Sunday?

As he pondered this, he heard another door close. "Morning, Cody!" a familiar, high-pitched voice came from his right. From the south side of the balcony he could look down and see the walkway that the Takaishi apartment was on, and TK and Patamon were walking along it. Patamon was smiling and waving from TK's hat, but TK looked nervous.

"Uh, hello," Cody called back. "Where are you off to?"

Patamon started to speak, but TK reached up and grabbed him. Even Cody could see the look he gave the pig was a cross one. "Oh, uh, we're just... going for a walk," he said, giving a phony grin. "See you later!" With that, he also ran off down the stairs.

Cody leaned his shinai against the balcony and frowned. Now this was really weird. Either both of his friends were going for a walk today... or there was something else.

He gathered his kendo things and walked back inside, as he changed into regular clothes, his thrown gi landed on the still-sleeping Upamon and he woke with a start. "Bleahhh!" he gagged, scampering out from under it. "Armpit smell isn't a nice alarm clock, Cody!"

"Get ready, Upamon," Cody said, his head popping out of one of his purple shirts. "We're going for a walk."

* * *

Yolei's five-block trudge to Mimi's place felt like a shackled stumble across the Sahara. She was NOT looking forward to this meeting, but after what her siblings and her parents had said the night before, she almost had to do it. She also felt bad that she hadn't told Poromon where she was going- she hadn't even woken him up- but he wouldn't understand; after all, what did Digimon know about the human social circle?

Dragging herself up the stairs with feet of lead, she reached the correct floor and turned right. Three doors down hung the Tachikawa family name plate, emboldened with little caricatures of its three members... and the apple-cheeked smiles on all of them seemed as welcoming as fanged doberman dogs. Her raised pointer finger fought with her for a moment, but then she lurched forward and jammed it into the doorbell. A gentle "ding-dong" echoed through the curtained window.

After an eternity of thirty seconds, the door opened. Out stepped Mimi, clad in a weathered pink jacket and sweatpants, and a plastic sack looped around her left arm. "Uh... Good morning?" Yolei asked, a bit puzzled; where was the trendy crap that this teen queen usually sported?

Mimi sniffed and frowned; the clothes weren't there, but the attitude certainly was. "Is that what you're wearing?" she asked curtly. "And what's that smell? It's like a dumpster behind a fruit stand... with mothballs."

Yolei's eye visibly twitched, but she held herself steady. She was here for help, and she wasn't going to blow it. "So..." she said between clenched teeth, "what're we doing today?..."

"Well, I thought we'd start with the basics today," Mimi replied. "Before we do anything else, you obviously need a refresher course in hygiene."

Yolei blinked. "Are you telling me I came all the way over here to take a bath?" she growled.

"Oh, not in MY bathroom," Mimi sniffed. "No WAY are you getting in there! We're going to the public bathhouse!"

Yolei's anger froze, and she swallowed hard. The public bathhouse? Bathing in front of all those other people? "Public?" she squeaked.

Mimi blinked, genuinely stunned. "You mean you've never been to it before?..."

Yolei hesitated, and her shock faded. "Well, I guess it's not THAT surprising..." she sniffed.

Yolei swallowed again; she had to get out of this. "Uh, I, uh, didn't bring any soap," she stammered.

Mimi gestured to the bag on her arm. "I have enough of everything we need for the both of us," she replied, "as much as I think it's a waste."

With Yolei fuming, Mimi stepped out of the apartment. "I was going to ask daddy to drive us," she said, her nose wrinkling again, "but a walk'll help you air out. Come on, let's go."

In her mind, Mimi flew from her hands off the balcony and splattered across the pavement below... but Yolei took a deep breath and shook her head. "Right," she muttered, and followed her new mentor back towards the stairs.

* * *

"Good grief!" was Susumu Yagami's exact quote upon discovering seven teenagers coming into his house. "What's going on here?"

"It's OK, Dad," Kari reassured him, taking her shoes off, but holding them instead of putting them by the door. "We're all just here to study for a big test."

"Yeah, don't mind us, Mr. Yagami," Sora said, also retaining her shoes. "We'll be really quiet; we promise."

"Oh!" Yuuko's voice came from the other room, and her head popped through a doorway. "How many are there? Would you kids like some lunch?"

"Uh, no, that's OK, Mom," Tai said quickly. "We've got our own snacks for this!" He patted the shoulder bag that Izzy carried.

"Well, OK..." she said, looking a bit hurt, "but don't get any crumbs in the rug."

The seven kids strolled into Kari's room and shut the door. "Whew!" Tai whispered. "Just dodged a fungus-coated bullet, there!"

Sora sighed. "Your mom looked kind of upset," she pointed out. "Do you always say no to her cooking?"

"Nope, I'll eat when I can lose a day to cramps," he chuckled. Upon seeing that she wasn't amused, he sighed. "I clean my plate more than enough times," he said soberly. "We just don't want her to come in here when we're gone!"

"Good point," Izzy replied. "Now, is everyone ready?"

All of the kids showed their Digivices. Patamon, who had feigned being a toy for the parents, miraculously came to life. "Here!" he chirped.

The pale-green sheets on Kari's bed rustled, and Gatomon emerged. "Let's get this show on the road," she said, hopping onto the floor.

"Hey," Sora suddenly said, "what about our partners?"

"I spoke to Tentomon last night," Izzy said. "I gave him the coordinates and he said they'd all be there."

Joe stared at the rug, wondering if Palmon had come, too.

"OK, then," Izzy said, hitting some buttons on Kari's computer and bringing up the Digital Gate program. "TK, Kari, if you'd do the honors..."

TK and Kari raised their D3s and the gate unlocked. The other five raised their Digivices and vanished into the brightness of the screen. The next thing they knew, they stood in a grassy meadow surrounded by tall, full pine trees. The sky was overcast in a pale gray, and the scent of wet moss hung thickly in the air. A gigantic mass of control spires stood in a ring nearby.

TK took a step forward and the grass squelched beneath him. Surprised, he brought his foot up and looked, but there was nothing wet on it. He put it down and heard the same noise. "That's weird..." he said. "This place feels more like a swamp than a meadow."

"Maybe there was a lot of rain lately?" Patamon piped up.

TK shook his head. "My feet're dry," he pointed out.

Patamon thought for a second. "...Invisible rain?" he tried.

Tai leered at the control spires and folded his arms. "Man, those things ruin any scenery," he grumbled.

"You're telling me!" a familiar voice came from behind, and Tai grinned and whirled around. Agumon stood there, along with all of the other Digimon partners.

The kids all greeted them happily. "Hello, Tentomon," Izzy said to the red bug. "I see you got everyone together... Good work."

"Well, when they heard what it was about, I couldn't get them to stay put," Tentomon replied.

"Biyomon!" Sora laughed, hugging the pink bird, but recoiling when she heard her sneeze. "Oh... Do you still have a cold, too?" she asked.

"(SNRK) Yeah..." Biyomon grunted, rubbing at her beak, "but it's not as bad as it was..."

Gabumon approached Matt, who just stood there. "...Matt?" he asked.

Matt glanced down and the faintest of smiles creased his lips. "Good to see you," he said, patting the horned dog on his head. Gabumon smiled; that was all he needed.

"Joe!" Gomamon cackled, jumping up and down before the blue-haired college student. "You're wearing buttons? You've gotta loosen up!"

Joe looked down at his shirt and scratched his head. "Well, these are my casual fall things..." he tried.

"Casual nothin'!" Gomamon snickered. "Get yourself something like Matt's wearing! You've gotta relax more!"

Joe smiled; that's how Gomamon always was... but then he looked up and his smile faded. Palmon was there, too, a disappointed look in her eye. "Mimi... didn't...?" she asked, looking over at him.

He shook his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. Her flower sagged and she stared at the ground.

Joe would have said something more, but the others were already focused on the business at hand. "So, Agumon," Tai said, "have you seen any sign of Gennai?"

Agumon shook his head. "We just got here, but this is all we found..." he explained, waving at the spires and trees.

"Weird..." TK said, letting Patamon go so he could flutter around. "Izzy, did your program work right?"

"Of course it did!" Izzy snapped crossly, then shook his head and took a deep breath. "Err, what I mean to say is, perhaps Gennai's house is hidden... Remember last time?"

"Oh, right!" Sora exclaimed, the memory flowing back into her mind. During their first adventure, Gennai had called the Digidestined to his home to explain how they could return to the real world.. and his house had been hidden beneath a strange, pink lake. It baffled the mind, but logic went on the back burner in the Digital World. "Is there a lake around here?"

Biyomon sniffled, a very unusual thing for a beaked animal to do. "If those control spires weren't there, I could Digivolve and fly around to look," she remarked.

TK and Kari took the less-than-subtle hint. "How about some exercise, guys?" Kari asked Gatomon and Patamon, raising her D3.

"'Bout time," Gatomon said, grinning and clenching her claws. Within moments, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were soaring through the hazy sky and the spires were toppling into the grass with dull thuds. It wasn't more than three minutes before they were all gone.

"Great!" Sora laughed, pulling out her own Digivice. "OK, Biyomon, let's get going!"

"Hold that thought..." Matt said, pointing at where all the spires had fallen. "Look."

Everyone stared at the rubble and saw a large, blue, oval-shaped pond. The spires had been raised all around it, blocking it from sight. "How about that?" Gomamon exclaimed.

Nefertimon and Pegasusmon landed and reverted to their lower forms. "Whoever's puttin' 'em up now must not like water," Gatomon remarked.

Tai and Izzy exchanged glances. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Izzy asked.

"For once, yes," Tai agreed.

Kari scratched her head. "What?" she asked.

For a moment, everybody looked at her oddly. "...Oh, right! You weren't with us before!" TK realized, clapping himself on the side of the head. "Kari, the last time we met Gennai in person, his house was-"

Before he could finish, the pond began to bubble and foam. "What the..." Joe started. As they all watched, the water split in half and moved to the sides, revealing a long stairway down into it.

"Well, there we go," Izzy concluded. "Just like before."

They all stared at the steps for a few moments as if they were the gaping maw of some horrible monster, and then they slowly walked over and started down them. The watery walls were teeming with fish- real-world fish- that swam about as if nothing amazing was happening. As much as she tried, Gatomon couldn't keep her mouth from watering.

Kari was dumbstruck. "Wow... This is where Gennai lives?..." she asked.

"Nope," Agumon said, pointing. "THAT'S where Gennai lives."

As she looked where he pointed, Kari was given her second shock of the day. The steps ended in a fog of blue haze, and straight ahead stood a large, Japanese-style house, complete with a stone-tiled path, a rocky garden and reedy ponds.

"Jackpot!" Tai exclaimed, and ran towards it. Not wanting to miss out, everyone else followed suit. Seeing no sign of anyone in the front yard, they turned the corner and stopped. Standing on a weathered old bridge over another pond was a small, hunched figure with its back turned to them, with what looked like empty tubes jutting out of its black and red cloak. It turned around to reveal a wisp of gray hair on top of an aged, peanut-shaped head. It regarded them with bulging, oversized eyelids, a giant nose and a droopy, bushy gray mustache.

They all recognized the figure immediately and smiled, their hearts soaring. Izzy was the first to speak. "...Gennai," he said.

Gennai smiled back with a big, near-toothless grin.

* * *

Cody almost thought an Oni demon had answered the Motomiya door, the way Davis looked. His hair was even messier than usual, and a drip of snot from his nose led down and joined the trail of drool from his mouth. "I don't like wakin' up on Sunday before 3," he grunted at the boy. "This'd better be good."

"TK was sneaking off somewhere, and I want to know why," Cody said bluntly.

"Ya gotta help us out!" Upamon spoke up from Cody's grip. "Please, Davis?"

"Blehhhh," Davis retorted with his tongue, starting to shut the door. "None of my business..."

Cody frowned and thought fast. Yolei might not be there, but the same tricks she used to get Davis's goat might work. "Funny you wouldn't be curious..." he said to the one eye he could see. "He could have gone to see Kari."

The door slammed harshly. At first Cody thought that his plan hadn't worked... but thirty seconds later it flew open again, revealing a fully-clothed Davis hopping into his other shoe, his mouth smeared with toothpaste. "I'll fix 'im!" he spluttered, wiping the white mess on his sleeve. "I'll fix 'im!"

"Err... Yes... Of course," was all Cody could say to that.

"Hey, what about Demiveemon?" Upamon asked. "We might need him, too!"

Davis sobered up and gave them an awkward look. "Well, that might be kinda tough..." he admitted. "See, my dumb sister swiped him again last night, so..."

"...So what?" Cody asked.

Davis huffed and motioned for his friends to come in. "But be reeeal quiet," he warned, kicking his shoes back off. "She's a light sleeper, an' so are Mom n' Dad!"

Taking the hint, Cody slipped off his shoes and followed Davis to the first room on the right. Davis pushed it open as quietly as he could, waited a moment, then gave Cody a thumbs-up. They both crept into the dark room, the shade pulled on the one window. There was only enough light for Cody to see a battalion of posters of boys on the walls (and at least three crude drawings of Matt) and Jun, snoring away on her bed in a tank top and panties, Demiveemon in a bosom-backed grip. "Pssst!" Davis hissed.

No answer came. Demiveemon yawned and cuddled further into his fleshy nest. "PSSSST!" Davis hissed again, spitting as he did it.

Demiveemon's eyes shot open and he beamed at Davis, then wriggled himself free and hopped over to them. "Hi, Davis! Hi, Cody!" he whispered excitedly. "I-"

A moan from the bed made their spines lock. Jun was moving around, starting to wake up. Davis, in a panic, grabbed the first thing he found on the floor, ran up and stuffed it in her arms. She rolled over, murmured "touch saxophone," and then the snores resumed.

Davis motioned for them all to go, and they slipped back out, got into their shoes and left the apartment. "Whew!" Demiveemon gasped. "Now THAT was exciting!"

"Does she do that a lot?" Upamon asked.

"Moreso lately," Demiveemon admitted. "I dunno why, but I like it!"

"Yeah, now if you'd just sneak out durin' the night like you used to..." Davis grumbled. "It's a real pain coming to get you!" He turned and grinned at Cody. "OK, let's go!"

They started down the stairs, headed for the street level again. "...By the way, what did you put in her arms, anyway?" Cody asked Davis.

"From the smell of it, one of her sock balls," he replied. "She doesn't do laundry unless it's an emergency."

Cody sighed and shook his head. A whole family that slept in past noon, and a sister who left dirty clothes on the floor... Maybe being lazy was simply built into the Motomiya gene pool.

* * *

"Nice to see you again, Gennai!" Tai said, the others behind him giving similar phrases.

Gennai nodded and started down from the bridge. "Yes, it's good to see you're all fine, too," he said. "Goodness, you've all gotten so big! If it weren't for your partners, I wouldn't have recognized you!" He stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "Five real-world years certainly change things..." he murmured.

"So, what's going on, Gennai?" Joe asked. "Why did the Digital World change?"

"Who made the control spires?" Sora piped up. "It wasn't the Emperor, was it?"

"Why'd you make new Digivices?" Matt groused.

"Why has time synchronized between the worlds?" Izzy probed.

"Why didn't you call us earlier?" TK tried.

"What was a piece of a Crest doing in the base?" Kari asked.

These were all good and legitimate questions... but since they were all asked at the same time, they became simply noise pollution and cacophony. Gennai winced, then motioned for silence. "Easy!" he said. "I don't have seven pairs of ears!" After everyone quieted down, he cleared his throat. "Now, then... All of your questions will be answered in due time... but first, how about you all come inside for a light lunch?"

Matt frowned; they had come for solutions, not snacks. "We didn't..." he started.

"Please, I insist," Gennai cut him off. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't feed you?"

Someone's stomach grumbled. Agumon chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry..." he said, "but it sounds nice..."

Kari looked over at the house. The others might have been inside before, but she had never gone into a house under a lake, and her interest was piqued. "OK! Let's do that," she agreed.

Gennai led them around to the front, opened the door and invited them in. They went inside and almost immediately their jaws dropped. It may have looked like a traditional old house from the outside, but the inside was a playroom: long, whistling trains both old and new chugged along tracks across the ceiling rafters; several of the little rides from outside grocery stores- in the shapes of cars, rockets and horses- bobbed up and down in the corners; and sleek, black arcade machines flashing with neon red, green and yellow lights stood proudly along the walls. "Woah!" was all anyone could say.

"I've done a little redecorating since you were here last," Gennai chuckled. "You didn't get to see all these things before, did you?"

"Wheee!" Patamon laughed, leaving TK's hat and perching on one of the horse rides. "Finally, I can ride a horse instead of being one!"

TK looked at the nearest arcade machine and did a double take. "Hey, that one just came out a few weeks ago!" he exclaimed. He could just imagine Yolei's lid flipping at the sight of it.

Gennai beamed again. "I like to keep up to date," he explained. "There's no bigger turnoff than a house that smells like mothballs and old newspaper."

The others walked around looking at all the stuff, but Matt just folded his arms. "Aren't you a little... well... old for all this?" he asked.

"What do you mean? I have no age," Gennai replied, glancing at him. "And even if I did, age is just a number, m'boy."

"Yeah, Matt," Tai cackled, elbowing the blonde boy, "don't you still have a few old toys in your room? Ya play with 'Mr. Hippity Hop' the bunny once in a while?"

Gabumon laughed out loud. Matt scowled, but his cheeks went red.

"Anyway, please, come to the dining room," Gennai said, walking to a door on the right. "I've already set a few things out."

Kari looked up, obviously disappointed. "Actually, Mr. Gennai, may I please look at the rest of the house? I've never been in here before, and it's really exciting."

Gennai scratched at his mustache again. "Well, if you're not very hungry..." he started. "Oh, but what I have to say is pretty important."

"That's OK," Tai said. "We can all fill her in on it."

"Yeah!" Agumon agreed. "There're plenty of us; one of us will get it right!"

"Hmm... Well, if that's what you want to do, then go ahead," Gennai replied. "But do come back to the dining room when you're done."

Kari smiled. "Thanks!" she said, and started into a room opposite the dining room door.

Gatomon watched her go, then started after her. "I'll go with her," she said. "I'm not very hungry either."

"Suit yourself," Gennai said, then opened the door. "For the rest of you..."

The six kids and seven Digimon walked into the room and their jaws dropped again. In contrast to the front hall, the dining room DID look like something from a traditional Japanese house, with papery sliding walls and a long, low table with cushions all around... but what was on the table was what surprised them. The entire tabletop was loaded down with a vast spread of fish prepared in various ways: grilled trout, sushi rolls, batter-fried cod, and salmon fillets, to name just a few. There were also several bowls full of halved lemons for flavoring, bottles of soy sauce, and at least three teapots. Each place setting had both forks and chopsticks.

"...Holy mackerel!" was all Joe could exclaim.

"Well, I wasn't able to get them blessed, but I do have plain mackerel," Gennai chuckled. "It's right next to the cod."

"Good grief," Palmon choked. "Gatomon'll be sorry she missed this!"

They all sat down to eat, all their questions subdued but one: if this was what Gennai called a 'light lunch,' what did he do for parties?

* * *

The closest public bathhouse was only a small, one-story building tucked away on a neighborhood side street... but that didn't clear Yolei's anxiety about it at all. "H-hey, I don't know about this," she protested as they got closer, her gait slowing.

Mimi was unsympathetic, grabbing her arm and yanking her back up to speed. "It's not exactly pleasant for me, either, y'know," she sniffed, "having to bring you along..."

"Why do we have to go to a public bathhouse?" Yolei whined. "Why couldn't we have covered this in a private one?"

"Because you've got to get more self-conscious as well as cleaner," Mimi said, "and there's no better place to learn that than in here."

Yolei's face was radioactive green as they reached the front of the building. "Now just this once, I'll pay," Mimi warned her, rummaging around in her pockets and pulling out a small, pink purse. "Follow me and don't do anything unless I say so." Putting on her sweetest smile for the cashier, she paid the entrance fee and motioned for Yolei to come along.

Yolei nervously wandered inside, where she was presented with two doors: the one on the right had "Women" written next to it... and the one on the left had "Men" inscribed. She blinked at it, then realized the upshot of the public baths. Suddenly her head swam with the image of dozens of muscular, wet boys just through that door, clad only in soap suds... and her feet responded the only way they knew how.

"Oh, NO you DON'T," Mimi's voice burst in her brain, and a hand clamped down on her arm and swung her around towards the women's entrance, a second hand shoving into her back. She sighed wearily; it had been nice while it lasted.

* * *

"Ohhh, blast it! Blast it! How could she?" Poromon snapped, fluttering around Yolei's empty room like an angry bee. How could she go out and leave him stuck in there, all alone? She was getting so absent-minded, and he couldn't stand it! What if he needed to eat, or had to go to the bathroom? He was so angry, for a moment he thought of playing "poo-poo bombadier" all over her bed, just to teach her a lesson.

With an angry grunt, he landed on the floor and shook himself off. "Now, now! Enough of that!" he chided himself. He was an intelligent, powerful and dutiful Digimon; he was above such childish revenge games. He could solve this problem himself, he thought. Until she got back, he could take care of himself... but how?

His blue eyes darted around the room; there had to be something he could do... He knew there was a window behind those drapes on the wall; he had heard Yolei's dad complain enough about how dark the room was. The string for opening them was over in the corner, so he flew over, grabbed it in his beak and let gravity take control. As he sank back to the ground, a burst of afternoon light flowed in, adding a whole new set of colors to the dingy chamber.

He could see outside; the gray tops of Odaiba's cityscape greeted him. This was good, but he still had to get out there... His eyes fell on the latch halfway up the wall; there was a small balcony out there that Yolei never used, but it would make a suitable latrine for him. He fluttered up, jammed his beak into the latch and yanked left as hard as he could. There was a click, and the door slid back. A cold wind blew in, scattering papers and ruffling the blankets and clothes, but it was nothing his fluffy feathers couldn't fend off.

"Whew!" he laughed with delight; fending for himself was easier than he thought. Now for phase two: food. He knew exactly what to do for that. He hopped on top of her bed and flew up to the cabinet near the ceiling. Despite how many times her parents scolded her for it, he knew she kept a steady supply of candy bars and salty snacks in there. It wouldn't exactly be healthy, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

He got the cabinet open with his beak, but something fell out and landed on the bed with a soft crunch. Surprised, he looked down at it; it wasn't candy or peanuts, but one of those picture books Yolei was always reading. A wicked thought crossed his mind. She never let him read those books... Now was his chance to pay her back for leaving him alone without making a mess.

He landed on the bed and looked at the strange scribbles and lines all over the cover. Yolei knew how to read it, but he didn't... so he just decided to follow the pictures. The cover showed a girl and a boy, both about Yolei's age, looking at each other and smiling. What were they so happy about? He stuck his wing under the cover and flicked it, opening the book. There was more of that chicken scratch, but also a lot more pictures, too, though not in color like the first one. He looked at each of the pictures, wondering just what that boy and that girl were so happy about. What could make humans that happy?

He flipped the page again and his expression changed from curiosity to pure bewilderment. "Huh...?" was all he could say, unable to take his eyes away. That certainly didn't look like it would make _him_ happy.

* * *

After three of Cody's brusque, concise knocks, the Takaishi door opened and out stepped TK's mother, Natsuko (who preferred the nickname "Nancy"). Davis sighed on the inside; why were all of his friends' moms so hot?

"Oh, hello," she said, not quite sure what to make of a little boy and a grouchy kid with goggles... both holding weird little toys. "Are you... some of TK's friends?"

Cody cleared his throat. "Um, yes, we are, Mrs. Takaishi," he said, bowing politely. "We were wondering if TK was here, please."

Nancy scratched at her chin, genuinely unsure. "Let me go see," she said, turning around and calling for her son. When there was no answer, she walked back inside and disappeared.

Davis frowned at Cody. "Why'd you ask that?" he asked. "You said he left!"

"I'm being polite," Cody replied. "It would be rude to grill Mrs. Takaishi."

"No kidding!" Upamon chirped. "Besides, we don't have one big enough for her."

"Grilled human?" Demiveemon asked, sticking his tongue out. "Yuck!"

Cody was about to admonish his partner's sick sense of humor when Nancy returned, looking more certain. "Nope, I'm afraid he's not here," she said. "Now I remember, though... He said he was going with everyone to Kari's to study."

Cody heard Davis suck in his breath, so he nodded. "I see... Thank you, Mrs. Takaishi," he said, grabbing Davis's arm. With another quick bow, he dragged the older boy off. Nancy was left staring at them, wondering if all of her son's friends were that peculiar.

The boys walked around the corner of the apartment building. Seeing that they were safely out of earshot, Cody looked up at Davis. "You know what this means," he stated.

Davis's eyes were twitching. "Of course I do!" he snapped, his voice a mix of rage and despair. "TJ and Kari... really ARE... _ssseeing_ each other!..."

"Sure they see each other!" Demiveemon piped up. "They aren't invisible!"

Cody's eyes rolled as he sighed with exasperation. "No," he grunted. "Mrs. Takaishi said that EVERYBODY was there... but WE are NOT there."

Davis's anguish subsided long enough for him to think... and then it hit him. "Tai an' the older kids!" he exclaimed.

"Right," Cody said. "For some reason, they've all met up... without us."

"But why?" Upamon asked. "That's kinda rude, not askin' us to come!"

Davis's jaw set. It wasn't just rude; it was downright sneaky. He knew Tai and Kari- and even TK- were too nice to purposefully ignore them; something had to be up. "I say we go over there and see what the hell's so secret," he grumbled.

"Yeah!" Demiveemon huffed, squirming in Davis's grip. "An' if they've got pork chops, I'm gonna really be mad!"

"Hold on," Cody advised. "While I want to see, too, we should get Yolei. She ought to know this, too..." His eyes lowered and he pursed his lips. "But I saw her leave, too..."

"Big deal!" Davis huffed. "You just dragged us to TP's place; Yolei's is close enough!"

"Yeah, maybe her mom an' dad'll know where she went!" Upamon said.

Cody nodded, and the small party set off for the staircase.

* * *

Their clothes stored away in separate lockers, the two girls walked into the bathing area. It was all one room, but a long, wooden barrier in the center split it between the genders. The barrier was partly a fence and partly a wall; it didn't split the rooms completely, but it was tall enough to discourage anyone from climbing over.

"All right," Mimi said, dislodging her towel and plopping down on an open stool, setting her toiletries in front of her. "Grab a stool and we'll get started."

Yolei looked around, her grip on her own towel like iron. The intense heat and the hazy atmosphere of the chamber did not help her discomfort; even the thought of the bushel of boys in the buff just next door didn't do anything. All around her were other women of different ages, looks and sizes: Old women chattering about their medical problems in the corner; eight-year-old girls laughing and flicking soap at each other; and women in their late twenties and early thirties who had the perfect bodies that teenagers had in her mangas. She gawked at the forms before her; if that was how women were supposed to look, then what was wrong with her?

She didn't go unnoticed. One of the women she stared at tried to ignore her, but finally gave her a dirty look. Yolei took the hint and tried to change views, but she couldn't look in any direction without feeling embarrassed, ashamed, disgusted, or all three. She shivered and gripped the towel tighter, her body going red all over.

Mimi noticed her hesitation and scowled. "Hey, sit down!" she ordered, pointing to a stool next to her. "I don't have all day!"

Several pairs of eyes turned towards her. Not wanting to draw any more attention, Yolei scuttled over to the stool and sat down, letting the towel just drop off like a swath of molting feathers. "Here," Mimi said, shoving a loofah, a cake of soap, and a bottle of shampoo at her. "Start scrubbing."

Yolei looked at the tools and sighed quietly. Was this really going to help improve her chances with Ken? She picked up the loofah, ran it under the faucet, smeared the soap into it and started slathering it across her body.

Mimi peered over and chuckled. "Wow..." she smirked, "if you ever have kids, they're gonna starve to death."

Her jaw clenched and her eyes staring straight forward, Yolei kept on scrubbing.

* * *

"Gwoooohhhh..." Gomamon gurgled, falling on his back and belching.

"My sentiments exactly," Izzy agreed, picking the leftover fish out of his teeth with a stray bone.

"I swear, Agumon," Tai said to his partner, "if you eat any more, you're going to blow up."

"OK," Agumon laughed, "then pass the calamari and duck!"

Gennai wiped his lips on his napkin, then rose. "I trust you all enjoyed the snack?" he asked.

"This was delicious," Sora said, nodding graciously to their host. "Thanks, Gennai!"

The others all added their thanks as well. Gennai nodded happily. "Good... Very good," he said. "So, if we're all finished..."

He clapped his hands and instantly the table was bare and clean. "Woah!" TK cried. "Where can my mom get one of those tables?"

"As nice as this is, it's on to business," Gennai said, his smile growing somewhat fainter. "I have very important things to tell you about what to do next..."

"Do next?" Matt asked, lurching forward and putting his hands on the table. "We came here to get answers, not an assignment!"

"Matt, calm down!" Gabumon said, gently tugging at his partner's shirt.

"I can assure you, what I'm about to tell you will help you get them," Gennai said.

He snapped his fingers and the lights dimmed, and a projection screen descended on the far wall. Various images flashed on the screen, and the kids all tensed up; they were still images of the conclusion of their first adventure: the battle in a dark void against the freakish mutant Digimon known as Apocalymon. Tai shuddered as they were treated to a close-up of the monster's face and its glowing yellow eyes; he had seen them enough times in nightmares.

"I'm sure you all remember your final battle," Gennai said. "Indeed, it was a struggle like none the Digital World had ever seen before, or will see again..."

"How can we forget it?" Joe asked. "That guy destroyed our Crests, and almost the rest of us!"

"True, true..." Gennai said, nodding. "Apocalymon did destroy your Crests. However, by that point, the powers in those Crests had already been absorbed into you, thanks to your own personal qualities, and that let you use the same power even after they were gone..."

"Then how come we can't use it now?" Biyomon asked.

Gennai sighed. "Unfortunately, five real-world years and so much time out of the Digital World has taken its toll..." he admitted. "The Crest power inside you is still there, but it has dwindled to pretty much nothing..."

"Kari got Gatomon to Digivolve into Angewomon that one time..." Patamon pointed out.

"Yes..." Gennai agreed. "As I said, the power is still inside you... but only the gravest, absolute worst situations can draw it out..."

"What, the Emperor taking over the Digital World and brainwashing our partners wasn't bad enough?" Tai asked.

"It was not," Gennai said. "No, I'm afraid that, as things are, only the Champion evolutions are available to you now..."

"Like we've had a chance to even get to that," Gomamon groused, "what with all the stupid control spires!"

"So... are we out of it, then?" Sora asked, daring to ask what everyone wanted to know. "Are we... useless?"

In answer to her worried face, Gennai smiled warmly. "Come now, do you think The Order would abandon its chosen children so quickly?" he asked. "No, all is not lost..."

The screen produced an image of the eight Crests, and Gennai cleared his throat. "Now, then. While Apocalymon did break the Crests, it doesn't mean they were destroyed completely. No, far from it... The Crests were specially designed for just such a problem."

"What, so the guys that made them expected us to screw up?" Tentomon asked.

"Yeah, that's real trust," Palmon grumbled.

"To ensure the Digital World would be saved, The Order had to take every precaution," Gennai went on. "The Crests were designed so that, should they be broken, they would rebuild themselves... so they can never be totally ruined."

"Oh..." Izzy thought out loud. "So they would repair themselves, like... the human body heals after an injury?"

"That's right," Gennai said, but then looked sober. "The problem, though, is that Apocalymon smashed them so utterly, only a few fragments have managed to form again..."

TK's eyes lit up. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "Is that what the thing inside the Gigas was?"

Gennai nodded. "So, the next mission is clear enough, isn't it?" he asked. "You must find a piece of each of the eight Crests. Only then can you regain the power that you had before."

Izzy's eyes sank. "Oh, but the one in the base is gone..." he murmured. "It had to be destroyed, or the whole place would have gone up in a mushroom cloud."

"Well, then you'll just have to find another piece of that Crest," Gennai replied.

Sora blinked. "Wait a minute," she argued, "didn't you just say the Crest would rebuild itself?"

"I did," Gennai said as the lights came back on, "but it took all of the five real-world years- hundreds and hundreds of Digital World years- to re-form as much as that one did. It would be far faster to look for another piece."

Patamon turned to TK, his eyes wide and bright. "Wow!" he chirped. "This is amazing! Kari shoulda stuck around to hear it!"

TK jumped; he had almost forgotten about her! "Yeah, she should've," he said. "Gennai, could you wait for a little while? I'm going to go get Kari."

The boy walked out of the room, Patamon fluttering behind him. Gennai stroked at his mustache again, smiling. That boy certainly had grown a lot.

* * *

"Just a minute! Just a minute!" Momoe Inoue's excited voice came through the door, but when it opened, she took one look and her smile faded. "Oh..." she mumbled.

Cody opened his mouth to speak, but Chizuru's yell beat him to the punch. "WHO IS IT?" she cried. "IS IT YUKI?"

"NAWW, IT'S JUN'S BROTHER AND SOME OTHER KID!" Momoe yelled back, then turned to them again. "Look, if you're selling something, our folks handle that," she said, "and they won't be back until sixish."

"Uh, no, we're not selling anything," Cody said, glad he had a chance to speak at all. "Is Yolei... err, Miyako here?"

"Huh," Momoe huffed, annoyed at the question. "Lemme check..." She vanished into the apartment, then came back thirty seconds later, looking surprised. "No, she isn't!" she said. "I don't know where she is!"

Cody began to say thanks, but Momoe turned back into the doorway. "CHIZURU!" she yelled. "YOU KNOW WHERE MIYAKO WENT?"

"NO!" Chizuru roared.

"MANTAROU!" Momoe shouted. "YOU KNOW WHERE MIYAKO WENT?"

Mantarou's head popped out from around the corner. "There's a note on the kitchen table," he said, pointing.

"What?" Momoe snapped, strutting back in, then coming back out with the note. "Huh... Says here she'll be gone for the whole afternoon... but she doesn't say where! Weird..."

"So, uh, you have any ideas where she could've gone?" Davis tried.

"Nope, not a clue," Momoe said. "If she's not in her room playing video games, she's usually playing with her friends... Um, which are you guys. So... if she's not with you..."

"Err... Yeah," Davis tried again. "Well, if you think of-"

"Yeah, I'll call Jun if I find something out!" Momoe laughed. "She'll tell you!"

"No, wait-" Davis tried yet again, but Momoe shut the door. "Holy shit!" he huffed. "What a buncha kooks!"

"Yolei's hiding stuff, too?" Demiveemon asked, looking sad. "Why?"

"Maybe we're just not very quiet," Upamon suggested. "Cody's always tellin' me to be quiet."

"That's only to keep you from scaring Mom and Grandpa," Cody scolded. "They wouldn't know what to do with a talking yellow... head!"

The four of them hovered on the Inoue porch. "So... What now?" Demiveemon asked.

Cody shook his head. "Let's just go to Kari's," he decided. "We can tell Yolei later."

"Right..." Davis said, his chest tightening. He could just imagine the horrid scene of walking in on TK and Kari in the middle of a big, juicy French kiss... Oh! His heart would snap all its ventricles if he saw that! And in front of Tai and Matt and everyone, too! If that wasn't a way of Kari saying "I don't like you, Davis," then he didn't know what was!...

"Erk... Davis...?" Demiveemon spoke in a strained voice. "Yer kinda... squishing me!"

Davis suddenly looked down and saw how tight his grip had become, and he relaxed. "Sorry, little buddy..." he muttered miserably.

* * *

Mimi sighed with elation as she sank into the warm tub. After an hour's worth of scrubbing, nothing felt better than just sitting in the water, letting her problems melt away. It might have been a total pain dragging that girl over here and paying for her, but at least she got to enjoy this part...

Speaking of which, what was she doing? Why wasn't she in the tub yet? Mimi turned around and her back arched in anger. Yolei was still sitting on the stool, slipping the loofah up and down her arm like it was made of glass! With an irritated snort, she hauled herself out of the bath and stomped over... and still being able to smell her companion made her even angrier. "What is wrong with you?" she snapped.

Yolei almost jumped at the shout. "I, uh... Uh..." was all she managed.

"I said 'scrub,' not 'tickle!'" Mimi snapped, seizing the sponge from her. "Like THIS!"

Yolei screamed as Mimi scraped the sponge down her arm with surprising pain. She struggled to get away, but Mimi's other hand was clamped firmly on her shoulder. "What the hell?" she cried out, turning on her captor.

"Do I have to teach you everything?" Mimi grumbled, running the loofah down again and ignoring the yell. "You have to rub hard to get the stink out!"

Yolei thought the arm scrubbing was bad enough, but when the loofah disappeared and the ripping and scraping started in the small of her back, she knew there was worse to come. "WAAAGH!" she yelled.

"Now stop it!" Mimi snapped, aware that heads were turning towards them. "You're making a scene!"

"I'M making a scene?" Yolei snarled. "YOU'RE the one using a cheesegrater for a sponge!"

"Get used to it," Mimi rebuked. "This is how you do it if you really want to be clean, and I'm going to keep it up until I can't smell you any more!"

As the scraping sensation moved downward to even more painful regions, Yolei could do nothing but squeeze her eyes shut and gnash her teeth. If this was what she had to do, then she was going to do it... but why did looking good have to be so painful?

* * *

The thick woods around the mysterious lake had been quiet since the Digidestined had disappeared, but now, slowly, steadily, came the tiniest of noises: the "shish shish" of movement through the underbrush. A grove of small pine trees in the southeast corner rustled, and then a mysterious human-like figure appeared.

The first thing that came out was a large, gray-gloved hand gripping a small, silver cane with a red jewel on its top. The rest of the abnormally thin being followed shortly, dressed in a dark blue jacket with white trim, with a cylindrical blue cap covering its face. It walked stiffly, almost painfully, leaning heavily on the cane despite being twice its height.

It slowly hobbled over to the fallen ring of control spires and regarded them, its whole form trembling with a dark, wheezy laugh. The children knocked them all down... exactly what it had hoped for. It raised the cane off the ground, despite its legs beginning to shake.

Bowing its head, it whispered something inaudible, even in a glenn as silent as this one was... and then it thrust the cane into the ground with surprising speed and force. The jewel gave off an eerie glow, and a pool of what looked like red blood oozed up from the earth. It frothed around the cane's tip for a moment, then oozed across the ground, adhering itself to the broken spires and seeping in. The spires took on the same wretched glow as the jewel and started to twist and writhe on the ground like excited snakes.

As they began to take on new shapes, the figure grinned to itself, another wheezy cackle escaping its yellowed teeth. What luck to have both the older children and the pesky old man in the same place; now both threats could be taken care of at the same time!

* * *

Ken groaned out loud at the passage he had just read. Why would that character act in THAT way after he acted the OTHER way in all the other situations? It made absolutely no sense!

Frustrated, he shut the book and tossed it on his bed. He was trying to take a break from worrying about the Digital World by reading, but the story he had picked was simply awful. The writing was overly wordy, and the characters were colorless and changed personalities from one chapter to the next; what was the author thinking? He could write a better story himself! Indeed, he ought to!... but that thought snapped him unpleasantly back into reality. What did it matter if there was a crummy story left uncriticized in the world? With his mission now, he wouldn't be around long enough to do anything about it.

He would have sat in that sobered silence for much longer, but suddenly his computer beeped loudly, making him almost bang his head on the top bunk. He looked over as a map of the Digital World appeared on the screen. He had programmed that alarm back when he was the Emperor, to alert him when the Digidestined had destroyed one of his control spires... but lately he had changed it so it would show when the strange woman was doing something to them instead.

He got off of the bed and stared at it; today the alarm came from a square in the northeast, past where he had ventured before... but the location didn't bother him so much as the fact that he only saw two dots in the same sector, meaning only two of the others were there.

He frowned at the dots. One was pink, and the other was green... so neither of them could be Davis, whom he knew to be blue. Two of the kids might not be able to handle Spire-born, especially if the woman cooked up an Ultimate-level one like Okuwamon was! His hand grabbed his D3 off the desk, but his brain stopped him. Without Davis to vouch for him, would these two accept his help?

He looked at his D3 for a long while, wrestling with himself... and then he looked at the screen, a somber scowl on his face. It didn't matter if they wanted his help or not. A spire-born was there, and he had vowed to destroy every last trace of them. That's what Sam and Wormmon would want.

He raised his D3 and, after a flash of light, was gone from the world.

* * *

"Hey, Kari," Gatomon pressed as she walked down the hall behind her partner, "can we go back soon? I smelled fish..."

"Just one more room, OK?" Kari asked. Already Gennai's house had given her many a surprise: the arcade machines and rides in the entrance; a staircase to the second floor that played out a happy kids' song as you scaled it; and gym-sized room filled with a life-sized chess game with Digimon-shaped playing pieces... but the old, wooden door at the end of the hall almost called to her. She had to see what was in there. Her partner at her side, she grasped the big, brass knob and turned it.

She was not disappointed. Behind the door was a room about the size of her bedroom, with the wall to her right giving a splendid (but odd) view of the meadow outside. It was another playroom, but there was something different about it... It looked like one from nineteenth-century Europe. The yellow oval carpet and the wooden shelves on the walls were loaded with old-looking toys: wooden trains; pull-string ducks; alphabet blocks; tin soldiers; jacks-in-the-boxes; and hand-sewn dolls in gorgeous fluffy dresses. A big, wooden rocking horse sat in the corner, its sanded surface shining in the gray light. "Wow..." Kari said as she walked in.

Gatomon had to agree. "They smell like wood," she remarked, getting a good whiff. "That's new..."

"Actually, it's old... like what my grandma must've played with..." Kari said, walking over and picking up one of the dolls. Amazingly, it was in the shape of a human girl. In fact, she noticed as she looked around again, none of the toys in here were shaped like Digimon! Well, this was yet another example of anything being possible in the Digital World.

The door pushed open a little further and TK walked in, Patamon up on his hat again. "Hey, Kari..." he started, then looked around the room with equal surprise. "Woah!" he said. "How old is this stuff?"

"It's from before computers, that's for sure..." Kari said, walking towards the back shelves. "Before plastic toys, even."

"What? Before computers?" Patamon asked. "There were people before that?"

TK laughed at his little friend. "People have been making toys forever," he explained. "It's only lately we've had computers..."

"Hard to swallow, isn't it..." Gatomon agreed.

A cry of delight brought everyone's attention to Kari, who reached up and pulled down an arm-sized wooden biplane, with two sets of wings and a little wooden pilot in the cockpit. She flicked at the propeller and it spun around with a funny little 'tic-tic-tic' sound. "Oh, this is great!" she laughed. "Davis would love..." She trailed off, her smile fading.

TK and the Digimon walked closer. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Kari shook her head. "I was just thinking... about Davis and Yolei and Cody..." She looked at him with sad eyes. "I feel bad, going behind their backs like this... even if it's for our old friends."

TK sighed and nodded, remembering Matt's harsh words back in October. "Yeah..." he agreed. "I don't like it, either. It's like we're expected to pick sides."

"Yeah, it's no fun doing that," Patamon said, landing on the rocking horse. "I mean, Veemon and Hawkmon and Armadillomon are fun to be with!"

"I had my doubts at first," Kari admitted, "but now I trust them... Aren't we all Digidestined?"

TK started to reply, but Gatomon's ears swiveled and she raced to the window. "Hey, something's going on out there!" she hissed. "Look!"

The others ran to the window. Surely enough, a figure in blue stood out in the grass, and the control spires they had knocked down were glowing and twisting; something definitely wasn't right.

"The others!" TK said. "We've gotta tell 'em!"

Kari nodded and they all raced out of the room.

* * *

"Gennai, this is all well and good," Izzy spoke up, breaking the silence since TK left the room, "but we still have questions... For example, why has time synchronized between the worlds?"

"Yeah, and why did the Digital World change itself?" Tai spoke up. "We can't find anything!"

"And what about the new kids?" Joe asked. "Why did they get new Digivices and DigiEggs? Why didn't we?"

"What about Mimi?" Palmon asked. "Why won't she come?"

"Here, now," Gennai said quietly, motioning for silence. "I've told you all I can for the moment. All you need to know is to find fragments of the Crests."

Both Tai and Matt growled crossly, and the others showed the same anger; why wouldn't he tell them what they needed to know? "Why the hell should we?" Matt snapped. "You haven't given us any real answers since we got here!"

"Matt, please!" Gabumon urged.

Gennai frowned at the angry musician-in-training. "If you don't..." he said darkly, "the Digital World will fall out of balance."

That got everyone's attention. Sora shook her head. "But why?" she asked. "At least tell us why!"

"Yeah, shouldn't we know what we're trying to stop?" Agumon pointed out.

Gennai sighed. "Very well," he said. "The balance of the Digital World is-"

Suddenly, a cry from Gomamon made everyone look out the window. The clear, blue water was turning a filthy gray, and all the fish were going belly-up! The vile stench of garbage and dead fish came into the air, making them all wretch. "Woah!" Tentomon exclaimed. "Is there a sewer line here, Gennai?"

"Guys!" Kari cried as TK, Gatomon, Patamon and she rushed into the room. "We're being attacked! There's someone outside!"

"Right!" Tai grunted, jumping up and turning to Agumon. "You ready for this?"

Agumon clenched his claws and bared his teeth. "You bet I am!" he agreed.

The others jumped up, their Digimon at the ready. "Let's go!" Biyomon called.

Gennai eyed the gray murk of the window. "Be careful," he said. "This could be difficult..."

The seven kids and eight Digimon raced out the door and up the steps to a vile sight; the lakeshore was swarming with a gaggle of slimy, gray Raremon! The air was as pungent as what had seeped into the house as the gruesome Champion-level monsters vomited into the water.

"Where'd they come from?" Izzy demanded.

TK looked closer at the Raremon... or more specifically, the bottoms of them. They were standing in the spots where the control spires had crashed down... but he couldn't see any of the wreckage. "Didn't we...?" he started.

Tai raised his Digivice. "Come on!" he said. "Time to get back into practice!"

Sora, Izzy, Joe, Matt, and TK all pulled out their Digivices as well. In a flurry of bright flashes, Greymon, Garurumon, Birdramon, Ikkakumon, Kabuterimon and Angemon all leaped on the Raremon and began to scrap in a flurry of fireballs, lightning bolts, and slime. Gatomon and Palmon lingered behind Kari, unable to help.

"Dammit..." Gatomon snarled. "If I had my tail ring, I'd..."

"Mimi..." Palmon choked.

* * *

"Oh! Hello..." Yuuko said, surprised to see two more boys with stuffed toys on her doorstep.

"Hello, Mrs. Yagami," Cody said, bowing. "We were wondering if your daughter was home."

"Well, yes," she replied, "but she's studying with some of the older kids. I don't think she can play right now..."

"Uh... Well, that's what we're here for, too!" Davis said quickly; he wasn't as good as Cody was at getting invited in. "We're, uh, studying for the same thing!... We're just kinda... late."

"Really?" she asked, looking at little Cody. "Even you?"

Cody coughed. "I'm... in an advanced class," he explained. "May we please come in?"

"Of course," she said, moving back so they could enter. "Everyone's in Kari's room... First one on the right."

Davis looked at the mat next to the door and noticed only two large pairs of shoes; the others must have taken theirs in. He pointed it out to Cody and they both carried their shoes with them to Kari's room.

Kari's room. The cute, pink, square rug, the cute wooden bed with the cute green sheets, the cute little desk in front of the window, and the cute little computer on the top... This was Davis's Shangri-la. He sure wished he could spend more time in here; a lot more time. Her clothing drawers were built into the bottom of the bed. What cute little things would he find in there?...

"See that?" Cody's voice broke into his fantasy. The boy was pointing at the computer screen. "Empty, and the computer's on. They went in."

"But why?" Demiveemon asked. "Did they go on a picnic?"

Davis frowned. If it had just been TK and Kari going off, he would have kept worrying... but if guys like Tai and Matt had gone, too, it had to be something big. "Hope ya brought napkins," he said, pulling out his D3. "It's gonna be messy."

Cody nodded and took out his own D3. Once again, after a flash, the room was empty.

* * *

"That's it!" Tai yelled at Greymon, punching the air. "Keep it up! Keep going!"

Greymon sucked in air and spewed another giant ball of flames, blowing the slimy skin right off the spire-born Raremon and scattering black dust and debris across the field. At the same time, Birdramon dropped another from a great height and Kabuterimon launched an electric sphere at a second one, reducing both to onyx-colored fragments. Angemon's golden rod pierced another through the forehead, and it crumbled away like a wet sand castle. Ikkakumon's torpedos blew another to smithereens, and Garurumon's blue fire stream melted the last one to a charred puddle. All that remained of the Raremon battalion was their stench.

"Yeah!" Sora cheered, jumping up and down in her glee. "We've still got it!"

The Digimon laughed and roared loudly, glad of the same thing.

Izzy scratched his head. "Yes... but why were they here?..." he asked.

"I know!" TK agreed. "We knocked those spires down! How did-"

Suddenly, a loud, haunting trumpet blew through the clearing, and one more opponent charged out of the bushes. It was a grotesque, shaggy, orange elephant the size of two freight trains, wearing a creepy silver faceplate with a single piercing eye. It turned right at the Digidestined and blew its awful trunk melody again.

"Shit..." Matt swore. "Here we go again..."

Sora recognized it right away and swallowed hard. It was a Mammothmon. Biyomon had defeated one during the last adventure, but only after becoming Garudamon. Could their six Champions beat that Ultimate-level thing?

Birdramon looked down at her partner, seeming to read her thoughts. "We'll do our best!" she thundered.

"Then go for it!" TK yelled.

Angemon flew at the elephant and banged his mighty fist against its mask, but nothing happened... to Mammothmon, anyway. Its trunk thrust into Angemon's back and knocked him flat on the ground, forcing him to revert to Patamon. "Waghhh..." he coughed. "Lost by a nose!"

"That's it!" Matt snarled. "Everybody at once!"

The five remaining Digimon descended on Mammothmon with their best attacks, but nothing worked: Kabuterimon's electric blasts were absorbed by its mask; Birdramon's and Greymon's fire didn't even singe its fur; Ikkakumon's horn broke on its tough skin; and Garurumon's speed was no match for its sharp tusks.

"No... Come on!" Matt yelled. "Do something else!"

Once they had all worn themselves out attacking, Mammothmon went on the offensive. It charged, goring Garurumon and Ikkakumon in the nastiest of ways, shrinking them back to Gabumon and Gomamon. Turning its attention to Birdramon and Kabuterimon, its trunk blew a fierce, snowy gale, freezing them where they floated. The giant chunk of ice crashed down onto the ground and broke open to reveal the defeated Biyomon and Tentomon.

"Oh, geez!..." Joe gasped. "Now what?"

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" Matt snarled, stamping in the mucky grass.

Tai bit his lip. Only Greymon was left now... but could he do anything? "Watch out for the tusks!" he shouted to his partner.

Mammothmon charged at Greymon, ready to finish the job. Greymon knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time, so he spat a fireball right at the eye on the faceplate and braced himself. The gigantic elephant brayed in pain as the blast landed and veered sharply to the right, the side of its left tusk catching Greymon in the stomach. He grabbed it and held on for dear life as the monster swung and stomped. "This... isn't... fun... any... more!" he gurgled.

"Hang on tight!" Tai yelled.

"Get him in the eye again!" Izzy suggested.

Greymon turned and tried to cough up another fireball, but the jerking and thrusting were too fierce for him to aim. A sudden bounce made him vomit the ball at the start of the tusk he hung on, and it snapped off in his claws. He crashed down at the mercy of a furious Mammothmon, who was not at all pleased about the broken tooth. With one well-placed swat of its trunk, a dazed Agumon fell where Greymon had been.

"No!" Palmon cried.

"Oh..." Kari gasped.

"That was all of 'em!" Sora groaned, tearing at her hair. "NOW what do we do?"

With a maniacal, trumpeting laughter, Mammothmon lifted its foot to crush Agumon... but all of a sudden, a bright green laser blast struck it on the faceplate, creating a long crack. Mammothmon staggered backwards, looking around wildly for the assailant. "What was...?" TK started.

Izzy looked over where the beam had come from and his eyes widened. "There!" he said, pointing.

As if the day couldn't have any more surprises, Ken Ichijouji, the Digimon Emperor, was running through the field, his weaponry pointed right at Mammothmon! "What's he doing here?" Matt snarled.

TK blinked for a moment, then smiled. "Saving our butts," he answered.

Mammothmon spotted Ken and trumpeted at him. Ken lifted both arms and let loose a massive barage of bullets and grenades, not even flinching at the noise. Mammothmon twitched and staggered as bits of fur and skin flew every which way.

"I'm gonna be sick!..." Joe gulped, clutching at his mouth.

"Good grief..." was all Sora could say to the scene.

Kari was more surprised by the fact that Ken had even shown up. He really was a changed person! Well, at least, this was proof enough for her. "The eye, Ken!" she yelled. "Aim for the eye!"

Ken's munitions stopped, and the laser on his shoulder clicked, then belched another bright green laser blast. It hit the eye on the faceplate dead center and Mammothmon's trumpet became an agonized shriek. When the light faded, the whole faceplate was gone, revealing the wicked sheen of a control spire.

"Another one?" Tai asked. "Someone really doesn't like us..."

Ken hesitated, seeing if he had subdued the monster. Mammothmon was far from finished, however. With another trumpeting wail it charged at Ken, but when he jumped out of the way, its trunk followed him. Ken didn't realize the trap until it was too late, and a snowy burst covered him.

"Oh, no! Ken!" TK yelled.

Ken staggered out of the white cloud, long icicles covering his hair and clothes. All of his weapons shined with a thick coat of ice, useless. The others ran to him and helped him stand. "Are you all right?" Izzy asked

"Damn... Stupid..." the kids heard him swear as the weaponry fell off of his arms. "I should've guessed it'd do that..."

All of its enemies defeated, Mammothmon trumpeted in victory and turned towards the kids. "Uh... I don't think it's done..." Palmon gulped.

"Looks like we're next!" Joe yelped. "Get ready to run!"

Mammothmon kicked at the dirt, then charged... but one more surprise was in store. As Mammothmon's feet started to move, two cries pierced the meadow, though they were indistinguishable from their distance. Before the giant spire-born's remaining tusk could pierce any more flesh, Ankylomon barreled into its front legs, knocking it completely over. "Whew!" he said, turning to the kids. "That's one PO'd pachyderm!"

"Ankylomon?" Kari asked out loud. "Then..."

"HEYYYY!" came Davis's yell. Everyone looked to their right to see Davis and Cody running towards them, Exveemon flying above.

"Davis! Hey!" Tai yelled back, waving at him. "What're you guys doing here?"

Davis and Cody planted themselves before the older kids. "We should ask the same thing," Cody said. "Why didn't you say you were coming here?"

"Because—" Izzy began.

Another angry trumpeting made everyone spin around. Mammothmon was back on its feet, ready for another round. Ankylomon moved to intercept it, but was swatted away by its trunk.

"Talk later!" Exveemon barked, flying at its new target. Mammothmon raised its trunk and blew another wintry gust. Exveemon managed to fly under and caught the giant nose with a quick uppercut. As it reeled back, he treated its remaining tusk to a smashing kick, snapping it off with a loud crack. Mammothmon trumpeted even louder, the black spire sheen taking on a slightly red hue; it was the angriest it could get now!

Kari swallowed hard. If six seasoned Champion Digimon couldn't take down the behemoth, what could only two new ones do? "I wish we could help..." she whispered.

Gatomon's ears swiveled off to the left, and she turned; the nearby bushes were rustling. "Someone's there!" she exclaimed, pointing.

Palmon turned and ran for the bushes; she wanted to be helpful just as much as Gatomon did. "Hey!" she called. "Who's there?"

The bushes shook violently, then stopped, the thump of feet audible; whoever was there wasn't sticking around. "C'mon!" Kari urged the two Digimon, jumping into the underbrush and running towards the sound.

Gatomon was faster than either Palmon or Kari and got ahead of them, her ears locked onto the running... and now wheezing... but then it stopped. Just as she was slowing down to listen again, something heavy came down from behind a tree and clocked her in the noggin. Totally surprised, she toppled onto her side, seeing only a blue figure disappearing into the woods.

"Gatomon!" Palmon's voice came to her.

"Oh, no!" Kari cried, running up and picking up her friend. "What happened?"

Gatomon said nothing. She just kept staring off into the trees.

* * *

Exveemon cried out as a shaggy body collided with him, knocking him to the ground. Even without its tusks or its faceplate, the Mammothmon was still putting up a terrible fight. Before he could get up, it lashed him with its trunk, sending him rolling through the grass. "Argh... Anyone get the license plate?..." he coughed.

Davis fumed and raised his D3. "You want a fight?" he yelled at the Mammothmon, hoping that this would work. "I'll give ya one!"

His wish came true. Just like before, the D3 shook and spat a few sparks, and then Exveemon was bathed in a bright light. As the older kids watched in amazement, Paildramon soared out of the glow and floated over Mammothmon. "All right, big guy," the new creature said in its distorted double voice, "let's dance!"

Mammothmon hesitated, then loudly blew another frosty cloud from its trunk. The cloud covered Paildramon completely, but dissipated with the sweep of one of his claws. Mammothmon was so surprised that Paildramon swooped in and grabbed its trunk without so much as a flinch. With one mighty yank, the gangly appendage came off, scattering black shards every which way.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Davis laughed, pumping his fists.

"Now!" Cody yelled. "Destroy it!"

Paildramon flew back and the guns at his loins snapped into place. He grabbed them and pumped as much ammunition into the monster as Ken had, but the bullets must have been stronger; a cloud of dust and debris flew up all around. When it cleared after several tense moments, there was something like an elephant-shaped wedge of black swiss cheese where Mammothmon had been. It shuddered, then crumbled into a pile of rubble. Paildramon lowered his guns and sighed with relief, then shrank all the way down to Chibumon.

"WHOOO!" Davis laughed, sweeping his partner up. "Now THAT'S how it's done!"

Ankylomon shrank back down to Armadillomon. "Uh, I did OK too, right?" he asked. Cody nodded.

"Davis! Cody!" Tai shouted, the others running over to them, carrying their own wounded Digimon.

"Uh... Hey, guys," Davis said, scratching his head awkwardly. "Hope I wasn't, uh, interrupting anything..."

"No way!" Sora laughed. "You really saved us!"

"Thanks so much," Biyomon said.

"Hmm... So that was Paildramon?..." Izzy said, looking down at Chibumon.

"Yeah!" Chibumon laughed, hopping up and down in Davis's grip. "We kicked butt!"

Matt and Gabumon stayed behind while the others laughed and thanked the two newcomers. "Hey, Matt..." Gabumon said, "shouldn't we thank them, too?"

"Go on if you want," Matt muttered, folding his arms. Metalgarurumon could have wasted those monsters with a lot less trouble; they had better find those Crest Fragments, and fast.

"Well, Davis, Cody, we're glad you came," TK said as Patamon perched on his head again, "but, uh... why?"

"Why'd you guys run off without tellin' us?" Davis replied, looking angry. Cody also wore a frown.

TK hesitated, then sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "We didn't think you'd understand it..."

Patamon turned around and smiled. "Well, maybe Gennai'll tell 'em!" he chirped, pointing.

Everyone turned and looked. Gennai had appeared and was walking towards them, looking around at the wreckage. "Goodness..." he exclaimed. "It's a good thing I soundproofed my walls."

Davis looked at the old man with shock; there was another human in the Digital World? "Wha..." he started.

"Oh, sorry," TK said. "Guys, this is Gennai, a very good friend of ours. Gennai, these are Cody, Davis, Armadillomon and, uh, Chibumon."

Cody was just as surprised as Davis, but retained his manners before elderly people. "I... It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," he said, bowing politely.

"Err... Yeah... Hi," Davis fumbled, following Cody's example. Armadillomon and Chibumon made similar gestures of respect, though Chibumon found it hard to bow without legs.

Gennai stared at them thoughtfully for a moment, then coughed. "It's always good to see some fresh faces," he said, showing his smile. "Please, you can stand up; I'm not big on formality."

"Thanks," Davis said, straightening up. "So, uh, you've helped out Tai and the others before?"

"Oh... I guess you could say that," Gennai answered, stroking his mustache.

"I've been trying to find him since you guys got your D3s," Izzy broke in. "There're so many things different than when we left, so..."

"Yeah, and when we finally learned where he was, we all jumped to go see him," Sora explained.

"But then those monsters showed up," Tentomon buzzed. "If it weren't for you guys, we'd have been flatter than pancakes!"

"Well, it wasn't just them," Patamon spoke up. "Ken helped, too!"

"Ken...?" Davis asked, looking around. Ken was nearby, trying to scrape some of the ice off of his weapons. "Ken!" Davis said, running over to him, Chibumon hopping behind. "You came to help? Thanks, bud!"

"Did you knock Mammothmon's face off?" Chibumon asked excitedly. "Way cool!"

Ken looked at him for a moment, then shook his head. "I just... Well, something was happing to the spires here, and..." he trailed off, staring at something behind him.

Davis looked over and jumped. Somehow, Gennai had appeared beside him without making a sound. "Hmmm... So, you're the infamous Ken Ichijouji..." the old man grumbled, peering down at Ken with his hands behind his back, "Digimon Emperor and the scourge of the whole Digital World..."

"Gennai..." Tai started, a little surprised that he would be so harsh.

Ken looked up at Gennai, his face laden with guilt and shame. He didn't know who he was, but something about the strange old man filled him with fear, like a toddler meeting his first preschool teacher.

Gennai continued to stare for a moment, but then his mouth curled into a smile. "...But also a boy who fixes his mistakes," he finished in a softer tone.

Davis blinked, then beamed again. "Hey, why don'tcha come meet all my pals?" he asked Ken. "I bet they'll thank you for savin' 'em!"

Ken glanced over at the older Digidestined and shuddered. Gennai's words had made him feel a little better, but he couldn't face them; not after what he did to their Digimon. "No," he said, scratching at the ice again. "They hate the Digimon Emperor."

"You're not the Digimon Emperor," Davis replied; why did Ken keep bringing the Emperor up? "C'mon, ya got us to be yer friends... They can be yer friends, too!"

Ken sighed and shook his head again. "I can't make friends," he grumbled. "I have to destroy the spires... That way, that woman can't make monsters... and then..."

"Um, actually..." Kari's voice came to them, "that may not be right anymore..."

Everyone's attention turned onto Kari, who had emerged from the woods carrying Gatomon, a worried Palmon at her side. "Whaddya mean?" Gabumon asked.

"You know those spires we knocked down?" Kari asked, waving her free hand around the area. "Look; they're gone now."

TK's eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed. "The Raremon... and what we saw out the window!"

The older kids all looked at him. "You guys saw something?" Sora asked.

"Come on! Spill it!" Gomamon urged.

"In Gennai's house, we saw someone doing something to the spires!" Patamon explained. "I think that's where the Raremon and Mammothmon came from!"

Ken shot up, a wild look in his eyes. "She can even use broken spires?" he asked out loud.

Gatomon groaned and sat up in Kari's grip. "I don't think so..." she muttered. "She wears red... and the thing that whacked me in the woods was wearing blue..."

Davis, Cody, Chibumon and Armadillomon all looked up at Kari questioningly. "It... looked blue from the window, too..." she agreed.

"Yeah..." Patamon agreed.

Everyone quieted, considering what this meant; there was more than one enemy they had to deal with in the Digital World not. Ken looked absolutely haunted by this information. If the spires didn't have to be active to be turned into monsters... then what had he been doing all this time?...

The unpleasant silence was broken by a cough from Gennai. "Anyway..." he said, "I've told you what needs to be done next: a piece from each of the eight Crests has to be found."

"But we can't go running all over the Digital World without some clue!" Biyomon objected. "There are some places we can't even get into!"

"Yeah, how do we even start looking?" Joe asked.

Gennai smiled again. "Ah, but you already have," he said, glancing at Izzy over his shoulder. "Haven't you, Izzy?"

For a moment, Izzy scratched at his head... but then it clicked. "Oh! I see!" he exclaimed. "My computer picked up that first piece... so I guess I already have the software I need to find more!"

"Great!" Tentomon spoke up. "That's my Izzy!"

Davis scratched his head. "Pieces?" he asked out loud. "What the hell're we talkin' about?"

Tai laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Relax, Davis," he said. "We'll fill you in as we go home..."

Just then, there was a flash in the direction of the TV gate, and they all turned around. Ken was gone, as was his weaponry. "Wow..." Agumon said. "He sure is quiet for having all that clunky metal."

Izzy sighed. "That's a shame," he said. "We didn't get to thank him..."

Cody frowned. The older kids looked at him. Davis, TK and Kari were surprised, too; they were glad to hear Izzy taking a positive tone, but they wondered how the others would react.

"...I'm sure he'll, uh, show up again," Joe replied, scratching his head. "We, uh... we'll get a chance."

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "Plenty of 'em."

Kari blinked at her brother's words. "You think we can trust him, too?" she asked.

"Hey, if Davis, Gennai AND you think it's worth a shot, then I'll go along," Tai replied.

"Err... Well, if you say so, Tai..." Agumon said, the difference of opinion clear in his voice.

Tai noticed as well and smiled at him. "Don't you worry," he said. "If it IS a trick, we'll kick him clean to the moon."

Sora shook her head. "I hope it's not..." she muttered, glancing at Biyomon. "He seems so sad... almost desperate, even."

"Yeah..." Biyomon said quietly.

"Even if we said no, we don't have a lot of choice," Tentomon pointed out. "Until we find those Crest pieces, we'll have to count on him to fight the stronger spire-borns!"

Matt stayed quiet, his eyes telling everything he felt like saying.

"Matt, come on," Gabumon objected. "We have to work together now; everybody."

Matt lowered his folded arms, but his scowl didn't vanish. "...Fine," he grunted, "but if this goes south, don't come crying to me."

"So-o-o optimistic!" Gomamon crooned. "I love it!"

Just then, something beeped. "Oh!" Sora said, looking at her watch. "Three o'clock? Oh, geez, I have to go! I promised Mom I'd work the night shift!"

"Huh... I guess we should all go," Joe sighed. "I have a little pre-homework homework to catch up on..."

"Oh..." Palmon said sadly. "Well... come back soon, OK?..."

"You bet!" Armadillomon spoke up. "No doubt about that!"

The kids turned and headed for the television. As he started to go, Matt felt someone tap his shoulder, and saw Gennai next to him. "What is it?" he asked.

Smiling through the attitude, Gennai nodded. "I'll leave you with this: challenge your preconceptions, or they'll challenge you," he said. "I think you know what I mean."

Matt hesitated, then turned and followed the others towards the warp. One by one, the humans and the younger kids' Digimon disappeared. "I hate how they have to come and go all the time..." Agumon sighed. "I never know how long they'll be here..."

"Don't be too sad," Biyomon said to him. "Once we find those pieces and stop whatever's happening, I'll bet they'll come every day!"

"Yeah..." Palmon murmured.

One by one, the Digimon departed for other parts. Only Gennai remained, staring intensely at the TV in the grass.

* * *

Mimi shivered as she stepped out into the cold air, but overall she was refreshed and full of energy. "So! That's how you stay clean," she said, looking behind her. "You get it?"

The figure that limped behind her was as red as a strawberry with multiple abrasion marks, steam rising from her form and fogging up the glasses that dangled on her nose. As soon as the wind blew, she let out a scream and held up her arms. "Is there anything even left of my skin?" she huffed. "Am I the 'Visible Woman' now?"

"Oh, stop whining," Mimi replied. "We've made progress today! You smell like a normal person now!"

"I wasn't that bad!" Yolei snapped.

"That's what you think," Mimi sniffed. "Now, remember: if this is going to change you at all, you have to do it yourself every day!"

"EVERY DAY?" Yolei snarled.

"Hey, don't snap at me," Mimi huffed. "And so long as you remember exactly what I showed you, you can do this in the comfort of your own bathroom... provided you can afford the soap."

Yolei fumed, but sighed and calmed down; Mimi was trying to help her, after all. "...Yeah, I've got soap..." she grunted. "The I-Mart has plenty..."

"Hmm, well, if you can call that soap..." Mimi muttered, but then something caught her eye. "Oh, shit!" she cried, and pushed Yolei back into the bathhouse entrance.

"Hey, what gives?" Yolei yelled.

Mimi shushed her and motioned across the street. Three girls about her age were standing and staring, wondering what was going on; they must have been some of the other cheerleaders. "Just what I need..." she grumbled. "Now, listen. For the next lesson, come to my place on Tuesday... but for now, you'll have to get home on your own."

"Oh, that's nice," Yolei huffed. "Leave me for dead when the popular posse shows up, huh?"

"Watch it," Mimi growled. "And you'd better show up on Tuesday, or this whole thing's off." With that, she turned and called to her cheerleader friends, then ran across the street and joined them in their walk.

Yolei watched them disappear around the corner, all sorts of four-letter words floating around in her brain. With that, she picked up what was left of her pride and started walking. She could find her way home... she hoped.

* * *

"OK, now, lay it all out," Davis demanded as the kids departed the Yagami apartment, leaving Tai and Kari behind. "Who was that old guy?"

"Gennai," Sora answered. "We told you about him before, remember? He taught us about our Crests and showed us how to do lots of things... like get back home."

"Yeah, but he sure wasn't in a helpful mood today..." Joe sighed, his hands in his pockets. "Not one of our questions got answered... not even the one you asked right before we got attacked!"

Sora blinked, then jumped. "What? Hey!" she huffed. "You're right!... Aww, geez!"

"What a waste of time," Matt grumbled, kicking at a rock on the pavement.

"Don't take it too hard," Izzy tried. "Gennai's never been straightforward about much... He probably has a good reason for it..." He would have continued, but the faces of the others told him to stop.

"Well, we know one thing," TK pointed out. "When we find those Crest pieces, we can get to Ultimate and Mega levels again!"

"Woo-hoo!" Patamon cheered from his hat. "Purple angel armor, here I come!"

"Hmm... Speaking of which..." Izzy murmured, then looked at Davis. "Davis, may I borrow your D3 for the night?"

"Wha?" Davis asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Well, I saw it was sparking a little when Exveemon became Paildramon," he went on. "I want to run some tests... be sure it's not going to blow up on you."

Davis took out the D3 and looked at it; since he had received it, he had never let it leave his person. "Well, I dunno..." he said slowly.

"Don't worry, Davis," Sora urged. "Yolei got hers back."

"Yeah, and Izzy's a whiz with these things," Joe pointed out.

"Blowing up's bad!" Chibumon gulped. "Let him have it, Davis!"

That was true; Izzy was the best programmer they had... and he was also very careful. Davis looked at the D3 again, then placed it in Izzy's palm. "Just make sure it doesn't blow up on you, neither," he said.

"Trust me, I'll avoid that..." Izzy chuckled. "I'll start on it right away... and start looking for those Crest bits!" With that, he was gone.

"See you guys later," Joe said, and walked off in a different direction. Matt said nothing; he just walked away.

Sora was about to go, but looked back at Davis and the others. "Say, where's Yolei today?" she asked.

"We have no idea," Cody admitted, shrugging.

"Yeah! We went to get her, but she was out," Upamon agreed.

Sora scratched her head; where could she have gone on a Sunday?

"Don't worry," TK said. "If I see her, I'll say you were asking about her," he said.

"OK..." she replied. "See you all tomorrow." She turned and walked down the street that Joe had chosen.

"Guess we'd better get home, too," Patamon piped up. "If we don't, your mom'll decide on dinner without you!"

"Yikes..." TK agreed. "Yeah, we'd better go, too!"

Cody nodded, and the boys started off. "OK, later, guys!" Davis called, waving to them. "We'll just, uh... go home, too."

"Ooh, is that a good idea?" Chibumon asked. "Jun'll be mad you took me..."

"Ahh, I bet she's still asleep, the bum..." Davis chuckled. Today certainly hadn't been what he had wanted... but he had been in Kari's room, met a strange new friend, and showed off his Ultimate-level Digimon to his coach and the others. That was a pretty good trade off for being woken up early.

* * *

Cody and TK rounded another corner and their apartment building loomed in the distance. Cody cut right to the chase. "Why didn't you tell us about this?" he asked TK.

"Yeah!" Upamon spoke up. "You guys woulda been elephant mash if we hadn't shown up!"

TK swallowed; he didn't want to answer that, but now he had to. "I'm sorry, Cody," he said. "See, we knew Gennai back when we became Digidestined five years ago... so some of my older friends thought... well... you guys didn't have to get involved."

Cody shook his head. "We're all Digidestined now," he stated. "We're involved, whether we like it or not. The next time something like this comes up, I want to know about it." He paused, wondering if he was sounding too harsh. "...Please," he finished.

TK sighed. Matt's angry words rang in his mind, but he shook them away. Cody was right; they _were_ all Digidestined, so they all should be in on things like meeting Gennai. "Right," he agreed. "You'll definitely know next time."

"Besides, there're lots more spires," Patamon said. "We'll still need our Armor Digivolving while we're looking for those Crest pieces!"

"Right again," TK said, nodding. His mind was made up. Despite how the others felt, all of the Digidestined, older and younger, were on the same team, and he would never forget it.

As he turned towards the building's stairwell, though, someone crashed into him. He jumped at the sight of a red, dripping, wheezing, angry Yolei. "Woah!" Upamon cried out.

"Where were you?" Cody asked, bewildered. "What happened?"

"Don't... ask," was all she said, and she stomped off for the elevator.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passed as any Sunday afternoon did, and night soon crept over Tokyo... but Ken's mind turned and tossed no matter what he did to calm it. Wasn't knocking down the spires what he had to do?... but they could still be turned into Spire-born!... So that meant all of his work up to this point was for nothing; he couldn't stop this new enemy! Could the other Digidestined? Could anyone, for that matter?...

"Sam... Wormmon..." he asked the ceiling, "does this mean that my only hope to avenge you is to join with the others? But they hate the Digimon Emperor... Would they ever accept me?" The silence thick, he clenched his fists. "Why won't you answer me?" he demanded.

A knock came at the door. "Ken, dear?" his mother asked, peeking in. "Is everything all right?"

Ken froze, then swallowed. "I... I'm fine, Mom..." he said. "I'm just... practicing for... drama class."

"Oh..." she said. "Well, you sound great, but try to keep it down; we don't want the neighbors to get angry."

"Eh heh..." he laughed, blushing a little. "Sorry."

She closed the door and he heaved a sigh of relief. That was too close... What was he thinking? The dead couldn't answer the living. He was starting to sound crazy, even to himself! If this kept up, his parents might want to send him to a grief counselor, or a psychiatrist... or worse. He shook his head. He had to find another way. He had to channel all of this into something- anything- to keep his parents reassured... but what could he do? Before he had been defeated, his only interests had been in his studies and the Digital World... What could capture his interest?

His eyes fell on that awful book he had been reading before. Hadn't he been thinking he could write something better? Slowly, the wheels in his brain clicked. He walked to his desk, reached into the bottom drawer and pulled out a small, leather-bound book... a journal his parents had given him on some forgotten holiday.

He turned off his computer, sat down and opened it. All of its pages were blank and white, just as they had always been. He took a pen and scribbled on page's corner to test its ink level, then began to jot down little thoughts and phrases like this:

_-A line has no beginning, and a black hole has no end._

_*Is a tree a tree, or is it just what we call a tree?_

_+What is the sound of one foot walking?_

None of it made any sense, but he didn't care; just doing it gave him a strange but pleasant relaxing feeling.


	27. Labyrinth

**CHAPTER 27**

**LABYRINTH**

The chilly late fall wind was usually bad enough, but today Poromon also had himself caught in Yolei's vice-like armpit grip. "Nrrgh... Yolei, please!" he managed. "This hurts!"

Yolei wasn't in the mood for mercy. "I still can't believe it!" she snarled as she stomped along. "How could you do that?"

"It's like I explained already," he tried. "You left in such a hurry, I had to make do on my own!"

"Yeah, but why'd you do it?" she huffed. "My newest issue of 'Magical Bubblegum Tentacle Princess...' and you got to it before I did!"

"For what it's worth, I didn't understand it at all," he coughed.

"Philistine," she grunted.

"Anyway... Urrrgh!" He squeezed hard and managed to loosen Yolei's grip a little. "Anyway, this wouldn't have happened if you had just taken me with you!"

"I couldn't have anyway," she muttered, turning in to the schoolyard.

"Where did you go, anyway?" he asked, "and why were you all red and wet when you came back?"

She leered down at him. "None of your business," she snapped, "so just drop it!"

With that, she plopped him down in the grass and marched up towards the doors. Davis, Cody and TK all stood there, talking... and Davis looked pretty flustered. "Whaddya mean you don't know?" he demanded. "How can none of us know?"

Yolei blinked. "...What's goin' on?" she asked.

TK turned to her, a worried look on his face. "We haven't seen Kari or Gatomon at all today," he answered.

"Wha?..." she replied, equally puzzled; usually Kari was the first of them to get to school.

"This sucks!" Davis huffed, looking around irritably. "What if she got hurt on the way, or kidnapped, or something?"

Cody shook his head. "I'm sure it's nothing serious," he said. "She's probably just-"

"Nothing serious?" Davis snapped. "You'd think it was serious if it was YOU gettin' grabbed and tossed in a trunk!"

"Hey now, let's not go overboard..." TK tried.

Davis's eyes darted back to the path and he jumped; Tai and Izzy were headed towards them. It wasn't Kari, but it would do. "Coach!" he said, rushing over to them. "Where's Kari? Do ya know?"

Tai blinked. "What?" he asked, surprise in his voice.

"We haven't seen her yet," Cody explained in a more rational voice. "Do you know where she might be?"

Tai scratched his head. "Gee... I don't know..." he admitted. "I mean, she left early today because she said she wanted to get here early..."

Davis kicked at the gravel, sure that this proved his worries. TK, however, put a more positive spin on things. "Well, then maybe she's already in the classroom," he suggested. "Let's go in and look."

"Just a second," Izzy said, motioning everyone to get closer. "I have some good news... My program locked onto a Crest Fragment last night!"

The eyes of Davis, Cody and TK all widened. "What?" Cody asked. "Already?"

"Yeah, it's cool, isn't it?" Tai said. "Guess we know where you're all going after school."

As the five of them started inside, Yolei tugged at Cody's shoulder. "What's a 'Crest Fragment?'" she asked him.

Cody started to tell her not to be silly, but then remembered that she hadn't been at Gennai's the other day. "Well, I'm not exactly sure," he began, "but it's something like this..."

* * *

"Goodness, so many visitors..." Gennai said, looking at his two guests as he emerged from the lake. "Is my house on the garden tour?"

"Hello again, Gennai," Kari said, looking around and clutching something in her hands. "I, uh, I need to ask you something."

"Of course," he replied, nodding. "Did you need me to explain something from yesterday?"

"Something else, actually," Gatomon spoke up, nudging Kari with her elbow. "C'mon, show him."

Kari opened her hands and showed Gennai the warped, crushed remnants of Gatomon's golden tail ring. "It got smashed up pretty badly, but I held onto it," she explained. "Do you think... there's a way to fix it?"

"Hmmm..." Gennai said, taking the formless bauble. He ran his fingers over it, held it up and squinted through it, and tossed it in his hand, a lot of hems and haws rumbling through his nose. Gatomon bit her lip and tapped her foot; this was worse than waiting for the litter box to open up.

Finally, the ring disappeared inside Gennai's clenched palm. "It certainly took a beating," he agreed.

Gatomon couldn't contain her angry groan. "Yes!" she growled. "We KNOW that!"

"Easy," Gennai cautioned her. "I'll see what I can do."

"Really?" Gatomon asked, her mood shifting instantly. "Thank you!"

"It's not going to be a quick fix, though," Gennai warned. "For all the damage it's protected against, I don't think The Order ever saw it getting stepped on."

"Well, I just hope you can fix it..." Kari admitted, her face turning glum. "Things are starting to get scary..."

Gennai looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Kari swallowed, then looked around again. "Oh... n-nothing," she said quietly. "We, uh, we'd better get going, Gatomon. Thanks again, Gennai!"

She turned around and quickly walked back towards the warp, Gennai staring after her with suspicion. Gatomon looked back at him, then up at her partner. Why hadn't she told him about that ocean or those black creatures? Why had she just clammed up?

* * *

Yolei's response to Cody's story was an impressed, slow whistle. "Whew!" she exclaimed. "I miss one day and the Digital World flips upside-down!"

"No kiddin'," Davis agreed as the kids turned down another hallway, an eyebrow raised. Something about Yolei was different today, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it... but as he got closer to her, his nose perked up; he had his answer. "Where were ya, anyway?" he asked, "an' where's yer stank at?"

"None of your business!" she snapped at him, making him recoil.

"Awright, awright, geez..." he muttered. Maybe the stink had sank inward and turned her personality rotten instead.

They came to the stairwell that divided the lower elementary classrooms with the higher middle school ones, and Cody took his leave of them. Just as they climbed the stairs and walked through the next door, though, a pink blur crashed right into TK, who banged into Davis, who almost knocked Yolei over. "Whoops!" Kari's voice came. "Sorry!"

Davis's eyes lit up as he saw who it was. "Hey, don't worry about it!" he laughed, beaming. "You can knock me over as many times as you want!"

"That better go for me, too," Yolei snarled, her hand clamping onto his shoulder.

TK scratched his head. Kari looked like she had been running... and the only place she might go down the hall she had come from was the computer lab. "Were you just in the Digital World?" he started.

Kari looked away and squirmed a little. Davis and Yolei's feud ended quickly when they heard TK. "Say what?" Yolei asked.

"...And what were _you_ doin'?" Davis asked, hoping to get more out of Kari than he did out of Yolei.

Kari hesitated a moment longer, then sighed and shook her head. "It was nothing," she said, a smile reappearing on her face. "Don't worry about it."

"Were you looking for the new Crest Fragment?" TK asked.

Kari's eyes widened. "Already?" she asked. "That's great! Where?"

"Well, he didn't say that, but..." TK trailed off as Kari, Yolei and he walked on down the hall.

Davis lingered behind, fuming. "Hey, what was this, huh?" he grouched, stomping after them. "'Don't Tell Davis Anything Day?' Sheesh..."

* * *

After the chaotic and angry start, the school day passed as they usually did: a pop quiz here, a writing assignment there, but nothing to knock anyone's socks off. As the kids had learned by now, surprises were for the Digital World and not seventh grade.

When the last bell rang, Davis, Yolei, Cody, TK and Kari packed up as quickly as they could and made their way to the computer lab, where their Digimon waited for them, along with Tai and Izzy. "Hey, guys," Tai greeted them. "Busy day?"

"Hardly," Cody replied, reaching down and patting Upamon. "The teacher quizzed us on the solar system. If she only knew what we do..."

"OK, small talk's over," Yolei pressed. "What's the game plan?"

"All right," Izzy said, turning on the usual computer. "Last night, my program picked up another signal that looked a lot like what we saw in the Gigas. I think it's another Crest Fragment."

"Another of Tai's things?" Patamon asked, fluttering down onto the table.

"No, I don't think so," Izzy said, leaning back and waiting for the machine to load up. "That was colored orange on my screen. This one's different; it's yellow."

"Yellow?..." Davis asked, scratching his head.

"Yellow! How's it goin'?" Demiveemon chirped with a grin. Davis playfully poked him in the shoulder.

"Whose Crest was yellow again?..." Gatomon asked aloud.

"Ooh! Maybe it's a new Crest!" Upamon suggested. "Maybe one for Cody! I'm yellow!"

"I suppose... but I doubt it," Izzy said. "The power it's giving off is very faint... I would think a full Crest would have a lot more."

TK's mind flipped through the different Crests he remembered, though after five years he wasn't entirely sure. Tai's was an orange sun... Sora's was a red heart... Matt's was a blue circle with blades... His own was a yellow badge-looking thing- He froze, then jumped, startling everyone. "Mine!" he exclaimed. "Yellow was mine!"

"Oh, yeah!" Kari said, remembering.

"...The same as the emblem on Pegasusmon!" Yolei pointed, then smacked herself in the forehead. "Awww, man! I'm blind! That's the Crest anyway, isn't it?"

The others felt equally stupid for a moment, then focused back on the job. "Err, anyway..." Izzy said, bringing the semi-complete Digital World map onto the screen. A yellow blip flashed on a square just northeast of the Forbidden Desert and close to a southern shore. "This is where it's coming from," he said, pointing. "We don't know much about the place, but when we were surveying, there was a large stone building there..."

"Oh, yes, that'll be Horatio Hall," Poromon piped up, fluttering over and looking at the screen. "The whole inside is supposed to be a tricky labyrinth."

"Labyrinth..." Cody repeated, frowning.

"What's that?" Upamon asked. "Sounds like a crusty bread!"

"It's a long, winding maze," Izzy explained. "I remember seeing one on our first adventure. Maybe this is where it ended up..."

"Sounds like quite a trip today," Tai remarked, getting up from his swivel chair. "Sure wish I could come along, but I've gotta go; soccer practice today."

Davis jumped up like someone had jabbed him in the behind. Soccer practice? He had completely forgotten! "Oh, geez! My bad, coach!" he exclaimed, grabbing for his backpack. "Just lemme run an' get my jacket, and-"

"But Davis!" Demiveemon whined. "We hafta go with the others!"

Tai smiled and shook his head. "Relax, Davis," he said, clapping his hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "Go on with the others. This is way more important, so I'll excuse you."

"I... uh... ergh..." Davis spluttered, not knowing quite how to take the answer. Sure, he was glad he could go with the others... but could the soccer team function without him?

"Aww, yeah!" Yolei laughed, pumping both fists; after missing out yesterday, she was more than ready to jump back in the saddle. "Poromon! Let's get pwning!" she declared.

Poromon shifted his weight and stared at the floor, the morning's chewing out fresh in his mind. "Um... OK..." he muttered.

"OK, then," Kari said, bringing out her D3, "let's go and find it!"

The others brought our their Digivices as well. "I'll keep watching from here," Izzy said, then threw them all a wary glance. "Be careful. That last piece attracted whatever that black energy was... so this just might do the same."

"We can take it!" Yolei laughed, paying no heed. "Right, Poromon?"

"Says the chick who wet herself when she saw the zombie robots," Davis grunted.

"I'm serious," Izzy said, stopping Yolei from whacking Davis. "If it doesn't look like you can get the piece... then you may have to destroy it like the before."

TK bit his lip. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that this time... not with his Crest. "Right..." he murmured.

Their D3s raised, the five kids and their Digimon vanished into the computer screen.

* * *

Thunder rumbled in the distance as the thick, dark storm clouds took up the whole sky over the gray, imposing castle's crumbling turrets and weathered pennants. A wind thick with the promise of summer rain blew the mysterious woman's red garments back as she stared up at the building and smiled. It was an utterly dreary day; her favorite kind. The mood was set perfectly for her triumph.

She cast an angry eye down the old stone path towards the green-bronze gate that guarded the only approach to the place. Those children would be coming any minute; she had to get to work. Flicking her hair from her shoulder, she strutted up the steps and into the cramped, dark hallways. How delightful; those kids' Digimon couldn't possibly fight in their best forms in here! This was the perfect place to get rid of them. Now for the difficult part... finding her way through it herself.

An eerie cold nipped at her feet. She glanced down and saw a thick, dark mist swirling around the floor, leading off down one of the paths. With an irritated "hmmph," she followed it. Things had better go according to plan this time; she didn't need any more surprises.

* * *

"Whoo!" Davis whooped, staring up at the face of Horatio Hall. He had thought the rusty gate was impressive, but this was even more stunning. "That's one big rock!"

"Yeah, it's not like anything back home..." Kari agreed.

"It's more like a castle from Europe," Cody proposed.

"Whuzzat?" Armadillomon asked, looking up at his partner again. "Ain't that some kinda roll-up sandwich?"

"Err, no..." Cody replied, "that's a gyro."

"That's not a sandwich!" Patamon protested from TK's hat, "that's a coin! I saw some on TK's mom's desk."

Yolei looked up at the castle and groaned angrily. "Aww, man!" she huffed. "A big old castle like this, and I can't use my Level-70 Dark Paladin?" She turned around and beamed at Hawkmon. "Well, at least I've got you, right?"

Hawkmon folded his arms and shook his head, frowning.

Despite the warm, humid air, Gatomon couldn't look at the castle without feeling a shiver. "This looks a lot like Myotismon's castle..." she thought out loud.

TK stared up at it, her comment making him even more tense. His Crest might be in there... so would the inside be a lot like the ruins of the Gigas? Could those dead Mekanorimon be here guarding it... or something even worse?

Kari shuddered, too. Once again, she was feeling cold creeping over her, and the same sense of panic and despair as before... but she shook it out of her head. She had to tough it out; TK's Crest was in there. "Let's go in," she suggested, starting up the steps.

"Right!" Yolei laughed, racing after her, pulling Hawkmon by the wing. The others quickly followed suit.

* * *

The mysterious woman stared up into the darkness of the giant throne room, the ceiling completely hidden in the shadows. "It certainly was made well..." she purred. "I wouldn't mind a place of my own like this."

The dark vapors on the floor seethed. "They're here," a low, malicious voice echoed through the chamber. "It's time to begin."

The woman glared at the haze. "You're telling me you haven't found it yet?" she snapped. "Even though you can cover this whole place like the London Fog?"

"Unlike the Digidestined, I'm not able to sense it," the voice said, sounding neither apologetic nor angry. "I'll find it, but time is what I need. I trust you'll give it to me."

"Right..." she muttered. "Just leave that to my little helpers."

"Just remember the deal," the voice warned.

She snorted again. "What sort of lady do you take me for?" she asked. "You go on. Trust me."

The dark mists faded from the chamber, blown by a wind that couldn't be felt. Glad that she was alone, the woman set to work. Chanting in a low, wicked tone, she waved her gloved hand over the floor and upwards, and without a sound or a shake, dozens of control spires rose up from the stone. They came out of the floor, out of the walls, and even out of the pillars in the corners. She smiled as she quickly counted them. Sixty lovely spires; just what she needed.

With one graceful motion, she ran her fingers through her hair and flicked the hardened strands at the spires. After a vile, reddish glow, the black towers were gone... and six big, armored, sword-wielding knight Digimon stood at her attention, the symbol of the Crest they were hunting for blazing on the shields on their backs. She smiled again at her art. A troop of Knightmon for the castle; how fitting.

"Go," she ordered, pointing at the chamber's exits. "Kill them all... but bring me the girl in pink."

The six soldiers saluted, then turned and marched out into the halls.

* * *

"Well, hello, Ken," Mrs. Ichijouji said happily as her son walked into the apartment. "Have a good day?"

"Hi, Mom," he replied, smiling back. "It was fine..." Actually, He'd had a very tiring day. Playing soccer just wasn't as easy now as it had been; it was like half of his athleticism had vanished overnight, the way he had started puffing and wheezing. He thought that running around the Digital World with all that artillery strapped to him would keep him in shape, but it hadn't done enough.

"Good!" she said. "Oh, your father has to work late tonight, so dinner won't be for a while... How about a snack?"

"Thanks, but I'm not very hungry right now," he said, hanging up his jacket. "I'm just gonna sit in my room..."

"OK, but remember to eat something," she said, turning back to the magazine she had left on the kitchen table.

Ken walked to his room, tossed his backpack on his bed and slumped down in his desk chair, reaching into the top drawer. His body may have been worn out, but his mind was sparking with ideas. Slowly but surely, a story was forming, and he had to write it down before he forgot it. He chose a pen from the desk, clicked it open, and began to write in the journal:

_This is the story of a spoiled child who thought he was a great king, until all of his wretched deeds caught up to him one terrible day..._

He sat back and looked it over. It wasn't the best beginning, but this was his first piece of writing that wasn't an essay; he had to give it time.

He scribbled down some more words, but as any writer can tell you, it's very easy for the mind to wander as far from a blank piece of paper as it can... so it was no surprise when Ken closed the book and turned on his computer. He wasn't going to stop; he was just going to check his e-mail, see if there was anything interesting in the news, that sort of stuff... He'd start writing again... eventually.

Before he could even grab the mouse, though, the computer beeped angrily and the Digital World map appeared, one of the squares flashing red. His spine stiffened; spires had become active again. Within a second, the five colored dots he knew so well appeared in the square as well.

His shoulders sagged as his fatigue asserted itself. He had just gotten comfortable and wanted to write... but his solemn vow to stop that woman wouldn't take a back seat. He had to go.

He quickly walked to his door and peered out. His mother was deeply engrossed in the cooking gossip of the day, so she wouldn't be bothering him. Satisfied, he closed the door and took out his Digivice. He had been given another chance, and so he would take it.

* * *

"Hey! Will ya quit hittin' me?" Davis grunted as his shoulder banged into TK's for the fourth time.

"OW!" Veemon yelped, jumping back. "Davith! Ya stepped on my tail!"

"It's not my fault," TK protested. "These halls're too narrow. We should walk single-file."

Davis grumbled and slowed down, now unable to see anything but TK's back and his stupid hat. "Who made a building as cramped as this?" he demanded.

"Labyrinths are very old and respected," Cody explained. "In the earlier days of Europe, they built them for reflective journeys and amusement."

"They made these things for FUN?" Davis coughed. "Geez! I bet if they hadn't all been walkin' around in there, they would've invented video games quicker!"

"So where's that thing s'posed to be, anyway?" Armadillomon asked.

"I... I don't know," TK admitted, looking around worriedly. Izzy was sure right about it being a maze. Following Yolei and Hawkmon, they had already taken so many turns and twists, neither the kids nor the Digimon knew where they were anymore. The only things they had to navigate by were small insets in the walls, which held old-looking pots and relics all sealed behind glass, like a museum. The only sources of light were stained-glass windows at the ends of some of the paths, and even that was weak and gray. Currently, they stood in a long hallway with one path going right in its center, and a left turn at the end, visible only through the help of one of those windows.

"Awww," Patamon whined, fluttering to it. "Those storm clouds outside aren't helping us one bit!"

"Look at it this way," Cody pointed out. "If we're in a passage with a window, it means we're on the far ends of the castle. That kind of helps..."

As the boys tried to talk themselves into feeling more comfortable, Kari lingered at the back of the procession. Gatomon stood behind her, keeping an ear out just in case... but since she hadn't heard anything, her mind was trailing back to earlier. "Hey, Kari," she piped up, "why didn't you tell Gennai about that ocean... and the things?"

Kari visibly shivered, then gave her partner a sad look. "I didn't... want to bother him with that," she said quietly.

"Didn't want to...?" Gatomon repeated, not really wanting to because it sounded so lame. "But you SHOULD have told him! Maybe he knows what that's all about!"

Kari sighed and shook her head. She was sure Gennai knew; she just didn't think _she_ wanted to know what it was all about.

Davis turned around and looked at her. He was getting tired of listening to Cody and TK argue whether the placement of the windows meant anything about where they were, and he wondered why she was lagging so far behind... but the look on her face made him worry. "Hey, Kari, what's the matter?" he asked.

Immediately the others turned around, too, and Kari went red. "Umm..." was all she could say, her eyes darting to the floor.

"Somethin' bugging you?" Veemon asked.

"Something happen this morning?" Davis pressed. "What were ya doin'?"

"Uh..." she stammered again, shifting her weight between her feet. "I... Don't worry about it, really," she said. "It's not... important."

Davis snorted and folded his arms; why wouldn't she tell them?

"It must be if you're so uncomfortable," TK said, looking concerned. "Did you get hurt?"

"Well, no..." Kari muttered, "it's just..."

"Oh, stop it," Gatomon huffed at her partner, tired of the squirming and the secrets. "Look, you guys, we just went to see Gennai about getting my tail ring fixed. That's all!"

"Really?" Patamon piped up, looking excited. "Neat!"

"Yeah, that would be pretty cool," Veemon agreed. "If it got fixed, you'd get a big boost, wouldn't ya?"

"So why be so secret about it?" Cody asked.

Kari hesitated for a moment more, then relaxed and smiled; the others didn't need to know what she really dreaded. "...You know what? I don't really know," she agreed. "Sorry. It isn't such a big thing after all, is it?"

"Well, good," Davis said, finally satisfied. "If it's nothing that big, ya shouldn't clam up."

"Yeah," Armadillomon agreed. "The way you were goin' on, ya'd think you knew someone was gonna be plastered by a runaway bus or somethin'."

Kari chuckled at the joke. Gatomon just sighed.

Hawkmon turned to Yolei. "You see?" he said.

"Do I see what?" she said, annoyed.

"Kari's always honest with her friends," he said. "Why don't you act like that?"

Her fists balled up as she glared at the bird. "Will you just drop it?" she snapped, and turned and walked swiftly away.

"I don't mean to be pushy," he replied, starting to sound mad himself, "but I AM your partner Digimon, and as such-"

"If you don't quit squawking, I'll clamp that beak for you!" she yelled.

The two of them disappeared around a corner, their heated exchanges' echoes mixing into a grumpy-sounding din. There was an awkward silence, and then Cody coughed. "Well, uh, maybe the Crest Fragment is inside one of those pots," he suggested, pointing to the glass display.

"I guess so..." TK admitted, "but how do we get at them?"

"Ooh! I know!" Veemon blurted. "Digmon could stick his nose in and it's goodbye, glass!"

Armadillomon looked around him and frowned. "Aww, I dunno..." he said. "This place's so tiny, I dunno if I'd even fit."

Taking another look at the narrow walls, Kari suddenly saw the predicament. "Oh, boy..." she murmured. "If we have to fight in here, what're we going to do?"

"No kidding!" Patamon agreed. "The ones who can fly would be stuck, and most of our Champion forms are too big!"

TK, Cody and Kari all looked concerned, but Davis laughed it off. "Don't you guys worry 'bout a thing!" he declared. "Flamedramon's more than enough to deal with it!"

"Yeah!" Veemon exclaimed, jumping and flailing his arms. "We'll show 'em!"

"Shurimon would be a good choice, too," Cody suggested. "He's small enough, and his blades could cut this glass. Yolei, can you..."

He looked up and quieted. In the heat of his planning, he had forgotten that both Yolei and Hawkmon had disappeared down the hall. "...Oh, for the love of..." he grumbled.

* * *

When one is in a heated argument, one usually doesn't pay attention to little details, like where one is going. Yolei and Hawkmon had demonstrated this perfectly; being so distracted by trying to out-talk each other, both of them had gone deeper into the labyrinth without realizing it.

"Digimon and their partners shouldn't have any secrets!" Hawkmon huffed, now fluttering angrily to keep up with his lanky partner's footsteps.

"Sure they can!" Yolei snapped, turning another corner. "Nobody needs to know everything! It's a free country! Rights to privacy and all that!"

"I don't know these laws, and I don't care!" he replied. "What if you could get hurt by this? I have to protect you! Wouldn't you want me to know?"

"It's NOT," she vented. "Hell, it's no big deal at all! Just butt out!"

"If it's not important," he returned, flitting around in her face, "then why are you fussing about it so much? Why not just tell me?"

"YOU'RE the one fussin' about it!" she yelled. "If you'd just shut up, we'd-"

Suddenly, Hawkmon's back rammed into something, and then Yolei crashed into his front. A hollow, metallic thump resounded through the hall. They both fell backwards and looked up, and their faces went white. A tall, wide, menacing knight stood over them, its yellow eyes locked onto theirs and its sword raised to split them in half.

"WHAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Yolei finished her sentence, grabbed Hawkmon and tore off backwards as the sword smashed into the stone.

* * *

"All right, looks like you're doing it," Cody instructed Armadillomon, still annoyed that Yolei and Hawkmon had disappeared. "Ready?"

"I guess," Armadillomon replied, "but don't blame me if none y'all can move once I get big."

Cody began to raise his D3, but then a familiar scream made everybody jump. "Yolei!" Patamon yelped.

"Dammit!" Davis swore. "C'mon, we gotta-"

His words were cut short when out of the passage in the hall's middle stepped a tall, wide knight with yellow eyes, its sword raised. Everyone scrambled one way or the other as it swung, smashing the glass display to tiny bits. TK fell down in front of the stained glass window while Davis and Kari were forced to retreat back a ways.

"What in the...?" Patamon yelled.

"Aww, no!" Veemon cried out. "That's a Knightmon! Ultimate-level!"

"Shit!" Davis snarled. There was no way they could fight in this cramped hallway, especially against something only Paildramon could possibly take on!

Kari swallowed hard. With their weakened Digimon and this big lug blocking the path, there was only one option she could think of. "Split up!" she yelled to the others.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Veemon agreed, scrambling to his feet and taking off down the path. Gatomon, Davis and Kari ran quickly after.

TK wanted to run, too, but something terrible caught his attention; there were two figures beneath the Knightmon's legs. He knew in a flash who they were. "Cody! Armadillomon!" he yelled. "Get out of there!"

Cody swore to himself. In the chaos of the Knightmon's appearance, Armadillomon and he had hidden beneath it in hopes of getting behind it... but now TK had blown his cover. "Come on!" he hissed to his partner as the Knightmon's legs started to stomp and move, and the two of them bolted down the path the monster had come from.

"Whoo-wee!" Armadillomon panted as they rounded a corner. "I thought fer sure we were gonna get-"

Cody grabbed him and leaped backwards as a sharp sword plunged into the stones before them. A second Knightmon yanked its blade up and marched towards them, not intending to miss again.

"Suff'rin sour tomatoes!" Armadillomon coughed. "We're stuck!"

Cody thought fast. Just like Patamon had said, there was barely any room to fight in here! There wasn't much he could do unless he had more of it... More of it? His eyes lit up and he grabbed his D3. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? "DigiArmor Energize!" he yelled as fast as he could.

In a blinding flash, Digmon filled in the hallway almost completely. "Aww, great! Now what, Cody?" he demanded, his eyes still on the approaching Knightmon.

"We need more room... so make it!" Cody explained, kicking at the wall. "Hurry!"

Digmon could have smacked himself for being so blind. As the Knightmon came at him, he plunged his drills into the wall and burst into another passageway. "Beat feet, Cody!" he declared, and ran through the hole and set to work on another wall.

Cody faked left, then raced past the Knightmon as its sword came down, following the already distant sound of his partner's mining. He just hoped that the other kids had wits as quick as his.

* * *

The clouds' rumbles made Ken look up with a frown; his weapons were sure to work in the rain, but he didn't fancy getting wet today... but whether he did or not didn't really matter. He stared at the gates of Horatio Hall with both surprise and wonder. He had never been to this part of the Digital World, and such human-like architecture impressed him greatly.

However, as the doors opened, his mind quickly leaped away from admiration. The mysterious woman emerged from the doorway, still wearing those wretched purple sunglasses despite the storm clouds. Instantly he kicked the gate open and ran in, all three crosshairs locked onto her; now was his chance! "HEY!" he yelled. "Stop right there!"

The woman, surprised, looked at him with an annoyed sneer... but it quickly melted into a venomously seductive smile. "My, my... You do get around, don't you, little boy emperor?..." she purred.

"This is it," he declared, pointing the guns on his arms right at her. "I'm going to stop you."

The woman yawned, not impressed. "Oh?..." she asked. "But what would become of your playmates?..."

Ken hesitated, his weapons sinking slightly. She smiled again, folding her arms and looking coy. "You _could_ have your way with me, yes..." she said, "but there are six Knightmon in that maze... and that's more than enough to destroy the other children..."

He stared at her for a moment. Those kids were in there... and she very well could have made some spires into Knightmon... but what if it was a trick? Yeah, that was it; this was a trick. He raised the guns again and put his fingers on the triggers. "Liar!" he growled.

The shrill scream of a girl echoed through the open door. The woman looked at the two barrels and the laser pointed at her thoughtfully, then her lips curled back and she started laughing. Ken's arms wavered under the heavy weapons, despite his effort to keep them up. "Ah ha ha ha! Oh... Oh, how selfish," she finished, regaining her cool composure. "The Digimon Emperor hasn't changed at all..."

Their eyes locked. Sweat ran down Ken's brow, his arms shaking violently. With a furious grunt, he let them drop and raced past her, bounding up the steps into the castle. She cackled and sauntered off down the path. What an idiot that boy was.

* * *

Believing that her legs would snap off at any second, Yolei ripped around a corner and plastered herself against the wall, smooshing Hawkmon in beside her. The Knightmon shuffled past, clanking like a bucket of aluminum cans. They held their breaths until the clanking stopped. "Aww, geez..." Yolei panted.

"Goodness gracious!" Hawkmon exclaimed. "What in the world is a Knightmon doing here?"

"Well, it IS a castle..." she replied. "Fits pretty well, if you ask me..."

"But that's an Ultimate-level Digimon!" he snapped. "We can't possibly fight something like that in such cramped quarters!"

Yolei thought hard. He certainly was right about that... Halsemon couldn't fly properly in here, and Aquilamon was just too big... but... She grinned as she realized what this situation called for. "Time to introduce this west to some east!" she said, pulling out her D3.

"Shurimon? You can't be serious!" Hawkmon squawked. "Those things are at an altogether higher level!"

"Quit whining! Ninjas beat everything!" Yolei replied, raising the D3. "DigiArmor, Energize!"

Instead of a ninja, however, she was treated to a very loud, nasty buzz from her Digivice. "AGH! What the hell?" she yelled, shaking it until it finally quieted. She looked at Hawkmon with panic in her eyes. "Hawkmon," she gulped, "why aren't you Digivolving?"

He looked down at himself, hot fear washing over him. That was a _very_ good question. "...Oh, dear," was all he could manage.

Yolei shook the device angrily, then held it up again. "DigiArmor Energize!" she said again, and again the buzz made her spine freeze. What was going on with that stupid thing? Did she bang it on something? No, it looked just fine... Did she change the batteries? No, it didn't run on batteries!... "WHAT is WRONG?" she snarled.

Hawkmon looked over her shoulder and swallowed. "Think while you run!" he said, fluttering back anxiously.

She looked back and went white. She had totally forgotten about that Knightmon... but it certainly hadn't forgotten about her. With a shriek, she grabbed Hawkmon and ran as its sword crashed down.

* * *

"No, that's not it..." Davis growled, peering around yet another corner and drumming his fingers on the wall. "Dammit, which way'd we come from?"

"I don't remember!" Kari admitted, looking down another hall and seeing only a dead end. "Ohh, I sure wish I'd kept track..."

"It ain't down that way!" Veemon reported as he reappeared from the end of the hall. "Went down all six halls and nothin'!"

Gatomon sniffed at the air, but it was no use; she couldn't detect any scent of the outside to follow to an exit. She couldn't hear any outside sounds, either. "This just gets worse and worse..." she grumbled.

Davis yanked his goggles as far out as he could and let them slap him in the forehead. Here he was, finally alone with Kari, but trapped in a maze full of killer knights! How could he protect her if he didn't even know where anything was? "D'arrrgh!" he yelled. "I hate mazes!"

"Calm down, Davis," Kari pleaded. "Let's think about it for a second..."

"Better idea!" he replied, grabbing Veemon. "You stay here so I know where something is, and then I'll find the exit and come back!"

"No, that's the LAST thing we should-" Gatomon started, but Davis was already gone around a corner.

"Oh, dear..." Kari sighed.

"What's with him?" Gatomon asked. "You think he's claustrophobic or something?"

"I don't know..." Kari admitted. "He was just fine before we got attacked... It could just be the whole situation."

"Well, this is pretty stupid," Gatomon replied. "I say we go after him."

"But we might get lost, too!" Kari objected.

"Well, it beats standing around," her partner rebuked. "I'm way smaller than Davis and even I feel cramped!"

The girls turned at the same place Davis had, but that was all they knew of which way he went. "Can you hear them?" Kari asked.

Gatomon listened for a moment, then pointed to a passage on the right. "There's someone that way," she started, "but-"

"Good!" Kari said, sprinting down that path... right into a Knightmon. She cried out and jumped back, her heart in her throat. The Knightmon looked her over and started forward, his arms outstretched.

"I knew it didn't sound like Davis or Veemon!" Gatomon snarled, leaping in front of her friend and baring her claws. "OK, tin man, just keep walking!"

With one swift kick from the Knightmon, Gatomon sailed over Kari and splattered against the wall. "Gatomon!" Kari cried, but before she could move, the iron man's cold fingers were clamped around her waist, and then she was flung over its shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She kicked and screamed and banged on its back with all her might, but she just couldn't get free. The Knightmon turned itself around and quietly marched away.

Gatomon coughed and forced herself up, but her legs wobbled and she fell down again. "No... Argh..." she gasped.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps running up to her. "Holy Hell!" Davis yelled.

"Gatomon!" Veemon said, grabbing her and helping her up. "Are you OK? What happened?"

Gatomon shook her head, then pointed down the tunnel. "Knightmon..." she managed. "A Knightmon took Kari!"

"WHAT?" Davis roared. Having wanted to keep her safe, he had ended up getting her snatched? Life just wasn't fair!

"Davith, we gotta do somethin'!" Veemon declared.

Davis looked up with both determination and hatred. No way was he letting this one slide. "Right!" he snapped, pulling out his D3. "Get ready to make some tight turns!"

In a flash, Veemon became Raidramon and Davis hopped on, making Gatomon sit in front of him. "You listen for Kari and tell us where we're goin'!" he ordered.

Gatomon didn't know what Davis was planning, but in her weakened state she could only agree. "Right..." she said, straining her ears. Very faintly, she could still make out a rapid banging and Kari's angry shouts. "Straight ahead!" she said.

"You heard the lady!" Davis said to his steed. "Now, giddyap!"

With a furious roar, Raidramon tore off down the tunnel.

* * *

TK's heart sank as he rounded another corner and met three more pathways. Finding Yolei wasn't his only problem any more; he had gotten completely turned around and didn't even know where he was.

"Aww, no!" Patamon whined, sinking down onto TK's head, his wings saggy. "What if we're stuck in here forever?"

"No... we won't be in here forever," TK replied darkly. "Sooner or later, that Knightmon'll come and get us."

"Agh!" Patamon cried, covering hie eyes. "Don't talk like that!"

TK leaned against the wall, bogged down by both fatigue and guilt. Why did a piece of his Crest have to be in here, of all places? Because of it, now everybody was lost and there was a Knightmon on the loose, too... and they still had no idea where that fragment could be! Maybe if they had waited a little longer, Izzy could have made them a map of this place, or even told them exactly where the piece was... but they had to go and rush in. Why hadn't he thought of that?

Patamon's little trotters dug into his hair. "C'mon, TK, keep moving!" his partner spoke up. "What if that Knightmon's coming?"

TK sighed. It seemed all he could do was keep moving, so that's what he did. He walked the full length of the hall and turned right at the end. "I wonder if there're more," he said aloud. "I mean, Digimon don't usually live alone, do they?"

"Not really..." Patamon admitted. "Gee... How many d'you think there are?"

No sooner had he said this than a blade crashed down in front of them. TK scrambled backwards as a Knightmon emerged from a side passage, advancing on them and raising its sword again. "Waaaagh!" Patamon cried. "Run, TK!"

Panicking, TK dove into the closest hall he saw... right into a dead end. He turned to run back, but it was too late; the Knightmon solemnly lumbered right towards him, its sword over its head. Patamon sucked in air and let out one of his high-powered belches, but the iron creature just kept walking. TK could do nothing but press himself against the wall and watch his assailant come. How ironic, he thought; he was going to be finished off by a Digimon with his own Crest on its armor.

The Knightmon gave a hollow roar and started to swing its sword, but suddenly the air was filled with the cacophony of many little metal things pelting a big metal thing. The Knightmon shuddered and shook, and the sword dropped from its grip... and then a green laser burst through its face. Patamon cried out in terror, but TK looked down at the spatter; a fine black dust now coated the floor. That thing was a Spire-born!

The Knightmon's body trembled, then its shining armor dissolved to reveal the crumbling obsidian statue underneath. It fell forward and smashed to smithereens on the stones. As the dust cleared, TK looked up to see Ken standing in the hallway, his guns smoking.

For a moment, the two just stared at each other. "...Are you all right?" the raven-haired boy finally asked.

TK took a few more deep breaths, then stepped over the rubble. "Yeah..." he said. "Thanks a million, Ken."

"Yeah!" Patamon spoke up. "You really saved our bacon!... not that I'm a pig!"

Ken turned away from them, looking at the other paths in the maze. "I didn't do it to save you," he stated. "That was a Spire-born; it had to go. How many more are there?"

TK was somewhat put off by Ken's icy tone; just when he thought the guy was friendly, he went and changed. "I... I don't know..." he admitted.

"Well, however many there were, there's one less now," Patamon pointed out, looking at the rubble.

Ken frowned. The woman had said there were six Knightmon in here... so there were at least five left. "Fine, then..." he grumbled, and started to walk away.

"Ken, wait!" TK said, running in front of him; this could be his only chance at getting help. "Look, we're totally lost in here, and we don't know where anyone else is..."

Patamon saw where TK was going with this and added his own plea. "We have to find that Crest piece before something happens to it," he said, putting on his cutest face. "Won't you help?"

Ken looked at them, still frowning. He was here to destroy the spires, not to treasure hunt. Still... he _had_ run in here when the woman had told him the others were in trouble... just like the day before... And to add to it, this kid was asking for his help... meaning that he trusted him. He looked around the tight, cramped halls again. This maze looked pretty complicated; maybe having another two pairs of eyes wouldn't hurt. He sighed darkly. "All right," he surrendered. "Where is it?"

As glad as TK was, this question made him feel down again. "Well, we don't actually know..." he admitted. "I mean, we don't even know which way we're going..."

Ken nodded and held up his left arm gun. TK and Patamon were delighted to see a small compass on its top. "I use it to keep my bearings while I hunt for spires," he explained.

"Great!" Patamon laughed. "Oh, but how will we know we're not going in circles?..."

Ken thought for a moment, then the laser on his shoulder started to move. "Stand back," he ordered, and shot a blast into the wall, leaving a hissing scorch line.

"Wow!" Patamon yelled, doubly impressed. "You really ARE a genius!"

"Yeah," TK agreed, "that's really good thinking."

Ken's icy glare returned at these statements. "Let's just go," he grumbled, starting to walk away.

TK began to follow him, but Patamon stopped him. "Wait, wait!" he urged. "Maybe Izzy knows where the piece is now! Call him!"

Ken stopped and turned back. "Good," he agreed. "Let's make this fast."

TK nodded, fished out his D-Terminal and started typing.

* * *

With a fierce cry, Cody ducked under the attacking Knightmon and kept running, Armadillomon right in front of him. It seemed like the Knightmon (and now he was sure there was more than one) knew all the shortcuts in this maze; he was assaulted by them at almost every turn. So far he had managed to run or slip by them, but even his energetic child body was getting tired.

"Cody, I can't do this much more," Armadillomon wheezed, mirroring his partner's fatigue. Reverting from Digmon so he could run faster was a good idea, but now he wondered if he even had the strength to Digivolve back.

Cody slowed down and sagged against the wall, breathing hard. "This isn't... getting us... anywhere," he managed. "We have... to disable... them!"

Armadillomon looked at him with confused eyes. "How?" he asked. "They're so big and strong!"

Cody swallowed and took a few more deep breaths, looking around the hallway. "Let's take a page from age-old military strategy," he said. "Let's use the surroundings to our advantage."

"Surroundings?" Armadillomon demanded. "You gettin' enough air to yer brain, pardner? This dump's just a buncha rocks stuck together!"

Cody looked up at the ceiling; it was a mass of rough-cut stone blocks with numerous cracks in them, held together by seemingly nothing. A wry grin crept over his mouth. "Exactly," he stated, pulling out his D3 once again.

* * *

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Yolei shrieked as she pulled Hawkmon down another corner. Her luck had gone from bad to worse: she kept hitting dead ends; she had not one, but TWO Knightmon on her tail; and Hawkmon wouldn't Digivolve!

"Yolei, keep running!" Hawkmon ordered. "They're still coming!"

Her heart thumped along with the clunky plods of her pursuers, and her legs felt like jelly. She just couldn't run another inch. "DigiArmor... Energize!" she coughed, holding up her D3, but all it did was buzz again. Furiously, she threw it on the ground with a shriek. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" she yelled at the bird.

Hawkmon's beak set and his eyes narrowed; now it was his turn to lose his temper. "There's NOTHING wrong with me!" he snapped. "How d'you know it isn't something wrong with YOU?"

"Why, you little-" she snarled, but then a metallic thud froze her spine. A Knightmon stepped around the corner and leered down at them. Yolei's worn legs found the energy to limp her a ways down the hall, but the second Knightmon appeared from another path. They were trapped.

"Well," Hawkmon muttered bitterly, "I can't see how you could possibly blame me for THIS one."

She opened her mouth to retort, but suddenly her mind hit a startling epiphany; this was just like when Flamedramon had de-Digivolved during the fight with Metalgreymon! Back then, Davis and he had been split on their feelings about fighting, and that had stopped the evolution cold. She blinked and looked down at her partner; they couldn't possibly Digivolve if they were arguing this badly! Her scowl faded away; she felt like crap. "I... I'm sorry," she muttered.

"What?" he asked, looking back at her.

"I said I'm sorry!" she repeated more loudly. "I'm sorry I got all worked up. You're right... It was a stupid little thing."

Hawkmon's glare softened. "Well... at least you're admitting it," he said, then ruffled his feathers with an embarrassed look. "I guess I was pushing it a bit much, too..."

The hollow clunk of their attackers' footsteps brought them both back to the present. "Of course, maybe it's too late for this," Hawkmon swallowed.

The D3's screen flickered, and it made the sounds it usually did. Yolei looked at it, and then her defiant grin came back to her lips. "What're ya talkin' about?" she cackled. "There's always time for a ninja!"

Hawkmon's nervous look turned itself around, and he smiled wryly. "Right, then!" he growled, bracing himself.

"DIGIARMOR ENERGIZE!" Yolei screamed, almost throwing the D3 into the air. In a flash, Hawkmon was the springy, sharp-edged Shurimon. The Knightmon's response was a full charge from both directions, their swords raised to take heads.

"On my back!" Shurimon ordered, kneeling. Yolei leaped onto the giant ninja star and held on tight, and her partner bounded straight up, sinking his blades into the ceiling and pressing his whole body against it. The Knightmon couldn't stop in time and buried their swords in each other's skulls, shattering their armor and revealing the blackness of control spires.

Shurimon dropped down and sent a spinning shuriken into each one, chopping out great obsidian chunks and filling the air with dust. The Knightmon shuddered, then their remaining skin vanished and the spire innards collapsed to the floor. He looked around, then relaxed. "There..." he said. "It's safe now. You can get off."

Yolei's face flashed between white and green, and she refused to let go. "Let's... NEVER do that ceiling thing again," she stated.

Shurimon coughed. "Um... Sorry," he apologized.

She breathed deeply a few times, then shook her head. "OK..." she said. "So, do you want to know what happened yesterday?"

"Well, yes..." he replied, "but shouldn't we find everyone first? We ARE still lost."

"Ohhh, right, right!" she laughed, her cheeks reddening. "OK, then! Let's try headin' back the other way!"

Shurimon spun around and took off down the hall, springing along on his long legs.

* * *

"Nuts," TK muttered as he read over the message on his D-Terminal. "Izzy can't give us a map."

"Aww!" Patamon groaned. "Shoulda known it wouldn't be that easy!"

"Wonderful," Ken growled, marking the nearest junction's wall with his laser. "So did he say anything helpful?"

TK looked over the rest of the message and his spirits lifted. "Oh! No map, but he does say there's an energy signature coming from the northeastern part of the castle. That's probably it!"

Ken looked at his compass, then pointed to the path on the left. "That one's going northeast," he said. "Let's try it."

The boys and Patamon took the route and kept walking. TK looked around, feeling awkward. For such a cramped hallway, it sure felt empty with only their footsteps for sound. If only he could find something to talk with Ken about, maybe he would feel less spooked... All he could think of, though, was what had happened the last time they had been alone together: the beatdown he had received on the Gigas. He winced; what could he talk about where that wouldn't come up?

Ken surprised him by being first to speak. "I don't get this whole 'Crest' business," he said, not looking at TK. "Fixing this world is my punishment, not yours. Why are you still here?"

"It's like I said before," TK blurted out. "There's more to..." He stopped and looked away, afraid of the reaction from the ex-Emperor.

Ken just stared at him, more annoyed than anything. "Well?" he asked. "Keep going."

TK hesitated, then swallowed. "Well," he fumbled, "let's just say that the Crests are powerful things, and if we get them back, we'll be able to handle the Spire-born easier."

Ken's gaze fixed on the straw-headed boy intently. The Crests were powerful enough to fight Spire-born? Then maybe he could finally get rid of that wicked woman if he got hold of one! "What do they do?" he demanded.

"Oh, they help us Digivolve to Ultimate," TK explained, "and sometimes even Mega."

"Yeah!" Patamon piped up. "That's how we got Agumon to Metalgreymon, instead of putting-"

"Patamon!" TK hissed. "That's enough!"

Ken stared at the floor, quiet. So, it was for helping Digimon... He wouldn't be able to use it anyway. So much for that idea. "...Let's keep moving," he grumbled, checking the compass again and starting down the hall.

TK followed behind him, worried that Patamon had just smashed whatever rapport he had built with Ken. He had to try again, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He sighed sadly; just his luck.

Patamon perched on TK's head again, looking just as glum. "Now I'm worried about the others..." he said. "You think they're OK, TK?"

TK felt himself sag with one more guilt trip; it was because of his Crest that they were all in this mess, after all... meaning that if they all got creamed by the Knightmon, that would be his fault, too... He stopped and shook his head, almost making his little friend fall off. He couldn't start thinking like that; he had to keep going and find that Crest! "If we find it," he said to Patamon, "then maybe I can get you to Magnaangemon, and then we can save everyone!"

Patamon perked up immediately, his ear wings shooting straight up. "Yeah!" he chirped. "That's the ticket!"

TK was surprised to see Ken nod. "That sounds like a good plan," he agreed. "Two of us can destroy the Knightmon faster..."

TK smiled; maybe he was starting to get through to Ken. "Well, then let's keep going!" he said, his old vigor jumping back into his voice.

As they kept walking down the path, though, TK's enthusiasm gave way to a twinge of worry. Was it just him, or was the air getting colder?...

* * *

"Hey! Let me go! Let me GO!" Kari yelled, thumping on the Knightmon's shoulder with all she could muster, but it just would not let go. Exhausted, she sagged, gasping for air. Why did it grab her, anyway? The first one she had seen was intent on splitting them in two, and this one kicked Gatomon like a beanbag... but it simply grabbed her. None of the other Spire-born had desired to take prisoners, so why did this one?

With a clink of its leg armor, the Knightmon turned left and kept plodding. Wherever it was going, it seemed to know the way... but this just made Kari more nervous. Where in the maze was it going? Where was it taking her?... and to what?

Just then, though, she heard a sound she thought she never would be glad to hear: a wild roar. Her heart leaped as Raidramon shot around the corner, both Davis and Gatomon on his back. "HEY!" Davis yelled.

"Davis!" she cried back, resuming her squirming. The Knightmon turned around and confronted them, reaching for its sword.

"Get away from her, you bitch!" Davis shouted as Raidramon charged the iron monster. Raidramon's jagged spike thrust into Knightmon's middle and Gatomon leaped onto its face, slashing and clawing at it with as much power as she could muster. It groaned and twitched as she clawed, and finally the hand that kept Kari from escaping loosened.

Despite his pristine view of Kari's hind quarters, Davis wasted no time in grabbing her middle and yanking her away from the Knightmon. Raidramon bounced back to a safe distance. "Yeah!" Davis laughed, dismounting his partner. "Score one for the goggle guy!"

Kari was about to thank him when the Knightmon grunted angrily; it had grown fed up with Gatomon's onslaught and grabbed her, and now it sent her flying right into Davis, knocking them both to the floor. It advanced on them with burning eyes, sparks still flickering from the scratch marks on its helmet.

"Oh, boy..." Kari swallowed. "Now what do we do?"

Davis sat up and stared at the sparking head of the monster, his mind racing. Here again, electricity seemed to have an effect, just like when Raidramon fried Minotarumon... but that was because the water it had stood in had powered up the voltage... What attracted the sparks here?

The Knightmon drew its sword and charged at them, and Davis saw the answer. "Raidramon!" Davis yelled, sensing his one chance. "Zap the sword!"

Raidramon leaped between the kids and the Knightmon and fired the strongest blue lightning he could. The electricity arced around the sword like a horizontal lightning rod and dove into Knightmon's frame, sending it into violent spasms. Losing control of itself, it dropped its sword and smashed against the wall several times, scraping away its shiny armor. When it finally stopped and turned on them again, a black, jagged stripe ran right down its middle.

"I figured!" Davis snapped. "Raidramon, fry it!"

With a powerful roar, Raidramon charged the Knightmon and buried his spike in the blackness, pumping the false monster's body full of blue lightning. The Knightmon gave one angry howl and exploded, coating the tunnel with black dust.

"YES!" Davis laughed, dancing around and stomping his feet. "Who kicks ass? WE kick ass! YEAH!"

"Wow, Davis," Kari said, smiling at him, "that was pretty smart, using its own armor against it!"

Davis stopped his cheering and turned to her, the red on his cheeks not entirely from exhaustion. "Wha? Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," Gatomon agreed, dusting herself off. "Even I didn't see that."

Kari gave him one of her happiest smiles. "Thanks for saving me," she said. "I owe you one!"

Davis's hormones went into full swing, creating among other things a big, goofy grin on his strawberry-red face. "I... uh... Heh..." he stammered, trying to keep his aura of coolness, "oh... It was nothin'... I guess that hangin' around the smart kids just paid off, that's all... Heh heh... So, you really-"

"OK, now let's go!" Kari said, rushing past him with Gatomon at her side. "We've gotta find the others!"

They rounded a corner and disappeared. Davis's elation faded away like a lovely dream, dropping him back in reality's dingy dusk. Oh, well; it was nice while it lasted... and now that he had felt it once, he just had to get it again. He was going to try even harder from now on!

"You heard the lady," he said, hopping on Raidramon. "Let's get crackin'!"

"You got it!" Raidramon growled, and raced off after the girls.

* * *

The clunking footsteps got louder and louder, but Cody stood his ground in the deserted hall. Presently, Knightmon appeared at both ends, boxing him in. He looked at one, and then the other as they marched toward him, their swords drawn. "You shouldn't be here, you know," he said casually. "This hallway's under construction."

At that, the wall before him burst open and Digmon appeared, his drills spinning. As the Knightmon raised their swords and charged with angry yells, Cody dove beneath his partner's legs and pointed upwards with a cry of "second from the end! Right side!"

Digmon launched his nose drill up at the block, and no sooner had it started boring into the stone than the entire ceiling caved in. The Knightmon could do nothing against dozens of heavy rocks crashing down on them and toppled, half-buried in the mess and their spire sheen exposed to the world. Digmon leaped out of the mess and shot his remaining drills through their midsections, making them join the rest of the rubble.

Cody dug himself out behind Digmon, amazingly unharmed. "...Amazing," he remarked as he looked at the destruction. "I didn't imagine we'd be that successful."

Digmon looked at him in shock. "Wait, you didn't KNOW it was gonna do that?" he exclaimed.

"I didn't," Cody replied, shaking his head. "I saw that one stone looked awkward, and then I remembered learning that stressed rocks can create whole avalanches when they're disturbed... so I took a risk."

Digmon whistled, despite his lack of lips. "Well, whaddya know..." he cackled. "Cody, who'da thunk you'd end up a gambler? Hangin' around Davis an' Yolei musta finally paid off!" He hesitated, then gave Cody a serious look. "But what if it hadn't worked?"

"I had you come out of the wall, right?" Cody said, pointing to the giant hole. "That was our escape route."

Digmon laughed heartily. "Yeah, I shoulda known ya wouldn't be THAT gutsy!" he chuckled.

Cody frowned. "What do you mean?" he huffed. "That was extremely gutsy!"

Suddenly, their argument was cut short by the sound of clattering metal approaching. "Another one?" Digmon growled, his drills starting to whir again.

Cody listened for a moment, then held up his arm to tell Digmon to stand down. Knightmon couldn't move as fast as that metal was clattering... so what was it?

"Hi-ohhhh, steely!" a familiar voice whooped, and then Shurimon bounded around the corner, Yolei on his back. "Woah!" she exclaimed as she saw them. "Finally!"

"Yolei!" Cody called. "Thank goodness!"

"It's good to see you both again," Shurimon stated, then looked around the ruined hall. "What happened in here?..."

"I'll explain later," Cody replied. "Do you know where anyone else is?"

Yolei sighed. "No... You're the first one we've seen," she admitted.

"Well, maybe we'll find 'em further on," Digmon suggested, pointing down the path. "C'mon!"

"Indeed," Shurimon agreed. "Shall we keep going, Yolei?... Yolei?"

Yolei had left her perch on Shurimon's rear star and was yanking at one of the Knightmon's giant swords which lay in the rubble. "...Leave it alone, Yolei," Cody grumbled. "You wouldn't have a place in your room anyway."

"Awww, man! But it would be so kickass..." she grouched, and crossly got back on her partner. Digmon scooped Cody up in his arms, and the reunited friends set off.

* * *

"Brrrr!" Patamon shivered, clinging to TK's hat. "I thought there was a thunderstorm outside, not a snowstorm!"

Rounding another corner, TK was thinking the same thing. It was getting way too cold way too fast as they walked through the old castle; could there be something in this castle just like there was in the wrecked Gigas? He shivered himself, and not from the cold. "Hey, Ken..." he began quietly, "do you feel..."

Suddenly, Ken stopped, and TK could see why. They had come out of the cramped hallways into a long and high chamber with marble columns on its sides, each decorated with a different banner. A lone window high up on the wall shone a tiny line of light down towards the far end, where a regal-looking throne sat on a raised platform... but something was definitely wrong. Not one thing in this room had any color; it was all shades of black and gray... exactly like the Gigas after it crashed. They walked further in, but even their footsteps sounded muffled.

Ken looked around wildly, fear taking hold of him. This was the third time this color-sapping, malicious aura had come over him, and he couldn't stand the feeling any more than before. "What in the world... IS this?" he panted.

TK didn't know, but the fact that this atmosphere was showing up more often didn't please him one bit; they had to get out of there as fast as they could. "Does anyone see anything shiny?" he asked. "Look for something small, shiny, and maybe yellow."

Ken walked into the darkness on the other side of the room and looked down along the floor, but saw nothing. TK walked over to the throne and checked all of its decorations, but none of them looked anything like a Crest. Patamon perched on the top of the throne and stared up at the window. That piece of Tai's Crest had been really tiny, he remembered... so how could they find something that little in a room this big?...

He winced and shook his head; for a moment, light had stung his eyes. He looked up at the window, but that gray light was too dull to- a burst of yellow light stung his eyes again and he reeled. "Ow!" he cried. "TK, something flashy's up there!"

TK looked up at the window, but he didn't see anything. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Patamon said, taking to the air. "I'm gonna go see!" With that, he started fluttering upwards.

Ken returned from the other side of the room, shaking his head. "I didn't see anything over there," he reported. "It isn't in here. Let's keep moving."

TK pointed up at his partner. "Patamon thinks he saw something up there," he explained. "Let's see what he finds."

Following the light from the window, Patamon flew higher and higher, and then his eyes lit up. There was something lodged in a crack in one of the pillars... something small, jagged, and yellow. "TK! TK!" he exclaimed. "I think I found it!"

TK almost jumped when he heard the echoed news. "What?" he called. "You're sure?"

"Sure I'm sure!" Patamon yelled back, reaching for the little piece. "Just let me-"

His sentence ended in a panicked cry as a shadowy hand swatted him back towards the ground. The whole room got even darker as a figure descended from the ceiling... one to which both TK and Ken had to step away in shock. The tall, black, winged figure landed on the stone without a sound, his fanged mouth curled into a vile smile.

"You..." TK gasped, clutching Patamon tightly.

"I have to congratulate you, boys," Devimon said, nodding mockingly. "I didn't expect you to reach this place so quickly... I just got here myself."

Ken recognized this wicked shape, too. "You... You were in the whirlpool..." he remembered out loud. "I used you to finish Kimeramon!..."

Devimon leered at the boy. "You used me?" he asked. "Are you certain of that?"

TK bit his lip and stepped forward again. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Simple," Devimon answered, the smile not leaving his mouth. "I'm here to destroy that rotten Crest piece... Ah, but I don't suppose you three have just come to watch, have you?"

"Who are you working for?" Ken lashed out, finding his tongue again. "Did that woman put you up to this?... or are you another Spire-born?"

His answer was a deep laugh from the fiend, which just made him angrier. "Answer me!" he demanded, raising his guns.

Devimon leered again, looking triumphant. "I don't need to answer a wretched little boy like you," he cackled.

"You can answer me!" Patamon huffed, flapping out of TK's grip and glaring at his old foe. "Why do you keep popping up? You're not a rent man!"

Devimon shook his head in amusement. "You silly, silly little pig," he said, his wings extending to their full length. "It's like I said before; even if I told you, you couldn't stop me. All you need to know is that those Crests have to go... and so do you."

TK yanked out his D3, and Ken readied his weapons; things were definitely about to get rough. "Then we'll just have to stop you without the details," TK declared. "Patamon!"

Patamon flew up into the air, there was a bright flash, and he descended as Angemon. Ken's gaze fell from the devil and ogled this fantastic being. Who would have thought that an angel Digimon would come from a little flying pig like Patamon? There really was more to this world than he thought...

Devimon's grin never left him as he stared down his opponents. This was exactly what he had been hoping for.

* * *

Even with the hallways just whizzing past him, Davis swore loudly. Yes, Raidramon was fast, and yes, he could give them all a ride, and yes, Kari's dainty arms were wrapped around his manly stomach, but not one of them had any more of an idea of where they were in the stupid castle! "Dammit!" he yelled. "I was hopin' we'd have run into someone else by now!"

"I sure wish we could know which way they went..." Kari admitted sadly.

Gatomon stared up ahead, and then her ears perked up. "STOP!" she ordered.

Raidramon skidded to a halt so fast, the cat almost got herself thrown off. "What is it?" Davis demanded.

Gatomon shushed him and listened for a good ten seconds. "I can hear something..." she reported. "It sounds like... gunfire...?"

"Gun...?" Davis started, and then he sat up. "It's Ken! Ken's here!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, but where?" Raidramon asked, looking at each hallway. "This all looks the same!"

Kari looked over Davis's hair and noticed a long line burned into the wall near the ceiling, not in a spot they were likely to see. "Maybe that'll help us," she said, pointing it out to the others.

Davis nodded. "OK, Raidramon," he instructed, "follow those burns!"

In a flash, Raidramon turned himself in the right direction and raced off down the passage.

* * *

Ken snarled as Devimon dodged his lethal salvo yet again. Every time he got the monster in his sights, he somehow slipped away! Were the bullets actually going through this fiend, or was he just that fast?

He raised his guns again, but suddenly Angemon flew in his path. "Let me handle this," he said, then turned and charged at Devimon, his angelic staff swinging. It connected with Devimon's arm and the two met in a deadlock, each struggling to come out on top. "Get away from here, Devimon," Angemon warned. "I defeated you once, and I can do it again."

"Is that so?" Devimon quipped, still grinning from horn to horn. "Then how about you grant us an encore?"

TK swallowed. Angemon had destroyed Devimon on their first adventure... but circumstances had been very different. Somehow, Angemon had drawn power from Matt's and his friends' Digimon and made himself even stronger... but here, there was only Ken's artillery to fall back on. It hardly seemed enough for something like this.

Devimon noticed TK's worried look and laughed. "That's right, Angemon!" he cackled. "Even your partner can see you're going to lose!"

Angemon was unfazed, and continued to push his staff down on his foe. "I'll defeat you in any case," he declared, "because evil never truly wins."

Devimon simply laughed again. "For such a powerful warrior," he remarked, "you sure are a child!"

With that, Devimon kicked at Angemon's legs and broke free, and flew up into the air. Angemon went right after him, swinging his mighty staff, but Devimon slipped away from it just as easily as he had dodged Ken's bullets. As the demon Digimon flew around, TK realized now just how much trouble Angemon was in. Devimon was almost the same color as the darkness in the room, meaning he could zip in and out of the shadows before Angemon could even notice!... and since he was floating in the center of the chamber, Devimon had every advantage he could get! "Angemon!" he yelled. "Stay out of the center!"

Angemon tried to get to one of the sides, but Devimon kept appearing and driving him back. Angemon swung his staff every time he saw his foe, but it was no use; with the combination of the darkness and Devimon's natural speed, he might as well have been swinging at a fly. He tried charging up his fist and launching a holy beam, but Devimon saw it coming, flew under it and came up behind him, clawing into his back. Feathers flew as Angemon cried out in pain.

TK's nails dug into his palms. This wasn't working at all! Angemon needed help! "Ken!" he cried. "Try to shoot Devimon!"

Ken raised his laser and fired, but he couldn't get a fix on the shadowy fiend; he was just too fast. Devimon appeared to his left, but was gone as soon as he shot. He appeared on the right, but again sped away by the time the green beam came. Angry sweat poured down Ken's face. He had designed this gear with the best targeting sensors he could program; what kind of power did Devimon have to outrun it?

Suddenly, he saw a golden opportunity. Devimon hovered right in the middle of his vision, not moving. Without hesitation, he fired the laser... and instantly wished he hadn't. Devimon flew off to the side to reveal Angemon right behind him, and the beam hit him point blank. With a cry, he sailed backwards and smashed into a pillar. Ready to wrap things up, Devimon flew in and sank his claw into Angemon's chest, cutting three deep gashes that quickly spilled over in red. With a cry, Angemon buckled and fell towards earth.

"NO!" TK screamed, running towards his partner. Angemon smashed into the floor and stayed there, a red puddle forming under him.

Devimon laughed loudly from his place in the air. "I'm disappointed in you," he declared. "How did I ever lose before?"

"Angemon!" TK yelled, pulling at the fallen creature. A shallow groan told him that Angemon was still alive... but only barely.

Devimon rose high into the air, level with the place where the Crest fragment was. "I didn't even break a sweat," he complained. "Oh, well. I shall reward your 'effort' by letting you watch me destroy this wretched thing."

Before, when Ken had seen TK defeated (at his own hands, no less), he had felt triumphant and superior... but now he felt awful. It was his fault that Angemon was down; he had to make it right, just like all his other crimes... but what could he do? His eyes fell on that little, shining speck that Devimon was headed for. That, unlike Devimon, wasn't moving. He bit his lip, locked onto the pillar with his laser and fired. Devimon pulled back in alarm as the stone exploded before him, dropping all sorts of chunks to the floor below.

TK thought Ken had just missed again... until the little yellow object landed right next to him with a gentle pinging sound. Without another thought, he snatched it up. It certainly was a piece of his Crest; it was the same color yellow, and there was even a tiny bit of the emblem that symbolized Hope. Courage welled up inside him again; now they had a chance!

"Putrid puppet!" Devimon spat at Ken as he swooped down and towered over TK. "Give that to me!"

TK glared at Devimon. "If you want it," he growled, lifting it into the air, "then you'll have to take it! Angemon! Digivolve again!"

The little piece lit up, but then shuddered, spat a few little sparks and fizzled out. TK's heart almost stopped; it didn't work?

Devimon grinned at his victim. "You were saying?..." he asked softly. "Now, give it!"

Ken saw that Angemon wouldn't be helping TK; he would have to be the one to do it. With a furious cry, he raised both guns and emptied round after round into the demon. Unhurt but annoyed, Devimon leaped at Ken and slashed his weapons, knocking him to the ground. "Ken!" TK yelled. That was it; he had nobody to help him now! He wished they had never come to this place.

"Now..." Devimon snarled, turning back around and walking back towards him, "be a good little boy... Give me that, and I'll put you to sleep painlessly..."

Even now, and as scared as he was, TK still wasn't going to let Devimon take the Crest without a fight. He clutched the little piece with both hands and glared at the demon.

"Very well, then..." Devimon sneered, raising his claw. "Instead, we'll do this the FUN way!"

Suddenly, something small and white appeared on Devimon's shoulder, and his sneer vanished in a hiss of agony. TK looked over and recoiled; it was Gatomon, sinking her claws in with all her might! "TK!" she yelled. "Run for it!"

TK scrambled to his feet and ran, and his face lit up as he saw the chamber's entrance; there stood Kari and Davis, and Raidramon was there, too! "Guys!" he panted as he ran to them.

"TK!" Kari cried, grabbing him as he almost fell down. "Thank goodness!"

Davis leered at the scene, but quickly found something else to boil his blood as he saw Ken and Angemon on the ground, and Gatomon wrestling with a big, ugly devil thing. "What the hell's goin' on?" he demanded.

Just then, the nearby wall rumbled, then crumbled, and out stepped Shurimon and Digmon, followed by Yolei and Cody. "Yeah!" Yolei laughed. "Just like how I solve the mazes on the kiddie menus!"

"Hey!" Digmon exclaimed, turning and pointing to the others. "Found 'em!"

"Yes..." Shurimon agreed, glaring at the demonic Digimon, "but who's that?..."

Cody recognized him from what TK had said on the Gigas. "Devimon," he stated. "An evil Digimon..."

Gatomon was scratching and clawing as hard as she could, but hadn't done much besides make Devimon angry. With one swift motion, he plucked her off of his shoulder and slammed her into the floor. "So... the gang's all here, eh?..." he growled, looking at all the newcomers and resuming his terrible smile. "That's fine by me."

"Look out..." TK managed. "He's too strong!..."

"Ninjas can beat anything!" Yolei yelled. "Shurimon! Get him!"

"Digmon!" Cody ordered. "Save Angemon!"

Shurimon and Digmon charged at Devimon, Shurimon throwing stars and Digmon launching drills. Devimon cackled and flew into the air, dodging it all as easily as he had dodged everything else. As he landed, Gatomon leaped at him again, but he was ready; he grabbed her and flung her into the other two attackers, knocking them all down.

"What? Man!" Yolei yelled. "The Internet lied again!"

Kari looked at Davis with worry. "This is going to take more than Armor Digimon..." she said.

Davis nodded and pulled out his D3. "Quick-change time, little buddy," he said, and pressed a button.

Raidramon reverted to Veemon, who then jumped into the air and became Exveemon. "Right!" he growled. "I'll pull his horns off!"

Devimon laughed as Exveemon flew at him. "Another flier, eh?" he asked. "Then let's have at it!"

Devimon took to the air and the two flew all around the room. Devimon was still fast, but Exveemon could match him perfectly and kept him in his sights. He fired his V-laser, but Devimon swooped out of the way and came at him with his claws... but Exveemon ducked under those and kept up the chase. Neither one could get a hit on the other.

"Davis, this's like tryin' to catch wet soap with a plunger!" Exveemon yelled. "I need more power!"

"You got it!" Davis agreed, and raised his D3 again. It sparked and sputtered, and then Exveemon transformed into Paildramon. Before Devimon knew what was going on, Paildramon's guns were trained on him and pelting him with energy bullets.

Devimon greeted the blasts with an unearthly hiss and drew back. "You have an Ultimate?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "Oh, the things that are kept secret... but no matter!"

He flapped his wings and charged the newcomer with both claws, but suddenly another stream of bullets caught him in the stomach. He leered down and saw Ken firing up at him; that blow hadn't been enough to get rid of him... and as he was looking, Paildramon started shooting again as well, pushing him upwards and backwards and into a pillar.

"You won't be hurting anyone again!" Paildramon declared, zipping towards him with his guns blazing. Devimon snarled and kicked him in the face, then flew up higher and leered at them.

"Give it up!" Davis yelled at him. "We beat you!"

Devimon scowled at them all, but then resumed his wicked grin. "What a lucky boy, to have so many friends..." he smirked at TK, "but this is just a small delay."

"Delay?" Yolei asked. "Delay to what?"

Devimon laughed loudly and evilly. "Until next time!" he declared, and flew up into the darkness of the ceiling. Slowly, the light and warmth returned to the chamber, and the banners and throne became awash with bright, though faded, colors.

Paildramon landed and shrank back down to Chibumon as the rest of his friends returned to their usual forms. "Whew..." the little blue ball panted as he hopped back towards Davis, "I'm still not used to that!"

TK ran over to Patamon, who looked like a tenderized ham after the beating he'd received. "Patamon! Are you OK?" he asked, scooping the little guy up.

Patamon coughed and looked up at his partner. "Did we... did we win?..." he managed.

"Well, not exactly..." Yolei piped up as everyone converged on them. "Old nastypants got away."

"Yeah..." TK agreed, but then smiled at them. "He did, but we got this!" He opened his hand and revealed the shining, yellow Crest fragment.

Kari's eyes lit up. "All right!" she laughed. "Nice job, TK!"

"Sweeeet!" Yolei laughed, doing a little victory dance. "Digidestined: 1, bad guys: nothin'!"

Cody stared at the glittering bauble, definitely interested. "So, with this, Patamon can Digivolve to Ultimate?" he asked.

TK's smile faded. "...No," he admitted. "I tried to do that, but it didn't work..."

"What?" Davis demanded, fuming.

"Didja do it right?" Armadillomon asked. "I mean, I don't know what doin' it right means, but..."

Gatomon frowned. "I guess there's more to this than just getting pieces..." she grumbled.

The clicking of machinery made Davis turn around. Ken stood a ways off, checking all of his weaponry. "Hey!" he exclaimed, running over to him. "You showed up!"

Ken looked up in surprise, almost shrinking from the sudden attention (and Cody's burning scowl). He stared for a moment, then resumed his cold look. "Were all the Spire-born destroyed?" he asked bluntly. "I heard there were six... I only shot one myself."

"Six?" Davis asked, scratching his head. "Well, I blasted one..."

"I destroyed two," Cody said sharply.

"I beat two, too!" Yolei said, pushing Davis out of the way and beaming at Ken. "Well, not a tutu, but two Knightmon... also! And I guess it was actually Shurimon who beat 'em... but isn't that just awesome?"

Ken did the math in his head, then nodded; that was six. "Good..." he thought out loud, then frowned again. "But that woman got away... Damn it all..."

He turned and started to walk away, but a hand touched his shoulder. He turned around expecting Davis to pester him about working with them again... but instead it was the straw-haired boy and his pig partner who smiled at him.

"Ken, thanks," TK said. "Even if it wasn't what you came for... you saved my life."

"Yeah..." Patamon agreed, sitting up a little. "Thanks, Ken!"

Ken just stared through them, not sure what to say or even feel. These two, who he had personally beaten to bloody pulps before, were now smiling at him... and thanking him? With a swift motion, he turned back towards the door and kept walking... but stopped after a few steps. "...Those Crest things are important, huh?" he asked, not looking at them.

TK nodded. "Very," he agreed.

Ken was silent for a moment, then threw them a sideways glance. "If I see any, I'll let you know," he said, then briskly marched out of the chamber.

Armadillomon coughed, breaking the thoughtful silence. "So, uh, what do we do with the thing?" he asked.

"The Crest piece?" Cody asked, scratching his head. "Well, it's not very useful, it seems..."

"Yeah, but we still need it; Gennai said so!" Gatomon replied. "Kari, what should we do with it?"

Kari thought for a moment, then smiled. "I know!" she exclaimed. "Let's take it back home and ask Izzy; he'll know!"

Hawkmon looked at her strangely. "Well, I suppose that's an idea..." he admitted. "Very well. To the real world, everyone!"

* * *

The pine tree's thick bark couldn't stop the mysterious woman's furious digging fingernails as she watched the five Digidestined walk out of Horatio Hall from a nearby forest. "Oh, that's REAL classy work," she snapped out loud, stamping her foot in the damp dirt. "Not only are they still alive, but they actually have a Crest!"

The sky around her grew even darker, and the wet-green leaves turned a sickly gray. "Just relax, my dear..." Devimon's voice rumbled in the thicket. "Even if they have it, they can't use it... and they'll be disposed of long before they learn how."

"Oh, really?" she sniffed, folding her arms.

"Do you think I would allow this if I wasn't sure?" Devimon's voice asked. "Now, calm yourself and continue your own projects. I must go; I have other matters to attend to..."

The color returned to the woods, and a gentle summer rain began to fall from the sky. The woman scowled at the pesky water, then at the gloomy castle. "Well, they'd BETTER get offed before then," she grumbled. "I'm not a spire factory!"

* * *

"Here you guys go," Izzy said, setting a tray of teacups down on his desk. "You look half-frozen! Was it really cold at the castle?"

"No..." Cody said, his shivering hand gripping a cup, "it was warm and humid, like a summer storm..."

"Yeah," Yolei complained, "comin' back here after feeling that's what froze us over!"

Chibumon sat rigidly on the bed, his little tail sticking straight up. "Brrrr..." he stammered. "I'm s-still fr-r-reezing!..."

Davis held the teacup down for him to drink, but Chibumon didn't move. "'Smatter?" Davis asked. "You want me to dip you in it instead?"

"...Please?" Chibumon pleaded.

Kari nudged TK in the arm. "We'd better show him," she pointed out.

"Oh, right," TK said, struggling to get his hand in his pocket (it was harder with Patamon asleep on his lap). After just a few moments of awkward butt shifting, though, he yanked out the little yellow fragment. "Here it is," he said, opening his hand.

Izzy's black pupils almost popped out of his head. "It is!" he exclaimed, snatching it and holding it between his fingers. "It really is a piece of a Crest! Prodigious!"

"Yeah... but it doesn't work," TK said, looking down. "I tried, but..."

Izzy raised an eyebrow and looked the piece over. "Hmm..." he said, "I guess we shouldn't expect them to work; after all, they're just fractions of what they used to be... Still, at least we have it now."

"So what do we do with it?" Upamon asked, bouncing up and down on the bed.

"It's not safe to carry with us," Cody said. "That woman could get her hands on it... to name one would-be thief..." At this he scowled out the window, not having to say any more; all of the kids knew who he was thinking of.

Izzy thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "I know; I'll hold onto it," he suggested, walking over to his shelf. He pulled an old metal lunch box down, dusted it off and opened it to reveal a deck of cards and dozens of plastic discs in blue, red and white.

Kari was definitely surprised. "Izzy!" he exclaimed. "You play poker?"

Izzy shrugged. "It's all a question of probability," he replied. "What's wrong with that?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Yolei stammered, "what about the gambling? I thought you wouldn't take risks like that."

"Well..." Izzy admitted, his cheeks reddening, "I'm trying to get more comfortable with it. That's why I only play with chips."

"Chips?" Upamon asked, his tongue starting to flick drool. "Can I have some?"

"Err, no," Izzy muttered. "Anyway, I'll put the Crest pieces in here while you hunt for the rest." With that, he dropped the little yellow fragment in among the cards and shut the lunch box.

"Good," Poromon said, nodding with approval. "That's one less thing to worry about."

"Yeah!" Davis laughed, mashing his fist into his other palm. "One down, seven to go!"

As his friends laughed and chuckled about it, TK's thoughts turned to nervous ones. It was true that they got one, but it had been way harder than he had thought... and with each one they went after, that woman would get more dangerous, and Devimon would certainly show up again... He looked down at Patamon, whose bruises were still visible, and patted him worriedly. Just what else would get thrown at them?

"So, Izzy," Gatomon said, hopping up on the desk, "have you picked up any new signals yet?"

Izzy shook his head. "No, not yet..." he admitted. "Trust me, you'll be the first to know when I do."

"In the meantime, we should keep knocking down spires," Cody suggested. "Give that woman less to work with."

"Yeah..." Kari agreed, "but can we do that tomorrow? I'm bushed."

"Yes, I'm sure you're all worn out," Izzy agreed. "You should all go home and rest up. If I pick up anything, I'll send e-mails to your D-Terminals, OK?"

"No argument there," Yolei said, grabbing for her jacket. "But goin' out into that wind again is gonna suck..."

"Just remember how the air felt at Horatio Hall," Poromon suggested. "That'll keep you warm."

"No it won't!" Yolei complained. "That'll just make it worse!"

Still arguing back and forth, Yolei and Poromon stomped out. Davis laughed heartily. "Well, good!' he snickered. "We're right back where we started!"

* * *

Night fell on Tokyo soon after that. In the Ichijouji apartment, the small family was just sitting down to dinner. "Sorry I was so late," Mr. Ichijouji apologized to his wife and son, "but they really needed me at work."

"It's OK, dear... Just don't let them keep you after very often," Mrs. Ichijouji said with a happy smile, putting the main course on the table. "So, Ken, how was your day? Did you have fun with your new friends?"

Ken shifted his weight, clenching his chopsticks awkwardly. "Um... It was OK," he replied quickly.

His father smiled at him. "We're so proud of you," he said. "I know it's hard at first, but making friends is a great thing. You'll have people that you can talk to and hang out with for the rest of your life. That's one of the best things you can do for yourself."

Ken stuffed some rice in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. The day certainly had given him more to think about. At first, he had thought that Davis was the only one of those kids who would put up with him... but today, navigating the maze with that kid TK and helping him drive off that demon... Well, he really did seem like a nice guy... Maybe he could be a friend, too.

"Is rice all you want?" his mother's voice cut in. "Here, try some of the curry, too!"

His mind snapped back to the present, and he nodded. He would mull over these events in his journal after dinner. For now, he had to please his parents... and his stomach.

* * *

"Well, that's about it," Yolei finished, sitting back in the steaming bathtub and looking over at Poromon. "You understand?"

Poromon had listened to Yolei's whole story about going to Mimi's asking for help in becoming pretty, and her wild trip to the public baths... but despite his gladness that she confided in him, he didn't get it at all. "But why do you want Ken to notice you?" he asked. "He's noticed you plenty of times before, hasn't he?"

"Umm... Not that kind of noticing..." she replied, sitting up and shaking her head. "I mean NOTICING noticing."

Poromon blinked. "Well, he'd have to notice you," he said. "I mean, you get in his line of vision, don't you?"

Now it was Yolei's turn to get irked; obviously Poromon wasn't picking up the subtleties. "What, don't Digimon fall in love?" she asked.

Poromon shrugged. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well..." she said, leaning forward and trying to think of the easiest way to explain sex to the puffball bird. "You had a mom and dad, right? They had to love each other, or you wouldn't be here..."

Now Poromon looked even more confused. "A mom and dad?" he asked. "The closest thing I have to that is you, Yolei."

Yolei was now the confused one. "Digimon don't have parents?" she asked.

"No, we just hatch from DigiEggs," he replied. "We live, but if we get really hurt we just turn back into DigiEggs and come back as a new Digimon... At least, that's what I think; it hasn't happened to me yet."

Yolei sat back in the water, not sure what to say. Living without a mother or father, and not growing up to find a partner and have kids? Things were really different for Digimon. How could she ever get him to understand why she wanted Ken to pay attention to her? Maybe it was an exercise in futility...

"Anyway, Yolei," Poromon spoke up, fluttering down and perching on the side of the tub, "I'm glad we're not mad at each other any more. I didn't like that."

Yolei's worries melted away into a happy smile. "Yeah, me too," she agreed. "Actually, today went pretty well, didn't it? We kicked major ass!"

"I bet we can do that to any enemy," Poromon agreed. "Tomorrow we'll go back and knock down some more spires, and give that lady a headache!"

"Yeah!" Yolei laughed. "We sure can-"

Suddenly, she seized up, then groaned loudly and sagged into the water. "Yolei! What's wrong?" Poromon asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No..." she whined, all the joy fading from her face, "I just remembered; tomorrow's when I have to go to the mall with Mimi! So much for having fun..." She sank in up to her eyes, angry little bubbles shooting up around her face.

"Oh..." Poromon said sadly, then perked up. "Well, when you get back, you can tell me all about it!"

She looked up at him and rose back out, a weak smile on her lips. "Thanks..." she said. "Oh, but keep all this our secret, OK? The others wouldn't understand."

Poromon scratched the top of his head. "Um, I don't really get why..." he admitted, "but if that's what you want, that's what I'll do."

She beamed; Poromon was stuffy and rigid, but at least she knew he would keep his promise. "Thanks," she said again. "Oh, one other thing..."

"What's that?" he asked.

His answer was a big sploosh of water in his face. "Splash fight!" Yolei cackled, slapping the tub water in his direction.

With a war whoop, Poromon bounced into the tub and started splashing back.

* * *

With a little grunt, Patamon rolled over onto his back, his hind legs kicking a bit. TK watched his little friend settle back into sleep and then turned back to the troublesome math worksheet on his desk, upon which he had scribbled several stray thoughts, but no math answers. The day's escapades weight heavily on him, and his mind was focused on one person: Devimon. How did he come back? Was he just reborn like other Digimon, or was it something else? He seemed to be connected to the Deadmon and whatever that dark ocean world was; after all, he had been running that factory, and the aura in the castle felt just like that... What was it all, and why did they seem to be after both Kari and him? But most importantly, why did he keep talking about the future? What did he mean when he said that 'both worlds would find out?' None of it made sense, and that secretly terrified him. What in the world was going to happen?

He looked at the musings, then closed the notebook and stared out his window at the night skyline. Why did there have to be so many questions?


	28. Murky Affairs

**CHAPTER 28**

**MURKY AFFAIRS**

The final bell of the day rang, and the classroom doors burst open. For the first time in his academic career, Davis walked into the hall with a big grin on his face. "Aww, man!" he laughed, pumping his fists. "I still can't believe this! This is just awesome!"

TK shuffled out of class, staring down at the floor. Kari came after, looking concerned. Davis cackled again and slapped TK on the back. "How'd you do it, man?" he asked. "How the hell did you do it?"

A deflated sigh escaped TK's mouth. Maybe if he had realized that his math assignment was what he was writing his Digital-World-related notes all over last night, he could have copied the problems onto another sheet of paper... but it had taken him completely by surprise. He didn't have time to do the assignment, and he couldn't turn in the sheet with all those scribblings on it, so he the teacher had given him a royal chewing out in front of everybody. Most likely even Yolei's class next door had heard it.

Davis, of course, thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. This was the first time TK had done worse on math homework than he had... and spectacularly, to boot. This was sure to change Kari's opinions. "Just... wow!" he laughed again. "This is just effin' awesome!"

"Knock it off, Davis!" Kari snapped at him, making him jump in shock. She turned to TK and smiled softly. "Don't worry about it," she said. "There's plenty of time for you to make it up."

TK sighed again, her words not making him feel much better. Sure, he could make up the work easily, but he never imagined that the Digital World would start bleeding into his schoolwork like this. "Let's just go to the lab," he muttered, starting down the hall.

With Davis grumbling to himself, the three of them walked to the computer lab. Cody was already there, reading a book in one of the chairs. The Digital Gate program was already on the screen. As soon as Kari shut the door, their partners leaped out of hiding. "Hi, TK!" Patamon chirped, landing on TK's head as he always did.

"...Hey, Patamon," TK replied, a smile reaching his mouth in spite of his day. The little Digimon always managed to cheer him up.

Davis scooped up Demiveemon, Upamon bounded into Cody's lap, and Gatomon crawled up onto a chair next to Kari. Poromon flapped about and perched on the bookshelf. "Hey..." Kari said as she looked at him. "Aren't we missing..."

Cody nodded crossly. "Yolei hasn't been here," he reported.

"What?" Davis huffed, his bad mood restored. "Well, where the hell is she?"

"I don't know..." Cody replied. "I haven't seen her since this morning."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Upamon spoke up, bouncing up and down on his partner's lap. "Maybe she went someplace, like when Cody has kendo!"

"Yeah... but that's always on the same day..." Cody replied. "Yolei just disappears any old day, it seems."

Demiveemon screwed his face up in thought for a second. "I've got it!" he exclaimed. "Vanishing cream!"

Everyone looked at him. "...What?" Poromon asked.

"I saw some in Davis's sister's room," Demiveemon recalled, "an' Davis said that girls use that stuff... so maybe she's usin' it to turn invisible!"

Kari blinked, then chuckled a little. "Um, I don't think that's what vanishing cream does..." she said.

"Well, I haven't heard anything about Crest fragments from Izzy today..." Cody said, placing Upamon on the desk and getting up. "If we're just knocking down spires, I guess it's all right..."

Davis shook his head and muttered something under his breath. TK stuck his hands in his pockets. "I hope she isn't going to make a habit of this," he admitted. "We need everyone's help to find the Crests."

"I guess we're going, then," Kari said, pulling out her D3. "Poromon, are you going to be OK here?"

Poromon hopped down onto the desk. "I'll be fine," he said.

Davis, Cody and TK produced their D3s. There was a bright flash, and only Poromon remained in the room. He sighed and fluttered over to the window, shoving it open. He flapped out into the chilly November air, heading for home... but all the while hoping he was doing the right thing keeping quiet.

* * *

The crash of the apartment door was alarming enough, but Momoe was even more surprised that Yolei had come home early. "Hey, what's up?" she asked, pushing up her glasses. "Aren't you hanging with your friends?"

"Not today," Yolei said quickly, dumping her backpack on the couch. "I'm going to the mall."

Momoe did a double take as Yolei disappeared into her room. "What?" she asked. "Since when have you wanted to go to a mall?"

Yolei reappeared with a ratty-looking purse around her shoulder. "I'll be back around dinner," she said quickly and rushed back out. She really wasn't in the mood to be grilled; that would happen when she got home anyway. As she stood in the elevator, she looked down at the purse. It was a brown leather sack made in the design of some American Indian tribe with a tacky eagle sewn onto the front, but also decorated with small buttons with her video game characters on them. Mimi was nice enough to pay for her bath last time, so at the very least, she could spring for an afternoon snack. She hoped the mall had a good spread in the food court...

Wait, food court? Yolei suddenly hit an awkward thought: Mimi didn't say which mall they were going to... had she? She didn't know much about malls, but she knew that a city like Tokyo had to have more than one. As the elevator reached the ground, Yolei made a left and headed for Mimi's; she had to make sure where she was going.

The wind picked up and she shivered a bit, her thoughts shifting back to her partner; Poromon had said he was going to fly home from school today. She had offered to take him back like always, but he had insisted on it, so she left her balcony door open a crack for him. She just hoped he could make it back without being seen... if he could make it back at all.

* * *

Wandering the streets of Tamachi, also lost in thought, was Ken Ichijouji. The route home from school was rather long, but he walked it anyway. Back when he was the Emperor, he covered the distance within fifteen minutes, but now he seemed to get slower and slower; the last time he bothered to time himself, he had taken half an hour. Perhaps his mind was slowing the rest of him down; it wandered a lot more than his feet did these days...

Turning a corner, though, a flash of red caught his eye. He looked up and his stomach knotted itself. Walking in the crowd up ahead of him was a figure in a red cloak with long silvery hair. Instantly his fists balled. She was here? Now?

He broke into a sprint, pushing past others on the sidewalk, the red cloak drawing him in like an angry bull. Why was she here? What was she going to do? He had to find out!

She disappeared around the corner only a few steps from him; now was his chance! He didn't have his weapons, but he would do his best! "HEY!" he yelled, leaping around the corner. "STOP!"

The woman whipped around and instantly Ken felt sick. It wasn't the eerie woman from the Digital World; just an older lady in a red jacket. She blinked a few times, obviously wondering why this boy was screaming at her. Ken swallowed, dropped his fists and backed away. "I... I'm sorry," he apologized meekly, hanging his head. "I thought... you were..."

"Here now, what are you doing, shouting in the street?" the woman scolded, then peered at him closer through her thick, square-shaped glasses. "Hmm... Wait... Haven't I seen you... Aren't you-"

Ken swallowed and bolted before she could say anything else; tearing across streets and turning as many corners as he could, soliciting several yells of "hey, watch it!" from the other pedestrians.

After running six blocks, he slowed down and sagged against a brick wall, gasping and wheezing. That was close; if that woman had realized he was the famous Ken Ichijouji, she might have tried to sue his family for harassment or something!

Still breathing heavily, he stared up at the cloudy blue sky. This wasn't good; he was so focused on the Digital World, he was starting to see things in the real one... He shook his head. It wasn't a complete delusion, though; that strange woman had been in his room once! She would stop at nothing to keep him from messing with whatever her plans were... He had to stay on his toes. He had to keep destroying spires. He had to avenge-

"Hey, kid!" a gruff voice spoke into his ear. He leaped back with a shout, surprising the police officer that had spoken. "Take it easy!" he said. "Just warnin' ya, no loitering. Move along now!"

Ken's eyes darted around. Was it just his imagination, or was everyone looking at him? He could almost feel their expectant gazes, waiting for him to do or say something to make them all freak out. His face grew hot, and he sank deeper into his jacket. "...Sorry," he apologized, and quickly walked off towards home, his eyes focused on the pavement.

* * *

There was a gentle knock at the door, and then Yoshie Izumi came in anyway, a little tray with a steaming cup in her hands. "Izzy, would you like some tea?" she asked.

Izzy suddenly realized he wasn't alone in the room and took his eyes off the computer screen. "Oh, uh... Yeah, thanks, Mom," he said, taking the cup and putting it down next to his keyboard.

Yoshie stared at the screen, the strange colored grid with various black squares spattered across it looking more like a cooking accident than a map to her. "What are you working on?" she asked. "Some important schoolwork?"

"Um... Yes," Izzy replied, still not wanting to alarm her with the Digital World details. "I'm, uh, building a map for... graphic design class. We're, err, doing a unit on... topography."

"Oh, that sounds fun," she answered, straightening back up; she hadn't just come in to bring him tea. "Say, Izzy, do you remember what day is coming up?" she asked.

Izzy thought for a moment, and then a sullen feeling crept over him. "Oh..." he said quietly. "Yeah..."

"Would you like to do something special?" Yoshie went on. "Maybe a movie or a nice restaurant?"

Izzy stared back at the screen. "I, uh, I don't know..." he replied. "I'll have to think about that..."

"OK," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "Well, see you at dinner."

As Yoshie left the room, Izzy suddenly felt really down. The day she had been talking about was November 18th, the day when the Izumis had adopted him. It wasn't that he didn't like them- he loved both her and his adoptive father very much- but the anniversary also reminded him of the deaths of his real parents. He was so young when it all happened, he didn't remember them at all, and that made him feel sad. All he knew was what Masami had told him; that his father was a brilliant college professor and mathematician. He knew nothing of his real mother except that she had no family of her own, which is how the Izumis- distant cousins of his father- ended up adopting him.

He sighed, leaned back in his chair and sipped at the tea. His adoptive parents seemed happy enough, so he never pressed them about it... but if only he could learn more about his real ones... maybe that little patch of emptiness he felt would be filled in.

Suddenly, the computer snapped him out of his thoughts with a loud beep. He shot up in his chair, almost spilling the tea on his pants; another Crest fragment! He grabbed the keyboard and typed wildly, tracking the new energy signal. The map shifted down to a swampy-looking area just south of where they found Gennai, and a green dot flashed brightly. Green? That was the color of Mimi's Crest, he deduced. He quickly got on his e-mail program and started typing. The others had to know!

* * *

"Hey!" Yolei called out and waved as she saw Mimi coming down the steps of her apartment building. That was a lucky break; she didn't know where the elevator was at this building, and if she had to climb stairs after dashing all the way here...

Mimi looked around cautiously, then quickly walked over to her. "What's wrong with you?" she snapped. "I told you we'd meet at the mall!"

Yolei shrank back a bit, feeling ashamed that she had forgotten... but after walking all that way, her irritation won out. "Which one?" she asked. "This place has plenty."

Mimi froze, blinking for a few moments; Yolei was right about that, and being a social pariah, she definitely wouldn't know which mall was "the" mall. "Um... Well..." she mumbled, then regained her composure. "We'll start off easy. There's a smaller one a few blocks away. You know it?"

Yolei actually did; it was her sisters' favorite one. She had been there a few times. "Yeah," she answered.

"Good," Mimi replied, starting to walk with Yolei chasing after her. This was a good turn of events, actually; this wasn't the most popular mall on the high school circuit, so there was less chance that she would run into her cheerleader posse there. "Now, today's mission is all about your wardrobe... Mostly improving it."

Yolei stopped, looking down at her rusty-red jacket (a hand-me-down from her brother) and the red skirt sticking out at the bottom. "...What's wrong with it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's RIGHT with it?" Mimi replied, smirking at the ensemble, as well as the ratty blue kerchief on her head. "It doesn't just say 'plain,' it screams 'nerd!' Now, come on!"

A torrent of curses swelled in Yolei's throat; she was proud of the fact that she dressed to derail the stereotypes for her age... and what did Mimi mean by using "nerd" like an insult? Still, she had to keep the goal in mind; that delicious Ken Ichijouji. Somehow she managed to swallow the vulgarities and meekly followed Mimi to the corner.

A bus roared by, but the sound had something extra to it. Yolei looked down at her purse curiously. She had stuffed her D-Terminal and D3 in there, just in case... Had one of them just gone off?

"Hey, come on!" Mimi's voice pierced her ears. "Cross at green, not in between!"

Not wanting to be left behind, Yolei let the purse hang and followed her mentor across the asphalt.

* * *

Digmon thrust his whirring fingers into the last control spire, and then with a loud cry of "TIMBER!" he slammed his head against it, sending it plummeting to the grassy ground.

Cody nodded with approval. "Good work," he congratulated his partner.

"By the way, Cody," Digmon said, turning around, "who's Timber, an' why do we call for him when big stuff falls over?"

Davis looked around and swelled with pride; here was one more part of the Digital World that was back to being flat. "Boy, we sure took those down fast!" he exclaimed. "We keep this up, the whole Digiworld'll be spire-free in no time!"

"If we keep this up..." Veemon panted, falling on his butt and panting hard, "my legs're gonna fall off."

"We did do that pretty fast..." TK said as he motioned to Patamon, who lay sprawled across his lap with his tongue hanging out. "Maybe we should take a breather."

Digmon shrank back down to Armadillomon, looking just as winded as the others. "...Yeah," Cody agreed. "We can't keep this pace."

Davis kicked at the dirt crossly. "Hey, if we don't keep going, that woman's just gonna have more ammo!" he huffed. "Kari, you agree with me, right?"

"Well, Davis, I-" Kari began, but the beeping of their four D-Terminals cut her off. She took hers out and opened it, and as she read over the message, her eyes lit up. "A new Crest piece!" she announced.

"What?" Gatomon asked, all the Digimon springing back to life.

Cody opened his D-Terminal and looked over the message too. "Hmm... It's east of here, in a swampy area..." he summarized.

"Swamp?" Davis asked, looking over his shoulders. "It's in a swamp?"

"...You have your own, you know..." Cody mumbled.

"A swamp east of here, huh?..." Veemon said, scratching his nose. "I think that's the Arumbaya Marshlands."

"Arum... baya?" Kari asked, rolling the word around in her mouth.

"Ain't that a campfire sing-along?" Davis asked.

"Oh, I know this," Armadillomon piped up. "It used to be capital of a great civilization... but since it's all gone, only the buildings're left... Well, the ones that haven't sunk inta the swamp."

Cody blinked a few times. "How do you know all that?" he asked. "We've never been there."

Armadillomon thought for a moment, then looked just as puzzled as Cody. "Well, I... I don't rightly know," he admitted.

"Don't all Digimon know what the Digital World looks like?" Veemon asked.

"No," Gatomon replied. "The whole place changed on us, and I don't have a clue where anything is anymore!"

Kari scratched her chin. "Maybe it's because we found them after the world changed," she suggested. "You know, new Digimon are born knowing about it..."

"Uh... I guess..." Veemon said, looking just as confused as everyone else.

"Well, however we know what we do, there's part of a Crest there," TK said, getting back on his feet. "We have to get to it before someone else does."

"OK!" Patamon chirped, balling his little trotters. "Let's go!"

In a flash, Pegasusmon appeared, TK hopped on and they took off. Kari raised her D3 and Gatomon became Nefertimon. "Hey, Kari!" Davis chuckled, running over to her. "You think there's room for two on there?"

"Well, yeah..." Kari admitted, "but don't you think it'd be better to help Exveemon practice his flying?"

"Yeah, Davith!" Veemon piped up. "I gotta stretch my wings too, ya know!"

Davis tried to come up with some other argument, but none came. "Then may I ride with you, please?" Cody asked Kari. "Armadillomon and I are the only ones who can't fly."

"Sure," Kari agreed, hoisting the little boy and his partner up on Nefertimon's back. "Don't take too long, Davis!"

Nefertimon took off into the sky. As he watched her go, an angry "ffffff" floated out of Davis's mouth; this was just _not_ his day.

"We'd better get goin' too, Davith," Veemon said. "We don't wanna miss the fun!"

"Fun... Yeah..." Davis groused, fumbling with his D3. Veemon became Exveemon, scooped him up and took off after the others.

No sooner had they left the faint rumble of an engine echoed through the spire-spattered landscape. From out of the nearby forest came a crude, yellow jeep with its paint flaking off and dozens of rust spots. It scraped to a halt in the middle of the obsidian wreckage, and out stepped a hunched figure in a blue coat, leaning heavily on a cane.

The figure watched the small blotches in the sky as they flew further away and smiled, its gray, withered lips parting to reveal yellowed, razor-sharp teeth. So, they had come here today... Another chance for victory had come. It looked around at all the toppled spires and cackled; how fortunate that they had left toys to play with, too!

It raised its cane and mumbled harsh, wicked, ancient words, then plunged it into the soil. Just as before, red ooze bubbled up and seeped into the spires, making them glow and contort. The figure cackled as the spires rose into the air; between this and what was waiting for them in those marshes, those children would never find the next Crest fragment!

* * *

In the gray November afternoon sky, the mall was a soulless block of metal and glass. Yolei wished it was bright and sunny out; maybe then, all the reflective material would have burned her eyes out and spared her the fact that she was even there... with Mimi... shopping for things that didn't have electrical plugs.

"Hey, what's with the face?" Mimi sniffed, frowning at her. "You want to do this, right?"

Yolei sighed crossly. "I just... don't like big crowds," she lied.

"Well, it's past the big rush time; it won't be a problem," Mimi replied, looking at her watch.

"Great..." Yolei replied, her eyes rolling.

They pushed through the revolving doors into a long, wide tiled hall lined with as many glass windows as the outside of the building was. A plethora of items hung or stood behind those windows, most of them adorned with some sort of enticing sale indicator. Over the dozens of doorways hung colorful, shiny signs spelling out either what was inside each door or who ran the shop. Thought it wasn't as wildly crowded as she expected, there were still a fair amount of people walking around, plastic bags dangling from their limbs like oversized shapeless bracelets. As Yolei looked around, she could almost hear Cody's voice in her ear, muttering something about it all being the perfect scene of shallow-minded consumerism... but then something in a nearby window captured her eye and shut him up.

"Now, listen up," Mimi said, her own eyes glistening as she looked around at the shops. "The mall is an essential part of a girl's life. This is where you find everything. There's clothes, jewelry, perfume, makeup, shoes, everything you need to make yourself! This is where you're going to change from a frumpy nobody into the hottest little thing on two feet!... Well, at least the closest you can get to that-"

Suddenly, Mimi grew aware that she was talking to thin air; Yolei had disappeared. She looked around for a moment, and then marched forward with a scowl. Her fashion project had her face pressed to the glass of a video game store, ogling a trio of screens all playing the same footage. "Hey!" she snapped.

"Check it out!" Yolei cackled, pointing at the screen. "It's the new 'Occupant Nasty!' Man, I've been waitin' for AGES for this one!"

"We're not here for this!" Mimi fumed, grabbing the back of Yolei's jacket and yanking her away. "Now come on!"

"Awww!" Yolei whined as Mimi almost threw her onto an escalator. "I didn't get to see the end of the demo..."

"And you wonder why you're not attractive!" Mimi huffed. "Now pay attention! The first thing we're going to do is get you some decent clothes. My favorite store should be around here somewhere..."

Yolei blinked. "Thought you said this wasn't your favorite mall," she pointed out.

"It's a chain store. Duh!" Mimi replied. "You can't trust a store that hasn't gone national!"

Yolei was about to retort that all of her favorite game shops were locally owned (not to mention her own family's convenience store) when Mimi stopped her outside of one storefront and pointed up. "Ooh, here! Just like I thought!" she exclaimed.

Trendy jeans and jackets glowed vibrant colors (lots of pinks and purples) from behind the glass. Over the entryway was a large black sign on which the English words "Opal Tadpole" were written in sparkling, pink neon lights. Yolei knew enough English from her web escapades to cackle at the name; it sure didn't sound like a clothing shop.

Mimi turned an irked eye on her. "What's so funny?" she snapped.

"It's... I... Oh, never mind," Yolei sighed, forcing her laughs down. "Is this really the place?"

"You bet it is!" Mimi replied. "This is where I get all my best clothes! C'mon!"

Still not working up much excitement, Yolei followed Mimi inside. The shop looked bigger than it was, mostly thanks to the mirror-coated ceiling that doubled everything in sight. Several clothing racks sprouted from the carpet like metal trees, their flashy-looking fruit ripe for plucking. Pop music floated through the air, pumped in by the speakers hanging in the corners. The clerk (if that's what she was) leaned laxly on the counter at the back, the motions of her gum-chewing making her hoop earrings jingle. Yolei swallowed hard and felt cold. She was a stranger in a strange land.

Mimi, however, looked perfectly at home darting between the racks and plucking garments off of them, various squeals and chirps escaping her. "OK, these look like they'd fit you," she said, walking back to Yolei with an armful of clothes, dumping them on her. "There's a dressing room near the counter. Try 'em on."

Yolei stared at the fabric in her arms like a child leering at a plate of brussels sprouts. "No freaking way," she replied. "If I put these on, they might start pulling me towards a street corner."

Mimi's frown returned. "Quit complaining!" she snapped. "Now go try them on!"

After a few hard shoves in the direction, Yolei bitterly shuffled into the whitewashed dressing room. Thankfully, it was empty; at least one thing was going right today. She walked into the farthest-left stall and dumped the clothes on the bench. There were three shirts, two vests, a camisole and four pairs of jeans; what would she defile herself with first?

She kicked off her shoes and hung her purse on one of the hangers, then reached for the black camisole, staring at it with a raised eyebrow. Just how was she supposed to wear it, anyway?

* * *

After a relatively quick flight, two of the Digimon touched down on a hill overlooking a wide plain shaggy with long, wild grasses of earthy colors. Small, gray pools of water dotted the landscape like spatters on a preschooler's first painting. A few gnarled, spindly trees were stuck here and there, but mostly the land was flat beneath the bluer-than-blue sky. In the center of it all stood a high, tiered pyramid, the only sign of human life in the natural landscape.

"Wow..." Kari said, looking around as Nefertimon reverted to Gatomon behind her. "It's beautiful..."

Gatomon took one sniff and her nose crinkled. "Yeah, if you can put up with that smell..." she grunted. "What IS that?"

"Marshes are usually full of decomposing things," TK explained. "On the good side, that means they're always recycling nutrients back into the soil and purifying water... but on the bad side... well, you can smell it."

Exveemon landed behind the others with a thud, and Davis tumbled into the grass as his partner shrank back down to Veemon. "Augh... Damn!" he swore. "Gotta work on the landing..."

"Well, guess we'd better start lookin'..." Armadillomon said, turning back to the marsh, namely the building in the center. "Ya think it could be in there?"

Davis looked up and stared at the pyramid, looking almost pensive. "Hey..." he said. "That looks kinda familiar..."

Cody scratched his chin. "I think it's built like the step pyramids of the ancient Aztecs," he explained. "It looks like one I saw in a history book."

Davis blinked a few times, then chuckled. "Oh," he said. "I was gonna say the cake from my aunt's wedding, except gray with no little people on top."

Cody just shook his head. Why did he even bother?

"Well, looks like a good place ta hide somethin'!" Veemon exclaimed, rushing down the hill. "Let's get crackin'!"

"No, Veemon, wait!" TK started to say.

Veemon bounded off the last bit of the hill... and disappeared into the grass with a loud splash. He shot back up, flailing and spluttering, brownish-gray water flying every which way. "Eyaaagh!" he yelled. "Davith! Help!"

Everyone raced to the bottom of the hill and Davis yanked his partner out. "Man!" he exclaimed, kicking at the grass before him and seeing water shoot up. "What the hell is this?"

"Oh, boy..." TK sighed. "That's what I thought... This place is a marsh, so all this grass could just be floating on top of water... and who knows how deep it can get."

"Blecch! Blaaagh!" Veemon hacked, still gasping for air. "Wish ya woulda talked faster when I was runnin'..."

"Pheh..." Davis grunted, looking off at the pyramid again. "Then I bet it's in there, too! We'll hafta get our feet wet..."

"Wet?" Gatomon snapped, her fur standing on end. "Forget it! Cats and water don't mix!"

"It's a good idea," Kari started, "but I'd rather be sure before we go in there. There could be really deep water or angry Digimon... Let me call Izzy; see if he knows exactly where it is."

As Kari started typing on her D3, a gentle gust of wind blew the murky funk of the swamp over them... and something else, too. From out of nowhere, something large and pink dropped out of the sky onto Armadillomon. "What the- hey!" he yelled, struggling wildly. "What's goin' on? Git offa me, ya varmint!"

Cody whirled around at the sounds; his partner was wrestling with an weathered, pink cowboy hat. He moved to pull it off, but the wind picked up again and it fluttered out into the marsh, a gentle green light sparkling inside. He watched it go and scratched his head. What would a hat like that be doing in a place like this?

* * *

As Izzy sipped what remained of his tea, Kari's e-mail appeared on his screen. Looking over it, he realized that he hadn't really given them a precise location. Unlike in Horatio Hall or the Gigas, this was mostly an outdoor area, so he actually could pinpoint the piece. He shook his head, annoyed with himself; how had that slipped his mind?

He brought up the Digital World map, but it only made him more flustered; the green dot that marked the Crest fragment was gone! His eyes darted around the grid; maybe he had just forgotten where he had seen it? In the northeast?... No... In the southeast?... No... On that big pyramid in the middle of the marsh?... No... Near the five Digidestined signals?...

He blinked and stared again. Five? There couldn't be five- Yolei wasn't there yet- but sure enough, there were five dots flashing. The blue one for Davis, the pink one for Kari, the green one for TK, the yellow one for Cody, the green one for TK...

He shook his head and looked again. Now there were four signals bunched together... and a green one a few inches north of them. As he watched again, that solitary dot disappeared and reappeared two inches to the east. He bit his lip in surprise; this Crest piece was mobile! They definitely had to know that! He quickly brought up Kari's e-mail and typed up an reply:

_This piece is moving, and it was right next to you!_

_Did you see anything move?

* * *

_

"...Move?..." Kari muttered, staring at the answer she had received. How could a Crest move? Well, if Izzy said that's what it was doing, then that must have been what it was doing. "Hey, did anyone see something move?" she asked, turning back to the others.

"Nope," Davis grunted, poking at the grass with a stick and watching it slosh around.

"Nothin' but that flyin' hat," Armadillomon spoke up.

"Flying hat?" TK asked, puzzled.

"The wind's blowing it around," Cody replied, pointing out onto the marsh. The hat lay silently on the grass, its brim bobbing up and down in the gentle breeze.

When they saw it, TK, Kari, Patamon and Gatomon all jumped in surprise. "Mimi's hat!" Patamon exclaimed.

Davis looked up. "Say what?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"That's the hat she lost as we left our last adventure," TK explained.

"Wait..." Kari thought out loud. "If we're looking for a piece of her Crest, then maybe...?"

Another gust of wind blew the hat over, and everyone saw the brilliant green glow coming from its inside. "Yeah!" Gatomon shouted. "It's in there!"

"This looks simple enough," Cody said, turning to Davis. "Let's have someone fly over there and grab it."

Veemon strained, but then fell on his knees, gasping. "Sorry, Cody..." he wheezed. "What with knockin' down spires and crash-landin', I gotta rest..."

"Ugh... Me, too..." Patamon agreed, his ears drooping.

"I don't know if flying's a good idea, anyway," TK pointed out. "Pegasusmon and Nefertimon flap their wings, and that'll keep blowing the hat away."

"So... We'll have to walk? Through that stuff?" Gatomon objected. "No way! Kari, let me Armor Digivolve and let's go grab it! Please?"

Kari thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry, Gatomon," she said. "If we get attacked, it wouldn't be good if you were tired. You need to rest, too."

Davis folded his arms, wincing. "I dunno..." he muttered crossly. "I don't wanna get swamp gunk in my socks... And it would just be a crime for us to let Kari get all mucky! Am I right, Kari?"

Kari, however, was already several feet into the murky fen. "It's not so bad, you guys," she reported, turning around and waving to them. "It only goes up to my waist."

"Well... then maybe walking would be OK," TK figured.

Davis turned an angry eye on him. "What?" he huffed. "I can't believe you, TK! It ain't just goopy; there could be monsters in there!" With a running leap, he splashed into the swampy water, getting everyone on the shore soaked. "If anyone's gonna keep Kari safe from the swamp thing, it'll be me!" he declared, stomping after her.

"Thanks, Davis," Kari said, then waved at the others. "Come on, you guys! This'll be an easy one!"

TK shrugged; he could wash his clothes off in the shower when he got home, he figured... and this did look a lot easier than Horatio Hall. He took a few unsure steps into the muck and sank right in down to his pants. "Well, here we go," he said, turning to Patamon. "Come on."

Neither Patamon, Gatomon nor Veemon made a move towards the water. "What's the matter?" Davis asked, walking back a ways.

"I couldn't reach the bottom last time, Davith," Veemon pointed out, "an' if I can't see half of you now..."

"Yeah, it's too deep for us!" Patamon complained.

"Drowning's way worse than messing up my fur!" Gatomon huffed. "Forget it!"

"Oh... Right," Kari chuckled, embarrassed that she hadn't realized it sooner. She waded back to shore and Gatomon climbed on her back like a toddler. "Is that better?" she asked.

"Sure, just don't fall backwards," Gatomon replied.

Patamon fluttered over and landed on TK's hat, where he usually sat. "Not too different for me," he declared.

"OK, then," Davis grumbled, squelching over and picking up Veemon... but something felt off; someone was missing. "Hey," he said to the others, "where's Cody?"

A bowl-shaped wad of hair floated over to Davis, bubbles rising up in front of it. A yellow tail stuck out of the muck nearby, bent and twisting around like a periscope.

TK sighed weakly. "I guess we're carrying Cody and Armadillomon, too," he concluded.

"Heh heh heh," Davis chuckled at the bubbling hair. "Just like my model water plane at the park fountain."

* * *

With an annoyed sigh, Yolei emerged from the dressing room with two armfuls of clothing. Over the past half hour, after a lot of debate and grumbling, she had found that a few of Mimi's picks had been just barely tolerable; the rest were going back, no matter what Mimi said.

Mimi, who was leaning against the wall, looked up in surprise. "That was quick," she said. "Did you really try them all on?"

"Yeah, I did. These'll do," Yolei snapped, motioning to the clothes draped over her right arm.

"Was that really so hard?" Mimi asked, then raised an eyebrow to what Yolei had picked. "I guess your taste will have to be developed later," she muttered. "OK, let's buy 'em."

They walked up to the counter, and the gum-chewing clerk rigidly rang the garments over the scanner. "That'll be 16,206 Yen," she announced dryly. "Cash or credit?"

There was no answer. The clerk stared at Yolei. "Well?" she asked.

Yolei blinked, confused.

"Hello?" Mimi huffed, nudging her. "Pay up and let's go!"

Yolei's stomach swelled. She turned to Mimi in a panic. "W... wait, I'M paying for this?" she asked.

Mimi scowled, insulted by the question. "Seriously?" she sniffed. "I'm not paying for YOUR clothes!"

Yolei swallowed. "W-well... You did pay last time..." she tried, regretting the words as they left her mouth.

"That was a BATH!" Mimi huffed. "What do you think I am, your mother?"

Yolei looked down at her little wallet, suddenly realizing how much trouble she was in. She had a little money in it, but hardly enough to pay for this. There was a debit card that connected to her bank account; she could use that... but she had been saving for months for some new games... and if she overdrew, her parents would chew her out; they were always telling her to be conscious of money...

The clerk drummed her fingers on the counter, looking ready to shoo her away. Mimi was getting just as annoyed. "Oh, I'm sorry..." she said nastily, "I thought you wanted this guy to notice you... but if you're not going to carry your own weight, then we can just—"

"Fine! FINE!" Yolei surrendered, yanking out the debit card and slapping it down on the counter. As the clerk ran it through and handed her the receipt, she felt like a big chunk had just been carved out of her. Did romance have to cost this much?

* * *

With all of their feet sounding like one pair slopping through the muck, the Digidestined waded through the mire... well, the taller ones. Kari led the pack at a decent pace with Gatomon on her shoulders, but the boys were weighed down. TK was holding Armadillomon while Patamon perched on his head, and Davis brought up the rear with numerous gasps and wheezes, Veemon in his arms and Cody on his back. "Keep it up, Davith!" Veemon encouraged him. "We're fallin' behind!"

"Gee, I wonder why that is?" Davis snapped. "Maybe it's because I've got the heaviest load on my back!"

Cody shrugged. "I guess I've gained weight," he admitted. "I haven't been in this position since I was three."

"And I wasn't plannin' on bein' in this one 'til I was thirty!" Davis huffed. "It ain't just that; you stink! Why'd you go and jump in when you knew how deep it was?"

"I thought I could swim," Cody replied, "but it's more like quicksand than water, so..."

"Just don't get anything down my shirt," Davis grunted.

Kari was just a few feet from the pink cowboy hat. She lurched forward, her arm out to grab it. This sure was different from what happened the last two times, she thought; they were this close to grabbing the Crest, and there was absolutely no sign of that woman or any-

The grass in front of her rustled, and up popped a pair of bright blue eyes. "Hi!" they chirped.

Kari reeled backwards with a scream, and Gatomon went head-first into the swamp water. She shot up spluttering and flailing. "AGH! Ack! Yuck! Nyaaarrrrgh!" she hissed angrily. "Kari!"

"What in the...?" Armadillomon began, but then he noticed that the party wasn't alone. Several plant-like Digimon with red heads and neck petals were popping up all through the fen, as were several purple mushroom-like creatures with beady eyes and big grins.

"Holy Hell!" Davis yelled, jerking back and forth and almost throwing Cody off. "It's the revenge of the veggies!"

"Are they Spire-born?" Cody demanded.

Veemon swallowed. He couldn't do much from Davis's arms, and who knew how many of these things were out there? "Hey!" he huffed, trying to sound like he could do something, "beat it, or I'll, uh... I'll turn ya into sushi rolls!"

TK blinked a few times as he stared at the new creatures. Hadn't he seen Digimon like them before?... Yes, he had! "Wait!" he told the others. "I think they're friendly!"

Kari yanked Gatomon out of the muck and stuck her back on her shoulders, instantly regretting having done so. "...Really?" she asked, trying to ignore the slime running down her arms.

"Yeah... I met some like this on our first adventure," TK said, looking at the creatures. "You're... Floramon... and, uh... Mushroomon, right?"

"Yes!" one of the Floramon laughed, clapping. "Hello!"

"Nice ta meetcha!" a Mushroomon cackled.

Davis blinked a few times, muddled as usual. "Um... Hi?" he asked.

"What're you guys doin' out here?" Armadillomon asked.

"This is our home!" a Floramon answered.

"So what're you guys doin' here?" a Mushroomon piped up. "We've never seen humans in the marsh!"

"Yeah, Gargomon said you wouldn't come in because it's too yucky and you don't like the smell," another Floramon said, "but you're here anyway."

"Gargomon..." Cody said, frowning. So, the Resistance was still going around drumming up anti-human propaganda... but these Digimon were more curious than hostile.

TK and Kari looked at each other worriedly, then back at the Digimon. "Well, we won't bother you for too long," Kari said. "We're just here to get that hat over there."

A Mushroomon close to the hat looked over at it. "This one?" it asked, reaching for it.

Suddenly, another gust of wind blew the hat out of its reach, sending it off to the right, into a heap of brown grass. A Floramon reached for it, but another gust blew it over their heads. It landed next to Davis and Veemon stuck out its arm for it, but once again the wind picked up and blew it away. "Hey!" Davis huffed, bucking Cody again. "What kinda sick joke is this?"

A Floramon looked at him strangely. "You're not making the wind?" it asked.

TK blinked. "It's not always this windy?" he asked.

"Nope," a Mushroomon said. "It just started. Are you guys doin' it?"

"Humans can't make wind," Gatomon corrected them.

"Well, not this kinda wind..." Veemon cackled. "I mean, there was this one night after dinner when-"

"Shut it!" Davis huffed.

As Cody reeled from Davis's jerking body movements, he looked up, and something large and white caught his eye; perhaps a low-hanging cloud. As his vision corrected itself, he swallowed; it certainly wasn't a cloud. High above them floated a bizarre creature with a horse-like body, but with bird-like claws, wings, and a head. It flapped its wings with bold, powerful motions, and Cody could feel their effect even from the ground. Suddenly, it hit him. "There!" he exclaimed, pointing at it. "That's what's making the wind!"

Everyone looked up in surprise. "Woah!" a Floramon said. "I've never seen that before, either!"

"Oh, no!" Patamon cried. "I've heard of those! It's a Hippogryphomon; an Ultimate Digimon!"

At the mention of its name, the flying creature leered down at them, not looking at all pleased to have been noticed. With a piercing shriek, it dove towards them.

"Look out!" Kari cried, starting to pull out her D3. Hippogryphomon soared right over them, making such a powerful gust that they all lost their footing and tumbled into the marsh water.

"Arrrgh!" Veemon yelled, flailing around again. "I'm drownin'! I'm drownin'!"

The Floramon and Mushroomon glared at the newcomer. "Hey, stop it!" a Floramon yelled. "You're messing up our home!"

"Yeah, get lost!" a Mushroomon shouted, and pitched a smaller mushroom into the air. Soon all of the swamp dwellers were either hurling fungus or spraying pollen upwards at Hippogryphomon.

Hippogryphomon turned an evil eye on the resistance, then sucked in a great gulp of air. "Oh, no!" Patamon cried. "Quick! Grab onto something!"

The kids and their partners all dove into the swampy water, but the Floramon and Mushroomon weren't fast enough. Hippogryphomon loosed a powerful blast of wind over the marsh, throwing them all up into the air. Then it emptied its lungs in a scream with the same pitch and volume of a banshee amplified by space shuttle rockets. The unfortunate Digimon shuddered for a moment, then shattered like glass, the tiny pixels drifting away into the sky.

"No!" Kari cried. Those were innocent Digimon! How could it do that to them?

Cody glared at the flying menace. "It's a Spire-born," he growled.

Hippogryphomon's eyes locked onto the kids, and it swooped around and dove at them again. "Looks like we're next!"

"No, we're not!" TK growled, yanking out his D3. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Hippogryphomon veered upwards as Pegasusmon appeared on the scene, screeching angrily. Kari took the opportunity to raise her D3, and Nefertimon also took to the air. The two Armor Digimon flew around the monster, momentarily making it lose its bearings trying to focus.

"Now what?" Cody asked. "We can't fight an Ultimate like this!"

"Let's get the hat and beat it," TK said. "We'll deal with it on dry land. Pegasusmon!"

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon swooped down low, dragging their legs in the swamp. The kids and the other Digimon all grabbed on and were yanked free. "Now, the hat!" TK declared, pointing at the pink garment on the grass.

Heavy with their cargo, the two flying Digimon went as fast as they could, but Hippogryphomon was quick to regain its focus and pursued, howling wildly. The screams weren't as soul-shattering as the one that destroyed the Floramon and Mushroomon, but they made the kids' spines jerk with pain, and they couldn't cover their ears to soften it.

Davis's cringing eyes were open enough to see the hat swirling around in Hippogryphomon's gusts like a drunken top, almost in his reach. He pulled himself as far up Nefertimon's arm as far as he could, hoisted up his legs and locked them around it, then stuck out one arm to reach for the flying garment. "C'mon..." he grunted, stretching his fingers as far as they could go, "come to daddy..."

"C'mon, Davith!" Veemon yelled from his leg perch. "You can do it!"

"Nefertimon, move a bit right!" Kari ordered from the other arm.

Nefertimon started to drift to the right, but Hippogryphomon appeared almost instantly, slashing at her face with its claw and driving her back to the left. All the wind from the monster's wings pushed the hat far away, towards the temple in the middle of the marsh.

Davis swore loudly as it disappeared into the black opening of the entrance. "Dammit!" he yelled, shaking his free fist, "this just gets better and better!"

* * *

Frustrated and impatient, Izzy rapped his fingers on his desk. His young friends had been following the moving Crest fragment for at least half an hour, but hadn't caught up with it! What was going on in there? Between the five of them, one of them had to be able to catch it!

He blinked and stared at the screen again. Five? He counted the dots and their colors again: blue for Davis; pink for Kari; green for TK; yellow for Cody; and another green for the Crest... There was someone missing! He stared a minute longer then saw it. There was no red dot! Yolei wasn't there! He had sent her an e-mail about this, hadn't he? Where was she?

Almost as soon as he had thought it, something tapped at his balcony window. He spun around and almost fell out of his chair; Poromon was flapping around outside, looking worried. Izzy ran over, opened the door and yanked him inside. "What're you doing?" he demanded. "Somebody could have seen you!... and why aren't you at home, anyway?"

"Sorry," Poromon apologized. "The balcony door was shut... Yolei said she left it open a little, but the wind must've closed it... and I couldn't go in through the front door because her brother and sisters were there! This is the only other place I knew how to reach."

Izzy shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Where's Yolei?"

"Oh, she's..." Poromon began, but stopped. Hadn't she told him last night to keep her rendezvous with Mimi a secret? "I, um... I can't... tell you," he admitted. "Yolei would get mad if I did."

Izzy gave an angry sigh and put Poromon down on his bed. Yolei was a responsible, punctual girl; he had spent enough computer-tutoring time with her to know that. What was going on with her?

Poromon looked over at the Digital World grid. "Is there another Crest piece?" he asked, flying over and looking at it. "Oh, no! Izzy, e-mail Yolei!"

Izzy looked up. "But I already wrote her once..." he argued.

"If she knew there was a Crest piece, she'd be here in a flash!" Poromon huffed. "Please!"

"Well, if you say so..." Izzy muttered, sitting down and opening his e-mail program. He quickly typed up a message just for her:

_Yolei,_

_Where are you? Come and get Poromon, then get to the Arumbaya Marshlands immediately! The others need you!_

He pressed the button and sent it off, then glanced at Poromon. "Whatever she's doing, she doesn't mean to ignore us, does she?" he asked.

"No way!" Poromon replied. "She must just be... distracted!"

Izzy turned back to the computer screen and leaned back, his arms folded. Poromon looked out the window, hoping Yolei would answer that e-mail. It was bad enough that there was an emergency; now she had forced him to cover for her, too.

* * *

"OK, that takes care of clothes and shoes," Mimi summarized as she walked out of another mall store. "Hurry it up! We've got one more place to go!"

Behind her came a walking heap of plastic bags with Yolei's head. Her arms shook from the weight of all the clothes and shoes she was hauling. The heaviest place on her, though, was the pocket in which she had stuffed the receipts. She had spent 20,000 yen in one day? She held back the tears; there went at least two months of new video games. "Where... where now?..." she groaned.

"The last stop, but certainly not least..." Mimi said, walking her pupil across the way and through another door, "is here!"

Yolei almost dropped all of her bags. On all the shelves and hooks and on all the displays and mannequins were panties, nightgowns and brassieres. All of them looked as flashy and stylish as the rest of the clothes she had just bought. "Wait..." she swallowed. "You mean I'm supposed to—"

Mimi nodded. "No outfit is complete without some classy-but-cute underwear," she said.

Yolei blinked, her face turning from a fatigued red to an embarrassed red.. "Why?" she demanded. "It's UNDERwear! It's totally functional! Nobody sees it!... Well, almost nobody..."

"Eww," Mimi grunted. "Get serious."

Yolei blinked again, still confused. "Uh... then what's it for?" she asked.

"Let's just say you need to put up a front," Mimi replied, plucking several of every type of thing off of the shelves and shoving them at Yolei. "I'll guard the stuff, you try these on."

One of the bras near the top of the pile caught Yolei's eye; it had a lot more padding in it than the ones she had. "Is this a push-up bra?" she asked, holding it up.

"Just trust me on this one," Mimi replied.

Grumbling to herself, Yolei walked into the dressing room, chose a booth and started disrobing. Halfway through pulling off her shirt, though, she heard the familiar beep of her D-Terminal coming from her purse. Certain she had heard it this time, she yanked it out and started to open it when the door thumped loudly. "You in there?" Mimi's voice came.

"Err... yeah," Yolei answered.

Several more pairs of panties sailed over the top of the door, landing on Yolei's head. "Try those on, too," Mimi said, then walked away.

Yolei sighed and looked at her D-Terminal, then down at her half-naked form. She knew she really should read it... but it wasn't like she could do much about whatever was going on now... and besides, the others could handle things without her for a while, couldn't they? She stuffed the device back in her purse and went back to her cheerleader-appointed task.

* * *

Mrs. Ichijouji almost thought a stranger had walked into her home when Ken stepped through the door, buried in his jacket and his hair messed up. "Ken?" she asked.

With a relieved sigh, Ken peeled off his jacket and draped it over his shoulder, stepping out of his shoes like he had never worn them at all. He was just glad he was home, away from all the prying eyes of the street.

Well, almost all of them; his mother looked at him worriedly. "Ken?" she asked again. "What's the matter? You look terrible!"

Ken swallowed and then shook his head. "I'm OK..." he said quietly. "It was just... a rough day."

"Oh..." his mother said, not really knowing what else to say. "Well, would you like some tea, or...?"

"No thanks..." he replied, lumbering towards his room. "I'm just going to rest for a while..."

"Oh... OK..." she said, the worry still apparent in her voice.

He closed the door, tossed his jacket on the bed and shuffled towards his swivel chair. As he sat down and reached to turn on the computer, though, he stopped. His haggard reflection stared out at him through the blackness, its eyes hollow and haunted. A wave of sickness seeped down his spine. He really did look awful; no wonder his mother looked so worried about him, not to mention those people outside! Was this the result of all his work in the Digital World?

He stared at the half-dead face for a minute longer, then retracted his hand. If he kept on like this, then there could be more incidents like today's... and his parents would think that something was wrong again... He just couldn't worry them any more; for their sake, he would abstain from going into the Digital World today. He had to keep them happy and oblivious until his job was done.

So, what should he do instead? He knew that answer right away. He pulled the journal out of a drawer and pushed the keyboard aside. Grabbing a pen, he flipped it open to a page already half-filled with writing, and continued his story:

_It all began one day too long ago, when the boy and his brother witnessed a frightening but amazing event, when the most basic laws of science were thrown into question...

* * *

_

"Faster! Faster!" TK yelled as he clung to Pegasusmon's hoof. "It's gaining on us!"

Pegasusmon looked back and snorted in shock. As fast as Nefertimon and he were flying, Hippogryphomon was faster; he could see that much. "We can't keep this up much longer," he growled.

"So what do we do?" Nefertimon asked. "We can't fight like this!"

"The temple!" Davis yelled, pointing at the approaching pyramid; there was enough of a stone pavilion in front for them to make a landing. "Get in there! That's where the hat went!"

Hippogryphomon was almost on top of them now, another round of its shrieks piercing the sky. Not seeing any other options, the two Armor Digimon did nose dives for the pavilion. "Everyone jump and roll!" Cody ordered.

Their six passengers let go and rolled onto the stones, and Pegasusmon and Nefertimon crashed down with a terrible thud, the force knocking them back down to their lower forms. TK and Kari grabbed their partners and rushed inside the temple doorway, where Cody, Davis and their partners were waiting. Hippogryphomon flew straight for the door, but smashed against it; its body was just too large to enter. It screamed and slashed at them with its claws, but they were too far in for it to reach.

"Ha ha!" Veemon laughed, sticking out his tongue. "Nyah nyah! Can't get us!"

"Yeah, but that shriekin's givin' me a headache," Davis grunted. "Let's get outta here."

Walking deep into the darkness, all sound died away except for their footsteps, and even those sounded muffled. The swampy funk of the marsh gave way to the much more overpowering stenches of mold and dust, like a sealed-up mausoleum; the kids would have clamped both hands over their noses, but they needed at least one to feel around. "Has... has anyone found the hat yet?" Kari asked, her voice extremely nasally.

"I can't even see my feet anymore!" TK replied. "We need some light."

"Hey, Davith!" Veemon spoke up, not really knowing where Davis was, "d'ya have something to make light in those pockets of yours?"

"Used to have a lighter," Davis replied, "but after I got yelled at for bringin' it to school, I stopped carryin' it. Like I was gonna start smokin' without cigarettes... The system's wack!"

Almost as soon as Davis had said "wack," everyone heard Cody grunt in pain, like he had been hit. "Cody? What's-" Armadillomon began, but then he made a similar sound.

"Cody? Armadillomon?" Patamon asked. "What's wrong?"

"Are there more Spire-Born in here?" Gatomon snarled, straining her ears in the dark. "Where are they?"

"Ugh... No..." Cody's voice came from low to the floor. "I think I hit a wall."

"A wall?" Davis asked, walking forward. "Where's tha-OOOFF!" The sound of another body falling reached the others' ears.

Another thud came from nearby. "Owww..." Kari groaned.

"Oh, brother..." Patamon sighed. "Sounds like we're all gonna hit it before long..."

Armadillomon groaned and got back on his feet. Either the fall had him seeing stars, or there was something glowing off to his right. He turned and saw a tiny rectangle of orange in the distance, with one of Davis's twitching legs silhouetted against it. "Hey, now, I think we're onta somethin', here," he said. "Look right!"

Kari looked that way and saw it, too. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "I see it!"

"Maybe there's a torch or something we can use to find Mimi's hat," TK suggested, walking forward slowly until he could see the light without smacking into stone. "Come on-AUGH!"

Another thud resounded. "TK, get off of me," Cody's muffled voice came.

The party unscrambled itself and headed towards that orange rectangle, which quickly grew in size until they walked right through it and into a large, multi-leveled rectangular chamber made of orange stone, with a floor beneath them and a floor above them. Standing at each door were pairs of warrior statues, clad in capes and headdresses and carrying either spears or clubs. Dozens of torches danced along the walls, but there was no sign of the person who had lit them.

"Woah..." Kari gaped, walking down the steps to the bottom level. "Did we go back in time?"

"The Digital World just keeps amazing me," Cody remarked, running his hand over a statue. "The outside looks Aztec... but the inside looks like... Inca!"

"Inca?" Davis asked, kicking at the wall. "A rock's a rock to me... How can you tell?"

"Inca's not a rock," Cody grumbled. "It's another ancient middle-American people."

"Inca...?" Gatomon asked, looking up at the statue with a worried look. "Then..."

"Does anybody see the hat?" TK asked, looking around.

"Maybe it was back in the tunnel and we passed it," Armadillomon suggested. "Somebody grab a torch and let's go look."

Veemon looked up and laughed; the pink cowboy hat was perched on the head of one of the statues beneath the stairs, out of the sight of the others. "No need fer that!" he said, pointing. "Someone's just borrowin' it! I'll get it!"

Gatomon spun around in horror as Veemon leaped onto the statue. "No, wait!" she began.

"Wha?" Veemon asked, crouching on the statue's shoulder and plucking the hat off. "'Smatter, Gato—"

As quick as a flash, the statue's hand shot up and grabbed the little lizard's neck, and its head swiveled to look at him, its eyes venomous. With a haunting warrior scream, it hurled Veemon to the floor and the hat flew into the air again. As Veemon scrambled backwards, color flowed back into the statue's garments, setting them ablaze in blood red, bright yellow, pale indigo and deep purple. With another cry, it raised its club and swung at Veemon.

"WOAH!" Davis yelled, grabbing his partner and leaping away. "Lay off my pal!"

Another cry behind her made Kari go ten feet. To the Digidestined's horror, all of the statues in the room were wrenching to life, bursting full of color like exploding Easter eggs. "What... what ARE they?" Patamon cried.

"I was afraid of this..." Gatomon swallowed. "Those're Champion Digimon... Incamon!"

Chanting in low, unearthly voices, the statues raised their spears and clubs and marched towards the humans and their partners, forcing them to huddle into one big mass. "Wha... What do they want?" Cody asked.

"Incamon are living statue guards what protect stuff," Gatomon replied. "They must think we're intruders!"

"Aww, great!" Armadillomon huffed. "They're right!"

Their chants turned loud, and the spear-holding Incamon lowered their sharp weapons right at the kids' middles.

"I don't wanna see what the punishment is..." Patamon gulped.

Out of the corner of his eye, Davis saw Mimi's hat fly out one of the lower-level doors. "Then let's not stick around!" he growled, yanking out his D3. "Get outta my way, rockheads!"

The Incamon pulled back from the sheer brightness that enveloped Veemon, which gave him the perfect chance to attack in his Digivolved form. Exveemon threw himself into the mob, punching and kicking the guardians out of his way. Their spears and clubs may have been powerful, but the big blue dragon was just too fast.

"Be careful!" Cody warned. "I don't think they're Spire-Born!"

"OK, then you tell them the same thing about me!" Exveemon grunted, dodging three spears at once.

"C'mon, we've gotta go after that hat!" Davis growled, pointing at where he saw it. Exveemon was slowly clearing a path, but the Incamon were quickly regrouping, the ones with clubs making their way towards the humans.

Cody scowled and whipped out his own Digivice. "Get away!" he growled, raising it. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Again the stone guardians recoiled at the light, but they panicked even more when Digmon stepped forward, his drills whirring. "Yeah, you know what I could do to ya, don'cha, pardners?" Digmon growled, driving them further away by just lifting his arms.

Between Exveemon's bouncing and Digmon's intimidating, they cleared a path through the Incamon. "Now! Hurry!" Exveemon yelled, waving the kids past. "Get the hat!"

The kids, Gatomon and Patamon tore through the crowd of statues and into the tunnel. The Incamon noticed and tried to pursue, but pulled back again at the sound of Digmon's drills. Exveemon and the big yellow monster backed up against the tunnel entrance, then turned and raced in themselves.

* * *

"Well, that should do it!" Mimi declared, walking out of the undergarment shop. "You should be able to cook up some decent looks now! Come on, let's go."

Yolei's face was almost as purple as her hair from yanking all the bags of stuff out of the store. She had never carried this much in her life; even her clunky old TV set was lighter! "You'd think..." she wheezed, "this place... would have... shopping carts!"

"You just need more exercise," Mimi replied, turning a corner towards the mall's doors. "I'll call Daddy to come pick us up today, but-"

She finished with a gasp. Three girls just as glitzy as she was had just walked into the building, and she recognized them right away: some of her cheerleader friends! Her eyes darted around in panic; if they caught her with this gawky girl before she was finished, her reputation would be sunk!

"H... hey..." Yolei strained behind her, "what's the hold-up?"

Mimi reacted fast, grabbing Yolei's arm and shoving her into the first doorway she saw. "Shh!" she hissed. "Just stand still!"

Yolei's first instinct was to drop the bags and give Mimi a piece of her mind, but then she looked around at the store they had gone into: it had flashing neon lights, dozens of big, black boxes, and the heavy smell of electronics. Her eyes lit up; they were in an arcade!

"Just stay here, and don't go outside!" Mimi huffed, peering back at the arcade entrance. Her friends must have spotted her before; they were glancing every which way with confused looks on their faces. She huffed angrily. Why wouldn't they leave?

Thankful for the pause, Yolei put all of the bags down. She remembered coming into this arcade before, and there was a game she had really liked playing... Where was it, now? She scanned the names on the tops of the machines and her eyes lit up. There it was, over on the far left: Alley Brawler VS Kombat Kaiser! She pulled out her wallet and looked inside it. Since most of her purchases had been drawn from her debit card, she had about 500 yen. She grinned; a trip as lousy as this deserved a little fun in it.

She found a nearby change machine and turned all her money into coins, but just as she was about to start up the game, an unpleasant reality hit her; this game needed two players to be really fun... and the only person in here she really knew was the one who had been driving her up the wall all day. She looked over at Mimi, who had ducked behind another machine and kept peering out of the arcade. She probably wasn't very good at this, but maybe it would be fun beating the stuffing out of her in the only way that wouldn't get her arrested. "Hey, Mimi," she called. "Wanna play?"

"Are you kidding?" Mimi sniffed. "I wouldn't be caught dead in here if I didn't have to-"

"My treat," Yolei said, showing the shiny coins.

Mimi hesitated, then looked back outside; her bleach-blonde friends didn't seem to be going anywhere; leaving now was impossible. "Oh... OK," she surrendered, walking over to the machine, "but just for a little while!"

"Right," Yolei promised, dropping money into both slots. "Now, make sure you choose a cool fighter!"

Yolei picked a green-cloaked ninja (her old standby for fighting games), and Mimi settled on an ice-elemental succubus. The first fight ended relatively quickly, when the ninja took the succubus's head off after only ten seconds. Blood sprayed all over the screen and the words "YOU LOSE" appeared in bleached bones.

"What's the matter?" Yolei chuckled. "Never played this before?"

"I don't play games, usually..." Mimi retorted as the next round started. "Those are for kids who aren't popular."

"Oh, yeah?" Yolei sneered. "Let's see your popularity save Cryo Queen, there!"

Working the controls faster than Mimi could watch, Yolei made her ninja slice the succubus's legs away, grab the rest of her by the neck and fling her into the late-night cityscape background, where she was impaled on a radio tower. "Hey!" Mimi protested. "I wasn't ready!"

"You have to think fast," Yolei said, dropping more coins in. "That's what makes it fun! C'mon, one more time."

Mimi grumbled and gripped the controls. This time she did a little better; her succubus knocked Yolei's ninja down and froze him in place. Just as she was about to thrust her needle-sharp fingernails into his face, though, he broke free, grabbed her arm, tore it off and thrust the fingers through her own eyes. "HEY!" Mimi huffed.

"Too slow," Yolei snickered. "You had me for a sec, though."

"That's it!" Mimi snapped, opening her purse and yanking out coins of her own. "I'll show you!"

This time the icy succubus came to life, punching and kicking and hurling ice balls every chance she got. Yolei was forced to order her ninja on the defensive, then return with some blows of his own. "Woah!" she exclaimed. "Yeah, NOW we're playing!"

Glancing over at Mimi, Yolei was shocked; her reluctant rival was _smiling_. She was enjoying herself! Even more shocking, Mimi's succubus actually won that round; she froze Yolei's ninja in place and carved him into a model of the Eiffel Tower with her fingernails! "OK, it's ON now!" Yolei laughed, dropping another coin in.

Again and again, the girls pulverized each other with their virtual fighters. Yolei usually did most of the pounding, but every so often Mimi surprised her and pulled off a win. From all the laughter and playful taunting, anyone walking into the arcade would have thought them the best of friends.

Yolei's ninja hurled three shuriken, but the Succubus froze them in place, swatted them back and pinned him to the edge of the screen. She leaped at him with her spiky high heels aimed right for his eyes... but then, suddenly, she stopped and landed. Not taking any chances, Yolei mashed her buttons, and her ninja whipped out a sword and cleaved the succubus right down the middle. "Whoo!" Yolei laughed, wiping sweat off her brow and turning to Mimi. "Why'd you stop? You were gonna win for..."

Mimi had turned away from the machine, reading a text message on her cell phone with an annoyed look. "Nuts," she grumbled, stuffing the phone back in her pocket. "Sorry about that... Look, my friends want me to meet up with them for a movie on the second floor. You can get home on your own, right?"

Yolei blinked a few times, confused; weren't they just having fun? "Uh... Well, yeah..." she replied. "It's not too far..."

"Good girl," Mimi replied. "Let's say this was the second lesson."

"Uh... OK..." Yolei said uncertainly; did Mimi really change moods this fast?

"For the next lesson, I'll have to check my schedule," Mimi went on, hitting some buttons on her cell phone and offering it to Yolei. "Give me your e-mail address, and I'll send one to you later."

Yolei slowly pressed the buttons until she had transcribed her address into the phone, then handed it back. Mimi took one look at the words and broke out laughing. "THAT'S your address?" she giggled.

Rage made itself comfortable in Yolei's chest again. What was so funny about "1337crusherY?" She had crushed her in the arcade game plenty of times just now... and elitely.

"Oh, well," Mimi said, putting the phone away. "I'll see you later." With that, she turned and left the arcade.

Yolei grumbled and started picking up all the bags of clothes. The nerve of that girl! One minute acting friendly, the next shoving her aside like a dust bunny under the bed! None of her other friends would ever act like that-

Her spine stiffened. Her other friends? The message on her D-Terminal! She whipped it out and read over the message, and instantly she felt sick to her stomach. Her friends were in trouble and Poromon was at Izzy's house? This day just got worse and worse...

She grabbed up all the bags and tore out of the mall towards Izzy's place, almost tripping herself at least six times in the first three minutes.

* * *

Unlike the one they had come into the temple through, this tunnel was lit with torches... but the kids were too busy running for their lives to notice. The hat fluttered from wall to wall, as if some unknown source was pulling it on a string, taunting them. Every time one of them reached to grab it, it jumped away.

"Ugh..." TK grumbled, failing to snatch the hat again. "I don't know what's worse; the Incamon or this!"

"I think we lost 'em," Davis panted. "You think we lost 'em?"

The hat drifted around a corner and two Incamon leaped out, shouting loudly and brandishing their spears.

"No, I DON'T think we lost them," Kari gulped, screeching to a halt.

Gatomon, fed up with being useless, leaped past her friends and latched onto the face of one of the Incamon, clawing and slashing and knocking it down. Patamon zipped in front of TK and blew the other one into the wall with a powerful belch. "Hurry!" Gatomon yelled, leaping off of her prey. The kids and their partners zipped down the tunnel after the hat, but the Incamon were not so easily trounced; at the rear of the pack, Digmon and Exveemon could hear them getting back up with angry yells.

This tunnel twisted and turned back on itself at least a dozen times, and there was no wind to be felt, and yet the hat just kept going. Now not only did the Digidestined keep missing their chances to grab it, but nearly every corner yielded a band of Incamon ready to run them through. At first Gatomon and Patamon were able to deal with them, but finally Exveemon and Digmon leaped to the front and started plowing through the ever-increasing numbers of statues.

"Jeez, man!" Davis swore as they raced past another fallen slew of Incamon. "Where the hell is this tunnel going?"

They rounded another corner and he got the lousy answer: they popped out in the room they had started from... and the Incamon were waiting for them! With more eerie chanting, the Incamon raised their spears and swung them like swords, and fireballs magically appeared and came right at the kids.

Cody narrowly dodged one of the fireballs. "Maybe this is why the torches are lit," he huffed, stomping out the embers.

Kari turned and frowned at the Incamon; she'd had enough. "Hey, stop it!" she demanded. "Why're you trying to hurt us?"

The Incamon's cries stopped, as did the fireballs. One of them, taller than the others and with a larger headdress and a brilliant purple robe, stepped out of the crowd, glaring down at the organics. "You have desecrated our sacred temple," it boomed in a low, stony voice. "For this, you shall be punished!"

The kids recoiled at its speaking. At first it had seemed like these statues just automatically attacked them, just as Spire-born did... but if one of them could both call off the others and speak, that suggested higher intelligence. They had to be real Digimon... and many real Digimon could be reasoned with.

"Hey, uh," Exveemon tried, "we weren't tryin' ta desecrate anything... We're just tryin' to get that-"

"SILENCE!" the tall Incamon yelled, banging his spear on the ground. The whole temple shook. The Incamon started chanting and hurling fireballs again.

"Diplomacy ain't his strong point, looks like..." Digmon gulped, getting in front of Cody and blocking one of the projectiles. The others hid behind Exveemon and Digmon, too, unable to fight back against such a big salvo.

"Dammit!" Davis swore, jumping away as a fireball shot between Exveemon's legs and almost got him. "Where's Ken when you need him?"

"It looks like we're on our own this time..." Patamon admitted sadly. "What can we do?"

Bracing himself against Digmon's left leg, TK scowled. "We might have to take them out," he said, "even if they aren't Spire-born."

Cody looked up, not believing what came from TK's mouth. "What?" he asked. "They're just protecting their temple!"

"If you've got a better idea, then let's hear it," Gatomon grunted, swatting a fireball back with her tail.

Cody thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "TK," he suggested, "why don't Kari and you work together on this one?"

TK blinked, then jumped; of course! Why hadn't he thought of that? "Kari!" he said. "You with me?"

Kari pulled out her D3 and nodded. "Let's do it," she agreed.

The fireballs ceased. "They plot something!" the tallest Incamon thundered. "Destroy them all now!"

With deafening cries, all of the Incamon charged right at the group. Exveemon and Digmon panicked; how could they stop all of them at once?

Something flashed behind them. "Digmon! Exveemon!" Cody called. "DUCK!"

Not knowing what else to do, the two big Digimon obeyed. The Incamon's war cries turned to frustrated shrieks as Pegasusmon and Nefertimon dragged a shining, golden rope right into them, rounding them all into one big, stony bundle. Exveemon got up, grabbed the rope and yanked on it as hard as he could. The angry guardians became a whirling top, spinning around the chamber until at last they smashed into the far left wall, all groaning and momentarily stunned.

"Whew..." Kari sighed. "Nice thinking, Cody!"

Cody nodded solemnly. As dangerous as things got, he couldn't condone destroying life. His father certainly would not have approved.

"OK, back to work," Davis said, looking around. "Where's that stupid hat?"

"Over there!" Digmon said, pointing. Mimi's pink hat, still mysteriously airborne, was flying out a large doorway off to their right.

"I'm getting real tired of this..." Pegasusmon grumbled. "How is it still flying?"

As the kids started for the door, the tallest Incamon's upper half emerged from the mass. "Stop!" he yelled. "That leads to our most sacred altar! Do not defile it!"

"Your mom defiles it," Davis replied snarkily. "Come on, you guys!"

Through the door was a long flight of stairs, which they followed up to a high-ceilinged, pyramid-shaped chamber with an ornate golden table on a podium in its center, an engraving of what looked like a sun with an angry face taking up most of the side the Digidestined could see. A single ray of sunlight came down from the center of the ceiling and shone down on it, making it seem to glow.

"We must be at the top of the temple," Nefertimon remarked.

"Whoo..." Exveemon whistled, looking at the eerie chamber. "This's creepy..."

Davis looked at the angry sun on the table. "Who's that?" he asked. "Looks like somethin' from one of Yolei's games."

"I think that's Inti, the Incan sun god..." Cody replied, shaking his head. "I swear, if those Incamon heard you now..."

Suddenly, the cowboy hat flopped down on top of the altar with a whump that made them all jump. "Woah!" Kari yelped. "Are hats supposed to be that loud?"

"Well, at least it's stopped moving now," Davis said, walking up the rest of the stairs towards the golden table. "Man! You'd think this hat was alive the way it dragged us all over the-"

Before he could get a grip on either the hat or his sentence, the whole chamber shook violently, making even the heavy golden table thump around in alarm. "Davis! Get back!" TK yelled. "It's a trap!"

The top of the ceiling seemed to bend inward for a moment, then tore away from the rest of the room with a thunderclap. From the blindingly blue sky and with a violent shriek dropped Hippogryphomon, looking as furious as ever. It landed on the altar, smashing it into scrap metal.

"You again? I'm gettin' sick of this!" Davis snarled, whipping out his D3. "Exveemon, Digi-"

In less time than it takes to write it, Hippogryphomon spun around and its mighty hind legs kicked Davis into Exveemon, sending them both crashing into what little wall was left. "Oh, no!" Kari gasped.

Cody scowled at Hippogryphomon. "Digmon, get rid of it!" he ordered.

Digmon charged up the stairs, flanked by Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, but Hippogryphomon had the advantage on its perch. With a mighty scream and a rapid beating of its wings, the three Armor Digimon joined Exveemon in the wall rubble. It reared up on its hind legs and screeched again triumphantly.

The remaining kids looked at the monster, then at their fallen partners. They needed help... but where was it?

* * *

A frantic knock at the door made Izzy sigh with both relief and ire. That would be Yolei, come to get Poromon. He couldn't believe how negligent she had been today! He was going to give her a stern talking to about what being a Digidestined meant, and how other things had to come second now that the Crest fragments were-

The door smacked him in the face as he turned the knob, and in charged a plastic bag monster! "WOAH!" Poromon yelled, flipping off of the bed in surprise. This was a good thing, since the bags all collapsed onto the bed, Yolei yanking herself out of them.

Izzy gawked at the mass of stuff now on his sleeping place, then frowned at her. "Yolei," he spoke crossly, holding his throbbing nose, "where have you been?"

"Sorrysorrysorry!" Yolei panted, jamming her shoes back on and whipping out her D3. "Come on, Poromon! Let's get going!"

"Our friends are in trouble, and you went shopping?" Izzy demanded. "That's the most irresponsible-"

"Tell me off later, will you?" Yolei huffed, grabbing Poromon. "Just show me where to go!"

Izzy grudgingly opened the Digital Gate and set it to the Arumbaya Marshlands. "They've gone into the big temple in the center," he said. "Be careful; something's after them."

"Right!" Yolei said. She started to raise the D3, then blinked. "Oh, um, Izzy..." she said meekly, turning to him. "Could you hide all that stuff for now, please? I'll come back for it later, I swear!" With that, she vanished.

The room empty again, Izzy looked over at the plastic pile. How could someone as reliable as Yolei ignore a D-Terminal summon and go shopping instead? What had she even bought? Curious, he walked over and started rummaging around in the mess. There must have been a big sale on games, he figured, or maybe some manga or movies, or-

His fingers emerged pinching a pair of thin black panties with a pink heart stitched in the center. His face as red as his hair, he jammed the garment back in the bag, threw all the bags in his closet, and slammed the door. He slowly backed away from it, then returned to the safety of his computer screen. Sometimes knowledge was meant not to be pursued.

* * *

With all the strength he could muster, Exveemon flew at Hippogryphomon with a fierce kick, but the bird-lion creature simply rose higher into the air, unconcerned. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon came at it with a golden noose between their legs, but another of its hurricane gusts sent them back into the rubble they had just crawled out of.

"Fighting in the air isn't working," Cody growled, pulling out his D3. "Let's try something else."

He pressed a button and Digmon shrank back to Armadillomon. Then, in another flash, the gigantic Ankylomon took his place. Almost instantly, Cody regretted this decision; this roofless chamber was big to the kids, but not to Ankylomon; he hardly had room to move!

Hippogryphomon seemed to see it too, and instantly went on the offensive. slashing at the big dinosaur with its claws. Ankylomon swatted at it with his tail, but that was another mistake; the momentum pulled him forward, and he went scraping down the side of the temple and into the swamp water below. "Aww, great!" he rumbled, struggling to free himself. "Twice in one day?"

Davis forced himself to stand up and bit his lip. Ankylomon's crazy move had sent Mimi's hat moving again, and it was fluttering away from the chamber. "Oh, no you don't!" he yelled, leaping for it. Miraculously, his fingers clamped down on the brim and he brought it back to the floor with him.

Hippogryphomon's eyes immediately locked onto Davis, as if it knew how important that hat was. It dove right for him, its claws pointing right for his throat, murder in its eyes. "DAVIS!" Exveemon yelled. Davis gnashed his teeth, grabbed a rock and hurled it; if this was the end, he would go out fighting.

The rock bounced off of Hippogryphomon's beak without incident... but a stream of purple rings shot in from behind Davis, pummeling the monster and driving it back. Everyone turned toward where the rings had come from and their hearts leaped; Aquilamon flapped on the temple perimeter, Yolei sitting on his back. "Hey, guys!" she yelled at her friends, waving. "It's Yellowstone Yolei and the Temple of Boom!"

Hippogryphomon was not amused; its eyes were full of pure hatred as it shrieked at Aquilamon. "Yolei, get off," Aquilamon growled. "This is going to get ugly."

Yolei hopped down onto the chamber floor and Aquilamon flew into the sky, Hippogryphomon chasing after it like a heat-seeking missile. The birds flew all over the marshes, with Hippogryphomon screeching and slashing, and Aquilamon retaliating by firing more of his rings.

"Yolei!" TK cried as the kids ran to her.

Yolei turned to Davis. "That thing's an Ultimate Spire-born, right?" she guessed. "You'd better get Paildramon out there!"

Davis got back on his feet, shoved the hat at Kari and picked up his D3. "Exveemon!" he shouted.

Tired of the cat-and-mouse game, Hippogryphomon soared high up into the air, then dove at Aquilamon with its wings pulled in, doubling its speed; Aquilamon couldn't get away fast enough and was knocked spinning. Hippogryphomon came up from below with another screech, but Aquilamon managed to spew another Blast Ring salvo. The rings met the soundwaves and made a loud kaboom, sending Aquilamon reeling backwards. Hippogryphomon emerged triumphantly, but its front legs had been completely skinned, revealing the black stone beneath. Aquilamon snarled; a Spire-born, just like he thought!

Not going to let a cosmetic problem stop it, Hippogryphomon charged at Aquilamon for the kill... but it never got the chance. A long, lance-like object dropped down and pierced its middle all the way through. Aquilamon looked up to see Paildramon above. "Thanks for the tenderizing," he said, "but I like my chicken fried!"

Hippogryphomon writhed and shook, but it was definitely snared. The guns at Paildramon's loins pointed down at it and fired round after round into it, scattering a fine black dust across the marshlands. Satisfied, he retracted the lance, and the remaining chunk of rock dropped down and sank beneath the murky grass.

Aquilamon and Paildramon wavered, then shrank back down to Hawkmon and little Chibumon. The bird caught the blue sock thing on his back, and they flew back to the top of the temple. "That takes care of that," he reported, handing off his cargo to Davis.

"Whew! That was just awesome," Yolei panted, wiping her arm across her brow and flashing her friends a big grin. "Boy, did I show up at the right time, or what?"

Her answer- which she had expected but hoped wouldn't come- was a room full of angry glares. "Where the HELL were you?" Davis yelled at her. "We almost got killed!"

She swallowed hard. "Well, you see, I had to... uh..." she tried, but the glares were too strong; they muted her before she could come up with a fib.

Suddenly, they all heard a loud, angry yelling from the steps going back down. "Sounds like the Incamon got loose," Kari gulped. "Let's get out of here!"

Yolei was about to ask what an Incamon was, but nobody looked in the mood to talk to her. The boys got on Pegasusmon and the girls got on Nefertimon, and they flew down to the base of the temple, where Armadillomon was waiting. As they landed, they broke into a sprint away from the building, a hail of spears and fireballs coming down after them.

* * *

The Incamon weren't the only ones who fumed at the Digidestined. From just beyond the marshes, the crumpled figure in blue hissed angrily and tossed his binoculars into the jeep. Even with Hippogryphomon blowing that hat all over the swamp, they'd managed to grab it? Another Crest found, another plan foiled... That was two too many of either!

He limped back to his vehicle and sat down, sighing with relief. He started up the engine, turned the jeep around and sped off. There had to be another way to deal with those children. He had to come up with something for the next operation, before another Crest revealed itself...

He thought for a moment, then reached over and started pushing the buttons of a telephone keypad build into the dashboard. It was time for a brainstorming session.

* * *

In front of the gaping hole where they had entered, the kids collapsed in a heap, exhausted from the wild running. Davis coughed and something hot stung the back of his throat. "Are we... Are we safe?..." he gasped.

"I... think so..." Gatomon wheezed. "Incamon... are rock... so they'd sink if they tried to... chase us..."

"Also, they were guarding that temple," Cody pointed out, his breath amazingly regained. "I don't think they'd attack us now that we're out of it."

Chibumon hopped out of Davis's grip and beamed at Hawkmon. "Thanks for saving us, Hawkmon," he said, "but why were you so late?"

Hawkmon coughed awkwardly. "Yes, I do apologize for our tardiness," he said. "I'm afraid I don't know exactly why we were were late... but I assure you, it was not intentional, and it will not happen again. Isn't that right, Yolei?" He frowned at her over his shoulder.

Yolei swallowed, seeing the anger turning on her again. Inside she cursed Hawkmon for taking her own excuses before she could say them. "I'm really, really sorry, you guys..." she said meekly. "It's just like Hawkmon said. I didn't mean to be so late... and it won't happen again!..."

Kari shook her head. "Yolei, being a Digidestined means that you're part of a team," she said. "We all have to work together."

"And that means you have to show up on time," Cody grunted. "Didn't you get the e-mail?"

Yolei sighed. "...I did," she mumbled.

"So what was so important that you didn't come?" TK asked.

Yolei was defeated. No excuse she could give would sound even halfway decent to her angry friends. She felt like a total louse, regretting ever making the deal with Mimi... But she still wanted Ken to notice her. In the future, she would have to balance her time with Mimi and her duties as a Digidestined. From now on, the hunt for the Crest pieces came first. "I... I can't tell you," she answered TK's question, "but I promise, it'll never ever happen again! Honest!"

"Can't tell... Pshh!" Davis blew out the side of his mouth, the other showing similar signs of disgust. Cody rolled his eyes. TK shook his head. Kari did a little of both. The Digimon just grumbled to themselves.

Everyone turned and started to head for the warp back home. Yolei panicked; she couldn't leave it like this. "Come on! I said I was sorry!" she pleaded, running in front of them and walking backwards. "What can I do to make it up to you guys?"

Almost as soon as she had said that, her heel caught a loose stone. She flailed backwards off the causeway and toppled into the marsh's water. She shot back up, sopping wet and with strands of yellow grass sticking out of her hair.

Davis burst out laughing. "Well, that's a good start!" he cackled, pointing at her.

The others joined in with good-natured laughter. Yolei coughed a few more times, then smiled as well. Her pants may have been full of mud, but at least her friends were smiling again.

* * *

As if Yolei's shopping bag surprise wasn't enough, Izzy got another one when the Digital Gate opened up on his computer screen and ten life forms crashed down in his room. Almost immediately a terrible, mildewy smell took over the air. "Euugh!" he gasped, rushing to the balcony door and pushing it open. "What IS that?"

"Ooh... Sorry, Izzy," TK apologized as he got on his feet. "Things didn't go very cleanly this time..."

"Yeah, I just took a spill in the biggest..." Yolei began, but then realized something; the wet flecks were gone from her glasses. She looked down and was delighted to see that she was dry. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "I'm all clean!"

"That's because our clothes change when we go between the worlds..." Cody muttered, "but..."

Sitting on Izzy's floor were a very soggy set of Digimon. Gatomon, Patamon, Upamon and Chibumon all still dripped from their marsh adventure. "This... I didn't need," Gatomon grumbled, licking at her fur and shuddering from the taste.

Izzy stared at the drippy mess on his carpet for a moment, then snapped himself back into focus. "Did you find the Crest piece?" he asked.

Davis produced the old pink hat. "We chased this thing all over the swamp," he grumbled.

"Good grief!" Izzy exclaimed, snatching the hat. "Is this...?"

"Yep," TK said. "Mimi's old hat."

"Then..." Izzy trailed off. He flipped it around, and the gentle green flow was still coming from the inside. He stuck his fingers in, gave a little twist, and yanked out a small, diamond-shaped piece of green plastic, the faintest fraction of a teardrop engraved in it. "Prodigious!" he said. "Part of Mimi's Crest of Purity."

Yolei felt even worse. They had been after Mimi's Crest, one of the DigiEggs that she herself owned, and she hadn't been in on most of it.

"Go ahead and take it, Izzy," Davis grumbled, picking Chibumon off the soggy floor. "I'm going home for a long, scalding bath..."

"Yeah, good thing we showed up here instead of school," Upamon agreed. "The janitor would have thrown a fit!"

Cody blinked. "Why did we show up here, anyway?" he asked.

"Most likely because Yolei was the last person to enter the Digital World, and she did it from this terminal," Izzy reasoned. "Now, please, go before my mom comes in here! How'm I going to explain this?"

Everybody shuffled out of Izzy's room... everybody but Yolei and Poromon, that is. Izzy walked over to his closet and opened it, revealing her mound of plastic storage. "I'm very disappointed in you, ignoring your duties to go shopping," he muttered, dropping it all on his bed.

Yolei hung her head. "I know..." she mumbled. "Everyone else already yelled at me about it..."

"It won't happen again," Poromon said, flapping around and landing on Yolei's shoulder. "I'll make sure it doesn't!"

Izzy's scowl softened. He knew Yolei was a good kid; this was probably just a fluke. "Why did you go to the mall, anyway?" he asked, looking over the bags. "It isn't in your usual pattern of behavior... and neither is buying black panties."

Yolei's face went beet red; those panties were one of the few things she had picked out herself that Mimi hadn't hated! "I... uh... um..." she stammered, but she found herself without words for her mentor. Who knew how he would react if he knew she wanted to attract the Digimon Emperor? "I... I can't tell you," she admitted meekly. "Please... Don't tell anyone about this."

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell anyone?" he asked. "Is it really that important?"

"I... It is," she swallowed. "I'll never ask you for another favor in my life!"

Izzy stared hard at her for a moment. If she was breaking the cycle of her behavior patterns, then maybe it really was important. "...All right," he said. "I promise. But you have to pay more attention to your D-Terminal, OK?"

"Thank you!" Yolei sighed, her whole form sagging with relief. "You have no idea how much that means!"

"Don't worry about it," Izzy said. "Now, you'd better go..."

Yolei started to gather up the bags, then thought of something. "Oh, uh, one other thing," she spoke up. "Can I have that hat? Mimi might want it back..."

Izzy looked at the faded old cowgirl hat, then offered it to her. "From what I hear, she probably won't," he said, "but you're welcome to it."

"Thanks!" she said, stuffing it in one of the bags and Poromon in another (despite his objection). "See you later!" She gathered up her things and hobbled out the door. Izzy had to laugh; it was too hard to stay angry with a girl like Yolei.

"Izzy?" Yoshie asked, appearing in the door way. "I thought I heard voices. Did you just have some friends-"

The floor squelched under her feet, and her nose wrinkled. "Um... Mom," Izzy mumbled sheepishly, "where do we keep the carpet cleaner?..."

* * *

_In that moment, the boy's world completely fell apart. As he stared at the crumpled remains of his brother, his life fluids draining out onto the concrete, he turned to stone. He was as dead as the corpse before him._

_Not knowing what else to do, he stayed rooted to the spot until_

"Ken!" his mother's voice came from near his ear, almost making him jump through the wall. Mrs. Ichijouji pulled back in surprise. "Oh, sorry, Ken," she apologized. "I just wanted you to know that dinner's ready; it's breaded fish tonight."

Ken took a deep breath to wash away the panic, then nodded. "OK... Thanks, Mom," he said, smiling at her. "I'll be right there."

She left his room and he turned back, looking at his work. He sure had written a lot that afternoon; it wasn't easy, but it sure was enjoyable. Maybe he could even write a whole book.

As he turned to get up, though, his eyes fell on the cracked Digivice on the edge of the desk. Instantly guilt overtook him, gnawing at his soul. He didn't have time to be writing silly stories. He had to knock down all those spires; he had promised Sam and Wormmon.

He stared at the Digivice, then back at the journal, wrestling with himself. After a long pause, he grabbed the book and stuffed it in the desk drawer. Starting tomorrow, he went back to his obligations.

* * *

"Aww, Davis, do I hafta take a bath?" Chibumon objected as Davis disrobed in the family bathroom.

"You bet you do, little buddy," Davis remarked, pulling soap and a scrub brush out of the cupboard. "You smell like old, wet socks crammed in a dead whale's blow hole!"

Chibumon laughed; he always loved Davis's colorful analogies. "OK, you can clean me up!" he surrendered, hopping onto the little cleaning stool.

Davis chuckled and knelt down with the brush, lifting up Chibumon's little head-tail to start there. Just as he began to scrub, though, a horrible stream of noise blared through the wall. He clamped his hands over his ears and swore loudly. It was some kind of chaotic music with a screechy saxophone and a distraught piano, but whatever it was, he knew exactly where it was coming from.

"HEY!" he yelled, thumping his fist on the wall. "PUT HEADPHONES ON!"

The music grew softer and faded away. Davis grumbled for a bit, then went back to scrubbing Chibumon. "Geez... That sounded like a braindead howler monkey throwing puppies in a blender," he grunted.

Chibumon couldn't stop laughing. "Hee hee hee! Braindead... Puppies in... HA HA HA! Oh, Davis, you're killin' me!" he snickered.

Davis was glad his partner was happy, but he sure wasn't. What in the world was that music, and was Jun going to be playing it regularly now? Maybe he should have gone into her room beforehand and let Chibumon sit on her pillow for a while...

* * *

"OK, so..." Yolei mumbled, pulling another shirt out of the bags. "This is more a t-shirt... Guess it goes in the dresser."

"The dresser? Poromon replied, confused. "I thought t-shirts went on the floor."

"Well, yes..." she admitted, "but these are new. I should take care of them for a while..."

As Poromon tried working a few of the empty bags into his little nest, Yolei held the shirt up against her chest, looking at herself in the closet mirror. Did this make her feel "pretty?" She glanced at the pile of receipts on the desk, remembering how much she had spent. It made her feel pretty, all right: pretty poor. She would have to work a lot more hours at the I-Mart to make back what she needed for her games.

Just then, the computer beeped with the sound only a new e-mail made. She stuffed the shirt in the top dresser drawer and zipped over. It was from Mimi. That was obvious right away; she didn't disguise her name with any fun aliases like most of the cyber community. Curious, she opened the letter. It read as such:

_The next lesson will be at your appartment, so please tell me what your address is and what a good time and day are for you._

Yolei leaned back in her chair, a little amused; she was taking lessons from someone who couldn't even spell "apartment" correctly? Oh, well. At least it would be the last lesson... and if it was at her place, there was less chance of her spending money. She quickly wrote down her address in a response, and also:

_It'll have to be at night or on a Sunday this time; I have to spend my afternoons working._

She sent the message and stared at the blank screen. At night or a Sunday... At least the others wouldn't get mad at her again.

She hesitated for a moment, then frowned. Wait a minute; it wasn't like the others had never missed a mission. The first time they had gone to Spaghetti Junction, neither Kari nor TK had showed up... and they had been scolding her just like the others! That wasn't very fair... But then, they hadn't gone shopping with their time... had they?

She got up and turned off the computer, yawning loudly. She glanced over at Poromon, who had integrated a few bags into his nest and was nodding off. She smiled faintly. It had been a long, rough day. Maybe tomorrow would be better.


	29. Bugged

**CHAPTER 29**

**BUGGED**

With a great crash, two control spires experienced the wonder of flight before crashing to pieces among their fallen brothers. Ankylomon thumped his tail on the ground triumphantly. "That has to be a home run, at least!" he rumbled.

"Very good! Keep going," Cody called to him, then looked back down at his D-Terminal. "OK, so that's another two for Ankylomon... How many has Aquilamon knocked over today?"

Yolei looked up as her big bird partner's sonic rings tore through a spire's center. "That'd be lucky 13," she laughed. "Pure pwnage, just like yesterday!"

"What?" Davis huffed. "Like hell you did!"

"Sure I did!" she snapped back. "Cody got the most on Wednesday, and I knocked down the most yesterday! Twenty-nine! Read 'em and weep!" She looked over at Cody. "Cody, read back the numbers, will ya? I know I'm right!"

Cody raised an eyebrow. "You've been keeping score?" he asked.

She facevaulted. "You haven't?" she gasped.

"Well, I sure have," Davis chuckled. "After all, whoever offs the most by Sunday gets a date with me!... But Kari's the only one eligible."

"Thank goodness for that," Cody grumbled under his breath.

A gust of wind blew past and the kids looked up. Once again, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon flew in perfect synch, the magical golden rope between their feet pulling down the nearest spire. Just like dominoes, that spire hit another, which hit another, which hit another, until six spires smashed into the ground. No more spires remained standing as far as the eye could see.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon landed and reverted to lower forms. Exveemon, Aquilamon and Ankylomon did the same. "Awesome work!" TK laughed, scooping his partner up.

"That's quite a haul for today," Kari remarked to Gatomon. "Feeling tired yet?"

"Nothing a grilled tuna wouldn't fix," Gatomon replied.

"This was one of our most productive days," Hawkmon admitted. "It won't be long before the Digital World is spire-free."

"Yeah..." Cody mumbled, growing solemn again, "but that woman always makes more..."

"So we'll smash those, too! Right on top of her head!" Davis cackled, stamping the dirt for effect. "Maybe then that ugly hat of hers'll look decent!"

"It's all well an' good to talk 'bout it," Armadillomon said, stifling a yawn, "but I'm dog tired. What say we call it a day?"

"Yeah, I'm all for that," Veemon agreed. "My feet're gettin' sore from all the kicking."

"Where was the warp again?" Yolei asked.

"It's over here..." TK began, but stopped as he stared at the device. Unlike other warps he had seen, this one was in the shape of a television with a built-in tape recorder... and it was on; the letters "REC" flashed in red at the top of the screen. He scratched his head; had it been like this before? And what was being recorded?

"Hey, what's the hold-up?" Davis asked. "Let's get outta here."

"Oh, uh... Right," TK replied, turning off the VCR and pulling out his D3.

* * *

After the usual untangling of the man/mon pile in the computer lab, the kids straightened themselves out as their little friends gorged themselves on a bag of I-Mart goodies that Cody had supplied. "Amazing how you got a load like that without them finding it," TK remarked as Upamon and Demiveemon tore into a sack of gummy bears and Gatomon slashed her way through a pouch of seaweed crackers.

Cody smiled craftily. "I know some good hiding places in this school," he replied. "I'll have to show you."

"Mmm, this stuff's great!" Patamon laughed as he sucked the juice out of a wax soda bottle. "You'll have to take Cody shopping with you more often, Yolei!... Yolei?"

Yolei was sitting back at the computer, watching the Digital World map on the screen. Another black spot on the grid vanished with a tiny blip. She sighed contently, imagining Ken's midnight-blue hair fluttering in the evening breeze, blowing away control spires with the guns on his finely-toned arms...

And then it was all gone with one guffaw from Davis. "How 'bout that!" he exclaimed. "Ken's workin' overtime!"

"Yeah," TK agreed, joining Davis in looking over Yolei's shoulders, "the rate he goes, it won't be long before the whole map is spire-free."

"Well, so far as we know..." Kari admitted. "We have to ask Tai when the others are going scouting again. There may be other areas with spires we don't know about yet."

"But Izzy said this is a map of the whole Digital World," Patamon pointed out. "But it's not finished yet, either... We could do the scouting too!"

"We could, but we've got bigger things to do," TK said. "We have to knock down those spires, not to mention figure out who that woman is..."

"Don't you worry about that," Davis chuckled. "When Paildramon gets his hands on her, she ain't gettin' away!"

"Oh!" Upamon suddenly chirped, and hopped over to Demiveemon, who was licking the frosting out of a sandwich cookie. "Hey, Demiveemon, I wanted to ask... How DID you turn into Paildramon, anyway? None of us can do that..."

"Yeah," Poromon agreed, fluttering over, "and what's it like?"

Demiveemon put the cookie down and screwed up his face, deep in tiny thoughts. "Uhhhhhh..." he mumbled, "I dunno! Ken's D3 broke, and some light came out and went into me. Then I could Digivolve."

"It broke?" Upamon asked. "When was that?"

"Back when Okuwamon grabbed him," Demiveemon said. "There's a big crack in the screen now... but it's really weird!"

Poromon cocked himself to one side, puzzled. "What is?" he asked.

"Well, even though Ken was the mean Digimon Emperor," Demiveemon said, "when that light hit me, I felt something really nice... Something kind and gentle..."

Gatomon scratched her head. "Kind and gentle?" repeated.

Davis's smirk had faded, and now he folded his arms thoughtfully. "Ya know, when it came out, Ken seemed to think it was Wormmon..." he remarked. "Kind and gentle... That sounds like him."

"Plus, look at Paildramon," Patamon piped up. "He looks like Exveemon, but he's got other bits and pieces... and they almost look like bug parts."

There was a silence as everyone pondered the question before them. "Do Digimon have ghosts?" Davis asked.

"We saw Wizardmon at the TV station," TK pointed out.

"But even if it was," Poromon said, "can Digimon spirits force Digivolution?"

"Digimon aren't organic beings, though," Yolei said. "This thing would have to be a leftover program of some kind... but I guess you could say that's a spirit."

"If it's that, then maybe Wormmon has become part of Demiveemon's programming," Kari said. "Since you got that power, Demiveemon, have you heard any thoughts that weren't yours?"

Demiveemon blinked. "No, I don't think so," he said. "Nothing past the usual stuff, anyway."

"What about you, Davis?" TK asked. "Your D3 starts sparking when Exveemon Digivolves. What does that mean?"

Davis shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "Maybe Izzy'll know something when he's done looking over its data... but he sure is takin' his sweet time; it's been past a week already!"

Kari heaved a deep sigh. "Boy," she said, "just when we think we've got this whole Digivolution thing figured out, something new pops up. If Digimon spirits can really cause it, that opens up a whole new field of possibilities!"

Yolei blinked. "What, so for Cody and me to get Ultimate Digivolutions, we should have a Digi séance or something?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Séance?" Upamon spoke up. "Is that a kind of sauce? Sounds yummy!"

"Well, I don't know..." Kari went on. "If Wormmon really did fuse with Exveemon to make him Paildramon, I wonder if two living Digimon could do that, too..." She leaned on the desk and tapped it with her finger, thinking. "I mean, if Exveemon and Angemon mixed together, we'd get a big, blue angel lizard... or if it was Gatomon, maybe an electric cat dinosaur."

"Electric cat dinosaur?" TK asked. "Sounds like a rock band."

Davis beamed at Kari. "Well, I know who I'D like to merge with..." he cackled.

Yolei yanked off his goggles and smacked the back of his head with them.

Kari was still dreaming things up. "Ooh, if Exveemon and Aquilamon got together, maybe we'd get a pterodactyl thing! Oh, and if it was Ankylomon-"

Cody cut her off with a disgusted snort. Davis turned on him angrily. "Hey!" he snapped. "What's the matter? Is Armadillomon too GOOD for merging with Veemon? Huh?"

Cody shook his head. "You're too optimistic about this," he grumbled. "That light came from the Digimon Emperor's D3. It could be a computer virus or something! It helps now, but maybe soon, it could turn Veemon against us... just like a dark ring!"

There was an unpleasant silence as this new idea filled the kids' minds. "Gee... I didn't think of that..." Kari admitted.

"I don't think that's the case," TK said, shaking his head. "I mean, Ken would have to be able to hack his D3 to put a virus into it... and if Izzy can't get far into their programming, I don't think Ken could."

"Good God, Cody," Davis grumbled. "Why you gotta be a buzzkill all the time?"

"And why do YOU have to be so naive?" Cody returned bitterly. "We can't trust that boy! He tried to enslave the Digital World, and he wasn't afraid to hurt US, either. It's all a scheme!"

"You know what I think of your schemes?" Davis snapped, his fists balling.

A wave of purple hair and shoves into the boys' stomachs ended the face-off. "OK, break it up!" Yolei huffed. "We don't know much about it, but as long as it's helpful, I say we use it! It helped us find Crest pieces, right?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Davis huffed, peering past her at Cody. "Don't knock it!"

"Besides..." Yolei turned and frowned at Cody as if he had insulted her personally, "Ken isn't the same anymore."

"Yeah..." TK agreed. "Since we destroyed Kimeramon, he does seem to have changed... He sure helped me out against Devimon, and he even saved YOUR life, Cody."

Cody's glare only deepened, and a furious grunt escaped his mouth. Not only was he outnumbered in his thinking, but now he also remembered the debt he owed the Emperor for saving him in Suadi Arugula. Just the thought that he owed that fiend his life made him feel sick.

"All right, all right..." Kari interrupted, seeing things were getting out of hand, "let's all calm down before someone says something mean."

"Yeah, let's all go home and rest," Gatomon agreed. "Sounds like we need it."

Davis groaned. "Aww, man, do I have to?" he complained. "My dumb sister's started playin' this awful music every night, and I can't stand it!"

"Really?" Demiveemon asked, puzzled. "That stuff's fun!"

"Not when you're tryin' to put a model plane together," Davis grunted.

"Well, where can you go if you aren't going home?" Kari asked. "It's kind of late to be wandering around out there alone."

Davis thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll go see Izzy," he decided. "See how that analyzin's goin'..."

"Why?" Yolei smirked. "You won't understand what he tells you."

"Hey, if I don't have to listen to that music, it's fine by me!" he rebuked.

"What do you mean by awful?" TK asked.

"It's a whole bunch of screechy saxophones and drums and someone banging on a piano," Davis groaned, rubbing at his forehead. "Just thinking about it gives me a headache!"

TK scratched his head. Saxophones, drums and a piano?

* * *

Ken squinted hard. In the star-speckled darkness, it was getting tough to tell where the control spire was against the forest's skyline... but not too tough. He pointed his shoulder cannon at a tiny gleam and fired, and the trees rocked with a dull THUD. He listened to the silence, then relaxed as crickets started chirping again. That was the end of them here. On to the next area...

His eye caught the glow of the small clock on the top of his grenade launcher, and his eyes widened. A quarter past nine already? He had to call it a night. He couldn't worry his parents again.

He lowered his weapons and started walking, searching for the warp home. He certainly had made up for lost time that day; a least a hundred spires could no longer hurt anyone. He cursed himself for even taking that day off; wretches don't have the right to any rest. He was sure those kids hadn't taken a break.

He paused and stared up at the trees. Curiously, he wondered what they had been doing. Had they found another of those Crests? Had that woman gone after them? What if she had made another Spire-born? He sighed. No, they'd be fine... After all, they've got Paildramon...

He froze, then shook his head violently. What did it matter if they were fine or not? They weren't any concern to him! All that mattered was destroying the spires, along with anyone who abused them. He couldn't waste his time worrying about them; even if they said nice things, they certainly wouldn't worry about the Digimon Emperor.

With an angry harrumph, he picked his heavy arms up and kept walking. He would no longer deviate. Every trace of the Digimon Emperor had to be destroyed... Every last bit.

* * *

Izzy certainly hadn't expected a visitor this late on a school night, let alone Davis and his partner. "Uh, hey, guys... What's up?" he asked, not sure what else to say.

"Hi, Izzy!" Demiveemon chirped.

"'Sup, Izzy," Davis said. "Just wanted to see how that analysis is comin'."

Izzy thought for a moment, and then his face went an awkward shade of red. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed. "Your D3... Actually, what with the Crest pieces showing up and all that fuss, I haven't really gotten to it yet."

"What?" Davis asked, genuinely shocked. "Whaddya mean? I thought you were a super brain!"

"Hey, that's not very fair," Izzy huffed, frowning. "I have to go to school and eat and sleep, just like you. I'm a human being; I get sidetracked."

Demiveemon blinked. "You run on tracks?" he asked. "Where are they?"

Davis sighed, annoyed. "OK, OK, sorry," he grumbled. "Did you find out anything, though?"

Izzy went to his computer and opened up the analysis program, revealing a bunch of charts, graphs and number readouts that Davis thought would burst his brain if he tried too hard to understand them. "I was able to copy a little of your D3's data before you took it back," Izzy explained, "but not enough for a good analysis. I'll have to borrow it again some time to get the whole thing."

"You can borrow it now," Davis said, fishing it out of his pocket. "I mean, weekend's coming up and all that... You've got time then, right?"

Izzy shook his head. "Sorry, Davis, but not this weekend," he said. "I've got a paper to write for my biology class... and I'm terrible in that class, so it's going to eat up my whole Sunday. Hold onto the D3 for now; maybe next weekend."

Davis couldn't help but chuckle at that. Koushiro Izumi, master of all things technological, was bad with studying organic things!

"Still, I did learn one thing," Izzy grumbled, turning back to the program. "The security surrounding the programs is still a real pain. Even with my upgraded program, I won't be getting far without more help."

Davis scratched his head. "Help?" he asked.

"You remember when I analyzed Yolei's D3," Izzy went on, typing at his computer. "I worked together with a friend in America. Thanks to him, I got twenty-five percent of it analyzed where before I only got fifteen."

"Oh..." Davis said, scratching his head. "Heh... Serves me right for thinking all computers were good for was video game help and porn."

Izzy chuckled a little, then frowned at the screen. A blank text document titled "The Amoeba and I" frowned back at him. "Still, my friend can't do everything," he mumbled, "but we may make more headway on yours than we did on Yolei; the initial security on what I copied from it was a LOT easier to break into, and not just because I'd done it before."

"Whaddya mean?" Demiveemon asked.

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "Not that I'll get what you're sayin', but I might as well hear it."

"It's the code inside your D3," Izzy said. "It's different from what was in Yolei's."

"Why's that funny?" Demiveemon piped up.

"Well, I'd expect each D3 to have similar code," Izzy went on. "When I analyzed a few of our older Digivices, the coding was virtually the same. There were a few differences here and there, since they were specially made for each of us, but nothing as dramatic as this."

Davis scratched at his chin. Oddly enough, he had understood a lot of that. "So... what d'ya think that means?" he asked.

Izzy sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I'll send a letter to my friend after I'm done with my paper... but whatever the case, these D3s are even more a mystery now than they were before... Whoo. Biology and Digimon... I'm going to have a mammoth migraine by Monday!"

A low gurgle sounded. "Woah," Davis gulped, backing up. "Is your brain gonna bounce outta yer head?"

"Um, Davis," Demiveemon said, looking up at him, "that was my tummy."

Davis looked sheepish for a minute, then chuckled. "Well, then I think it's dinner time," he said, scooping his partner up. "Whaddya say we hit the barbecue joint down the street?"

Demiveemon signaled his approval with a happy cheer. "Swell," Davis cackled. "Guess we're headin' out, Izzy. Good luck on that paper."

"Thanks," Izzy agreed. "I'm gonna need it..."

Davis opened the door. "Hey, by the way," he said, stopping, "the room smells pretty nice; you must've got all that stank water out, huh?"

"Yeah, finally," Izzy muttered, wiping his brow. "Took two whole bottles of carpet cleaner."

"Sorry..." Demiveemon apologized.

Davis shut the door and the room grew quiet again, save the electronic humming. Izzy turned back to his blank paper and stared at it for a while, then brought up the D3 analysis again. He leaned back in his chair, tugging at his whiskerless chin. Why did two of the same device have such different sets of coding?...

* * *

It was odd that the Digidestined would choose such a desolate area to clear of control spires... and the woman didn't like oddity. In fact, she hated it. She hated oddity just as much as she hated those children.

In the newfallen dusk, she fumed at the plain of toppled obelisks, her eyes sparking with a silent hatred beneath her sunglasses. She had just created all of those spires the day before, and now they lay crushed beneath one another, toppled like dominoes! Did those despicable delinquents think they could do whatever they wanted with her property? She picked up a fragment of one of her precious spires and glared at it. She would have to take on a disciplinary role with those brats; the next time she saw them... With a snarl, she pitched the rubble as hard as she could.

She jumped at the clunking noise it made; that was a sound she didn't expect out in an empty area. Curious, she walked over and looked at what she had hit. It was one of those wretched televisions that the kids used to come into this world. She looked it over with displeasure, but also curiosity. She had seen warps like it before, but this one was different; it was making a whirring noise, and the letters "REW" flashed in red on the screen. As she watched it, it clicked few times, and the letter changed to "PLAY." The screen flickered on and she bit her lip; an image of a falling spire appeared, followed by those Digidestined cheering and laughing!

"This was one of our most productive days," that eagle thing stated. "It won't be long before the Digital World is spire-free."

"Yeah..." the short, crabby kid mumbled, "but that woman always makes more..."

"So we'll smash those, too! Right on top of her head!" the idiot with the goggles laughed, stamping the dirt. "Maybe then that ugly hat of hers'll look decent!"

The screen fizzled for a moment, and then it all restarted. "This was one of our most productive days," the bird said again. "It won't be long before the Digital World is spire-free."

"Yeah..." the short kid replied, "but that woman always makes more..."

As the gogglehead repeated his opinion on her clothes, the woman's mouth curled into a furious snarl. With one swift motion, she buried her foot in the screen and sent the whole contraption flying. As it smashed to pieces on a broken spire, she sucked in air and blew it out angrily. How dare those little vermin speak about her like that! Creepy? Stupid hat? They weren't only vandals and busybodies, but hypocrites, too; with the loony outfits they paraded around in, who were they to talk about fashion? That was the last straw; it was time to take those prepubescent pipsqueaks out of the picture!

She jerked a pink cellular phone out from her robes and punched in some numbers. The device buzzed a few times, and then clicked. "It's me," she spoke into it. "Remember that plan? We're using it. Meet me there as soon as you can."

* * *

Even with Sunday on the horizon, Ken was in no mood for it. School that day had once again been a hassle. The teachers could yell at him all they wanted for assignments he had never done, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered any more. All that counted was the mission.

"Oh, hello, Ken dear," his mother said, looking up from a book she was reading. "How was school today?" She looked at her son again and the smile faded; he was looking even more haggard than before. "...Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Hi, Mom. Gotta study..." Ken quickly replied, ignoring the questions and heading straight for his room. As much as he didn't want to upset her, he had to stay focused on his job.

As he opened the door, he winced. He had turned all the lights off in the morning, but now there was a bright white glow; his computer was on. He closed his door and dropped his backpack on the floor, then walked over and scowled at the monitor; there was a threatening e-mail taking up the entire screen:

_Dear Digimon Emperor,_

_I warned you to stay out of my way, but you still refuse._

_Since you insist on returning to the Digital World, perhaps we can come to an arrangement._

_Come to the Crested Coach Motel, at the coordinates I've sent. The Digidestined and we can have a nice, orderly discussion there._

He spat out of the side of his mouth. Diplomacy from that woman was as likely as a snowball's chances in Hell. It had to be a trap.

He moved to delete the message, but then his mind hit upon something: those other kids were going to be there... and they were definitely stupid enough to fall for something like this. He shook his head wildly; what did it matter what the others were doing? He was sick of arguing with himself about whether they could be friends or not; he had to stay away from them!

Still... He looked at the letter again. That woman was definitely going to be there; between the others and himself, they had done enough damage to her spires and her subordinates that she'd have to be there to see them get finished off... which means that this was his chance to finish HER off.

He reached for his D3, then remembered something. He had been eating dinner with his parents on a regular basis now. If he didn't show up for that, they might come in and see that he was gone, and it would be a panic all over again, just like before... He had to make sure that didn't happen. He quickly pulled out his journal and scribbled out a note which read:

STUDYING- DO NOT DISTURB

He took a piece of tape and stuck it on the doorknob. There, that would do it. With that, he readied his D3. It was time for this woman to go.

* * *

"Wheeew!" Yolei panted, sinking into one of the lab's swivel chairs, Poromon perched on her lap. "I thought class would NEVER end!"

"Another reading assignment?" Cody guessed. "It's odd how you can be so engrossed in graphic novels, and yet you moan and groan when you're asked to flip through a paperback."

"There are PICTURES in manga," Yolei muttered.

"You make your own pictures in books," Cody replied. "It's called 'imagination.'"

"That hurts my brain," Yolei pouted. "I like it when someone else draws it for me."

Cody blinked a few times. "How I still respect you, I don't know," he grumbled.

"It's easier when ya never did," Davis cackled as he walked in, TK and Kari behind him.

As Yolei fought the urge to chuck Poromon at her insulter's head, Demiveemon hopped out of the closet and Davis scooped him up. "Finally!" Demiveemon laughed. "Those teachers keep you in here too long!"

"I'll second that," Patamon agreed, dropping down from one of the lights. "It's so hot and boring in here!"

"You could fly up on the roof," TK answered. "I bet there's a good breeze."

"I tried that once," Patamon sighed. "Boy, was that mama bird mad... I kept saying I didn't MEAN to sit on her eggs, but she just wouldn't listen!"

"So, Davis," Kari said, picking Gatomon up, "how'd your meeting with Izzy go yesterday?"

Davis snorted. "We're workin' our butts off here, and what does he do? Nothin'!" he crabbed. "Well, I mean, yeah, things've been goin' a mile a minute around here, so maybe it's not so hard to see why..."

"So did he actually say anything, or are you just going to ramble?" Cody asked.

Davis scowled at Cody, then thought for a moment. "Well, he did say one thing: he said my D3 was easier to get into than Yolei's."

"Easier?" Gatomon asked.

"Yeah, he said the coding was different," Davis said. "More simple."

"Well, that figures," Yolei cackled. "Stupid brain, easy coding!"

"How 'bout a simple kick to yer stupid face?" Davis snarled at her. "Or maybe it wasn't the code at all! Maybe Izzy had a tough time gettin' into yours 'cuz it stinks and he had to run out for a gas mask!"

"Hey!" Yolei snapped, looking way more insulted than usual. "I've been showering every night!"

Davis blinked a few times. "...Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

That made Yolei even angrier. "What, you think I'm incapable of cleaning myself?" she huffed.

"Hey, hey, guys!" TK piped up, getting between them and waving his D-Terminal. "What're we going to do about this?"

Davis and Yolei looked over at Cody and Kari, who also had their D-Terminals open. Puzzled, they opened their own. A bothersome message was scrawled out on the screen:

_Dear Digidestined,_

_We need to discuss the debt you owe for destroying my property._

_Come to the Crested Coach Motel, at the following coordinates. I'm afraid I'm very busy, so I won't be able to come until tomorrow morning, so feel free to spend the night at my expense._

Davis whistled. "Boy, I gotta check this thing more often," he said. "When did this come in?"

"Just now, while you two were arguing," Cody replied.

"The gizmos beeped, but I guess you were louder," Upamon said.

"What's a 'motel?'" Demiveemon asked.

"They're little stopovers, usually along highways," Yolei explained.

"Yes, usually frequented by people on the run from the police," Cody muttered. "Not really the best place for children."

"Yeah, but that's a pretty fancy name," TK said. "Crested Coach? Who names a motel something like that?"

Davis thought for a second. "Maybe it's one of those 'love motels' you hear the grownups talkin' about," he suggested. "Sounds kinda girly-romantic-fancy, if you ask me. Pink unicorns and stuff."

Yolei made a face. "Trust me, Davis; a love motel isn't what you think it is," she mumbled.

"Have you been to one?" Poromon asked.

"No, but I've read plenty of doujinshi," she sighed.

"So..." Kari repeated TK's question, "what should we do?"

"You have to ask that?" Yolei huffed, "This is such a trap, it's not even funny! It's like Davis set it up!"

"Oh, yeah?" Davis huffed. "Well, if it's like I made it, then we can use my answer for dealin' with it!"

"What's that?" Patamon asked.

"Easy," Davis replied, grinning. "We go there, we cash in on this super-generous offer... and then we blow that woman's sexy ass to smithereens!"

"Is that all?" Cody asked, raising an eyebrow. "With that kind of attitude, YOU sound like the villain."

"Yeah, Davis, that is kinda mean..." Demiveemon said.

"She's a human being, just like us!" Yolei protested. "Maybe we can reason with her; we reasoned with Ken, after all!"

Cody snorted. "Give an example that WORKS," he huffed.

TK and Kari looked at each other, but said nothing.

"Either way, we're goin', right?" Davis pointed out. "We gotta deal with her sooner or later."

The others all nodded. "Let's get moving..." Gatomon agreed.

"Wait a second," Kari piped up. "If this is a motel, we should call our parents and tell them we'll be gone for the night. We don't want them to worry."

"Yeah, let's say there's a study-based sleepover or something," TK agreed.

"Ooh!" Davis cackled. "Can we say it's at Kari's place?"

Yolei rolled her eyes. "You just never quit, do you?" she grumbled.

"That might be a good idea, actually," Cody pointed out. "Tai can vouch for us, plus he can open the portal from her place so we don't have to sneak out of the school on a Sunday."

"OK, then," Kari said, taking out her cell phone. "Let's call them."

Using Kari's phone, the kids each called their parents and got permission from their folks. "That's settled," Cody said, the last to use it. "Just remember, this is certainly a trap... Stay alert, always keep your D3s and D-Terminals on your persons, and test any food we're given."

"Aye aye, cap'n," Davis laughed, mock-saluting the boy.

Upamon jumped in shock. "Cody's a captain?" he gasped. "Wow! Why didn't you tell me, Cody? What's your ship's name?"

Cody just sighed and took out his D3. "Digiport open," he instructed, and the computer screen gleamed.

* * *

Once again, the kids were greeted by a vast, empty Digital World landscape. "Man!" Davis said, looking around. "Landscapin' ain't one of their hobbies here, is it?"

Veemon joined his partner in looking. For hundreds of meters around them, there was indeed only cracked, dead earth... but in the middle of it all, he spotted something. "Davith!" he exclaimed, pointing. "Izzat it?"

Everyone looked where he pointed. A small, run-down looking white rectangle of a building sat there, the words "CRESTED COACH MOTEL" flickering in red neon letters on a tall sign in front of it. If that really was the place, then Cody's description had been the most accurate; it looked like a dive someone would only come to for either a sleazy affair or committing suicide.

"Eww," Patamon voiced. "It doesn't look very nice."

TK nodded. "But if we can resolve this mess with that woman..." he trailed off.

"Yeah," Gatomon agreed, cracking her feline knuckles. "Let's show 'er!"

As the wind blew across the dusty expanse, Hawkmon noticed something moving in the shadow of the giant neon sign. He peered at it for a moment, then pointed. Ken Ichijouji leaned against the sign, decked out in all his weaponry and his hair gently fluttering in the breeze. "Heyyyyy!" Davis yelled to him, waving excitedly.

Ken looked up and frowned, obviously not pleased to see the flock rushing towards him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "You know this is a trap."

"Yeah," TK agreed. "It looks like that woman's trying to get us all at once..."

"I bet we can throw it right back in her face if we work together!" Yolei declared, beaming at the raven-haired boy. "Whaddya say, Ken?"

Cody scowled and looked away, as he always did.

Ken didn't look very thrilled, either. "This isn't any of your business," he said, avoiding their gazes.

"Hey, come on!" Davis huffed. "Don't be sayin' that! Sure it is! We're all Digidestined here!"

"Don't you have some Crests to find?" Ken said, ignoring him and checking over his weapons.

"Ken, if you go in alone, you won't stand a chance," Kari said, worry apparent in her voice. "Why do you keep trying to put yourself in danger like this?"

"Yeah, that lady's not gonna make it easy," Gatomon said. "She's probably got a troupe of Spire-born in there already."

Ken wasn't convinced. "This is my problem," he repeated, glaring at them. "I'll take care of it."

"C'mon, Ken, we talked about this," Davis urged. "You can't be goin' off on kamikaze stunts!"

"And I told you," Ken growled, "the Digimon Emperor needs to be erased!"

That strange gleam in his eye made all of them very nervous... but one person stepped forward, breaking the icy silence. Veemon looked up at the boy with his big, red eyes. "Ken, please come with us," he said. "With Paildramon's super-strength and your big kabooms, we could take whatever gets thrown at us!"

Ken stared down at the Digimon, his stony attitude suddenly cracking. Who was this who was asking him to come? Was it Veemon, Davis's inept happy-go-lucky partner?... Was it Wormmon, trying to guide him on the right steps to his goal?... Or was it some odd mix of both?

"We want to stop this woman, too," Hawkmon pointed out. "She IS terrorizing the whole Digital World."

"Yeah, and with the crazy stuff she's thrown at us already, we'll need all the help we can get!" Patamon exclaimed.

"So, c'mon, Ken," Veemon asked again. "Can ya help us?"

Ken stared at Veemon for a few moments longer, then sighed; if that was what the recipient of Wormmon's spirit wanted, then he would go along with it this time. "...Fine," he muttered.

Yolei stifled a squeal. Cody shook his head. "Well, good," TK said. "Then let's go in there and check it out!"

With Ken grudgingly in tow, the Digidestined walked past the sign, across the parking lot (which didn't connect to any roads) and up to the door. "Who knows what kind of diseased rat hole this will be," Cody grumbled.

"I hope it ain't gonna be too gross," Armadillomon said. "I don't like spiders."

Davis pulled on the greasy knob... and once again the logic of the Digital World left all of them speechless. They had expected a tiny, crummy, vile-smelling waiting room, but the interior was wide with high ceilings and ornate decorations, famous landscape paintings on the walls, and vibrant wooden trim and furnishings. A gentle eastern-sounding flute melody floated through the atmosphere.

Veemon gawked, then rushed back outside, then ran back in again. "Wow!" he exclaimed, looking around again. "They musta had a magician fer a builder!"

"Sweeeeeeeet," Davis cackled, nodding with approval.

"...Was this a MOtel or a HOtel?" TK asked.

Cody just shook his head. "I'm never going to get used to this world..." he mumbled.

TK blinked, puzzled. Since his mother worked for a local newspaper, she had taken him on some of her trips out of town, and so he had stayed in several hotels in his lifetime. In the ones he had gone to, though, there had been a man behind a counter ready to book them in, or a bellhop to carry their bags. There were no such people here. Between two entrances to hallways was a tall, wooden counter with a silver bell on it, but nobody was there. "That's weird..." he said. "Where's the staff?"

"Maybe they're short Digimon," Gatomon suggested, and she climbed up the desk and looked down into it. There was a reservation book, a lamp, and a computer with a microphone attached, but no clerk. "Huh... OK, scratch that," she admitted.

"Try the bell," Kari suggested. "That's usually for calling someone."

Gatomon looked over and tapped the bell, sending a gentle TING noise through the air. Almost instantly a figure rose up from behind the desk, making her leap off the counter in shock. "Whaaaa!" she yelled. "Where'd he come from?"

The figure was a hunched, hideous old man with just a few wispy white hairs on his scalp, his face squashed in with big, yellowish eyes and almost no nose. He smiled at them widely, nearly all of his crooked teeth showing. "Well, hello, there..." he rasped, sounding like a giant frog had lodged itself in his throat. "Welcome to the Crested Coach Motel... What can I do for you?..."

The kids pulled back; they had never seen a guy this ugly before, and were a little afraid of him. After an awkward few moments, Ken stepped forward. "We had an invitation to come here," he said bluntly.

"Hmm..." the man murmured, dragging the big, green reservation book up on the counter and dragging the pages back and forth, looking. "Ahh, yes... I have a reservation for a party of eleven from a Miss... erm... Miss..."

The kids waited, but no name came. "Miss who?" Veemon finally asked.

The old man squinted, then shook his head. "I can't read it," he said. "A bug's been smashed right across the name."

"You have bugs?" Davis huffed. "Oh, yeah, REAL classy place!"

The old man glared at him like he had insulted his mother, then closed the book and looked away. "Your rooms are ready," he growled, dropping two marked keys on the desk. "Two, of course. We'll have no hormonal mischief here."

"What ever do you mean?" Yolei asked sweetly. "We're perfectly-behaved young adults!" She batted her eyes at Ken with a big grin.

Ken didn't notice. He grabbed the keys and started down the left hall. "Woah, hey, Ken, wait up!" Davis called, rushing after him.

The others following close behind, Ken and Davis walked down the hallway in search of the doors whose numbers matched the ones on the keys. As they went, Davis couldn't help but notice how quiet the motel was. There were no footsteps, no creaking of dollies being wheeled around, no chatter rumbling under the other doors… Indeed, aside from the flute music being piped in, it was as quiet as a morgue in the sterile-white hall. He scratched at his head. Wasn't there anyone else staying in this place?

The others were wondering similar things. "Gee…" Patamon murmured, "I guess this isn't the busy season."

"If the floor weren't carpeted, I'd think we could hear quite an echo," Hawkmon observed.

"Crimony. First bugs, and now echoes," Armadillomon grumbled. "This lady sure is a cheapskate."

"You don't know what an echo is, do you?..." Cody asked dryly.

Ken stopped in front of a door. The number "116" was stamped on it in a tacky brown. He looked down at the first key to see the same number. The second key was marked "118." That was the number on the door right next to the first. "Here," he said, shoving the "118" key in Davis's direction. "Check it out."

Davis jammed his key in the slot and gave a twist, and the door opened smoothly. With Kari, Yolei and their Digimon behind him, he walked into a fair-sized room with green carpet and a double bed with matching emerald sheets. All the typical hotel amenities were there: some cupboards and shelves to store things, bedside lamps, a big television with a list of cable channels taped to its side, and a door leading to a toilet. "Swanky," he remarked.

"Wow..." Kari murmured, walking to the window and looking out. The dead, empty landscape lay just beyond the glass; they really were in the same building they had entered.

Gatomon and Hawkmon came in. Instantly Gatomon jumped on the bed and bounced two feet into the air. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "This is way bouncier than what I'm used to!"

"You're not going to get sick this evening, are you?" Hawkmon asked, perching on the top of the TV.

As Davis stepped out of the bathroom, Yolei peered in. There was another door on the other wall. "That's kinda stupid," she remarked, walking over to it and giving the knob a twist. "Who'd stick a closet in the-"

Her jaw dropped as a full Japanese bath greeted her on the other side of the door, more elegant and traditional-looking than the one Mimi had dragged her to. "Hey, Yolei, what'd ya find back-" Davis started as he walked in, and then he gawked, too. "Woah!" he exclaimed.

"Too late!" Yolei huffed, snapping back to reality quickly. "Girls call it!"

"WHAT?" he roared. "You just said it was stupid!"

"Changed my mind," she replied, grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing. "Now go to YOUR room!"

"Hey, hey, HEY!" Davis yelled, struggling against the pasty girl's surprisingly tough grip. "Knock it off! Kari, help me out, here!"

He was out the door before Kari could even turn from the window. "Huh?" she asked, looking over at Yolei. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Yolei replied. "Davis just agreed to let us girls have this room."

"Really?" Gatomon asked, scratching her head. "That didn't sound like an agreement..."

"Yolei, did you get rough with him again?" Hawkmon asked, crossly folding his wings.

"Hey, common courtesy says the girls get the better digs," Yolei rationalized. "I just helped him see it faster."

Hawkmon shook his head. "You're using common courtesy as an excuse?..." he sighed.

Yolei scowled at him. "That's it," she huffed. "You're sleeping with the boys tonight."

Outside the door, Davis fumed quietly. How come Kari hadn't stuck up for him? She'd just let Yolei shove him out! Here they were, no parental figures in sight, in a seemingly empty hotel, and he couldn't even get her attention when he was being forced out of the room! Stupid Yolei, he growled; not only tossing him out of a cool hotel room, but getting between Kari and him yet again, too! He gave one of his usual one-finger send-offs to the door, then stomped over to room 116.

The layout of the boys' room was a mirror of the girls', with everything flipped around. Still, it looked just as comfortable, even with three other guys and three Digimon rummaging around it. Ken just sat in the corner, staring at his weapons.

"Jackpot!" Armadillomon announced as he opened the miniature refrigerator in the corner. "Get a load of this spread!"

He started to reach for a soda, but Patamon grabbed at his shell. "No, stop!" he huffed. "They make you pay for what you eat!"

Veemon noticed a button near the bed. "Huh... 'Magic Fingers...'" he read. "Oh, boy! I like magic!" He pushed it and the bed went into a frenzy of vibration. "W-o-o-o-o-o-o-a-a-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h-h-h!" he gurgled, rattling around on the top. "S-u-u-u-r-r-r-e-e-e i-s-s-s-s s-s-s-s-o-o-o-m-m-m-m-e m-m-m-m-a-a-a-a-a-a-g-g-g-g-i-i-i-c-c-c!"

The bed sputtered, then bucked, throwing him against the wall with a splat. "Holy crap!" Davis yelled, running to his partner. "Are you OK?"

Veemon got to his feet, his legs trembling... but he grinned up at Davis. "That was awesome!" he laughed. "Let's do it again!"

"Stay off that button, Veemon," Cody said. "You're not eighteen."

TK looked up from inspecting the cupboard. "Oh, hey, Davis," he said. "Where'd you get to?"

"Ahh, I was checkin' out the other room," Davis grunted, scratching at his side with a cross look. "Man, this sucks. We're all crammed in here and they get a big old-"

"You should check out what's in the bathroom," TK cut in. "It's amazing!"

Puzzled, Davis walked through the toilet room and his jaw dropped again. There was another fancy Japanese bath, but it was twice as big as the one in the girls' room. "Heh heh heh..." he cackled, folding his arms with satisfaction. "Suckers."

Feeling mightily pleased, he strode back into the main room just as TK stood up. "OK, since we got the rooms figured out," he said, "why don't we get the girls and check out the rest of this place?"

"Aww, d'we have to?" Armadillomon asked, picking up the remote. "They got car racin'!"

"It's a trap, remember?" Cody muttered, taking the device away. "We have to figure it out before it's too late."

Ken quietly got out of the chair and left. "Hey, Ken! Don't go wanderin' off alone!" Davis yelled after him.

The other boys walked back into the hall, where Ken was waiting, along with Yolei, Kari and their Digimon. "OK, where should we go first?" Kari asked, seemingly in the same mindset as Cody.

"We haven't seen much of this place at all," TK said. "Let's see where this hall takes us and go from there."

"Hey, wait," Patamon piped up, "what if we get lost?"

"We're in rooms 116 and 118," Cody replied. "Be sure you memorize that."

The little procession started down the remainder of the hall. Veemon couldn't help but notice that Hawkmon looked a bit shaken. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"I have to sleep with you all tonight," Hawkmon said. "That's what Yolei said."

Veemon grinned. "Awesome!" he laughed. "It'll be one big sleepover!"

"Errmm... I suppose..." Hawkmon replied, but his expression didn't change. He had never been away from Yolei at night, and even in his Digivolved Rookie form, the idea was a little unsettling. Would he even be able to get to sleep?

* * *

There wasn't much else in the hall besides more hotel rooms, all of the door locked, no sounds coming from any of them. "What if this is the trap?" Patamon asked. "What if this hall just goes on forever?"

"It doesn't go on forever," TK said, pointing ahead. "You can see the end of it."

"But what if it's one of those trick walls that keeps moving as we do?" Yolei suggested.

"One way to find out!" Veemon huffed, and raced ahead of them. He smashed into the wall and fell over. "Nope..." he groaned. "It's real."

Kari couldn't help but giggle. "That happened to me once," she admitted.

Gatomon looked at her. "I thought you were more coordinated than that, Kari," she remarked.

"I was four," Kari muttered.

They all reached the corner. Finally, there was something in the hotel besides rooms. Off to the left were two large white doors with "DINING ROOM" written above them, and straight ahead stood a long glass window and a door leading into a room full of arcade games, pinball machines, claw games and a pool table. "Hey, how about that! A game room!" TK exclaimed. "I bet you'll like that, Yo-"

Yolei was already inside, racing around and fingering the machines. "W00t! This is so awesomely retro!" she squealed. "Look! They've got 'Monkey Kong,' 'Ru-Pert,' and even 'Puck-Man!'"

Everyone else walked in to take a look... except for Ken. He shook his head crossly. They had no time to play games here; this was a deathtrap! He turned and kept walking down the hall, his eyes darting back and forth.

Nobody noticed his leaving; they were too busy checking out the flashing machines. "Do they look safe?" Patamon asked.

Cody went to the 'Ru-Pert' machine and looked it over. He knocked on it, peeked inside the coin return slot, and pulled at the buttons. "It seems like it's a normal machine," he reported.

Davis walked up and kicked it. It gave a clunking noise, but nothing out of the ordinary. "Sounds fine to me," he replied.

"Why'd ya kick it?" Veemon asked.

"I hate this game," Davis replied, frowning at the machine. "Never got past the first level."

"Hey, be nice!" Yolei huffed. "It's not the game's fault you suck, and—OH, MY GOD!" She rushed over to the corner, ogling the pinball machine. "The official 'Donkey Madness' pinball game! There were only six of these made in the whole world!" she slobbered. "Somebody give me some dough! I've GOT to try this!"

"Erm, Yolei," Hawkmon pointed out, "perhaps we should keep moving... We do need to investigate this-"

"Shut up!" Yolei roared at him. "Mama gotta play this! Please please please please somebody give me some money!"

"Okay, okay!" TK surrendered, fishing around in his pocket and coming up with a 100-Yen coin.

Quicker than he could say "here," it had vanished into the pinball machine's slot. "ALL RIGHT!" Yolei cackled. "Stand back, boys! There's gonna be a pinball bloodbath!"

"...And they say there's no evidence that games are addictive," Cody muttered to Kari.

Yolei raised her hand into the air, grabbed the plunger, yanked it back and let it go with a frenzied cry. Everybody waited, but nothing happened. There was a faint whirring, but the machine stayed quiet and unlit. "...Huh?" Yolei asked. She pulled the plunger again, but still nothing happened.

"I don't get this game," Armadillomon remarked.

"Ain't a ball supposed to shoot outta there?" Davis asked.

"Someone give me another coin!" Yolei snapped, holding out her hand. "I bet didn't put enough in!"

Not wanting to see what would happen if the girl didn't get the money, Kari fished out another 100-Yen coin and put it in Yolei's palm. Yolei dropped it in and yanked the plunger. Again they heard whirring, but the machine stayed quiet. Gatomon turned around, her ears twitching; if that was the pinball machine working, why was the sound coming from behind them? Just before the whir stopped, she noticed the claw game; the metallic hand shuddered. "Hey..." she started.

"Still no go?" Patamon asked.

"I think I see why they only made six of these," TK chuckled.

Yolei wasn't amused. "Arrrgghhh!" she howled, grabbing Davis by the collar. "More money!"

"Hey, get your hands offa me!" Davis snapped. "I don't-"

"NOWWWWW!" she roared, shaking him.

Swearing she had fangs for a moment, he yanked another coin out of his pocket. She dropped him and jammed the money in the slot. Again there was whirring. Gatomon watched as the claw inside the other game moved around, then shuddered and stopped. "Kari, the claw machine..." she started.

She was cut off by a frustrated shriek from Yolei. "STUPID PIECE OF SHIT!" she raged, yanking her leg back and kicking it with all her might. The claw in the other machine shot down, clamped a stuffed pink dinosaur and dropped it down the prize hatch. A happy tune played, making everyone else turn to it.

"I think the pinball controls work the claw machine," Gatomon said. "Yolei pushing the buttons there made it work!"

"Aww, this is cute!" Veemon laughed, picking up the dinosaur. "Can I have it, Yolei? Please?"

Yolei blinked a few times. "...Y'know, that's the first time I've ever won something from a game like that," she admitted.

Cody scratched his chin, then took out a coin of his own and dropped it in the "Puck-Man" machine... but the "Monkey Kong" one started up instead... and when he moved the joystick on the machine he'd put the money in, it controlled what happened on the other one. "I see..." he said. "It looks like each device actually controls one of the others."

"Wow," Kari remarked. "They'd better call the electricians; they really messed up the wiring."

"It's nearly impossible to play anything if it's like this," TK commented. "I guess we're out of luck in here... Sorry, Yolei."

Yolei sighed drearily, but Davis grinned. "Maybe for those machines... but I see one that works just fine!" He walked over to the pool table, plucked a stick off of the edge and pulled away the plastic triangle that kept the balls in place. "Who's up for some Eight-Ball?"

"But Davis," TK started, "we need to-"

"Count me in!" Yolei huffed, grabbing another stick. "If I can't play any games, I'll have to hit something anyway!"

"What's Eight-Ball?" Veemon asked, hopping up on the side of the table. "I see more than eight!"

"Ooh... They look like candy," Armadillomon said, scrambling up on a chair to watch.

Cody looked at TK and Kari. "You had better go on ahead," he told them. "I'll keep an eye on this bunch."

"Well, if you say so..." Kari said, amazed that Cody would offer to stay behind. "We'll come back if we find anything."

TK, Kari and their partners left the game room. Davis looked up in alarm; TK and Kari were going off together? "H-hey, wait!" he objected. "I wanna-"

"Oh, no you don't!" Yolei huffed, grabbing him by the collar again. "You threw down the glove; you stay right here!"

"Actually, this looks fun," Cody admitted, pulling another stick off the table. "May I play, too?"

"Sure!" Yolei said, rubbing her cue stick between her hands. "Don't think I'll go any easier on you, though!"

Davis sighed and stared at the green felt. Why did he always get dropped into these things?

* * *

Having made a sweep of the first floor, Ken cautiously pushed through the dining room door. All of the tables and chairs were set up like there was going to be a meal, but just like the rest of the hotel, there wasn't a soul inside: no waiters, no cooks, nobody at all. There was no rattle of pots or pans from behind a corner, nor was there any hum of electric appliances; only the intercom's flute music came to his ears.

Curious, he walked into the walled kitchen area, and just as he thought, there was nothing there. He opened the cupboards, the drawers, and the refrigerator with a deepening scowl; not only was there no staff, there was no food. Was this the trap? Starving them to death? He should run back to the entrance and check the doors; they had probably locked shut. With an angry snarl, he slammed the fridge shut. Why had he agreed to come into this place with the others?

He walked back out and sat down at one of the tables, suddenly aware of the weight of his artillery. Yes... why _had_ he come in here with those kids? He didn't care about them, or what they were doing; he had his mission, and nothing would stop him from seeing it through... but when Veemon asked him to... Why had he agreed? He leaned heavily in the chair, staring at the faded green tablecloth. It was because somewhere inside Veemon was Wormmon. Somewhere in there was his old friend, and perhaps that small part was what had asked him. That was why...

...Or was it that he really DID care? He jerked up in the chair at this stray thought. Nobody had ever paid him as much attention as Davis and the other kids; not even his parents or the roaring crowds when he was a celebrity... Perhaps he was forming a psychological bond, even without meaning to...

He shut his eyes and shook his head angrily. Why did he keep thinking stuff like this? He came into the building because it was his chance to get rid of that woman, he shouted at himself; that was the only reason! He wouldn't make any friends... He _couldn't_ make any friends. The Digimon Emperor could never make friends. All he should do is finish his mission. Once the control spires were gone... once the Digital World was at peace again... Because if he made friends, that would make it all the more difficult to...

With an angry snarl, he banged his armored arm on the table and pushed himself out of the chair, starting for the door. These mind games were a waste of time. He had to go check the front doors again to see if they were locked... and if they weren't, he'd scour the whole place for the obvious trap. He'd destroy it before she had a chance to set it off; that would trip her up. She should know better, he thought as he walked back into the hall; nobody ever outsmarted the Digimon Emperor.

* * *

A turn to the left at the next hall led to a flight of white metal steps. "Where do you think this goes?" Kari asked as the small group stopped to look it over.

Patamon flew up them, then came back down. "There's a door with the word 'pool' on it," he reported. "It's real bright, too. I think it goes outside!"

"What?" Gatomon asked, puzzled. "They have a pool when the room has such a big bath?"

TK shrugged. "There're lots of outdoor swimming pools in the real world," he reasoned. "Maybe some guests like that better."

"Maybe that's where the other guests are," Patamon suggested. "Let's go see!"

They pushed the door open and stepped into a cage of rough concrete floor and high chain-link fence. There were little white tables set up with umbrellas over them, and several white wooden lounging chairs lining the small pool, and even a lifeguard chair with flotation devices... but just like the rest of the motel, it was devoid of any life. The setting sun made the cement ebb with a harsh, bright light, amplifying the wasteland's heat.

The group walked out to inspect the place more closely. "Not even a lifeguard?" TK asked, looking at the empty chair.

Kari looked down into the pool and almost wretched. "I don't think anyone would want to swim in this!" she managed, her hands clamped over her mouth.

The others looked in and had similar reactions. The entire pool was filled with yellow liquid. "Oh, yuck!" Patamon coughed. "I thought this only happened at public pools!"

Gatomon was just as repulsed, but something about it smelled familiar. Putting her own disgust aside, she inched forward, knelt down and sniffed at it.

"Eww, Gatomon!" Kari huffed. "Don't do that!"

That scent was familiar; there was no doubt about it. Ignoring her partner, Gatomon raised her paw and plunged it into the substance. Amazingly, the entire pool wiggled and shook. "Woah!" Patamon cried. "Pools don't do that!"

She pulled out her hand and licked at it, and her eyes lit up. "Lemon!" she announced.

Kari and TK looked at her, then knelt down and poked at the stuff themselves, tasting what came off on their finger. "...Lemon gelatin?" TK said out loud.

"Well, that's a lot less disgusting..." Kari admitted.

"It's more weird than gross," Patamon said, fluttering down next to TK. "You know what this place reminds me of, TK?"

TK scowled. "Yeah..." he said quietly. During his first adventure, the Digidestined had come across an empty hotel, just like they were doing now. That first hotel had crumbled away at an instant, all just an illusionary trap that Devimon had created. Had that devil Digimon done the same thing here? Was he helping that creepy woman somehow? But then, what was the point of filling up a pool with lemon gelatin? That would be a dead giveaway, wouldn't it?...

"Hey, don't leave us hanging," Gatomon piped up, breaking into his thoughts. "What does it remind you of?"

TK got back on his feet. "Well... I just wondered if this place was even real," he said.

"It feels real enough..." Kari replied, dusting her knees off. "Still, we know it's a trap; we just don't know what KIND of trap. For all we know, the floors will turn into quicksand or something."

"Geez, I hope not," Gatomon winced. "That stuff's a pain to get out of your fur."

"Maybe Ken's figured it out already," Patamon pointed out. "Let's try to find him some more."

"Yeah..." TK agreed. "Let's see if the others have finished in the game room, too."

They all headed back into the hotel, leaving the jiggling pool behind them. What in the world would someone want with a pool of lemon gelatin, anyway?

* * *

One eye squeezed shut and her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth, Yolei took careful aim at the little white ball. If she could sink that six ball right now, she'd increase her lead over Davis and be sure to win the game! She stretched her fingers and tightened her grip, just waiting for the right moment. All right, she decided, this was the time... Three... Two... One...

"Hey! They're back!" Veemon's ejaculation burst in her brain. The cue ball flew up and off the table, clocking Davis right in the gut and putting him on the floor just as TK, Kari and the others came back in.

"Oh, no!" Kari gasped as she helped him sit up. "Are you OK?"

Davis was about to say he was fine-his well-built soccer abs had kept anything major from being hurt- but then remembered who was tending to him. "Oh! OH, GOD, the pain!" he swooned, grabbing at his belly. "Ohhhh... Everything's going dark... Great grandma? Izzat you?..."

"Come on, you'll be fine!" Kari urged. "Gatomon, see if you can find an ice pack or something!"

"Geez, Yolei, how'd you manage that?" TK asked, picking the cue ball up.

"Methinks you need to learn better concentration," Hawkmon suggested.

Yolei folded her arms and snorted. Getting yelled at and watching Davis milk his injury totally ruined her satisfaction of hurting him in such a spectacular way.

"You know, of course, that doesn't count," Cody pointed out. "It's my turn now."

"Aww, shut up," she grumbled.

Gatomon returned empty-handed. "Sorry, I couldn't find anything..." she reported. "The kitchen was totally empty..."

"Oh... Well, sorry, Davis," Kari apologized. "It looks like you'll be wearing that lump for a while."

"Heh heh..." Davis chuckled. "That's fine... It's the thought that counts, right?"

"Hey, did Ken come back here at all?" Patamon asked the other Digimon.

"No, we ain't seen 'im since we got here," Armadillomon replied.

"We'd better go look for him," Kari said. "I hope he's all right..."

Cody frowned. "Let us finish this game first," he said. "It won't take long."

Before Kari could object, Cody put the cue ball back on the table, studied the layout for a few seconds, raised his stick and shot. Like a heat-seeking missile, the white ball crashed into each of the other balls and knocked them down the shoots, taking out the mighty eight ball last. As the others gawked, Cody quietly put his stick back where he found it. "All right," he stated.

"Huh... wha..." Yolei gurgled, her face turning red. "HOW'D YOU DO THAT?"

"Indeed," Hawkmon remarked. "That's the second time you've done that today! How do you do it?"

Cody smirked. "Maybe if Yolei and Davis didn't sleep through physics class, they could tell you," he said.

Just then, a loud noise like someone sucking at an empty juice box made all of them jump. "Attention all guests..." the raspy old man's voice came over the intercom. "It is time for... dinner... Please report to the dining room." With another crackle, the room was quiet again.

Davis leaped to his feet. "Dinner?" he exclaimed. "Sweet! Let's go!"

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you just having death throes?..." she muttered.

"Nope, I feel fine," he replied. "Don't feel at all like throwin' up!"

She blinked. "...What?" she asked.

TK stared at the intercom speaker on the ceiling. "Why does a motel have an intercom system?" he asked. "They didn't have them in other places I've been... It's weird."

"Not as weird as the jelly pool..." Kari replied, "but I see what you mean."

The others looked at her strangely. "The what?" Veemon asked.

"Tell us about it while we're eating," Davis cackled, starting out the door. "Right now, I'm totally up for some-"

He smacked right into Ken, falling onto the ground yet again. Ken whirled toward him, his guns out. "WOAH!" he yelled, raising a hand. "Take it easy!"

Ken hesitated, then lowered the weapons. "...Sorry," he apologized, looking away. "I haven't found anything that's an obvious trap... I'm guess I'm getting... edgy."

"Uh... Sure, no problem..." Davis muttered, getting back on his feet; having a loaded machine gun pointed in his face had effectively killed his enthusiasm for dinner. "So, uh, were you goin' to the dining room?"

Ken nodded.

"So were we," Davis replied. "C'mon, let's get movin'."

Everyone walked a short ways down the hall towards the dining room. "This might be the trap, Kari," Gatomon warned her partner. "I was just in there, and there wasn't anyone or anything!"

"Really?" Kari asked, frowning. "Everybody! Be careful! This could be the-"

Davis pushed the door in and gave an excited roar. The others ran in and made similar noises. From one side of the room to the other, set up like a buffet, was the biggest spread of any preteen's favorite foods: fried noodles, pizzas, hamburgers, fries, chips, soda pop, pretzels, tacos, shrimp, fish sticks, calamari, nachos, several variations of chicken, and pork chops. Ken visibly recoiled at the spread; he had been in here not ten minutes ago, and none of that had been there! Gatomon also looked shocked; she had been in here not _three_ minutes ago, and none of that had been there.

The others, though, looked absolutely delighted. "I guess she doesn't want to starve us..." Hawkmon admitted.

"Hah! Maybe she ain't so bad after all!" Davis cackled.

"Ohhh, man, that looks good!" Yolei drooled. "I don't know what I want first!"

"Pork choooops!" Veemon yelled, bouncing up and down and rushing for the buffet.

TK, Kari and their partners hung back; this didn't seem very right. "H-hey, wait!" Kari tried.

"Hold on, you guys!" TK warned, but Davis, Yolei and the Digimon were already loading up plates full of food.

"STOP!" Ken yelled forcefully. Everyone turned to him, half a pork chop jutting out of Veemon's mouth.

"What's wrong?" Armadillomon asked. "There's plenty for everyone."

"Don't just eat it!" Ken snapped. "It could be poisoned! How stupid can you be?"

"He's right," Kari agreed. "We can't just swallow whatever that woman gives us..."

Veemon blinked, sucked on the pork chop for a moment, then swallowed it whole. "Tastes OK to me..." he admitted meekly.

"That's not the point!" Cody snapped. "Thinking with your stomach instead of your head might get us all killed!"

"OK, OK, enough already!" Davis huffed. "We'll test the rest of it before we eat anything, OK? Sheesh..."

Everyone walked around the buffet, inspecting the food thoroughly. They poked at it, tore open what they could and looked inside, smelled it, and finally tasted it. "Hmm..." Gatomon scowled, standing over the shrimp, her tail swishing back and forth.

"What?" Kari asked. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah," Gatomon answered, "this shrimp's about to go bad. Don't eat it. Aside from that... I didn't see anything wrong."

"Hey, Veemon," Davis said to his partner, "you feel anything from that chop?"

Veemon thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Just less hungry than before I ate it, Davith," he said.

"Well, I don't see anything bad about this food," Davis said to the others. "I think we can dig in... minus that shrimp, anyway."

Eager but much less frenzied, the kids took plates and loaded them up with plenty of foods of their choice, then all sat down at the biggest table to eat. "Mrrf... I gotta say," Armadillomon blurted, his mouth full of chewed-up fries, "this's gotta be the nicest darned trap we've ever walked into."

"Try not to overeat," Cody warned him. "We won't be able to protect ourselves if you're too full."

"Yeah, but we can't do nothin' if we're runnin' on empty either," Davis rebuked. "So don't UNDEReat, either."

Yolei fidgeted in her chair. Why had she chosen to sit next to Ken now, when all her favorite foods were on the table? Not one of them could be eaten politely, let alone in a suggestive way... She looked away from the brooding youth and grimaced; Davis and Veemon were right across from her, scarfing down the goodies like it was going out of style. That didn't make her feel any better; she wanted to be doing that!... but no way would Ken be interested in a girl who had the traits of a vacuum cleaner and a garbage disposal...

She hesitated, then looked at the selection. The kids had grabbed a bunch of stuff from the buffet and set it down in the middle of the table so everyone could share. She decided to try her luck with a slice of pizza, but Gatomon's claw snatched it away just as she reached for it. She sighed wearily; this was going to be exactly like dinner at home.

Kari and Gatomon ate their fill of a variety of foods. Cody ate cautiously, only partaking of the fish-related products. "Hey now, Cody," Armadillomon said, "why not try somethin' besides fish?"

"...I like the fish," Cody replied. "The rest of this isn't very interesting to me."

"Really?" Armadillomon asked, grabbing a fried chicken leg and waving it. "You really gotta try the chicken. It's so awesome you'll even wanna suck on the bones!"

Hawkmon shuddered. "Please stop talking about it like that!" he exclaimed.

"What? Why's that, pardner?" Armadillomon asked, jamming the leg in his mouth.

Hawkmon turned green beneath his feathers and sat back. "...Never mind," he mumbled.

TK chewed his burger thoughtfully while Patamon sucked on a soda. "Whaddya think that woman's up to, feeding us so much?" he asked. "Maybe she's fattening us up to eat us, like in that one story!"

"Hmm... She doesn't look very witchy..." TK replied. "I wonder if this food's even real..."

Ken wasn't eating; he just sat there with his arms folded, staring at his empty plate. Yolei noticed and started to worry. "Ken, why aren't you eating?" she asked. "Are you feeling OK?"

He didn't answer. She tried again, reaching for her plate; it was a big sacrifice, but if it helped... "I grabbed a calzone," she said, holding it up. "You, um, you want it?"

Ken didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even look over at the girl. He didn't trust this wicked woman's tricks, and he wouldn't eat her food; what if it was a delayed poisoning, or explosive once it hit the stomach? Sometimes he couldn't believe these other children were Digidestined; they were so naive and trusting.

"Hey, Ken! Ya gotta eat something!" Davis broke into his thoughts. He glanced up to see the goggle-wearing kid grinning at him, flecks of something all around his mouth. He was holding a plate out to him with something fried on it. "If we're not droppin' dead, you won't! Here, have one of my chicken wings. Try it in the dippin' sauce!"

Ken hesitated. They may have been naive, but they were also insistent, he thought... If he didn't eat, they might think there's something wrong with him, like his parents would... Like his parents? No, that couldn't be... but they might try to stop him from fighting if they thought he was sick. "...All right," he said. He took a wing, dipped it in the little white paper cup of sauce and chewed on it. For being part of an elaborate trap, it tasted pretty good.

"Yeah, they're good, huh?" Davis cackled. "Sometimes all ya need is a big helping of junk food, and everything's right with the world again! Go on, there's plenty more."

Ken nodded and took a few more chicken wings, a helping of fried noodles, and a cheeseburger. As he ate and Davis struck up a conversation about movies (with Cody correcting him about nearly every title), Yolei quietly fumed. Her dreamboat would take food when Davis encouraged him, but not when she did? Why?

* * *

Forty-five minutes and a lot of bones later, Davis and Veemon leaned back in their chairs. "Guooooohhh..." Veemon wheezed. "That was awesome!"

"It certainly was," Hawkmon remarked. "I do believe half the buffet disappeared down your throats."

"Hey, it was just that good," Davis chuckled.

Yolei nibbled on the end of a fork miserably. Her first meal with Ken present, and he hadn't even looked at her! Why weren't Mimi's lessons working? Maybe she had to have all of them before anything started happening... She made it a point to write Mimi and set up the next one as soon as she got home.

"I hope you can still move," TK said, getting up from the table. "We should look over the motel again, see if we can find something about that trap."

"Awww shucks..." Armadillomon groaned, trying to lift his head off of the table, his face smeared with globs of everything he ate. "Wish ya'd said that sooner..."

"Do I need to carry you again?" Cody grumbled.

"Naww, I'll be fine..." Armadillomon said, dragging himself off the chair and crashing onto the floor. "Just, uh... Just gimme a minute, here..."

The kids and Digimon stacked up their plates and walked out of the dining room. The creepy old clerk was there, waiting for them. "Ah... Hello..." he rasped, rubbing his hands together. "I trust you enjoyed your meal?..."

"Yes, thanks," Kari said, bowing a little.

"We were just going to walk some of it off now," Gatomon said. "Is there a-"

"Oh, no..." the clerk coughed, shaking his head slowly. "No, no, no... That won't be possible... Something has come up, and we need to... spray for bugs. I'm afraid you'll have to go to your rooms and stay there for the night... It should be taken care of by morning..."

"Got a lot of bugs, huh?" Veemon asked.

"Enough to warrant a cleaning," the clerk replied.

"Um, maybe there wouldn't be so many if you cleaned the pool," Patamon suggested. "It's full of lemon gelatin."

"Oh... is it?" the old man asked, smiling strangely. "I'll have to see to that... Now, off to your rooms, please... And feel free to use the baths... They're very nice..."

Normally Davis or Yolei would have argued about this, but Davis was too full and Yolei was too glum. They filed past the man along with the others, headed back down the hall towards their rooms. "Well, that's annoying," Patamon huffed. "Now how do we look for traps?"

"Spraying for bugs could be the trap," Cody pointed out. "We could be gassed in our sleep. Make sure you open all the windows!"

Yolei hesitated; maybe talking to Ken would work now. "Or, um, maybe there's something in the bathwater," she tried. "Maybe, uh, maybe they switched it with acid or something! What do you think, Ken?"

Ken didn't respond. "Well, uh... I'll test MY water before I get in it," she went on, hoping he'd turn and look. "I sure wouldn't want to end up as, err, soup."

"Yuck! Me neither," Kari agreed. "Good idea, Yolei."

"Yes," Cody replied. "Thanks for suggesting it."

Yolei sighed.

They came to room 118 and Kari stopped. "Well, here we are," she said. "I guess this is goodnight."

Kari opened the door. Hawkmon moved to follow Yolei, but Gatomon stopped him. "Hey, you're going the wrong way!" she said. "You're with the boys!"

"But," Hawkmon tried, "I'm Yolei's partner! I should be where she is!"

"Sorry, Hawkmon, but this is different than at home; I told you this earlier," Yolei tried. "It's just for one night, OK?"

"Why can't I stay in the same place as you?" Hawkmon huffed. "Why is it different?"

The others had all gone into the rooms, leaving the two of them alone in the hall. "Look, you and I get along fine," she said, "but you might make Kari and Gatomon feel uncomfortable. That's why you're with the boys."

"Uncomfortable?" he objected. "But how? I'm the very model of chivalry and etiquette!"

"Sorry, Hawkmon," she said, pushing him toward the other door. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

She walked into room 118 and shut the door. Hawkmon paced and grumbled for a few moments, then crossly knocked on 116's door. Davis opened it and let him in. "Threw you out, huh?" he chuckled.

"I just don't understand!" Hawkmon huffed, exasperated. "Are girls and boys really such different creatures?"

"Lemme tell you, bird buddy," Davis chuckled, "girls and guys are as different as cherry pies and banana splits."

Hawkmon blinked. "...What?" he asked.

The boys' room was bustling with activity. Cody was pushing the windows open and making sure they would stay that way. TK was sitting on the bed, channel surfing while Veemon and Patamon tried to have a pillow fight (which was hard, considering the pillows were bigger than they were). Ken sat in the chair double-checking his weapons yet again. Armadillomon was lying on the floor, rubbing at his stuffed belly. Hawkmon sighed. He wasn't used to being in the same room as this many people; how would he get to sleep that night?

"OK..." Cody reported, turning away from the windows, "they'll stay open. The air is warm tonight, so I don't think we'll catch colds."

"Sweet," Davis said. "So, what do we do next? How about take that bath like the old guy said?"

"There's not much on," TK said, shutting off the television. "That sounds fun."

"Yeah!" Veemon laughed. "That's Davith! Always comin' up with the best ideas!"

"Ugh..." Armadillomon groaned, "ain'cha s'posed to wait thirty minutes or somethin'?..."

Ken looked up, frowning. "A bath is the perfect place to get the jump on us," he said. "I wouldn't."

Cody scowled at the Digimon Emperor; he had been thinking the same thing.

Davis didn't look worried. "Relax!" he said. "If any creepy-crawlies show up, just flick soap in their eyes! That always works when my sister walks in on me."

"It's true," Veemon replied. "It's like her secret weakness!"

"Besides, when's the last time you got to be in a swanky bath like that?" Davis added. "Didja see it? I mean, wow!"

Ken hesitated; he really should stay alert and not get complacent... but a hot, soothing bath was tough to pass up. "...All right," he surrendered, hitting a button on his grenade launcher. The three pieces of armor clicked and he pulled them off, setting them on the chair carefully... much to the shock of everyone.

"Err... That doesn't look very safe..." Hawkmon swallowed.

"Are those going to be OK?" Patamon asked.

"They're only armed when I put them on," Ken replied. "Nothing can set them off right now." With that, he stepped into the bathroom.

There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at the artillery. "Wow... This is new," TK admitted, chuckling weakly. "Hotel room with a laser... Hemmm."

Cody looked over the weapons carefully; all the flashing lights were off, and the triggers wouldn't move. "Looks like he's telling the truth this time," he muttered crossly.

"Well, if Ken's gonna lighten up, I'm gonna chill, too," Davis said. "C'mon, last one in's a rotten DigiEgg!"

* * *

After a good, long scrubbing in the washroom, the boys retired to the large, hot bath. Everybody but Hawkmon and Armadillomon sat in the warm, plant-encircled pool. "Ohh, yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!" Veemon sighed, sinking in up to his neck.

"TK, look," Patamon said, then sank under the water for a few minutes before resurfacing. "I don't need a DigiEgg to be a submarine!"

"Don't stay under too long," TK advised. "This water could burn your face."

After that remark, things got quiet in the bath. Not one of the boys or the Digimon spoke. The silence annoyed Davis; he couldn't sit still in a place with no noise. He had to get people talking again. "Hey, Ken!" he said. "How's soccer going lately?"

Ken glared into the water at the far end of the pool, looking just as stony as he had with his clothes on. "I gave it up," he stated.

That got a reaction out of most everybody. "What?" TK asked.

"Why?" Patamon asked. "You were really good!"

"Yeah," Armadillomon agreed, "you squashed Davis's team like you were steppin' on an anthill... with cleats."

"Thanks a lot..." Davis grumbled, then turned back to Ken. "Why'd you give it up? I was really lookin' forward to a rematch next season!"

Ken didn't look up. "It's not important," he replied. "Not anymore..."

Another awkward silence filled the bath. TK shifted his weight; why did Ken always sound like a harbinger of doom? "I dunno. I think it's important," he said. "I mean, we all have to have fun somehow, right?"

"Yeah!" Veemon agreed. "Without havin' fun, life would be... uh... no fun?"

Ken kept quiet. "Well, maybe you'll change your mind once we take this lady down," Davis said. "I bet we'll have way more free time then!"

TK leaned back with a relaxed sigh. Cody frowned at him. "How can you be so calm?" he scolded. "The Digimon Emperor is in here with us!"

Ken scowled, but didn't look up. TK shook his head. "Cody, I have to say, Ken doesn't seem all that bad any more," he said. "Besides... It's hard to see him as a villain when he doesn't have clothes on."

"But NONE of us have clothes on!" Cody argued.

"Exactly," TK replied, "so the field is even..." He paused, then his smile faded. "What I'm worried about is if this water's even real."

Cody blinked. "...What?" he asked.

TK straightened up and shook his head; there was no sense worrying the others. "Never mind," he said.

Armadillomon scooted closer to the water's edge. He wanted to get in the water with Cody, but it looked really hot and deep... and the filthy, stinking swamp water of the Arumbaya Marshlands was still fresh in his memory... and most important of all, he had never tried swimming on his own. "Hey, Cody," he spoke up, "whyn'cha turn me inta Submarimon? Then I can get in the water, too!"

"If you were Submarimon," Cody replied, "there wouldn't be room for the rest of us in here. Just come in."

Armadillomon still hesitated. "Come on, I'm sitting on the shallow end..." Cody tried, sounding a little softer, "I'll hold onto you if you have trouble."

"Well, if ya say so," Armadillomon replied. He slowly moved forward, and then his claws scraped on the stones and he slid into the water. He shot up and flailed around, spluttering wildly and getting hot water on everybody. Cody grabbed him and guided him to the side of the pool, where he grabbed onto the side and stayed there. "Wha... wha... whew!" he panted. "That'll put fur on yer shell!"

Davis reached up and crossly squeezed the water out of his hair. "Just what I needed; a deep-fried face," he grumbled. "You'd better not pee the water, man."

"He's better trained than that," Cody rebuked.

"Err, yeah..." Armadillomon mumbled, blushing as much as a Digimon could blush. He looked around fast for something to push the subject away from him. His eyes fell on Hawkmon. The bird hadn't said anything in a while, and was just staring at everyone in the bath. "Hey, pardner, what's up?" he asked. "You're 'bout as lively as a mannequin back there."

"Huh?" Hawkmon asked, jerking up fast, then looking embarrassed. "I was, uh... I just didn't realize how different human boys were from human girls. It's... rather shocking."

"Yeah, I know!" Veemon laughed. "Aren't boobs great?"

"Errr... I don't think that's what he's talkin' about," Armadillomon said.

"Yeah, you haven't seen the other side of things, have you?" Patamon asked Hawkmon. "It must be weird, having a girl partner when you're a boy."

Hawkmon looked back at the boys in the water. "Much weirder than I thought," he murmured.

Sensing what Hawkmon meant, Davis looked around at his fellow bathers. After a few minutes, he leaned back, looking rather smug. "Hey, uh, Davith," Veemon piped up, "why're you lookin' so happy?"

"I'll tell ya later, buddy..." Davis replied, stirring the water with his finger. "I'll tell ya later."

* * *

Things were much more quiet in the girls' smaller bath. Kari sat across from Yolei, feeling awkward. Now that she was alone with her, she realized just how dissimilar they were, and how little there was she could talk about with her. Gatomon just sat against the wall, licking at her paws. "Gatomon, why not come in?" Kari asked. "It's nice."

"Simple," Gatomon replied. "That's water, and I'm a cat."

"All right..." Kari said quietly. This wasn't much fun at all.

Yolei wasn't feeling too pleased, either. This place was way more cramped than the bath Mimi had taken her to; she couldn't help but feel like she was back in her apartment's bathroom... except with Kari and Gatomon watching her. She was starting to wish she had let Hawkmon stay with her; it would have livened up this bath, and at least she would have had someone to talk to... Kari was as chatty as a mannequin. "Hey, uh," she tried to strike up a conversation, "you tried that new 'Guitario Brothers' game yet?"

Kari shook her head. "No... I'm not really into games," she replied.

"Oh," was all Yolei could answer with. This was going to be one boring soak. She leaned against the wooden-looking wall and drew circles on it with her finger. What could she do to amuse herself in here?

Suddenly, her finger went deeper into the wall, catching her by surprise. She looked over and discovered that it had plunged into a hole the size of the coins she had used in the arcade. "Hey, what's this?" she asked, and put her eye up to it.

Almost instantly her chest started throbbing and her face went hot. Through the hole was the boys' bath... and they were all in it! "Woooooh! Oh, baby!" she gasped, pressing her whole body against the wall and spluttering a string of goofy giggles. Even without her glasses, she could make out the biggest details.

"What? What is it?" Kari asked, surprised by Yolei's sudden excitement.

"It's them! It's the boys!" she squealed, not taking her face away from the hole. "Man oh man oh man! I can see EVERYTHING!"

"What?" Kari huffed, her cheeks flushing. "Yolei, get away from there!"

"So?" Gatomon asked. "You see them all the time."

"That's not what she means, Gatomon!" Kari said. "Remember that time you walked in on Tai in the bath?"

Gatomon's ears sagged, and her face went pink. "Oh..." she mumbled. "THAT 'everything.'"

Yolei hadn't heard any of that conversation; she had changed from delighted giggles to annoyed grunts. There was Ken, his raven hair and his pale, sculpted shoulders... with his back to her. What rotten luck! So close, and yet so far away... She could see Cody and TK... and also Davis, unfortunately. His scrawny features were like a train wreck; as bad as they were, she couldn't stop staring. In fact, none of their bodies looked at all like the ones of boys their age in her doujin. Oh, well. At the very least, she could lord it over them all that she knew what they looked like. That thought made her start chuckling again.

"Come on, Yolei, that's not nice," Kari urged. "Stop it."

Yolei turned to her and grinned; maybe they could have something in common after all. "You've gotta see this," she said, motioning to her. "It's a hoot!"

"No way," Kari muttered. "It's... rude... and gross!"

"Hah! C'mon," Yolei said, smirking. "Don't tell me your hormones haven't kicked in yet!"

"That doesn't mean I'd spy on my friends," Kari objected.

"Don't be such a stiff," Yolei huffed. "Aren't you even a teensy bit curious how they measure up? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"

"Kari..." Gatomon tried.

Kari bit her lip. Peeping was definitely not something she wanted to do... but she didn't want Yolei to think she was boring... and she _was_ a little curious. "...Oh, OK..." she surrendered, sloshing over.

"Take a good long look," Yolei cackled, moving away. "It's worth taking in! "

Kari peered through the hole and her breathing almost stopped for fear of being noticed. The adolescent forms that appeared were like nothing she had ever seen before. She had seen her brother on a few accidental occasions, but never anybody her own age, let alone a boy. Cody was in the water up to his neck, so nothing could be seen there. Ken still had his luminous back turned. Davis's athleticism showed on his wiry body, full of young, thin muscles... but TK caught her attention the longest. Unlike Davis, his baby fat hadn't all gone away yet, and he wasn't so rigid or bony... He was softer, almost cuddly... like a straw-haired teddy bear, she thought for a moment.

As she stared, a strange feeling crept over her, making her heart race with both excitement and fear. Scared by the new feeling, she jerked away from the hole and gasped for air. "Kari! Are you OK?" she heard Gatomon ask. "You're red all over!"

Yolei grinned wryly. "Soooo..." she crooned. "Find something you like?"

"I... uh... um..." Kari stuttered. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna get out..."

Kari made for the exit and walked out, Gatomon following close behind. "Well, suit yourself... More for me!" Yolei replied, creeping back to the hole. She wasn't feeling done yet; she had yet to catch of a glimpse of the elusive Ken's Front.

Maybe she was about to get her wish. The dream boy shifted his weight, then rose up out of the water. As if that wasn't enough to make her libido get up and do a jig, he started towards the other side of the pool. She felt her face start to melt; this was it! This was when she got to see the entirety of Ken Ichijouji!

He started to turn around... and then he became a big, blue eye. "Hey, look!" Patamon's voice came. "There's a hole in the wall over here!"

"What?" TK's voice came.

Yolei froze up. With even the smallest breath, she could give herself away and her peep show would be cancelled... and she wasn't leaving until she saw what she came for. She stayed right where she was, waiting. Maybe two people staring in at once blocked the light and kept her undetected.

"Hey, move over, Patamon," Davis's voice said from almost directly the other side. "Lemme see that..."

The blue eye disappeared, and then something long with a sharp top stuck Yolei right in the eye. She tumbled back into the water, trying hard not to yell out in pain. A finger jerked around in the hole, probing the air. "Huh. I thought I felt something, but now it's gone," Davis's voice came. "Whatever it was, it sure was squishy."

"I didn't see anything," Patamon said. "It was all black."

"Maybe it's insulation," Cody concluded. "Sometimes that comes loose..."

As the boys talked amongst themselves, Yolei staggered over to the other side of the water, nursing her throbbing eye and sulking. Davis always ruined everything!

* * *

After an hour of soaking, the boys felt comfortable enough to turn in for the night. "Yeeeeeah..." Davis said through a yawn, "I'm gonna be out like a light!"

Cody looked around the area. "Does anyone see any towels?" he asked.

TK disappeared back into the bathroom and came back with a handful of towels, and also four bathrobes. "Looks like they thought of everything," he said, offering the pile to Ken. "Want to pick first, Ken?"

Ken took only a towel and walked out. "Gee..." Patamon remarked, "maybe he doesn't like robes."

The other boys dried off, found their underwear and slipped into the fluffy blue bathrobes. "Man," Davis grumbled, strapping his goggles back onto his forehead, "you can't wear one of these without lookin' silly."

"Yeah, but we're all wearing them," TK said. "That means there's no problem."

"Sure wish they had Digimon-sized ones," Armadillomon said. "Those look mighty comfy."

They walked back into the hotel room where they found Ken sitting in the chair again, his clothes and weapons strapped on as if he had never been in the bath. "Hey, Ken!" Davis said. "Ya gotta chill out, man! It's bedtime!"

Ken shook his head. "The most effective assassins always come when the victims are asleep," he said, his gun arm clicking for effect.

"Uh... Well, OK..." TK said, looking between Ken and the bed, which the Digimon were already bouncing on. "But, uh, those weapons won't be very comfortable for the rest of us when you're sitting up in bed."

"What?" Cody hissed, turning on TK. "I'm not sharing a bed with the Digimon Emperor!"

Ken scowled at the boy. " I am staying right here," he replied icily.

"Good," Cody replied, turning and strutting away, the bathrobe dragging at his feet and making him look like an angry little wizard. Davis couldn't help but sneer; he was right about their making everyone look ridiculous.

Hawkmon fluttered over to the pile of clothes that had appeared on the windowsill when the boys had emerged from the bath and sat down in it. "Hawkmon, what're ya doin'?" Veemon asked. "Don'cha wanna sleep with us?"

"I'm not very comfortable on that bed," he replied, kicking around and finally sitting down in the pile. "This will be just fine."

"Wanna keep it just like home, huh?" Patamon asked.

"Well, my home doesn't have cable," Davis clucked, seizing the remote. "What say we browse the boob tube before we hit the sack?"

"...I got no gander at what ya just said, Davis," Armadillomon grumbled.

Davis flicked on the TV and the flashy words "DIGIWORLD NEWS 4 AT 10" burst onto the screen, accompanied by the peppy sound of a ticking clock. The words faded out to show a Gazemon dressed in a suit sitting behind a reporter's desk, the glare from his phony black wig horrendously apparent. "Good evening, Digital World," he said. "We've got a big thunderstorm brewing for the northwest of File Island, but first, let's have our top story; the reconstruction of Spaghetti Junction is complete, thanks to the hard work of our very own Resistance movement."

"Oh, great, those guys," Veemon grumbled. "Just who I wanna hear about before I fall asleep."

"As you know, Spaghetti Junction was almost completely destroyed a few months prior by sympathizers of the Digimon Emperor," the Gazemon went on, "but with every citizen chipping in, the old west looks brand new."

The kids all clenched their jaws. Sympathizers to the Digimon Emperor? There were no sympathizers of the Emperor in Spaghetti Junction! There were only themselves, and Starmon and Garudamon, both of which had been controlled.

"That's not the end of this tireless band's work, though," the Gazemon said. "With all of his can-do troopers in tow, the head of the Resistance, Gargomon, has announced plans to move on to Suadi Arugula, and help those Digimon rebuild their lives as well. We managed to get an interview with the big-hearted bunny, so let's here what he has to say."

The screen changed to show Gargomon smiling proudly, the fully rebuilt Spaghetti Junction behind him. "I'm just glad to see that, despite what the Emperor has done, the spirits of Digimon aren't broken," he said. "So long as every Digimon does his part, we'll all be back on our feet again in no time!"

"Huh," TK murmured. As rough and unpleasant as he had been with them, Gargomon and his men had restored an entire city, and now he was encouraging the viewers. As gruff as he was, he seemed to care about the Digimon... There was something noble about that.

"Thank you, Gargomon," the anchor's voice came, "but what do you have to say about the Digidestined? Rumor has it that they're still present in the Digital World."

Gargomon stifled a laugh. "Well, we might be on the way to recovery," he went on, "but there's still a lot to be done in the wake of the human invasion."

Everyone's mouth dropped open. "WHAT?" Davis yelled.

"I advise every Digimon to be on the lookout for them," Gargomon said, looking into the camera with a determined frown. "If you see anything suspicious, contact the Resistance. Every Digimon must remain vigilant; they haven't left our world yet!"

The screen returned to the anchor-Digimon. "A hero for our times, to be sure," he remarked. "If you do spot any human activity, the Resistance urges you to contact them. Their numbers have been on the rise dramatically, so it's very easy to get word to them. In addition to Somber Harbor, they've opened new bases of operations in Spaghetti Junction and Santa Geria-"

The screen went black. Davis angrily hurled the remote against the wall. "Man, what a load of crap!" he snarled.

"Yeah!" Veemon huffed. "Not all humans're bad!"

Cody shook his head. "I can understand why they'd get so much support, though," he said.

"Why's that?" Patamon asked. "It's sure not Gargomon's award-willing smile."

"Think about it," Cody said, frowning. "This world has been sealed off from ours since Tai and the others had their adventure... and now the first contact they have with humans is a tyrannical overlord who enslaves, tortures and humiliates them... It's a lot like what went on during Europe's colonial era."

Davis blinked a few times, then scratched his head. "Somethin' about butts?" he asked.

Cody sighed. "My point is..." he said, "if that was your first experience with a new species, wouldn't you think they were all like that?"

TK stared at his feet under the covers. "...Yeah..." he admitted. "I guess they have a right to be mad."

"Rights or no rights, they're takin' it out on us!" Davis huffed. "I don't like it!"

Ken silently took it all in from his chair. So, not only had he attacked the Digidestined directly, but his imperial iron fist had caused some Digimon to attack them out of resent. Though he didn't show it, this realization made him feel sick. Once again, his actions had consequences he hadn't foreseen.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it for now," Hawkmon said. "Why don't we turn off the light and get some rest?"

Everyone agreed on that. The boys crawled beneath the blankets, Cody on the left, Davis on the right and TK in the middle. Their respective Digimon curled up at their feet. Hawkmon shifted the clothes pile around until he was satisfied, then sat down. It didn't have the same smell as his nest at home, but given Yolei's banning him from the other room, it was the best he could do.

Suddenly, TK realized something and sat back up. "Hey, wait," he said, "shouldn't someone keep watch? I mean, this is supposed to be a trap."

"Aww, geez..." Davis grunted, glaring at TK from his sprawled out position. "OK, fine. You can go first, since you brought it up!"

"You don't have to," Ken spoke from the chair. "I'm not going to sleep. I'll keep watch."

"Really?" Veemon asked. "Aww, cool, Ken, that's just-"

"Stupid," Cody cut him off, glaring at Ken again. "He's the Digimon Emperor, and a walking munitions depot. I'm not sleeping while he's in here."

"Fer fark's sake, Cody!" Davis huffed. "The hell is wrong with you?"

"Fine," Ken replied. "Then both of us can stay awake."

TK wanted to say something to break up the fight, but neither Cody nor Ken looked ready to back down. "Well... OK, then," he gave up. "Looks like both Ken and Cody are the night watches. Wake us up if anything happens."

"Believe me, I will," Cody said, still looking at Ken. Ken just looked away.

Patamon flew over and shut the lights off, then snuggled in next to TK as he lay back down. Davis rolled over so he was facing the bedside desk, mumbling that nobody had better touch him. Veemon and Armadillomon lay on their sides quietly. Hawkmon just closed his eyes. Cody took his pillow and propped himself up with it, his eyes fixed on Ken.

Ken didn't move from where he had been the whole time, staring into the darkness and ignoring Cody's glare. His mind was completely engaged in one line of thought. What was the best way to deal with that woman: A hail of bullets... some grenades all around... or a laser headshot?

* * *

With a frustrated moan, Kari switched off the TV, her candy-pink bathrobe suddenly feeling uncomfortably hot. She didn't care for Gargomon's choice of words about them at all. Invasion, indeed! "Talking about us like we're monsters..." she muttered as she put the remote down on top of the TV. "I don't like where this is going."

"Yeah," Gatomon agreed. "Anyone who slugs someone as nice as you is no hero to me."

Kari sighed and got off of the bed. Yolei still wasn't out of the bath, and she was getting bored... but that news report had put her off watching any more TV. What could she do? "I don't suppose you'd want to chase a shoelace or anything?" she asked Gatomon.

"Sorry, I've gotta be in the mood," Gatomon replied, then motioned to one of the cupboards. "You know, I thought I saw some books in there. Why not read 'til Yolei shows up?"

Kari opened the cupboard. Sure enough, it was stacked full of books... but as she looked over the titles, her heart sank. There were no fantasy titles or adventure stories; they were all trashy romance novels, like one would find near the checkout counter of a grocery store. She liked to daydream as much as any pre-teen girl, but these books were just too corny and unbelievable for her.

"Ugh, I don't know how I'm supposed to like these," she said as she looked over them and flipped one open. After reading a few lines, she shivered and slammed it shut. "Especially this one!" she huffed.

"What? What's wrong?" Gatomon asked.

Kari showed Gatomon the cover. It was called "My Blood Runs For You," and the cover showed a girl about Kari's age lounging in the arms of a pale, slick-haired teenage vampire. Gatomon couldn't help but cringe herself; both her partner and she had far too many bad memories of vampire Digimon to enjoy something like that.

"Err... Maybe I'll just go to bed," Kari sighed, stuffing the book back on the shelf and pulling back the blanket. "Not that I'll get much sleep now..."

"Don't worry," Gatomon said, hopping onto the bed. "I'll keep watch in case something starts... and also so Yolei doesn't land on you."

"Thanks," Kari said, switching off the light and laying back and closing her eyes. The bed was actually pretty comfortable, and her bathrobe felt much nicer, like another layer of blanket. Gatomon's furry back lay against her feet, just like at home. She inhaled and sighed. Maybe falling asleep wouldn't be so hard after all.

That feeling didn't last long. Five minutes later, the bathroom door flew open and out staggered Yolei's soggy form, also clad in a robe. "...Oh, you're... in already..." she murmured, sounding half asleep herself; being in the bath so long must have made her drowsy. "No... don't get up... I'll just... slip right in..."

Kari heard the clatter of Yolei's glasses hitting the bedside table, and then a massive, wet shape tumbled down right next to her, splattering her face with several tentacles of wet hair; Yolei obviously hadn't dried off very well. "Yolei?" Kari asked.

"Ewww!" Gatomon hissed as two wet feet splattered next to her. "Yolei, go dry yourself off better!"

Their answer was a loud snore; Yolei was already out like a light. "Geez," Gatomon grumbled. "I hope she never has to be your roommate, Kari."

Thanks to having an older brother, Kari could put up with a lot... but this was a new one on her. She brushed away what hair she could and scooted as far to the right as she could, trying to get back into the comfortable feeling she'd had. Yolei snored one more time, then rolled over on her side and stopped.

Gatomon watched her for a moment, then turned away, satisfied. Twenty minutes passed with only the sounds of the chirping crickets outside the window. The warm, dreamy feeling melted over Kari again, gently dropping her eyelids...

And then a hand pressed into her back, creeping along it and feeling its shape, with Yolei muttering something she couldn't make out. "Rrmff... Yolei..." she grunted, squirming further towards the edge of the bed to get away. The hand came again, fingering its way from one shoulder to the other, and then sliding down the groove of her back... and then it crept over onto her stomach and clutched at it. "Yolei, stop it," Kari mumbled louder. Her answer was a second hand sliding under her and clutching her belly, too... and one of Yolei's legs draping over her own, followed by some more mumbling and a garbled chuckle. "Yolei! Stop it!" she huffed.

The limbs didn't recede, but they stopped moving. She heard Yolei snort once, and then it got quiet again. Kari didn't like the position she was in, but if that was as far as Yolei was going to move... Maybe Yolei didn't like sleeping alone, she thought. Maybe she cuddled Hawkmon in her sleep, like she herself had done with stuffed toys... or maybe she was feeling cold because she was still wet, and the window was open—

Something slimy and wet pressed against the back of her neck and she shot out of bed. "That's it! I am sleeping on the floor!" she declared loudly, making Gatomon look up with a shock. She grabbed her pillow and tossed it on the ground, then lay down with her arms folded.

"What happened?" Gatomon asked.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know," Kari grumbled. "Why didn't you stop her?"

Gatomon shrugged. "I thought she was cold," she admitted.

The whole bed to herself, Yolei rolled back onto her back and started snoring again. Kari groaned and buried her face in the pillow. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The night grew darker as it crept on, but not everybody was sleeping soundly. Hawkmon grunted and shifted yet again in his makeshift nest. It was no use; he could not get to sleep. As stuffy and stuck-up as he made himself look, he missed Yolei and her familiar scent... not to mention that the sounds she made before she fell asleep helped him nod off, too. It just wasn't the same without them.

Ken looked around from his chair. Davis, TK and the Digimon were all sound asleep. He envied them on some level; he was sure that nightmares didn't plague them until sunrise. It must have been nice to still have that childhood innocence... to not have hands stained with blood...

A groan made him turn. That little boy who had insisted on staying up had finally fallen asleep; he could tell because his head was slightly bowed. There he sat, so determined to watch him turn his guns on them all, his little body finally succumbing to fatigue. A weight came off of his shoulders. As different as he was now from being the Digimon Emperor, he still felt a stinging dislike for that stone-faced little know-it-all. It was bad enough trying to go about his mission without that kid bringing up his sins; he brought them up enough on his own.

Now that he knew he was the only one awake, though, weariness seeped into him. His head drooped, but he lurched back up. He had to stay awake. Whatever that trap was, it would go off as soon as all of them had fallen asleep; that was how he- the Digimon Emperor- would have planned it... but with those weapons on, his arms felt like lead... and his back sank deeper into the warm, bed-like chair, its arms dropping away... No, he had to stay awake. She would be right around the corner, ready to strike... He couldn't let her stop him... He... had to...

* * *

Yolei couldn't help but gasp as Ken's skilled hands slid down her back, a gentle scent of blueberries wafting from his hair as he kissed her neck. In turn, she wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed him tightly, rubbing herself against him as a signal to take the passion to the next level. Everything she had ever wanted in him was there, and he was more than willing to give it.

His hands gripped the small of her back and he slid himself up to look at her, his blue eyes hypnotic. "Yolei..." he whispered lusciously.

"Oh, Ken..." she whimpered. "More... Do more..."

"Yolei... wake up," Ken said.

"Huh...?" Yolei asked, dreamily confused. Wake up? What did he mean? His voice sounded, funny, too... higher than normal. Did he have a tickle in his throat?

"Come on!" another familiar voice came from off to her left. "Get up, Yolei! We've got a problem!"

"Problem?..." Yolei slurred, hardly knowing the meaning of the word. She was in paradise. There were no problems here.

Ken looked at her hungrily, then opened his mouth to speak. "Get UP, Yolei!" Kari's voice came from his throat. "This is serious!"

Something kicked her in the shoulder. In shock, she shot up and opened her eyes... to complete darkness. Something thick and heavy pressed down on her head, and she felt hot and itchy all over. "WAAAGH!" she yelled out loud. Where was she? Had she finally gone blind from looking at gross things, like her sisters had always said?

"Yolei!" Kari's voice came from behind her. "It's OK! Just come towards my voice!"

Yolei whipped around and her heart leaped; there was an opening to this cave! She crawled out as fast as she could. The light stung her eyes as she crawled out, but she could make out Kari's shape in front of her. She also felt a draft. Her eyes adjusted, she looked down, went red and grabbed at her torso; her comfy bathrobe was gone, leaving behind only the yellowed panties she had somehow put on after her bath! "What the?" she yelped.

"Look behind you," Kari said.

Yolei turned around and almost passed out; the "cave" she had just come out of was the bathrobe! "Woah!" she exclaimed. "Is his what happens when you get too wet here? You shrink, but your clothes don't?"

"It's not just your robe," Nefertimon, who stood nearby, uttered. "Look around."

Yolei turned and peered out over the white expanse. It ended at a large, brown wall that connected to a cream-colored sky that reached up, had an angle in it and kept going. Next to the robe was a sheer cliff that looked down into a green, rough-looking jungle... the same green color that the carpeting was in their hotel room! Her flustered brain finally snapped into place and she blurted out her realization: "everything got big!"

"Yeah," Kari agreed, nodding gravely.

"Oh, geez!" Yolei gulped. "Then... Ken, and Hawkmon, and the boys...?"

"We'd better go find them," Kari agreed, then offered Yolei a pile of clothes with her glasses on top. "But first, uh... you should get dressed."

Yolei snatched the pile and started stuffing herself into them. "Amazing," Nefertimon muttered, her masked face looking away. "You do see some disturbing things in the morning..."

"Aww, shut up!" Yolei snapped, jamming on her leather cap and stepping into her boots.

The girls got on Nefertimon and she flew them down to the floor. Things certainly had become huge; they sank into the shag carpeting up to their ankles. "Sheesh," Yolei grumbled as she looked around; she had only seen a ceiling that high at a symphony hall.

"Well, at least now we know what the trap was," Kari admitted.

"Yes, but what was that woman expecting?" Nefertimon asked. "Did she hope we would roll off the beds and kill ourselves that way?"

"Seriously!" Yolei huffed. "I coulda made a WAY better trap! If I wanted to get rid of someone in a hotel, I'd rig the lights to shoot lasers, or have trap doors in the floors, or electrocute the bathwater, or..."

Yolei trailed off and stopped walking; she heard some strange buzzing and clicking noises from behind her, like when a bee flew past her ear... or rather, when a LOT of bees flew past her ear. Curiously, Kari and Nefertimon had stopped, too. "...Did you hear that?" Kari asked.

Yolei swallowed. "Hear... what?..." she tried.

"It sounded like buzzing or clicking," Nefertimon said quietly.

The girls looked at each other, then slowly turned around. From the darkness under the bed the noises came, along with hundreds of shining, blinking eyes...

* * *

The situation in the boys' room wasn't any better. "You big bully!" Patamon yelled as he slammed into the giant, blue furry thing that sprawled across the ground, clawing at it with his trotters. "Cough TK up right now!"

"Um, Patamon," Hawkmon tried, "I don't think it 'ate' TK, rather-"

Patamon burped a Boom Bubble into the side of the beast, and with a scream TK flew out of its gaping maw, clad only in his skivvies. "OW!" he yelled, getting up and rubbing at his head. "Patamon, why'd you do that?"

"TK!" Patamon yelled, rushing to his partner and knocking him down with a hug. "That big blue thing must've popped up during the night... and it ate your robe!"

"Um, no," Hawkmon said, landing next to them. "What I was trying to say, Patamon... is that big, blue 'monster' IS the robe."

"...Wha?" TK asked, turning around. Surely enough, the blue bathrobe had grown gigantic... and so had the bed... and so had the whole room! He saw Cody's giant robe sitting up against the bed nearby, but where was Cody? For that matter, where were any of his friends?

"Hey! HEY!" a voice came. He turned just in time to see Davis scramble down the side of his robe, also in just his underpants. Veemon came tumbling down after him.

"Are you guys OK?" TK asked.

"Yeah, except for bein' chilly," Davis said, motioning to his bare limbs. "I thought you were supposed to outgrow your clothes, not the other way around!"

"Where's Cody an' Armadillomon?" Veemon asked.

Almost in answer to Veemon, Cody's giant robe shuddered, and then Armadillomon burst out of its stomach. Cody crawled out after him, wearing as little as the other two boys. "Hey! Cody!" TK called to him.

Cody and his partner rushed over to them. "I think the trap's been sprung," he said crossly.

"No kidding!" Davis exclaimed, looking around at the immense room. "Y'know, this is a lot like that one western story, 'Gullible's Travels!' You know, the one about some kid who sells his cow for a magic goose, then fights a troll who eats goats, then saves a sleeping princess by climbin' up her hair!"

Cody opened his mouth, but then decided that this time, it just wasn't worth it.

"OK, so that's almost everyone..." Patamon said, looking around at his friends. "Where's Ken?"

They all scrambled to Davis's side of the massive bed, where they could see the door out into the hallway. Ken, just as small as they were but wearing both his clothes and his weaponry, was down on the floor, walking towards the exit.

"Ken!" Davis yelled. "Hey, Ken!"

Seeming not to hear Davis, Ken crawled under the door and disappeared. "Now where's he goin' at a time like this?" Armadillomon asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better follow him," TK said. "Something tells me that shrinking isn't all to this trap."

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "Veemon, Digivolve and let's get down there!"

Veemon coughed and looked embarrassed. "Well, I wanna, Davith," he said, "but, uh..."

Cody's eyes widened in horror. They needed their D3s to Digivolve their partners... but they had stupidly left those with their clothes! Where had those gone?

"Um, yes," Hawkmon spoke up behind them. "Hang on just a moment..."

He flapped his wings and flew back to the counter where he had slept. In a few minutes he returned hauling a giant ball of clothing, which he dropped down on them. Davis's D3 fell out and clunked him in the head. "OW!" he yelped; those things really hurt!

"Thanks, Hawkmon!" TK said, grabbing his pants and stuffing a leg into them.

"I'm worried about Yolei," Hawkmon answered. "I have to find her!" With that, he took off. TK thought he did something very strange, though; if he was going to look for Yolei, why did he fly into the bathroom?

Davis looked up from jamming on his jacket, realizing something. "Aww, geez! Kari's in trouble, too!" he said. "Where d'ya think they are?"

"Let's worry about one thing at a time," Cody muttered, pulling his head through his tan shirt. "We should get out of this room and see what Ken is up to."

"Yeah," TK agreed. "I think Kari and Yolei can take care of themselves..."

Davis fumed at TK, but also knew he had a point; Kari certainly could handle herself in a dangerous situation. "...Fine," he grumbled, jamming on his goggles. "Then we're checkin' outta this room! Veemon?"

"Ready, Davith!" Veemon said, pumping his fist.

In a flash, Veemon was Exveemon. He scooped up, Davis, Cody and Armadillomon and glided off the bed. "Let's not get left out, Patamon," TK said, raising his own Digivice.

Patamon became Pegasusmon and flew his partner down to where the others waited. The boys started to walk towards the giant door, but suddenly they stopped; there was a faint buzzing behind them, and it was getting louder.

"What in tarnation...?" Armadillomon asked, turning around to look. He wished he hadn't. Bursting through the screen on the window came a swarm of bee-like Flymon, their stingers out and ready to sting. "Cody!" he yelled, rushing behind the boy.

"Shit!" Davis swore. "We HAD to leave a window open!"

"Pegasusmon!" TK yelled.

Pegasusmon and Exveemon took to the air against the throng, blasting away as quickly as they could... but it was a futile gesture; for every one that they knocked out of the sky, two more came through the window. The downed ones didn't stay down for long, either; they shot back up, even angrier. It wasn't long before both Digimon pulled back. "This's gettin' us nowhere fast!" Exveemon panted, using his laser to knock back a feisty one.

"What're you waitin' for, Cody?" Davis yelled. "Get Digmon in on this!"

Cody frowned and shook his head. "Something isn't right," he said.

"What, besides gettin' attacked by a whole beehive?" Davis huffed. "Get serious!"

"I am!" Cody huffed. "Look at all of those bugs! Could that woman have created that many Spire-born in so little time?"

Davis hesitated. There was a heinous amount of Flymon pouring in around them. There couldn't possibly be that many control spires around the area to make them all...

"Can we save the thinking for later? We're outnumbered!" Pegasusmon growled. "We have to fall back and regroup."

"But where?" TK asked.

Davis pointed at the door. "Same way we were goin'!" he said. "Move out!"

While Pegasusmon and Exveemon fought off the attacking bees, the boys and Armadillomon ran under the door. Pegasusmon turned and shot an Equis Beam into the wood, knocking out an escape route. The Flymon tried to go after the two Digimon, but three went in at once, got stuck in the hole effectively cut off the route for all the others.

"Hah!" Davis laughed at the bugs. "How d'ya like that, buzz boys?"

"Come on," TK said, grabbing his arm. "Let's find Ken before they figure out how to get loose."

* * *

"Kari," Yolei gulped as she stared at the swarm glowing eyes underneath the bed, "please tell me you just stuck a bunch of shiny rocks down there or something..."

Before Kari could answer, out scrambled an army of disgusting brown roach-looking Digimon with skull marks on their wings. All of them snarled and cackled maliciously as they raced towards the girls. "Roachmon!" Nefertimon huffed, leaping in front of her friends. "Watch out!"

With frenzied yells, the Roachmon attacked. Nefertimon drove a few back with her Rosetta Stones, but she couldn't shoot enough to keep them all back. It wasn't long before one of the vile insects got past her and went for the girls. Kari leaped back in horror, but Yolei threw herself at it, punching and kicking with all her might. The Roachmon was light for its appearance, and she knocked it back into the others fairly easily.

"Woah!" Kari exclaimed. "That was amazing!"

"Ahh, I find these things in my room often enough," Yolei grunted, balling her fists for the next one. "I can deal with them!"

"Maybe one, but there're too many of these!" Nefertimon huffed, bounding backwards. "They're Champions, too; we have to get out of here!

"Let's make for the door!" Kari shouted, but as soon as she turned around, she saw that wasn't an option; the Roachmon had gone around behind them, cutting off their escape.

"Quickly! On my back!" Nefertimon ordered, shooting another Rosetta Stone and then kneeling quickly.

Kari bounded on without another thought. As Yolei was mounting, however, two Roachmon grabbed her legs and yanked her back down. Nefertimon soared into the air before she saw what was wrong. "Yolei!" Kari yelled.

"Get yer hands offa me!" Yolei yelled, desperately swinging her fists at the bugs. "ALL of 'em!"

Suddenly, a familiar feather flew down like a boomerang from nowhere, smacking both Roachmon in the face. Yolei scrambled away as Hawkmon landed in front of her. "Digivolve me!" he ordered.

Yolei didn't waste any time raising her D3, and Aquilamon airlifted her out of the mess, the Roachmon cursing at them angrily below. "Whew!" she panted. "That was epic! But... how'd you find me so fast?"

"The hole in the bathroom wall," Aquilamon replied. "Davis poking something squishy... I put two and two together."

Yolei went beet red; he was way more observant than she thought. "Keep it to yourself, OK?..." she mumbled.

Kari and Nefertimon hadn't heard; they were busy worrying. "Why are all of them attacking us?" Kari asked, looking around. "I didn't see any dark rings..."

"I don't know," Nefertimon said. "Let's find the boys, and quickly."

"They were going out into the hall, after Ken," Aquilamon spoke up.

"Then that's where WE'RE going!" Yolei asserted. "Full speed ahead!"

A sudden hissing from above told them that their troubles weren't over yet; dropping from the ceiling on silky strings came a gang of little yellow larva Digimon, which immediately unleashed a volley of sparking spittle at them.

"Kunemon!" Aquilamon growled, flapping away as one tried to drop on him. "Watch out for the threads; they're charged!"

Kari cried out as Nefertimon quickly dropped altitude to avoid a salvo. They had to get out of this room; as big as it was, they were hopelessly outnumbered. "Quick! The door!" she yelled.

Weaving around the hissing bugs, Aquilamon and Nefertimon flew towards the door. Nefertimon fired her eye beams, and Aquilamon followed with belching rings, blowing out a chunk of the wood big enough to escape.

As they flew out of the door, Yolei could hear the bugs hissing and yelling behind her. "Sheesh!" she huffed. "I'm not gonna recommend this place to anybody!"

* * *

It didn't take long for the boys to catch up to Ken. No sooner had they crawled under the door than they saw him, cornered on the far side of the hallway by a hang of buzzing Snimon. "Quick! We gotta save him!" Davis huffed.

Cody certainly was confused by what he saw. The Digimon Emperor certainly had enough firepower to turn all of those Snimon into bug juice, but he wasn't attacking them; only when one lobbed a purple wave of energy did he shoot, and then only enough to destroy the blast. He was sure that the Emperor wouldn't waste any time ravaging his enemies... What was going on? Did he suspect that something was wrong with these Digimon, too?

"Pegasusmon!" TK called. "Get in there and save Ken!"

Pegasusmon and Exveemon both dove at the swarm, but instantly the outside of the swarm turned their sickles on them, driving them back. Cody scowled, then raised his D3. It was his turn now.

With a gruff roar, Ankylomon smashed through the bug barrier, sending the mantis Digimon flying left and right. "Quick, Ken, get on!" he grunted, and Ken did just that. Before the bugs could regain their senses, the dinosaur charged down the hall with Exveemon, Pegasusmon and the boys on his heels, finally taking refuge in a half-open closet. He bounded up the cleaning buckets and landed on the first shelf, where he shrank back down to Armadillomon. The others landed there promptly.

"Are you OK?" TK asked.

"What the hell's going on here?" Davis demanded.

Ken dusted himself off, then frowned at them. "This has to be the trap," he said.

"Yeah," Pegasusmon agreed. "We all get shrunk, then bugs come in and rip us up! Very dastardly!"

"I don't think we shrank," TK corrected him. "The building and everything in it got bigger! That's why our clothes were the same size, right?"

"An' why all the ground around this place is empty," Armadillomon added. "It needs the space."

Ken nodded, somewhat impressed they figured it out, too.

"Well, then I know what we do next," Exveemon piped up. "We get our butts outta here!"

TK looked around, suddenly getting worried. "We can't go yet," he said. "What about Kari and Yolei? Let's find them, then make an exit and scram."

Ken shook his head, looking dark. "No," he said. "That woman is here; I know it. You all go... I have to deal with her."

He started to walk away, but a firm hand clenched his free shoulder. He turned around to see an angry-looking Davis. "Nothin' doin', pal," he said. "I'm goin' with you! I've had it up to my goggles with that bitch."

Ken could have objected, but he knew Davis enough to know he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "...Just stay out of my way," he grumbled.

Cody scowled; any of them going with the Emperor alone was bad news. "Then I'm going, too," he asserted, scowling at the raven-haired boy again.

TK looked at Cody thoughtfully for a moment, but then remembered that his other friends were in danger. "OK, then I'll go find the girls and make an escape route," he said. "If things get too hairy, though, I want to see you get out, too!"

"Don't worry," Exveemon said.

"Yeah, we'll make sure they don't bite off more n' we can chew," Armadillomon agreed.

"Good luck, then," Pegasusmon said. TK mounted him and they took off out of the closet.

"So..." Davis tried. "Where next?"

"Let's try the front office," Cody suggested. "Maybe there'll be a clue there..."

He trailed off. Ken was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "...What?" he asked crossly.

Ken hesitated, then sighed. "You saved me back there... Ankylomon and you," he said. "I, uh... I owe you for that."

"Awww!" Armadillomon laughed, blushing a bit. "'Tweren't nothin'! Always glad to help a-"

"That was because you saved me from Thundermon in Suadi Arugula," Cody snapped coldly, cutting off his partner. "We're even, Emperor. Don't expect it again."

Armadillomon grew silent, looking downhearted. Ken recoiled ever so slightly, then returned the scowl. "Have it your way," he growled.

The boys stared each other down for a tense minute before Davis got between them. "OK, Sooo...!" he managed. "Are we going to the front office or what?"

Ken broke his scowl with Cody. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea," he agreed. "She could be there; it has a computer."

"Right! Then off we go!" Exveemon said, hopping off the shelf and onto the floor. The boys crawled down onto the buckets and slid down to join him. They peered out the door; all of the bugs had vanished, most likely having taken off after Pegasusmon. They quickly left and made a dash for the office.

"Hey, Ken," Davis said as they went, "I gotta know; why didn't you blast those Snimon?"

"Simple," Ken replied without looking at him, "they're real Digimon."

Davis tripped and landed on his face. Everyone stopped. "Say what?" Exveemon asked.

Cody was shocked; he knew something was weird about those Digimon... but Ken thought they were real?

Davis pulled himself off of the ground, still stunned. "Wha... How d'ya know?" he asked.

Ken hesitated, then looked away. "As they came at me, they were flinching and twitching... like they were in pain," he said quietly. "Spire-Born don't feel pain."

"Pain...?" Cody repeated.

"...Whaddya mean?" Davis asked.

Ken turned away and kept walking, albeit more stiffly. Not knowing what else to do, the others just followed him. Cody scowled at the back of the Emperor's head; what was he up to?

* * *

Yolei couldn't keep the cuss words from escaping her lungs as Aquilamon veered away from the Snimon blades. Just when she thought they were in the clear, the hallway was full of killer bugs even nastier than in their room! That woman really had a sick sense of humor.

Nefertimon grunted as a sickle nicked her front paws. "We can't fight them all!" she growled. "We have to retreat!"

"Where?" Yolei asked. "For all we know, it's the same all through this dump!"

Just then, a whinnying caught the bugs' attention. Both Kari and Yolei shouted in surprise as TK and Pegasusmon appeared, blasting their way through the swarm. "Quick!" TK yelled. "Get moving!"

Not having to hear it a second time, all three Digimon sped off down the hallway towards the game room, leaving the Snimon in a disorderly, buzzing heap. "Thank God!" Yolei huffed. "You sure know how to time things!"

"Ken and the others are hunting for that woman," TK said as they zipped past the game room doors. "We should look for an exit!... Kari, what's wrong?"

As dangerous as the situation was, Kari had to look away from TK; seeing him brought back the memory of what she had seen in the bath, and her face was turning strawberry red. "Um..." she mumbled, "what about... what about the pool?"

"Hey, that's right!" Nefertimon agreed. "It was outside, and there was just a chain-link fence. We could go through that easily."

"Sounds good to me," Yolei agreed. "Where're we goin'?"

"Follow me!" Pegasusmon said, rushing to the front of the pack.

The Snimon starting to catch up to them, the Digimon banked a hard left at the next corner, then a right, and then left and up the flight of stairs. Pegasusmon shot out the door's window with a quick Equis Beam and they all zipped out into the hot morning sun.

Instantly they wished they hadn't. Swarming all over that gelatin-filled pool, not to mention poised on the tables and chairs, was an entire legion of bug Digimon of all kinds! Roachmon, Flymon, Snimon, and plenty of others they had never seen all locked onto the intruders and let up a deafening, angry buzz.

"...I think I get it..." Kari swallowed. "That pool was THEIR cafeteria!"

The winged bugs all shot up into the air, forming an impenetrable insect wall between the kids and the fence; as soon as the Digimon shot one down, two more rose up in its place. To make matters worse, the door back inside suddenly broke into splinters, revealing the angry Snimon that they thought they had left behind. They were trapped.

TK and Kari bit their lips. Yolei started hyperventilating. "So... any ideas?" Aquilamon rumbled, hiding his nervousness.

"Erm... I'll have something..." Pegasusmon swallowed. "Just give me some time..."

Nefertimon shook her head. "Time's what we just ran out of," she groaned.

* * *

"Hey, that's weird," Exveemon said as he looked behind him. "All the bugs're gone..."

Davis thought that was a good thing, but only for a few seconds; if the bugs weren't after them, they must have gone after Kari! "Shit!" he swore.

"Don't get worked up," Ken said, still not turning around. "You'll need your wits."

Cody looked up ahead; the carpet's color was about to change. "Here's the office," he announced.

The three kids and two Digimon ran across the threshold and stared up at the stadium-sized desk... and the shocking surprise behind it. The creepy old manager had grown right along with the hotel, towering over them like a rejected Thanksgiving Day parade balloon. "Golly!" Armadillomon exclaimed. "He sure ate his spinach, didn't he?"

At Armadillomon's voice, the man looked down at them, and his face twisted into a hateful sneer. "Fah!" he hissed. "When spraying for pests, you always miss a few..."

All of them recoiled as the man's whole body writhed and shuddered, then ripped away into nothing, revealing a mountain of Roachmon! With a screeching buzz, the bugs broke formation and dropped towards them, spitting and shrieking wildly.

"Sumnabitch!" Davis yelled as a Roachmon tried to land on him. With a well-placed soccer kick, though, he sent it reeling. "We've gotta get somewhere these bugs ain't!"

As Exveemon punched the Roachmon away and Ken shot his laser to drive them back, Cody looked around; those bugs were all the same type, and so far, he hadn't seen them try to fly; maybe if they got high enough in the air... but where could they hide that those things couldn't crawl to?

Suddenly, his ears picked up a weird detail; all through this crazy bug brawl, the flute music hadn't stopped playing throughout the hotel. Where was it coming from? He strained his ears over the hissing and impact noises, and his eyes took him up onto the ceiling... where there was a small speaker over the desk. Could that be it? "Let's get up there!" he said loudly, to get the others' attention.

Exveemon looked where Cody pointed, then kicked away at the Roachmon accosting him. He grabbed Davis, Ken, Cody and Armadillomon and launched himself upwards. Ken freed his machine gun arm and fired upwards, breaking a hole in the speaker's grate-like structure. Exveemon flew through the hole and they found that this wasn't a speaker at all; it was a wide, tall air vent! Exveemon set everyone down, and the boys crept back to the hole and looked down. The Roachmon were furiously trying to fly after them, but their stubby wings wouldn't take them that high; they were safe. "Whew..." Davis sighed. "I ain't gonna do that again!"

"Good idea, Cody," Armadillomon said to his partner. "What made ya think of it?"

"It was the music," Cody said, then winced. This may not have been a speaker, but that flute music was playing in it, and the echo made it painful on his ears.

The others cringed as well. "Ugh," Ken growled, wishing he could put his hands over his ears.

Exveemon shook his head, trying to block it out. "God, that song's annoying," Davis huffed. "Let's do our heads a favor an' shut it off!"

Ken listened for a moment, then pointed down the tunnel. "That way," he stated.

The party walked down the metallic vent, their feet sending up loud, hollow bangs. That helped to drown out the song a little, but not much. "I swear, if I ever ran a hotel," Davis grumbled, "it'd be moldy oldies. That's it."

"I bet Matt could make a jazz CD for you," Exveemon suggested. "Jazz is supposed to make people feel good, right?"

"Make people feel good? Then what's Matt doin' playin' it?" Davis cackled.

Exveemon and Armadillomon chuckled a bit. Cody just rolled his eyes. Ken didn't show any response, but quietly he enjoyed the snappy remark. He wished he could crack jokes in times of crises; how was Davis able to do that?

They followed the vent for about fifteen minutes, until it ended in a large chamber full of wooden planks and beams, with a shaft of light coming from another speaker grate below; maybe this was over one of the hotel rooms. The kids weren't thinking about that, though; they had found the source of the music. Standing on one of the beams, a silver flute to her lips, was the mysterious red-cloaked woman. Her fingers moved across the instrument delicately as she blew the haunting melody.

Cody's eyes narrowed. "So, you were playing all along?" he asked.

"Knock it off!" Davis yelled. "I'm about ready to jam that thing right up your ass!"

Ken raised his gun arms and his laser swiveled to target her. "This is the end for you," he snarled. "That song is your dirge."

The music stopped. The woman lowered the flute and smiled at them... the same cruel, wicked smile that she always wore. "Where are your manners?" she asked. "Don't you know better than to use such harsh language towards grown-ups?"

"Harsh?" Davis huffed. "You don't wanna get me started on 'harsh,' lady!"

"Well, I'm feeling generous today..." the woman said, ignoring Davis's remark, "so I'll gladly give you a lesson in respect."

"You couldn't," Cody replied. "The way you create Spire-Born and wreck towns, I'd say you don't know the meaning of the word."

The woman chuckled darkly. "I overestimated you children," she said. "If I knew you'd walk so willingly into such an obvious trap, I would have done it the first time we met..." She paused, then pulled at her hair, the smile still on her lips. "But then, you are just that," she went on. "Stupid children..."

"Funny you should mention being stupid," Ken retorted. "You're cornered."

She looked at him, the smile turning more unpleasant. "Ah, Emperor..." she cooed, "So macho and tough when your little friends are around... even if you insist that you don't want them. Then are you trying to impress me? Naughty boy."

Ken's scowl deepened. Cody fingered his D3. "Forget about him," he growled. "We're the ones you should worry about!"

The woman chuckled ever so slightly. "Is that so?..." she asked softly.

Cody quickly estimated that the room was too crowded for Ankylomon, what with all the planks and boards; Digmon would have to do the task of capturing her. "DigiArmor Energize!" he declared, raising his D3.

Ken looked at the appearing Digmon in horror. "No, stop!" he yelled.

"Grab her," Cody said to his partner.

"Yeah, you too!" Davis told Exveemon.

The woman silently watched the two Digimon come towards her. "Better just give up," Digmon warned. "It's two against one!"

The woman smiled, raised the flute and began to play. Instantly something went wrong. Digmon cried out in pain and grabbed at his head. "Woah!" Exveemon exclaimed. "Are you OK?"

Digmon's response was thrusting his drills right at Exveemon's face! The blue lizard leaped back in shock as his friend came at him, his boring tools whirring wildly. "Hey!" Exveemon yelled. "What gives?"

"Cody! What the hell?" Davis snapped, turning on the boy. "Tell him to quit it!"

Cody was horrified. Somehow, that woman had taken control of his partner, and he couldn't do a thing about it. "Wha..." was all he could get out.

He found Ken scowling at him, instead of the other way around. "Why did you use Digmon?" he demanded. "Can't you see that flute controls insect Digimon?"

"What?" Davis asked. "News to me!"

"The whole hotel is full of bugs attacking us," Ken growled, "and that music is playing! You couldn't figure it out?"

The woman lowered her flute. Digmon fell to his knees, shuddering and gasping. "What a smart Emperor," she laughed. "You get a gold star. This flute does indeed control insect Digimon... but I'm sure you don't know why..."

Cody bit his lip. Now that Ken had mentioned it, it seemed painfully obvious that the flute controlled insects... but was Digmon... "He's an insect?..." he asked quietly.

"The locust-like wings on his back aren't a big enough clue for you?" Ken snapped angrily.

Cody stayed silent, his teeth clenched. The woman laughed and raised the flute. "So... any requests?" she cooed.

"Yeah, how about 'Stupid Hat Lady Better Shut The Hell Up?'" Davis yelled. "Exveemon, break that stupid flute!"

Exveemon charged at the woman, but as soon as she started playing, Digmon was in the way, ready to knock a few holes in him with his drills. "Digmon!" Cody yelled. "Stop it! Stop it now!"

Ken raised his machine gun and grenade launcher. With the two Digimon fighting, that woman was completely undefended; here was his chance. He pulled the triggers on both.

Almost as soon as he had, though, Digmon whirled around and fired his drills. One intercepted the bullets, the second destroyed the grenade... and the other three bore into Ken's weaponry, sending up a volley of sparks and exploding ammo. Ken screamed in pain and collapsed, both arm weapons smoking and useless.

"Oh, no!" Exveemon shouted.

"Shit!" Davis yelled, rushing to Ken and helping him back on his feet. "Are you OK?"

Ken coughed and moved his fingers inside the armor; thankfully, they were all still there. "I'll be fine," he growled.

The woman lowered her flute, and Digmon collapsed again. "What's that flute doin' to Digmon, anyway?" Davis growled. "It's like it's makin' him go crazy!"

Cody's eyes widened. The bugs being real Digimon, looking pained, attacking wildly... Davis was right. "Exactly!" he exclaimed, frowning at the woman. "That flute's giving off just the right sound waves to drive insects mad, isn't it?"

"Well, you get a gold star, too," the woman said. "That's right. When I play my song, it hurts them so much that they'll attack anyone that isn't of their own kind... and since you, most decidedly, aren't..."

She raised the flute and started playing again, and with a wild yell, Digmon rushed at Exveemon and sunk his drill into his arm. Exveemon screamed and fell backwards, disabled. Digmon turned on the kids with murder in his agonized eyes. "Oh, HELL NO," Davis swallowed.

"Digmon, stop!" Cody yelled, getting desperate. "You remember us!"

Ken stepped forward and his laser started up, locking onto Digmon; it was the only one of his weapons that still worked, and he wasn't going to waste it. That woman was going down, whatever the cost.

Cody, however, had other plans. "What're you doing?" he demanded. "You can't shoot Digmon!"

"He'll kill us," Ken growled, the weapon starting to hum. "What would you do?"

Digmon started towards them, his drills spinning. Ken's laser fixed on him. Cody thought fast, then put his hands together and clubbed Ken in the back of the head. The boy lurched forward and his laser fired down onto the floor, which gave away almost instantly. The boys tumbled down, screaming...

And then they landed on something bouncy. Davis opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but couldn't; whatever it was, all of him but his legs and feet were stuck to it. Ken couldn't move except for the very ends of his feet. Cody, however, had landed on his bottom, and he cringed as he saw what it was; a gigantic spider web. "Oh, no..." he muttered.

"You idiot," Ken snapped at him. "I could have stopped her!"

"And murder my partner, too!" Cody retorted hatefully. "Wormmon wasn't enough for you?"

Ken froze, his face contorting. The woman's laugh came down from above. "Ah, you children make this so easy," she crooned from the hole. "Very well, I can change my plans... While my new servant is practicing his dental work on your lizard, you can all meet my lady-in-waiting."

A feral snarl came from behind and to the right of Davis. He craned his neck to look and almost threw up. Sitting at the far end of the web was a gigantic spider Digimon with a golden helmet, half a dozen green eyes, and fangs dripping with saliva. "Aww, man..." was all he could rasp.

"That's Dokugumon," the woman said softly. "You can all get to know her... over breakfast."

The flute music began again. Dokugumon shrieked in agony, just like Digmon did, and she slowly lurched towards the captured boys. Up in the crawlspace, Digmon's drills started up, and they could hear blows being landed, with Exveemon grunting furiously.

Ken scowled at Cody. "This is all your fault," he snapped.

"MY fault?" Cody fumed. "Not on your life!"

Davis just lay there, staring at the approaching spider queen. What a rotten morning this was turning out to be: Digmon had turned on them; TK, Kari and Yolei were AWOL; Ken and Cody were fighting each other; and they had all changed places on the food chain! How were they going to get out of this? How COULD they? All he could do was flail his legs around and shout the only two words that expressed how he felt:

"GOD DAMMIT!"


	30. The Spider, The Flute And The Mummy

**CHAPTER 30**

**THE SPIDER, THE FLUTE AND THE MUMMY**

Aquilamon grunted angrily as he swatted away another barrage of Flymon needles. He couldn't get Yolei away from this poolside bug brigade, and from the looks of it, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon weren't doing much better. "This is bad..." he growled, not able to ignore the sweat dripping off his beak. "I don't know how much longer I can do this..."

A Snimon sickle caught Nefertimon in the leg and she buckled, almost throwing Kari off. "No!" TK yelled. "Pegasusmon!"

Pegasusmon flew between Nefertimon and her assailant, ready to fight... but suddenly something strange happened; all of the bugs stopped buzzing and sank down towards the ground, exhausted.

"Huh...?" Kari asked, looking down. "What's going on?"

One of the bugs on the table looked up at them, its eyes haunted and wide. "You..." it gasped. "Run... run away!"

TK recoiled as he stared at the creature. These weren't Spire-Born; they were real Digimon, under some malicious influence! "You're real?" he asked. "What-"

The bug screamed and grabbed at its head, and the rest of the posse let up a pained buzz, then all of them rose up and charged at the Digidestined, their stingers and claws out. "Aww, geez!" Yolei huffed. "Here we go again!"

"Guys!" TK yelled at his friends. "They're real Digimon!"

"WHAT?" Yolei asked. "Are you kidding?"

Kari swallowed. "Great..." Nefertimon grumbled.

As Aquilamon started ducking and weaving again, Yolei's head swam; if they were real Digimon, they couldn't possibly fight them! "What do we do?" she demanded.

"They're trying to kill us," Aquilamon growled. "Why can't we defend ourselves?"

"But something's wrong with them," Pegasusmon spoke up, zipping under a Flymon's stinger. "You saw what happened..."

Kari thought for a second. "Let's wait for a bit," she said as Nefertimon veered left, just missing a Kuwagamon's pincers. "They stopped one; they might do it again. Then we can get away!"

The Digimon and their human cargo zipped all around the enclosed pool for ten seconds, then twenty. The only thing that changed was the accuracy of the bugs' attacks; they were getting better, and fast. Yolei screamed as a Snimon almost took her head off. "This'd better work!" she yelled.

"Nefertimon, how're you holding up?" Kari asked.

Nefertimon was squeezing her wounded leg against her body. "I'll be fine..." she insisted, "so long as I don't get hit agai-"

At that moment, three Flymon shot up around her and pointed their needles. Nefertimon hissed angrily. Kari looked around wildly for any escape...

And then it stopped. Once again, the bugs dropped down, worn out. "NOW!" TK shouted, pointing back into the hotel. Not knowing how long they had, the Digidestined all swooped back inside.

"Hey, shouldn't we have left?" Yolei asked.

TK shook his head. "No," he said. "We have to tell Davis and the others that these things are real; something is making them attack us!"

"I get that much," Nefertimon said, "but where ARE they?"

"The last we saw, they were going to the check-in," Pegasusmon said. "Let's start there."

Unfortunately, as soon as they reached the fork in the corridor, angry buzzing came to their ears. The kids looked back and swallowed hard as they saw a big mess of bugs coming their way, foaming and clicking.

"Split up!" Kari yelled. "Meet at the front desk!"

Aquilamon didn't think; he just flew straight ahead while Pegasusmon and Nefertimon veered right... and most of the bugs followed him. "Aww, crap!" Yolei yelled as she turned around and looked. "Why me?"

"I guess they're too mad to turn," Aquilamon mumbled. "Sorry."

Yolei fumed for a second, then gripped Aquilamon's feathers tighter. "Don't worry," she said, grinning. "It's just turned into a racing game!"

Aquilamon couldn't see how Yolei could make a game out of this dangerous situation... but knowing she wasn't afraid helped him keep his cool. He flapped his wings even harder and sped down the corridor.

* * *

Davis's breath escaped in a huge sigh as Dokugumon collapsed to her knees. The woman had stopped playing for a moment. "Thank God she's gotta breathe!" he exclaimed.

"Don't just lie there!" Ken huffed, yanking at his limbs. "Try to break free!"

Davis pulled and twisted himself, but he couldn't move. Except for his legs and feet, he was completely stuck to the spider web, just like Ken. "This sucks! This totally sucks!" he yelled, flailing his legs. "Why couldn't this have happened to Yolei? Everyone already thinks she's gonna die on the Web!"

The flute music started up again, and their chance of escape vanished; Dokugumon screeched and stomped towards the trapped kids, the melody driving it insane. "Exveemon!" Davis yelled up at the hole in the ceiling. "Get us outta here!"

Exveemon had his own hands full; he had never realized how much of a threat Digmon and his digging equipment could be. He really had to watch where he punched or kicked, because if he landed on one of the drills, that was it for the offending appendage. He looked at Digmon, then down at the spider web. He had to get down there. "Hang on, Davis!" he yelled. "I'll be right—YAAAAAGGGHHH!" He reeled backwards, his right foot stinging like crazy and dripping something. His drills whirling viciously, Digmon got even closer and threw a punch.

Davis winced as he heard his partner's yell. "Sounds like he's busy..." he grumbled.

Cody did nothing but stare at the oncoming Dokugumon, ashamed. What a fool he was, he thought; if he had noticed that the woman's flute controlled bugs, he wouldn't have made Armadillomon become Digmon, and they wouldn't be in this mess... of course, it was the Digimon Emperor's fault that they had fallen down here, but if he hadn't started it...

"Hey!" the Emperor's voice came to his ears. "HEY! Are you deaf?"

Cody glared at the raven-haired boy. "What?" he demanded.

"Are you sulking? At a time like this?" Ken yelled. "Stop it! You have to do something!"

"And just what?" Cody huffed. "I'm stuck too!"

"Cody, are you retarded?" Davis yelled. "YOUR HANDS ARE FREE!"

Cody blinked, then looked down. In his bout of self-loathing, he hadn't noticed that he had fallen on his bottom, and that only his legs were stuck. He could still use his arms. "...I..." was all he could say, his face turning red.

"Call for help!" Davis huffed, kicking his legs around. "Get Kari! Get Tai! Get the fuckin' National Guard! Just DO IT!"

As quickly as he could, Cody yanked his D-Terminal out of his pocket and typed out a quick message:

_Help! We're trapped in one of the hotel rooms! Please come quickly!_

He posted it to the e-mail addresses of Kari, TK, Yolei, and also Tai, and he sent it off. He hoped at least one of them was able to come; whatever they were doing, it couldn't possibly be as dangerous as this.

* * *

"At a time like this?" Aquilamon asked as Yolei's D-Terminal beeped. "Who is it?"

Yolei read over Cody's message and groaned out loud. "One of the hotel rooms?" How the hell did she know which one they were in? And besides, they were under attack themselves, which she was reminded of when Aquilamon swatted away half a dozen Flymon stingers. "This blows," she huffed. "Ken and the others need help!"

"Forget them..." Aquilamon gulped as a second swarm of Flymon appeared in front of them. "WE need help!"

"Dive! Dive!" Yolei shouted, grabbing Aquilamon's horns and shoving down. The giant bird swooped downward and the two swarms collided, tumbling down into the carpeting beneath. The duo wasn't safe yet, though; a gang of Kuwagamon burst out from under the doors, more than ready for a fight.

"Suxxorz!" Yolei yelled as Aquilamon lurched back up. She grabbed her D-Terminal and pounded out her regrets to Cody; like it or not, her hands were full.

* * *

Kari and TK were glad to have reached the front desk... but only for about five seconds; the wave of Roachmon that the boys had run into were waiting for them, and the flying Armor Digimon were low enough for them to sling garbage at. "Oh, geez!" TK huffed as a black, foul-smelling bag flew overhead, and then a broken ceiling fan and a rusty car bumper. "What's going on?"

"Yard Sale Bombs," Pegasusmon grunted. "Just our luck they'd be Roachmon..."

Nefertimon shot down as much of the junk as she could with her Rosetta Stones, but her wounded leg was starting to take its toll. "Kari, I can't do this much longer!" she huffed.

Kari quickly looked down at the desk. There was a whole shelf full of gigantic record books; maybe they could make a hiding place out of them. "Down there!" she shouted, pointing at them.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon swooped down onto the desk, and the kids grabbed the books, yanking them all around and into a makeshift fortress. While it kept the Yard Sale Bombs off, it didn't hold up well against Snimon sickles, as TK learned when one burst through within inches of his face. Pegasusmon and he shoved that book off of the desk along with its assailant, then raced back to grab a different one.

"OK!" Kari gasped as she slammed a book into place. "That should do it!"

"This won't help for long," TK swallowed. "The Snimon are here now!"

If that didn't sober the mood, the beeping of the D-Terminals did. Both kids' hearts sank as they read Cody's letter. "What's wrong?" Nefertimon asked.

"It's Cody," TK said. "Ken, Davis and he are stuck and they need help... and, well, look where we are."

Kari typed out a remorseful reply to Cody, wishing she'd never suggested they all split up. This letter made everything worse; what could they do for them, trapped in this book fort?

* * *

"Let's see..." Tai muttered to himself, his pencil poking at the numbers on the paper. "I'll cancel out the 'X-squareds'... Then if I'm going towards infinity, the limit should be-"

A knock at the door completely derailed his thinking, but as soon as he saw Sora and Matt walk in, he was all smiles. "Hey, guys," he said, getting up. "I was just finishing up the math assignment. What's up?"

"That's what we were gonna ask you, actually," Sora said.

Matt looked around Tai's room and shook his head, a smirk on his lips; it was still full of soccer merchandise, little toys, and comic books. "This place hasn't changed at all since last time," he said. "When are you going to grow up?"

Tai chuckled. "What, and be a boring old adult?" he asked. "C'mon, where's the fun in that?"

Matt folded his arms, the smirk not leaving. "Um, anyway," Sora spoke again, "we came over because we heard about where the new kids went... Have you heard anything?"

Tai shook his head. "No," he replied. "Kari said they were staying overnight, so I'm not worried as far as that goes... but it's weird she hasn't written at all..."

"I'm sure she's fine," Matt said. "TK's there; he'll keep things safe."

"Yeah, I bet they're all-" Sora started.

Suddenly, Tai's computer beeped; a message popped up on saying that there was a new e-mail from 'shinainohida62.' "Shinainohida...?" Tai asked out loud.

Sora thought for a minute. "Isn't 'Hida' Cody's last name?" she asked.

Tai walked to his computer and opened the e-mail program. Reading the note with Sora and Matt looking over his shoulder, the good mood iced over. "Oh, boy," Tai gulped.

"Grab your shoes," Matt barked. "We're going to Izzy's."

Tai, Sora and he scrambled for the door, but suddenly Sora hit a thought. "Hey, wait," she objected, "none of us can get in without D3s. Why're we going to Izzy's?"

"Because if anyone can figure out how to hack the DigiGate," Matt said, "it's Izzy. Now, hurry!"

Jamming their feet into their shoes, the three teenagers tore out the door and rushed down the apartment stairwell.

* * *

Having taken in enough fresh air, the mysterious woman raised her flute and began to play again. Dokugumon shrieked in pain, then resumed lurching towards the trapped kids. From the sound of Exveemon's grunts and yells up above, Digmon had gone crazy again, too.

Cody read over the answers he'd received on his D-Terminal, his face graven. "Yolei, TK and Kari are being held down, too, and Tai didn't even answer..." he told the others, hanging his head. "Nobody's coming."

"What? Son of a BITCH!" Davis yelled, kicking his legs around.

Ken struggled, but still made no progress. He couldn't die now; not before he had his revenge. "Then we'll have to save ourselves!" he declared.

Cody looked up in surprise. "What?" he asked. "How?"

"Don't ask me," Ken replied. "You're the one who can still move his arms; figure something out!"

Cody fumed at Ken's pretentiousness, but he did seem to be in the best position. He twisted himself around and got a good look at his surroundings; what could he use? Some debris from the ceiling had fallen down near him; that didn't help much; it was probably stuck to the web... The web? Cody looked closer at where the web was attached. Two of its edges hung from the ceiling, but the other two were attached to a gigantic ceiling fan. Instantly he had an idea. "If we can get that fan going, we can tear up the web!" he announced.

"Awesome!" Davis said. "Uh... How do we do that?"

Frantically Cody jerked around, ogling the walls for a switch... and then he found it. On the wall Davis was facing, a few dozen feet down from them, was a large switch with two buttons. The word FAN was written over it in red letters. "There!" he said, pointing. Now, for the hard part: how to hit that button when they were stuck up here? They had to throw something... but what?

His eyes fell on the debris nearby; that was all they had around to hurl. He strained hard, grabbed a chunk and yanked it loose; as firmly as the web held the boys down, it didn't have the same grip on chunks of wood.

"Sweet!" Davis yelled. "Pitch that thing, Cody!"

Cody looked at the debris, then twisted around and frowned at the switch, his stomach churning. Aside from kendo, he wasn't good at many sports... and he couldn't throw to save his life, let alone when the target was behind him! "I can't do it," he admitted. "It wouldn't work..."

Ken grunted angrily. Davis looked around and spotted the switch, and a sly grin came to his face. "Heh heh... No problem!" he said, clapping his legs in the air. "Toss it to me!"

Cody twisted himself towards Davis and threw the chunk, but it didn't even make it halfway there; it fell through one of the holes in the web. "Damn!" Davis swore. "C'mon, put some air on it!"

"I TOLD you I wasn't good at this!" Cody snapped, grabbing another debris chunk about the same size as the first and preparing to throw it.

"Wait," Ken spoke up, raising his feet; all of his squirming had freed his lower legs from the web. "Put it between my feet, and I'll toss it to him," he insisted.

Cody scowled at the Digimon Emperor. Sure, he probably could throw it as far as him, but why should he trust him? This whole thing could still be a trick of his, as wild and crazy as it was; after all, he would have shot Digmon if Cody hadn't hit him!

A frenzied rasp made him look up; the flute was still playing, and Dokugumon was almost on top of Davis. Within ten seconds, he thought, the goggle-wearing boy would be nothing but goop between the spider's teeth. He certainly didn't want that on his conscience.

"Well?" Ken snapped, well aware of the danger himself. "What are you waiting for?"

Cursing himself, Cody tossed the debris at Ken. Ken caught it with his feet and squeezed it. "Davis! Are you ready?" he yelled.

Davis could smell Dokugumon's breath, and it was horrible; something like dead flies and pond scum. It made his brow sweat even more "HELL YES!" he shouted back.

What happened next took only three seconds, but it all went in slow motion. Mustering all the force he could, Ken lobbed the debris at Davis, who lurched upwards and gave it a hasty bicycle kick. The debris sailed off of the web and hit the fan button dead center, starting up the device. The fan blades tore the web to shreds, sending the boys and Dokugumon plummeting onto the room's bed below. The boys landed in the sheets and were unharmed, but Dokugumon hit the wooden post at the bottom right corner and collapsed, out cold.

Davis slowly got to his feet, barely believing what had just happened. "Woah..." was all he could say.

"Tai was right to make you the goal kicker," Cody said to him.

Ken checked his equipment. The machine gun and the grenade launcher were fragged, but his shoulder laser still responded to his commands, turning this way and that, looking for its target. "Now..." he growled, looking up towards the ceiling.

"Hey, Exveemon!" Davis yelled up at the hole. "Don't freak out! We're OK!"

A scream from above told him that Exveemon wasn't. The big, blue lizard tumbled out of the hole, blood gushing from both his foot and his left shoulder. Horrified, Davis rushed towards him and caught him just as he shrank down to Veemon. "Vuooo..." he groaned. "Sorry, Davith... I blew it..."

Davis looked over his friend, but the wounds were gone; once again, de-Digivolution showed how useful it was. "Don't sweat it, buddy," he said. "Let's just get outta here!"

"Not yet," Ken said. "I have to deal with her..."

"Don't be stupid!" Cody snapped at him. "She's in control here! We have to find the others!"

"Shut it!" Davis shouted at them; he'd had enough of the arguing. "If we don't beat it right now, she's gonna call more creepy crawlies! We're gone!"

Ken recoiled at the anger in Davis's eyes, but then understood it; he wanted to keep his partner safe, and his friends, too... as he himself should have done with Wormmon and Sam. "...Fine," he surrendered.

As the boys scrambled down the bed frame and onto the floor, the flute's melody filled the room again. Before they could reach the door, though, the ground shuddered. Digmon burst out of the floor, his drills whirring. "Holy!-" Cody gasped.

"Whew!" Davis whistled. "Sure wish contractors would move that fast!"

Digmon started towards them. Ken started to aim his laser, but then stopped. This monster was the partner of the boy who just saved them all with his idea; he couldn't just blast it. "Back the other way!" he huffed, spinning around.

The boys raced back the other way, with Digmon in pursuit. "Now what?" Davis asked.

"We have to find a safe place for Veemon to recover," Ken said. "Once he can Digivolve again, we'll be able to fight off Digmon and escape."

If Cody had heard anything past 'find a safe place,' he might have thought better of Ken... but as things were, he was focused on looking for somewhere to hide. His eyes picked out a ground-level cabinet that hung slightly open. "There!" he declared, pointing.

Thinking that was as good a spot as any, the boys scrambled up into it, yanking the massive door shut as they went. Inside the dark, enclosed space, Davis, Cody and Veemon collapsed, exhausted. "Oh... Oh, man..." Davis gasped. "This... totally... sucks."

"Yeah..." Veemon agreed. "Digmon's nasty when he's mad!"

Suddenly, the door shuddered violently, and a familiar sound hit their ears. Wood shavings started to drop onto the ground. Digmon was drilling his way in.

Cody groaned out loud, slumping; it was his own fault his partner was trying to make Swiss cheese out of them. "Why didn't I notice?" he asked aloud. "Why didn't I see what that flute did?"

Davis scratched his head. "I still don't get what's goin' on," he said. "What's with that stick, anyway?"

"It's like she said," Ken said. "The flute makes a vibration at just the right wavelength to make insect Digimon go insane."

Davis still didn't understand. "So, uh..." he tried, "the sound annoys 'em so much they attack whoever's around? Sounds like that music my sister was playing; I sure wanted to give her face a pounding."

"No, not quite," Ken tried again. "It's the vibration itself, not the melody. It gets into their brains and forces them to turn aggressive."

"So... if we could stop the music," Cody said, getting back on his feet, "then Digmon... no, all the bugs would stop attacking us."

Davis frowned and listened to the melody, now fainter over the whir of Digmon's drills. "Doesn't sound like she'll be stoppin' any time soon..." he grumbled, "and we can't pry it outta her mitts from down here..."

"Why don't we ask her real nicely to take up banjo instead?" Veemon suggested.

Ken thought hard for a moment, then looked up. "There could be another way," he said. "Have any of you heard the folk tale about the moth and the bat?"

"I know the one about the bird an' the bees," Davis mentioned, "but this's new on me."

Cody's eyes lit up. "Yes," he said. "The moth turned the bat's shrieking against it, and was able to get away..." He paused and looked away. "But I don't remember how..."

"The moth created its own vibrations," Ken went on. "Those mixed with the vibrations of the bat's cry, and the bat got confused."

Davis scratched his head. "So, what you're sayin'," he tried, "is that we could use another sound to gum up the flute's sound?"

Cody looked at him, amazed that he had actually understood. "Exactly," he replied.

Ken frowned. Suddenly he regretted not blasting Digmon. "The problem, though," he admitted bitterly, "is that we can't do anything trapped in here... We're stuck."

Cody thought for a second, then grabbed his D-Terminal. "WE are," he said, "but we're not the only ones in this place."

"Hey, yeah!" Veemon cheered, perking up. "Kari an' TK an' Patamon an' all of 'em!"

Ken had completely forgotten about the others, but now that he remembered that they were still in play, his mood changed drastically. "Quickly," he said to Cody, "send them messages. Tell them to go to the front desk."

Cody started typing, then stopped. "...Why?" he asked.

"Because," Ken replied sharply, "the manager used an intercom. That means this whole hotel has to have a sound system!"

Realizing Ken was right, Cody typed furiously. Once again, he had to put his trust in the Digimon Emperor... but if it could save Digmon, he had no choice.

* * *

Aquilamon growled in frustration as Yolei's D-Terminal beeped again; between dodging all the bugs and getting these distress calls he knew he couldn't answer, he was near the end of his rope. "What is it now?" he demanded.

Yolei read over the long and weird message from Cody. So, a vibration from the flute was what was causing all the trouble? In that case, she was more than happy to put a cork in it. "Full speed to the front desk!" she ordered her partner.

Aquilamon dove beneath the Kuwagamon pincers and veered hard to the left, spinning himself around in the direction he needed. With a furious screech, he tore through the bug brigade, sending dozens of them flying. After a few wild moments, they were over the desk in the main office, looking down at the Roachmon and Snimon trying to topple their friends' book fortress. "Sneak attack! Rear flank!" Yolei yelled.

Not sure what that meant, Aquilamon just zipped down and blew the bugs over with his Blast Rings. The books shook, and then collapsed, sending the vicious insects to the ground with a nasty splat. "Oh, geez..." Kari swallowed, fearing the worst.

The books shook, and all the bugs crawled out, furious. Aquilamon collapsed on the desk and shrank back to Hawkmon, but Yolei was full of energy. "OK, you guys!" she addressed the others, "help me set up the compy; we've got a flute to jam!"

Kari, TK, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon exchanged confused looks, but Yolei seemed to know what she was talking about. "What do we do?" TK asked.

"Gimme a second and I'll tell you!" Yolei replied, rushing to the gigantic keyboard and stomping on the power button. The screen jumped to life with a merry chime and the words "welcome to WAC," and it began to load up. This was awesome; if this computer was twenty times bigger than hers, she wondered, did that mean it was twenty times faster? Think of how fast she could download music, or play games, or look at-

Suddenly Yolei was hit with a terrible thought; the hotel might have a sound system... but what if it didn't have any sound-editing software? She wouldn't be able to do anything! She bit her lip as the machine whirred and buzzed.

* * *

"...Kari says Yolei's at the front desk," Cody said, reading a new message on his D-Terminal.

"Awesome!" Veemon cheered. "This's in the bag! We'll be outta here lickety-split!"

Ken grew somber. "I don't know..." he growled. "Now that I think about it... A front desk computer is probably meant for clerical work... It might not have a sound program they can use..." His laser swiveled around, ready to fire should the quaking door give way to Digmon's drills.

Cody scowled at him again. Davis forced a smile. "Hey, c'mon, don't get down yet," he said. "Yolei's a supergeek! She always coughs SOMETHING up!"

Cody looked at Davis, surprised. "Amazing," he remarked. "This is the first time you've ever said anything good about her."

Davis chuckled wryly. "Yeah, bein' about to die makes ya say weird shit, huh?" he replied.

* * *

Yolei watched the computer screen madly as it booted up, her fingers crossed so tightly she thought they'd snap off. There just had to be a sound program on this thing! There just had to!...

And as luck would have it, there was! And even luckier, it was "AudioDacity," a program she knew how to use! "OK, troops!" she announced, whipping around to her friends. "We've gotta do this fast, and we've gotta do this right! We have to record that flute, so we'll need to set up the microphone. TK, make sure the microphone's plugged in, and aim it at that vent in the ceiling! Then hook the computer up to the hotel intercom so we can broadcast all over!"

"Right!" TK agreed.

"Hawkmon," she said, looking at her wiped out partner, "can you still fight?"

Hawkmon got to his feet. "I... Yes, I can," he asserted.

"Good," she replied, pulling out her D3. "DigiArmor Energize!"

In a flash, Shurimon stood in Hawkmon's place. "Now, go protect TK while he sets up the wires!" she ordered.

The boys took off just as the Roachmon began crawling up on the desk. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon drove them back, but it was clear they weren't going to stop. "Now!" Yolei went on. "Pegasusmon, Nefertimon, you keep us covered while we work! Kari, you're with me; we're working the keyboard."

"U-um... OK," Kari replied.

The girls grabbed the mouse and shoved it so that the screen's arrow sat on the sound program. Yolei thumped the clicker with her fist and the program started up. A control panel appeared with options such as "record," "play," "fast forward" and the like.

There was a roar and a metallic clang, and TK raced back to them, Shurimon behind him. "OK!" he announced, wiping the sweat from his brow. "The wires're all set up!"

Yolei nodded. She hoped they were moving fast enough; her future boy toy was at stake! "OK!" she declared. "Shurimon, you're on bug duty! Kari, drag and drop!"

Shurimon joined the other Digimon in kicking the Roachmon away while Kari and Yolei shoved the mouse so the screen's arrow rested on the "record" button. Yolei punched the clicker again, praying to every deity out there that TK had set the wires properly.

To her heart's delight, the sound waves of that obnoxious flute music appeared on the screen. After a tense fifteen minutes, she motioned to Kari to move the mouse again. The arrow slid over to the "stop" button and she banged on the clicker again. "I'm sorry, but I just don't hear a single," she cackled.

"Are you guys done yet?" Nefertimon huffed, swatting a Roachmon away; her wounded paw wasn't helping her at all.

"Hang in there!" Yolei said, then turned back to the kids. "OK! Now we work the magic!" she said. "TK, stand on the 'control' button on the keyboard!"

TK did as he was told. Yolei rushed past him and stepped on the 'A' button, and the whole sound wave lit up. "Now!" Yolei instructed, "we're gonna alter this sound wave 180 degrees out of phase, then copy and paste it onto multiple tracks! That should cancel out the flute entirely!"

TK blinked a few times, impressed. "Wow," he said. "Where'd you learn all this stuff? I bet Matt would ask you to work the sound for his band..."

Yolei chuckled, her cheeks turning pink. "Actually, I saw it on an anime..." she admitted, "but enough of that! Kari, start shoving that mouse towards the 'effect' menu! TK, get off the key, but be ready to jump right back on!"

TK hopped off of the key and waited. Kari shoved the mouse as hard as she could, pushing it the way Yolei told her to. She really hoped they were doing this quickly enough; God only knew what was happening to the others right now!

* * *

The smell of burning wood filled the cupboard as the drilling got louder. The boys could see patches of light coming from the door; it wasn't going to last much longer. "Aww, geez, what's takin' her so long?" Veemon panicked, biting at his fingernails.

"It's coming..." Cody growled, sweat pouring down the back of his neck. "She's gotta..."

With an awful crack and a crusty crunch, a whole section of the door fell inward, sawdust flying everywhere. Digmon lurched inside, panting and writhing, blind with rage. His eyes locked onto the boys and he raised his drills, snarling.

"Digmon!" Cody yelled. "Snap out of this!"

"Yeah, c'mon, pal..." Veemon gulped. "How 'bout a chocolate break?"

Ken said nothing; he fixed his laser on the creature, ready.

Davis swore loudly and banged on the back wall with his fists. "COME ON, YOLEI!" he shouted.

* * *

Izzy was surprised to have visitors so early in the morning... especially when they all grabbed him and shook him like a soda can. "Izzy! Quick!" Tai yelled.

"They're in trouble!" Sora cried.

"Get us into the Digital World!" Matt demanded.

"Stop! STOP!" Izzy yelled, trying to wrench himself free. "I don't know how! We can't get past the DigiGate without a D3, and all of them are already...!"

The three friends released their grips, and Izzy crashed to the floor. "Then... we can't help them?..." Sora asked.

"Come on!" Matt huffed. "There has to be something we can do!"

"Think hard, Izzy!" Tai urged him. "Isn't there any way we could try? Could you trick the gate into opening or something?"

"Be serious, Tai, I'm not a—" Izzy began, but suddenly his eyes lit up; maybe Tai was onto something. "Wait..." he tried. "I copied some D3 code over from Davis's and Yolei's... Maybe I can use that to..."

Without another word, he rushed to his computer. He typed so fast, the others thought his fingers would melt off. Suddenly, the Digital Gate appeared on his screen, the light green; it was open.

"WOAH!" Tai exclaimed. "What did you...?"

"I interfaced the Digital Gate program with the D3 coding," Izzy explained. "Now it thinks there's a D3 in front of it, so-"

Suddenly, the computer beeped wildly. Izzy's heart almost stopped as the words "HACKER DETECTED" flashed violently in red letters. All of he symbols and numbers in the file behind the Digital Gate started to disappear; the D3 coding was erasing itself!

Sora whipped out her Digivice. "Now or never!" she declared.

Tai and Matt also pulled out their Digivices, and the three of them vanished. Izzy fumbled around for his own, watching in horror as the coding ate itself. Just before the last few lines died, his fingers clamped his Digivice and he held it up. He was pulled into the Digital World just as the gate snapped back to red.

* * *

"OK!" Yolei said, rubbing her hands together. "We're here! We have sound, we have power..."

A chorus of angry buzzing made everyone jump; all of the Snimon flew up and over the Digimon partners, carrying the Roachmon with them. "We have company!" Pegasusmon swallowed.

Yolei had planned to strike a dramatic pose, but now there was no time. "KARI!" she yelled. "PLAY IT!"

Kari pushed the clicker as fast as she could, and a scratchy, wheezy sound emanated from the intercom; it was a noise like playing an asthmatic flute in reverse. TK, Kari and their Digimon looked around, confused; was that supposed to happen?

Yolei danced up and down wildly on the keyboard. "It's working!" she declared. "It's working!"

The others looked over at their assailants. Surely enough, the malice in the bugs' faces had disappeared, replaced with confusion and fatigue. Bit by bit, they crawled and flew out the hotel's windows and doors.

"Thanks, you guys!" a Roachmon said to them, then hopped off the desk.

The kids hesitated, then fell on their butts, exhausted. "Whew!" Kari gasped. "That was close!"

TK swallowed. "I just hope it was close enough..." he mumbled.

"No time to rest!" Pegasusmon declared. "Let's find the others!"

The kids got back on their feet and mounted their partners, racing off for the hallways again.

* * *

The boys and Veemon mashed themselves against the back wall as Digmon towered over them, his drills whirring, ready to make salad bowls out of their skulls. "Well, Davith, it was nice knowin' ya!" Veemon whimpered.

Digmon lurched forward, but suddenly the horrible anti-flute noise came to their ears. "What the hell is that?" Davis demanded. "Did someone stick a CD in a toaster?"

Cody looked up. "It's Yolei!" he exclaimed. "She did it!"

Digmon shuddered, then fell to his knees, gasping and wheezing. "Th... thank you..." he coughed. "Thank you!..." He reverted to Armadillomon and collapsed in a heap.

Cody rushed to his partner and scooped him up. "Are you OK?" he asked.

"Aww, shucks..." Armadillomon groaned. "I'm so sorry, Cody... I don't even wanna think what woulda happened if..."

Cody smiled, letting a little emotion show through. "It's fine," he muttered. "You're fine now. That's what's important."

"Yeah, and we're fine, too," Davis chuckled. "That's extra important!"

Ken allowed himself a sigh of relief. It was good that they had been able to save the boy's partner; nobody should have to go through what he had.

Speaking of which... His eyes hardened again, and he rushed out of the cupboard. "Ken? Hey!" Davis yelled after him.

"Where're ya goin'?" Veemon yelled.

Followed by Cody, Davis and Veemon rushed out onto the carpet. Ken was leering up at the hole in the ceiling, where the woman glared down at them. The messed up music had put her in a vile mood; with one angry motion, she snapped the flute on her knee. "Why won't you do as you're told and go home?" she hissed at them.

"Yeah, you'd better snap that!" Davis heckled. "I fart better than you play!"

The woman clenched her fists and bit her lip. "Fine," she growled. "I was being kind, since you're just children... but now it's clear you'll have to be taught the hard way."

"You won't be teaching anything," Ken snarled, and he fired his laser.

The woman sneered, then leaped over the blast and out the hole. All of the boys gaped as she dropped all the way down to the floor, landing on her feet without any sign of pain. "Wha?" Cody gasped. "How...?"

"Dude!" Davis exclaimed. "She's got, like, rubber legs or something!"

Ken's eyes narrowed. "So..." he whispered savagely.

The woman chuckled without opening her smirking mouth. "So, you finally see, Emperor," she cooed. "No... I'm not human. Not at all...!"

Still laughing, she doubled over, her whole body starting to bulge and quiver. The kids jumped as jagged red antennae with yellow tips burst from her hat. Her arms bulged, growing large and feral, and destroying her gloves, revealing vein-ridden gems on the backs of her hands.

"Aww, geez..." Davis swallowed, taking another step back.

"Holy!-" Veemon gasped.

"Not the word I'd use," Cody growled.

Four hairy spider-like legs burst out around her original two, which tore away from her boots looking like the others. What remained of her jacket fell apart to reveal a giant, ball-like abdomen with red and purple stripes, eight yellow spheres on the front. She looked back up and her sunglasses dropped off, revealing a red mask with wide, yellow eyes with snake-like pupils. She opened her mouth, which now stretched all the way across her face, and revealed a hideous smile of razor-sharp teeth. "Ahhhh!" she sighed, stretching her legs. "How nice to be out of that cramped suit; I feel pretty again!"

"Criminitly!" Armadillomon coughed.

Veemon's tail sagged. "I'm gonna be sick..." he groaned.

Ken said nothing; he just aimed his laser at the fiend.

Davis felt sick to his stomach. "What in the name of nucking futs ARE you?" he yelled.

She cackled a horrible, raspy laugh. "My name is Arukenimon..." she hissed, "and I'll be the last thing you ever see!"

* * *

The glint of the blocky roof caught Sora's eye. "There!" she said, pointing down. Birdramon shrieked to the others, then dropped to the ground. Kabuterimon and Izzy came down soon after, and Garurumon, Matt, Greymon and Tai burst out of the surrounding woods.

"I think that's the place..." Tai said, looking up at the Crested Coach Motel sign. Many of the letters had burned out, leaving only R, O, A, C, H, and the word "Motel."

"Ugh," Matt grunted, staring up at the super-sized place, "why didn't we just show up here? It's hard to miss."

"Given how the gate reacted, we didn't have time to set proper coordinates," Izzy said, shaking his head. "I had no idea it would act that way."

"Think about it later, Izzy," Kabuterimon rasped. "We have to save our friends!"

"Yeah!" Greymon declared. "Let's go!"

Greymon, Garurumon and Kabuterimon started for the building, but Birdramon and Sora held back. Tai turned around, puzzled. "What's wrong, Sora?" he asked.

Sora pointed off to the right. Parked near the gigantic hotel doorway was a rusty, weird-looking yellow jeep. She scratched her head. "Are there usually cars in the Digital World?" she asked.

* * *

While the others shrank back at the sight of Arukenimon shedding her human guise, but Ken stood his ground, his laser trained on her. "No..." he replied to her threat, "I'm the last thing YOU'LL ever see."

The spider monster cackled wickedly. "Such a rude little Emperor!" she sneered. "It's time I shut you up for good!"

She flicked her wrist and the gem on the back of her hand shot a long, purple tentacle, snaring Ken before he could react. He yanked and pulled, but the sticky rope held him fast.

Davis glared and yanked out his D3. Arukenimon had been scary at first, but now she pissed him off like any other baddie. "No way that's happening!" he yelled, hoping Veemon was rested enough to help.

Cody pulled out his Digivice as well; he had stayed out of the fight for too long. "Armadillomon!" he huffed. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Their D3s flashed, and Veemon became Exveemon, completely recharged from before. With one swift bite of his teeth, he snapped the tentacle in twain and Ken was free. Digmon appeared once again, his drills whirring. "Payback time, tuffet butt!" he declared.

Arukenimon didn't look bothered. "Hungry, eh?" she sneered. "I have plenty more!" She flicked both of her wrists and three tentacles burst out of each gem, and she swatted both Exveemon and Digmon to the floor with ease.

"Yeoww!" Exveemon coughed as he pulled himself up; that had really stung. "Careful, Davis! She's a tough one!"

"Now, then..." Arukenimon purred as she advanced on the group, "should I tie you up and suck your juices out like a real spider... or just tear you to pieces?"

"Neither," Ken growled, firing his laser into her abdomen. She reeled back, hissing, but looked more angry than hurt. He turned and looked at the others; as much as he hated to admit it, this thing was strong; they needed the others. "Time to go," he said.

"Digmon," Cody said, pointing at the door, "you know what to do."

With Digmon in the lead, they charged the door and smashed through. They raced out into the hallway just in time to see Pegasusmon, Shurimon and Nefertimon round the corner, their partners in tow. "Hey! Guys!" TK called.

The response wasn't a greeting, but a "look out!" All of them recoiled as Arukenimon rushed into the hallway, lashing at Exveemon and Digmon with her tentacles.

"Was that... was that the woman?" Kari gasped.

"Woah!" Yolei coughed. "Didn't see THAT coming! I thought they pretended to be clowns!"

The newcomers instantly began firing at Arukenimon, but for a big spider thing, she was surprisingly agile. She dodged both Pegasusmon's Equis Beam and Nefertimon's Cat's Eye Beam, bounding onto the wall and running up it.

"Anti-gravity legs? No fair!" Yolei huffed. "Chop 'em off, Shurimon!"

Shurimon hurled his biggest ninja star at her, but she leaped off the wall, stomped on it and planted herself on the ceiling. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon flew up at her, but the yellow spheres on her abdomen flashed and she spewed a disgusting green haze all over them. A few seconds of coughing and gasping, and the flying Digimon were on the ground, along with their partners... and Shurimon and Yolei, who they had landed on.

"Dammit! Kari!" Davis yelled, running to her. "Are you OK?"

"Ugh..." Kari groaned as she tried to get up. "I don't feel so good..."

"Strong..." TK managed. "Gotta be... Ultimate!"

"Stupid brats!" Arukenimon jeered. "How could the Emperor lose to you?"

Ken leered at her, then looked at Davis. "Show her," he said.

Davis nodded; anyone who hurt Kari wasn't getting away from him. "Hey, bug bitch! Get a load of this!" He yelled, raising his D3.

The Digivice sparked and sputtered. Exveemon fizzled, then became Paildramon. "Try ME on for size," he croaked in his strange double voice, flying up towards her.

"As if you'll make a difference!" Arukenimon cackled. She leaped off the ceiling, righted herself and met him halfway down with a powerful four-legged kick, launching him clear into the room behind him, which turned out to be the cafeteria where they had eaten dinner. She raced after him and dove in for the kill, but he was ready; as she came down he stabbed her in the cheek with his extending lance claw, sending her rolling across the tiled floor. "You!..." she hissed, grabbing at the wound with hatred in her eyes. "NOBODY does that to me! NOBODY!"

"Then just call me 'Nobody,'" Paildramon replied, getting back on his feet and staring her down.

The others raced into the room just as the fists started flying. "I don't think Paildramon's gonna be enough," TK said. "We'd better lend a hand."

Yolei thought for a second, then snapped her fingers. "Let's get her into the kitchen!" she said. "We can trap her in a bowl or something!"

"Yeah, good," Cody agreed. "There have to be some things left after dinner..."

Arukenimon flicked her tentacles at Paildramon. He caught them, reeled her in and slammed her on the floor. "Give up yet?" he asked.

"Give up?" Arukenimon spat. "When I'm winning?" She grabbed Paildramon's legs with her own and flipped him over.

"OK, so how do we get her attention?" Nefertimon asked. "She seems pretty busy..."

"Like this," Ken said, and he promptly shot Arukenimon in the shoulder with his laser. She turned on them furiously. Paildramon whipped around, confused.

Everybody was running past the counter leading into the kitchen, Davis and TK at the end. "Over here, uggo!" Davis crooned.

"Change of plans!" Ken yelled at Paildramon. "Follow us!"

Paildramon looked at his nemesis for a moment, then flew over the counter after them. Arukenimon snarled angrily. "Come back here!" she hissed, chasing after them. "I don't play games!"

She spotted a foot going around the corner, and she raced right after it... right into a cloud of stinky garlic powder. The purple-haired girl and her ninja sidekick moved in, flicking their giant shakers. "Every spider's favorite," Shurimon chuckled.

"Relax!" Yolei laughed. "We're just vampire-proofing ya!"

Arukenimon hacked and wheezed, unable to shout any threats. She flailed her arms and shot her tentacles around, but she hit nothing; the little brats ran off. "Filthy little..." she snarled, crawling out of the pungent haze.

She saw the ninja disappear behind the refrigerator, so she pulled herself up and raced after him... and came face to face with the drill-wearing bug, perched on a large aerosol can. Before she could attack him, he pressed down on the button, and she was smothered in a stream of orange goop. "My first cookin' experiment: cheesy spider bites!" Digmon cackled. "I'll make a mint at the county fair!"

Arukenimon thrashed about, flicking cheese every which way. "Eugghhh!" she yelled. "What IS this?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, lady," Digmon chuckled, hopping off of the can and taking off.

Blind with both rage and cheese, Arukenimon staggered after him. Those disgusting children... First they interrupt her flute playing, then they scratch up her face, and now they were coating her with condiments! She couldn't keep from hyperventilating. The next thing that moved was getting it.

"Hey! Over here!" a voice called off to the left. Without a second thought, she reeled and flicked six tentacles towards the sound... and her whole body rocked with electric shocks. The pink girl and the boy with the stupid hat stood next to an electric socket, having just moved. Arukenimon twitched, writhed and screamed, her hair spiking up into a curled, smoking mess.

"Think she's had enough?" TK asked.

Kari waved upwards. "Now, you guys!" she called.

Paildramon flew in from the left, shooting his Desperado Blasters. Ken ran out from behind the fridge and fired his laser again and again. The twofold pelting knocked her loose from the plug. She staggered over to the counter, raised her arms as if to strike at Paildramon again... and then collapsed.

"OK!" Davis yelled, running out behind Ken. "Do it!"

Arukenimon heard a scraping above her and looked up just as a gigantic salad bowl crashed down around her, scattering broken glass and trapping her completely. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon peeked over the side. "It'll do until we get a real cage," Pegasusmon chuckled.

"YES!" Yolei laughed, leaping out from behind the fridge with Shurimon and Cody. "WE R0XX0RZ!"

"Hah! Now THAT was teamwork!" Davis laughed, turning to Ken and offering his fist. Ken, however, was focused on Arukenimon. Davis waited, then put his arm down, grumbling to himself.

Cody's eyes were fixed on Ken. He was glad they had caught Arukenimon—very glad, considering what she had done to Digmon- but why had the Emperor helped them? If this wasn't a trick... then where did the spider woman come from? Who did she work for?

These were exactly the questions TK wanted answers for. "All right, start talking!" he demanded as he approached the glass prison, with Kari, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon close behind. "Why are you fighting us?"

"Are you trying to destroy the Digital World?" Kari asked as the other kids moved in around the bowl.

Arukenimon got to her feet, her wounds bleeding enough to make her appear beaten... but her attitude was anything but; in response to the questions, she just cackled. "Destroy the Digital World?..." she rasped, leering at them. "Yes... I want to destroy the Digital World... I thought you'd have figured that out by now!..."

"How're you making control spires into Digimon?" Yolei pressed.

"Who are you working for?" Cody demanded. "What is he planning?"

Arukenimon just laughed again. "You kids and your stupid questions," she sneered. "All you ask is 'how,' 'what,' 'who...' but never 'why.' You don't see the big picture... and that's why you're doomed."

"Yeah?" Paildramon huffed. "Then why?"

Arukenimon leered at him. "And why should I tell you?" she asked. "You just brutalized me!"

Davis grabbed a chunk of glass and chucked it at the bowl. "Dammit!" he swore, "stop screwin' with us!"

"Stop?" she cackled. "But it's so much fun."

"Ugh... Tough nut to crack, this one," Nefertimon grunted. "What do we do?"

The laser on Ken's shoulder swiveled and focused on Arukenimon. "That's easy enough," he growled. "Paildramon, move the bowl."

Davis jerked back. "What?" Yolei gasped.

"You can't kill her!" Cody snarled. "She's a real Digimon!"

"...Not this again," Ken growled, not looking at him.

"YES, this again!" Cody snapped. "You have no respect for life!" He looked over at TK and Kari. "They've been Digidestined longer than the rest of us," he said, pointing. "You don't see them murdering Digimon!"

Kari bit her lip and stared at the floor. TK scratched his head, looking awkward. "I... I don't know, Cody..." he said. "I mean, look at what she's done. If we let her live, she might just go right back to wrecking things... Some Digimon are like that; they just destroy things for fun."

Cody looked at him like he had just repeated every nasty word Davis had ever said. "Even you?" he yelled. "Who are we to decide who lives and who dies?"

"Cody..." Digmon started.

"Then," Kari said, looking up at him, "what SHOULD we do?"

Cody got quiet for a moment. "My father always said that anybody can turn around; nobody deserves death," he said. "We should put her in a place she can't escape from until she's ready to behave. That's the proper way to deal with criminals."

Ken just shook his head. "Grow up," he muttered.

Arukenimon laughed loudly at Cody's words. "You think I'm going to play by your 'rules?'" she crooned. "You're more stupid than I thought! No cages can hold ME!"

To everyone's shock, she grabbed at the lip of the bowl and threw it backwards, smashing it against the cupboards behind her. She jumped back up on her legs, looking ready to brawl again.

Ken swore and trained his laser on her. "She'll always be like this," he snarled. "She must be put down!"

Cody ran and shoved him, and his laser shot into the wall next to Arukenimon. "How dare you!" Cody snarled back. "Why should we listen to YOUR ethics, Emperor?"

"So you'd want more blood spilled every time she got away?" Ken retorted. "The constant worry that she'd break loose?"

Cody turned to the others, looking half furious, half desperate. He couldn't allow this to descend into bloodshed. If he was involved in this horrible situation, he could never look at the pictures of his father again. "Somebody SAY something!" he demanded.

TK and Kari kept quiet, looking uncertain. They wanted to take Cody's side, but all of the evil Digimon they had run into on their own adventure seemed to say otherwise; none of them had ever given second thoughts to creating carnage.

Yolei played with her hands and bit her lip, torn. What Cody was saying rung more truly in her heart—she couldn't stand to hurt anything unless it was in a video game- but Ken was smart and had good points... not to mention he was the boy of her dreams. Was he really one to throw life away so easily... or was he still grief-stricken from losing Wormmon? She just couldn't tell.

Davis didn't think for long; he was quickly distracted by Arukenimon's scuttling through the broken glass towards the group. "Aww, shit!" he yelled. "She's comin' again!"

"He who hesitates is lost!" Arukenimon laughed, flicking her threads at the kids. Paildramon acted fast and grabbed them, then twisted them and sent the spider crashing to the ground. She struggled and yelled, but couldn't get up.

"Now!" Ken yelled at him. "Finish her!"

"NO!" Cody screamed. "You can't!"

For the first time in his short life, Paildramon didn't know what to do. With two people yelling different orders at him, he froze up and did the one thing he could. "Davis!" he yelled, turning to his partner. "What do I do?"

Davis swallowed hard, hoping it wouldn't come to him. He hadn't thought too much about destroying Golemon, or Minotarumon, or Hippogryphomon... but Arukenimon was different. She was nasty and scheming, yes, but she thought for herself and had her own opinions on things; it did seem wrong to kill an almost-human being, like Cody said... but at the same time, she was just like her Spire-Born minions, wrecking the Digital World without either remorse or any desire to do otherwise, like Ken pointed out; maybe things would be better without her... He locked up just like Paildramon. "I..." he stuttered. "I... uh..."

Just then, he realized that everyone had gone quiet. In fact, there wasn't a sound in the whole room... except for a quiet, rhythmic tapping coming from up on the counter. He looked up to see that another figure had joined them: a hunched man in a blue overcoat and a cylindrical blue cap, who leaned heavily on a silver cane.

"Hmm..." the figure rasped in a low voice, looking down at all of them. "I must have interrupted something important... but I'm afraid you'll have to put it off for today. Arukenimon has places to be."

"And just who're you?" Cody huffed.

Beneath her mask, Nefertimon's eyes widened. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "You're the guy we saw by Gennai's!"

Kari, TK and Patamon looked at him for a moment, then recoiled; he WAS that weird person they had seen out the window! "I... can you turn control spires into monsters, too?" Kari asked.

The figure gave a wheezy laugh with a few coughs. "Perhaps it won't do to keep things under wraps any more..." he rasped.

He straightened up and his clothing began to distort. His blue ensemble melted into a full body cast of white bandages, with two artillery belts draped across his chest in a cross and a blue bandanna covering his scalp. Painful-looking steel braces were clamped around both of his lower legs. The coat and hat had hidden how thin and shriveled he was, almost like an old corpse. The other scary thing was that his cane had become a long, dangerous-looking crutch gun, colored a deadly black. "Just call me Mummymon," he cackled, glaring down at them with the same yellow serpentine eyes that Arukenimon had. "Delighted to finally meet you all in person!"

"MUMMYmon?" Digmon swallowed.

Yolei yelped and hid behind Ken. "I don't want my skin sucked off!" she whimpered.

Ken glared daggers at the walking dead man. "So... Two of you..." he snarled.

"Hey, potty-head!" Davis yelled, also not very scared. "Didn'tcha get the memo? Halloween's over!"

Ignoring them, Mummymon's head swiveled downward towards Arukenimon. "It's time to go, dear," he said.

"Ugh... Finally!" Arukenimon grumbled, getting back on her feet. "What took you?"

Paildramon flew up into the air, accosting the newcomer. "She's not going anywhere," he growled, grabbing for his guns, "but if you're looking for a fight..."

Mummymon's mouth curled up into a horrible sneer, revealing his yellow teeth. "I'd much rather discuss things," he said, "so I should introduce my partner..." With both hands, he grabbed the crutch gun and raised it. "This is Obelisk," he cackled, his knees starting to wobble. "He's an excellent speaker!"

Paildramon rushed at him, but Mummymon pulled Obelisk's trigger and a blast of ghostly white energy spiraled out and drilled Paildramon clear into the fridge door, leaving a dent. He tumbled down to the floor and shrank all the way back to Chibumon. "Holy shit!" Davis yelled, running to him. "Are you OK?"

Cody didn't waste any time. "Go!" he yelled at the other Digimon, pointing at Mummymon. "Don't let them escape!"

Nefertimon, Pegasusmon and Shurimon flew up at him, but Mummymon had another surprise for them; he dropped Obelisk back at his side and thrust his free hand at them, and a slew of snake-like yellowed bandages leaped from it, snaring and wrapping them faster than they could move. They crashed down onto Digmon, taking him out of the fight as well. All four of them shrank down to lower levels.

"Ah, that was an invigorating chat," Mummymon laughed, bounding off of the counter and landing next to Arukenimon. "We really must do it again sometime!"

Ken fired his laser as rapidly as he could, but it was no use; his free arm wrapped around Arukenimon's middle, Mummymon leaped at the fridge, kicked himself back towards the top of the counter and vanished. The stench of mildew and decay wafted up from the bandages left behind, almost making the kids blow chunks. "Yeeuccchh!" Yolei gagged. It smelled a lot like her room, except tripled in power.

Hawkmon rolled off of the pile, forced himself up and shook himself free of the bindings. "They're easy enough to remove," he reported.

"You're still getting a bath tonight," she replied, her fingers clamped around her nose.

As the others unscrambled themselves, Ken just stared at the countertop, his teeth clenched. It wasn't just one fiend violating the Digimon Emperor's leftovers... but two?

* * *

"Geez!" Sora yelped, jumping back as a slew of insect Digimon poured out of the hotel, seemingly fleeing for their lives. "What's going on in there?"

"Hey, friend," Tentomon said, stopping a Roachmon that raced past, "what's happening?"

"Brother, you'd better get gone, too!" the Roachmon replied. "No tellin' when she'll start playin' that flute again!" With that, he scooted into the bushes.

"'She?...' You think he means that woman the others met?" Tai asked the others.

The one person that wasn't paying attention to the bug exodus was Izzy. He was walking all around the jeep, prodding it and rapping on its metal. "Uh, Izzy..." Tentomon spoke up, "is it really all that interesting?"

Izzy banged on the jeep's hood and nudged the tire with his foot. "Hmm..." he murmured. "I'm not a mechanic... but as far as I can tell, it's just a plain old jeep."

"But what's it DOING here?" Biyomon asked, perching on the windshield. The last of the bugs had cleared out of the hotel, leaving the group with this other mystery. "Digimon don't use cars... We run, or fly, or dig, or swim!"

Tai shrugged. "Maybe it's just here," he said. "I mean, we've seen abandoned vehicles here before, like that trolley car."

Matt walked over, put his hand on the hood and jerked it back. "It's still warm," he reported. "Someone must have driven it here."

Hearing glass break behind him, Agumon turned around and cried out. "I know who!" he shouted.

The kids and their partners whirled around just in time to run for cover as a tall, thin mummy bounded towards them, spraying the ground with its gun's energy shots. It dropped a red spider woman into the back seat, started up the jeep and veered a hard left, almost running Tai over as it went. They fumbled for their Digivices, but it was too late; the jeep was already far out into the wasteland, kicking up a stream of dust and sand.

"Tai!" Sora yelled, running to her friend. "Are you OK?"

Tai pulled himself off of the ground, coughing. His arms and legs were scraped up, but there was nothing serious. "Whew..." he grunted. "Now I know how the squirrels feel."

"Wha... WHAT in the world was THAT?" Tentomon asked, his voice as shaky as his limbs.

"They looked like Digimon," Gabumon replied, looking puzzled, "but Digimon don't drive cars..."

Matt glared after the speeding craft, saying nothing. What had these new kids gotten themselves into?

* * *

"OK, so, good news: we broke the trap," Davis said as the Digidestined helped unravel their partners from Mummymon's stinking bandages. "The bad news: Arukenimon's got friends."

Cody shook his head as he pulled Armadillomon free. "Why are they so violent?" he asked. "People don't act like that without a reason..."

"They're not people," Ken snapped, not looking at the others. "They're Digimon. Human behaviors don't apply to them."

"What?" Cody snarled.

"That's true, Cody," Kari pointed out. "Some Digimon are good, some are in the middle, and some are bad."

"Yeah... like Devimon," TK said, frowning. "He hurts others just for fun. I bet Arukenimon and Mummymon are just like that, too."

"But they HAVE to be able to change!" Cody objected. "How can a Digimon not be able to change like a person?"

"They don't," Ken growled. "The only way to stop an evil Digimon is to delete it."

"If I'm going to listen to ANYONE about Digimon," Cody snapped, turning on Ken, "it WON'T be you!"

"Geez... Take five, you guys..." Davis groaned. Ken's and Cody's fighting had almost gotten them killed; he'd had enough of it for the day.

Yolei just shook her head, leaning against the fridge. "Something's not right about those two," she muttered. "Did you see their eyes?"

Kari had hoped nobody would bring that up; something about those yellow snake-like eyes sent chills down her spine. "Yeah..." she murmured, nodding quietly.

"I ain't never seen a Digimon with eyes like that before," Armadillomon said, "but then again, I ain't been around so long myself..."

"I haven't seen them before, either," Patamon replied. "You think maybe new Digimon started showing up after the world changed?"

"Perhaps," Hawkmon said, "but three of us are 'new Digimon' as well... and our eyes aren't like that..."

"Ugh," Gatomon muttered, shredding the remaining bandages off of her feet. "Look, whatever the case, we're done with this place. Let's go home."

The others looked like they agreed. Cody looked over at Ken. "At least now my life debt is repaid," he muttered.

"Yeah," Yolei chuckled, beaming at the raven-haired boy, "but thanks to my sound-smashing skillz, now he owes ME!~"

Ken didn't look over. Cody blinked, then bowed to her. "In that case, so do I," he agreed. "Thank you, Yolei."

"Yeah!" Davis laughed, leaning heavily on Yolei's shoulder. "I guess that means I owe ya, too! How about a whole day of not ending up in the pond, starting tomorrow?"

Yolei just groaned; would she ever get a romantic moment that Davis didn't ruin?

* * *

It took a lot longer to leave the hotel when it was giant-sized, but once the kids walked outside they were delighted to see their older friends waiting for them. "Hey, coach!" Davis exclaimed, waving at Tai. "Wazzup?"

Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy and their partners all ran down to them. TK was surprised when Matt grabbed him by the shoulders. "Are you OK?" the older brother demanded.

"Y... yeah," TK stammered, a bit surprised; Matt looked more worried now than he had in a while.

"TK's fine!" Patamon chirped. "I made sure he was!"

"How about you, Kari?" Tai asked, looking his sister over. "What happened in there?"

Kari just shook her head. "It's a long story..." she replied.

"Well, I can make it short," Gatomon piped up. "Arukenimon got away, and she's got a friend called Mummymon."

"Arukenimon... and Mummymon?" Izzy asked, scratching his head.

"Do they look like a mummy and a spider?" Biyomon asked.

"Did you see them?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, they almost turned Tai into road pizza, over there," Sora said, motioning towards the jeep tracks.

Tai gave her a dirty look. "Hey, I was out of the way in plenty of time!" he replied.

"They have a car?" Davis yelled. "That's it! Life is totally unfair!"

"They're villains," Matt muttered. "What did you expect?"

"It seems we have a lot of info to swap," Izzy concluded. "Please, tell us everything."

"Sure... after we get home," TK said. "I'd like to get as far away from here as I can."

The older kids agreed and everyone started towards where Davis said he thought the portal was... but suddenly, Yolei stopped; someone was missing. "Hey," she spoke up, "where'd Ken go?"

"What?" Tai asked. "Was Ken here?"

"I think he brushed past me just as we started talking," Tentomon said. "He must have left on his own."

"Man..." Davis grumbled. "Why doesn't he ever stick around?"

"Hmmph," Matt grunted, frowning. "Who needs him?"

Cody gave him a look that said he agreed, but TK shook his head. "That's not true, Matt," he said. "If it weren't for Ken, we wouldn't have gotten through that trap."

"Whew..." Chibumon sighed in Davis's arms, "It's not even lunchtime yet and already I wanna go to bed..."

"I'm sure Davis will let you once we get home," Izzy replied.

Suddenly, Yolei had a strange realization. "Hey, Izzy," she said, "how'd you guys get here, anyway?"

The new kids all looked at him. "Oh... uh... heh heh..." he chuckled, starting to turn red. "That's a long story, too... but, suffice to say, I need to borrow both Davis's and your D3s again, please."

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Heh?" he asked.

"Whaddya mean?" Yolei asked. "What happened?"

As the procession headed into the woods with Davis and Yolei pressing Izzy to tell them, Agumon, Tentomon, Biyomon and Gabumon stayed behind. "Wow, that was a letdown..." Agumon admitted. "I was looking forward to busting in and helping."

"Yeah, me too," Biyomon said. "Well, I bet we'll get another chance."

"So..." Tentomon said, "what do we do now?"

Gabumon looked over at the giant hotel. "Well, we've got all day, and the place is empty..." he said. "Let's go see if we can find some giant chocolates on the pillows!"

"Oh, yeah!" Agumon agreed. "Now THAT'S a plan!"

* * *

"Oh, my!" Mrs. Ichijouji exclaimed as Ken came out of his room looking haggard and drawn. "Ken, are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her, giving a quick smile. "It's just... I didn't realize how high I had the heater on, so..."

"Ah, yes..." she said, shaking her head with amusement. "November. Don't know what it's going to be like, do we?" With that, she walked back towards the living room.

Ken walked into the bathroom, turned on the sink and splashed cold water in his face, a relieved shock passing through him as it hit. He would have to replace the weapons Digmon had broken, but that wouldn't take too long... It couldn't. After all, his revenge had just become twofold. No doubt Mummymon was just as guilty as Arukenimon... and so he had to be hunted down, too.

He leaned heavily on the sink, looking up at himself in the mirror. What a rotten ordeal he had just been through... but if it weren't for Davis and the others, he wouldn't have survived. Maybe going solo wasn't the answer... Most of them did seem to want to be his friend... like that boy, TK, and Veemon...

He stared down into the sink, Arukenimon's jeering words coming to mind. Always asking how, but never why... and they didn't see the big picture?... He didn't see the big picture?...

He stared at the running water for a few more moments, then shut it off and dried his hands. He walked back to his room, pulled out his journal, flipped to a new page, and began writing. If he didn't see the big picture, then it was about time he started putting it together.

* * *

The jeep complained loudly as its tire hit a pothole, but Mummymon ignored it and kept his foot on the accelerator. Wherever they were going in this wasteland of a world, he wanted to get there quickly. He just wished the jeep had come with a roof of some kind; the noonday sun was almost blinding him, even with his blue cap pulled down. "How are you doing?" he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror at his passenger.

"Ugh... Don't even ask," she coughed. Arukenimon was spread out in the backseat, two of her legs flapping in the breeze. What a rotten day this had turned out to be; it was bad enough that her trap had been foiled, but to have her proverbial rear end handed to her in such a brutal way... and by a troupe of snot-nosed children, no less. To make things worse, she hated lying in the jeep's back seat; the flat cushions were meant for human bottoms, not giant spider abdomens.

"Just relax," Mummymon replied, turning back to the road. "A little rest, and you'll be up and looking lovely again for next time."

Her fist came down on the top of his skull. "There wouldn't BE a next time if you had destroyed them!" she snarled. "That was the backup plan! Why didn't you?"

"...You were pretty banged up," he said, sounding concerned. "I thought saving you was a more important."

"Bah!" she spat, forcing herself to sit up. "There won't be any reason to save me if they destroy all the spires! We can't make them fast enough on our own! If we lose what the Emperor put down, we're finished!"

"Don't worry," he replied, sounding calm again. "Let's focus on what the kids are after... Those Crest pieces."

Arukenimon's eyes widened. "What?" she hissed.

"If we destroy those, then the kids are doomed, no matter how many spires they break," Mummymon said, smiling darkly.

"You moron!" she yelled, bopping him on the head again. "How the hell are WE going to know where the Crest fragments are? Does your cane turn into a metal detector, or something?"

"Just relax..." he repeated. "It's all in good hands... all in good hands."

Arukenimon glared at him for a moment longer, then sat back with her arms folded. "Well, it had better be," she groused. "And don't forget to start mending my robes!"

"Oh... I would never forget that," he replied, a tinge of red forming on his ghastly gray cheeks. The jeep sped off towards the mountains.


	31. Tilt

The modest green station wagon drove up onto the third level of the cool parking structure and found a nice spot just to the left of the entrance. Kari stepped out of the driver's side, and TK emerged from the passenger's, clenching a thick notebook, the little black book and a few sharpened pencils. He looked around the lot, not quite getting his bearings. "Where is it again?" he asked.

"Over there," Kari replied, pointing out at a pale blue building they could see between the concrete supports. "It used to be where they trained new police officers."

The two of them took the stairs down and out of the structure and crossed the street. The building was actually very small compared to the others around it, only going up three stories, but over its glass doors, a sign boldly displayed the name "Sound Mind and Body School of Kendo" in faded orange symbols. TK whistled as he looked at the sign. "How'd he get so many students that he needed a three-story building?" he asked out loud.

"He must be a good teacher," Kari replied, pushing on the door.

They walked into a warm, hazy world of blue-matted floors and whitewashed walls, the air thick with the mingling scents of Styrofoam and sweat. On the far wall of the chamber, which took up nearly the whole length of the building, it seemed, hung a framed, faded photograph of an old man with squinty eyes, a thin moustache, and a stern expression. There were at least twenty-five students in the room, but only two of them were out on the mats; the rest were seated near the doorway, watching.

As far as TK and Kari could guess, there was a sparring match going on between the two; they were moving around in circles, jerking back and forth in anticipation of what the other would do. Finally, the shorter one moved in and swung, but the taller one was ready; he hopped left, and with a powerful cry of "DO," swung his shinai and swatted his opponent in the shoulder. The shorter one drew back a ways, and both of them lowered their weapons and bowed to each other.

Kari chuckled quietly. "Looks familiar, doesn't it?" she whispered to TK.

The taller one looked up and studied the newcomers for a few moments, then turned to the students. "That's all for today," he said. "Keep it all in mind for next week's lesson." TK blinked; that voice sounded familiar, too.

"Yes, Sensei!" all of the students spoke in unison, and got on their feet, heading for a flight of stairs in the back.

The tall one turned to TK and Kari. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked, reaching up and pulling off the helmet.

Kari smiled. "Hi, Cody," she said. "How've you been?"

Cody smiled at his old friends. TK had to stop and think for a moment when he saw him. Cody's appearance had certainly changed from the period he was writing about; his salad-bowl haircut now came down to the base of his neck, and a hint of a moustache was forming on his upper lip... and his smile was friendlier, too. "How nice to see you both," he rumbled in his low, 34-year-old voice. "I haven't been called that in a long time."

"Yeah, sorry we haven't been around in a while," TK apologized. "What's it been? A year? More than that?"

"Don't worry about it; you're visiting now," Cody replied, placing his helmet on a bench near the door. "So, what brings you here? When we talked last, it didn't sound like your children had any interest in kendo... Has one of them changed his mind?"

Kari scratched her head. "Err, actually, we came about something else..." she said. "Can you talk for a while, or are you busy?"

Cody nodded. "I always have time for my friends," he replied. "Besides, today is a lighter day. That was my last class. Please, wait in my office: that door on the right. I'll go change out of this armor and then we'll have some tea."

Cody went down the same stairs his students had. TK and Kari put their shoes on a mat beside all the students', then walked into the small office. It was a very traditional-looking room with a small, short table in the middle and cushions for seats. Various trophies- some colored silver, many gold—stood on long wooden shelves along the wall. There was also a tiny sink and stove against the window that looked out on the parking structure. A picture of the same elderly man from outside hung over the shelves.

As soon as they had looked around, Cody came back in, dressed in a more relaxed-looking white uniform. "Please, sit down," he said, and then moved to window, poured some water in a teapot and turned on the stove. "What do you like? Green? Something spicier?"

"Green's fine for me," Kari replied.

"Me, too," TK agreed. "So, Cody... How's running this dojo? Is it very stressful?"

Cody paused for a moment. "I must admit, I didn't expect it to be placed on me as suddenly as it was..." he said, "but it isn't too excruciating. Sensei... my grandfather left everything I needed to run it properly, and the older students who studied under him are more than willing to help me out."

"Well, you look like you had enough time to try growing a moustache," Kari giggled, motioning to the peach fuzz. "Trying to look more like a sensei?"

Cody chuckled. "I've been trying for months, but it's hardly grown at all... It must just be how my body is."

"It'll get there," TK said. "I mean, your legs sure did. Man, remember when you only came up to my chest? Unbelievable!"

They all chuckled about it for a moment, and then Kari glanced at the picture over the shelves and got quiet. "So..." she said softly, "do you miss him?"

Cody's expression softened. "...Yes," he replied, staring out the window. "Ever since he passed, it's like the soul of the dojo itself has gone..." He paused for a moment, then turned back to them. "But the students work just as hard now, if not harder. I'm proud of all of them."

TK smiled and chuckled. "So, you think we'll see your picture up on that wall someday?" he asked.

Cody laughed, surprising the other two. "Oh, good heavens, not for a long, long time," he said, shaking his head but still smiling. "A picture of me doesn't even deserve to sit on the floor in the same corner yet."

"Maybe one of your students will put one up," TK suggested.

"Ah... some day perhaps," Cody replied, "but for now, it just wouldn't feel right with some other face looking down on us."

They all took a few sips of their tea before Kari decided it was time to speak. "Well, Cody, I have to tell you we didn't just come to visit," she said, putting down her cup. "TK's started writing... about our adventure."

Cody's smile lessened, and he set his cup down as well. "So..." he said to TK in a more solemn tone, "you're going to do it?"

"Yeah... After the first book was such a hit, the publishers said they wanted more... and, well..." TK stammered, Cody's look making him feel like he was saying something vulgar. "I... Well, there was so much that went on, though... I don't think I have all the details I need. Can you help us?"

Cody was silent for so long, TK worried he was going to throw them out of the building just for mentioning it. The kendo instructor stood up and stared out the window for a few moments, and then peered over at the picture of his grandfather. Finally, he sighed and returned to his seat. "If the whole story is to be told," he said slowly, "then I'll gladly help you."

Kari smiled at him. "Thanks, Cody," she said. "I know it'll be hard."

TK got out his notebook and flipped to a blank page. "Whatever you want to talk about, go right ahead," he said, clicking some lead into his mechanical pencil.

Cody folded his arms and meditated for a few moments. "All right..." he said. "Well..."

**CHAPTER 31**

**TILT**

Mimi groaned as she finally stepped onto the balcony where Yolei's apartment was. Why did this girl have to live so high up?... or at least, why did the elevator have to be full of smelly older people when she needed to use it? Well, maybe it could have been _partly_ her own fault for carrying such a giant duffel bag with her, but she needed it all for the lesson. After all, her reputation rode on whether she could pull this off; if she could make this scrawny geekette look like a prom queen, the entire female half of the school would be hers to command!... and the boys would follow shortly after.

Hauling the pink bag down the balcony, she walked until she found a door with a sign marked "Inoue." The symbols were hastily painted and it was hung slightly askew, much like her charge, she thought... but at least it wasn't surrounded by dropped-off stock, like she'd expect of a convenience store owner's place. She stopped, took a deep breath and knocked on it.

No sooner had she done that than a terrible thought washed over her: what if the whole family was like Yolei? A whole set of gawky, reeking nerds?! Would they all smell like BO and make pop culture analogies she wouldn't get? Would they try to sell her that crap they had in their shop? Ugh, she would have to wash herself off _twice_ after she got away from—

The door opened and out stepped a shining figure of masculine beauty, complete with fluffy blonde dyed hair, gleaming glasses and a hypnotic jangle of earrings. "Oh, hello," he spoke with a tongue like a silver harp, a friendly smile crossing his lips. "Can I help you?"

Mimi could have melted into a strawberry-pink puddle right then and there; was THIS gorgeous creature related to Yolei?! "Uh, ummm..." she squeaked, "I came... um... I'm here... uh... Yolei?"

The heavenly vision blinked, his smile still present, but showing that her words puzzled him. "Yolei... Uh... Oh, do you mean _Miyako_ Inoue?" he asked. "Are you sure you don't mean Momoe? Or Chizuru?"

"Uh... huh!" Mimi murmured, having seen the mouth move but only hearing half the words. "Y... Yo... uh... Miyako..."

The youthful god scratched his head, then shrugged and glided inside. A few seconds later, Yolei appeared, still dressed in the same horrid getup she was always in. "Hey, Mimi," the purple-haired girl said.

Mimi's daydream abruptly died and her smile fell away. "Not following lesson 2, I see," she sniffed.

Yolei scowled. Being insulted within three seconds of meeting up? That had to break a record somewhere. "...Come on in," she grumbled, stepping aside.

Mimi entered half-expecting a messy, schlock-ridden home, but was pleasantly surprised; the living room was amazingly clean, and the decor was tasteful and—dare she think it—refined. Two girls sat on the couch watching the television, while the delicious figure that had greeted her at the door lounged in a chair, reading a fashion magazine. One of the girls looked up. "Hey, Yolei, who's your... woah," she trailed off as she looked at Mimi.

"Is that who I think it is?!" the other one gasped.

"Ooh!" she eeped, grabbing at Yolei's arm. "Aren't you going to introduce me?!"

Yolei looked at Mimi, then at her two sisters, who looked flabbergasted. "U-um..." she mumbled, "well, Mimi, these are my sisters, Chizuru and Momoe... and that's my brother, Mantarou. Guys, this is, uh, Mimi Tachikawa."

The two sisters exchanged stunned looks, while Mantarou gave a friendly half-wave and went back to his magazine. Mimi was beaming like a lighthouse, loving every moment of this; she was a celebrity already! If these beautiful, fashionable people belonged to the Inoue gene pool... what had gone wrong with Yolei?

"Uh... Well, c'mon," Yolei muttered, pulling her now-slightly-unwanted guest towards her door. "We can talk in my room... What's in the bag?"

As they went into the hallway and the older siblings disappeared, Mimi turned her attention back to her duty. "OK, we're covered being clean and wardrobe," she said, resuming her authoritarian tone, "so now you need to learn to pretty yourself up: makeup, jewelry, hairstyles, everything that'll finish your ensemble."

Yolei gawked at her as if she'd said they were building spaceships out of cucumbers and then zipping off to Neptune. "What?!" she asked. "I can't buy any of that crap! I'm still broke from last time!"

Mimi snorted at the insult. "As it so happens, I have plenty of leftover last-year items," she stated, motioning to the bag. "They'll work fine until you can buy some better stuff."

Yolei bit her lip, hoping all the obscenities her brain was shouting wouldn't burst out of her ears. "Let's... just go in," she grunted, motioning to the door at the end of the hall.

"I have to say, I do like your apartment," Mimi said, twisting the doorknob pushing inward. "The way you are, I expected it to be a-"

Her voice stopped cold and the duffel bag dropped onto the ground. Splayed out around her was a human cesspool. Wrinkled, dirty clothes hung across a dusty television and any furniture that had a spot for them, some of the garments being what they had bought at the mall. Teetering pillars of manga, CDs, game cartridges and sketchbooks rose up from the floor with no particular pattern or reasoning, looking like they'd collapse with one breath. Old plastic food containers, plates and utensils littered the floor in semi-organized stacks, some only looking half-eaten. Teeming rivers of black wires connected to goodness knows what ran through the dusty gray carpeting. Toys and models of robots and fantasy-looking characters in swimsuits stood or lay on the desk between schoolbooks and a computer with a grungy keyboard. The bed was not only unmade, but also covered with unwashed sheets laced with mysterious, vile-looking stains. Off to the side was a heap of old clothes and magazines, upon which sat the little pink Digimon unfortunate enough to have Yolei as its partner. "Hi, Mimi," he said, nodding politely. "Good to see you!"

An unholy smell of body, waste and filth thrust itself into Mimi's nostrils, and Yolei saw her pupils dilate. Before she could ask what was wrong, Mimi's cheeks inflated and she clamped her hands over her mouth. The girl charged past her and disappeared. The only sounds she heard next were the door being thrown open, and then loud, continuous retching from the balcony.

"Hey, Yolei!" Momoe's voice came. "I think your friend needs an aspirin or something!"

Yolei just folded her arms and grunted. Here she went again.

* * *

The school day done, Izzy returned to the sanctity of his room, flanked by Tai, Matt, Davis, TK, Kari, Cody, and their respective Digimon. "Boy, I thought class would never let out," Tai admitted.

Matt nodded, setting his saxophone case against the wall. "The last period's always the one that stops time, isn't it," he replied. "I don't see what European history has to do with me."

"Yeah, I hear you there!" Davis chuckled, trying to get a smile out of Matt, but failing. He quickly turned to Izzy instead. "So, Izz-meister, what's the news? Any new Crests pop up while we were cookin' the books?"

"...That doesn't mean what you think it means," Cody grumbled.

"Books? Ewww!" Upamon huffed, making a face. "They're terrible raw; why would you want to cook one?"

The other Digimon stared at him. "You ate a book?!" Gatomon asked, amazed in a bad way. "Those're only for reading!"

Upamon sagged. "I thought it was a sandwich..." he muttered.

Demiveemon cocked his head to one side. "So... how'd it taste?" he asked.

Izzy cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "Let's see if anything's happened," he said, and hit a button on his computer. It snapped out of sleep mode and the screen lit up, showing the map of the Digital World they had assembled. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. No little lights flashed or beeps sounded, as they had often enough recently. Izzy scratched his head. "Nothing?..." he asked out loud.

"You're serious?" TK asked. "Nothing again?"

Kari looked around at her friends. It had been four days since they had escaped Arukenimon's motel trap, and nothing had happened in the Digital World since. While Davis, Yolei and the others seemed relieved for the break, it only made her more nervous... but of her friends, only Cody looked serious... but then, he was always serious; was she worrying too much?

Izzy hit some more buttons and looked over the readouts. "Well, control spires have been activating and de-activating, but no new ones have shown up..." he reported, "and there're no new Crest fragments, either." He turned around and looked at his younger friends. "Looks like you guys are off the hook this afternoon."

"Well! Sounds pretty sweet to me!" Davis laughed. "I caught up with homework the last three days; today's a good one for soccer! Hey, coach, how about a little one-on-one, huh? Actually, two-on-one, with Demiveemon playing, too..."

Tai smiled, but shook his head. "Sorry, Davis," he said, "but I'm going into the Digital World to help fill in the map with Matt, TK and Kari."

Davis's jaw dropped at the mention of 'TK and Kari.' "WHAT?!" he demanded.

"Why do you think we came over here with you?" Matt asked, pulling his Digivice out of his pocket.

TK and Kari both started pulling their D3s out. Davis had to act fast; he couldn't let those two be alone together _again_! "Hey! Wait! I'll come too!" he protested.

Demiveemon's oversized ears drooped. "Aww, but Davis, I wanted to play soccer!" he complained.

Davis's face got hot as everyone turned and looked at him. He bit his lip, seeing that he was defeated. He really, really, really didn't want Kari to go off with TK yet again... but it wouldn't make much difference if she thought he was a jerk to his little partner. "...Oh, all right," he surrendered. "We'll go play soccer."

"Yayyyy!" Demiveemon laughed, leaping up into Davis's arms.

Cody frowned at the computer screen. "It's been four days," he spoke up, mirroring Kari's concerns. "Where has Arukenimon gone? And where's her partner?"

Demiveemon giggled from his perch. "I bet we scared 'em off!" he laughed, making little fists. "Paildramon to the rescue!"

TK shook his head. "I wouldn't think that," he said. "They're probably waiting for a good chance to sneak up on us."

Upamon sighed and looked out the window. A thin, gray blanket covered the sky that afternoon, just like it had for the past week. "I wish something would happen soon," he lamented. "This November month is so gray and... blah!"

Kari couldn't help but smile at the little yellow ball. "You'll feel better when it starts snowing," she promised.

Upamon's ears jerked up immediately. "Snow?!" he asked, bouncing. "Ooh! I can't wait! I can't wait!... What's snow again?"

"Back on Arukenimon," Matt broke in, looking at Izzy, "what do you know?"

Izzy looked away from Matt's gaze, slightly ashamed. "I... nothing much, I'm afraid..." he admitted.

Tai raised an eyebrow. "You've checked Davis and Yolei's D3s, and there wasn't anything?" he asked.

"I looked through the database that Gennai helped me make," Izzy said, motioning to the old laptop next to the computer and the blue and red D3s sitting on top of it, "but nothing in there looks like them... and since the D3s aren't the same as our Digivices, I can't just stick them in and add data... Maybe they don't even hold stuff like that."

"So you don't have anything?" Matt grunted.

Izzy frowned at him. "No, I don't," he replied, "but I will say this: if Arukenimon put up as much of a fight as Davis says, then I assume she's an Ultimate-level creature, at least... and Mummymon too."

"Ultimate, huh?" Tai asked, looking at Demiveemon. "Looks like you'll be getting a workout, Demiveemon; we're counting on you even more now."

Demiveemon looked eager enough, but Kari sighed sadly. "Two Ultimates against our one..." she said. "I wish Gatomon could Digivolve again, so at least we'd have the same."

"You and me both, sister," Gatomon replied, her ringless tail waving around crossly.

TK, Tai and Izzy looked as if they were wishing the same thing for their own partners. Matt scowled and looked away.

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Davis said to them, grinning. "Once we get those Crest thingies working, you'll be stompin' spiders right next to Paildramon!"

Cody felt just as badly as the older Digidestined. Whether he became Digmon, Submarimon or Ankylomon, Armadillomon couldn't do much against a pair of Ultimates. He wanted to be able to fight the new enemies himself. If his partner could get up to the Ultimate level, then maybe they wouldn't have to rely on that treacherous Digimon Emperor for backup.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," TK said, finally getting his D3 out, "but I'd rather go explore than stand here moping. How about it?"

Tai perked up right away. "Yeah!" he agreed. "C'mon, we've got plenty to do!"

Matt nodded. Izzy hit some buttons and the DigiGate program appeared on the screen.

Kari did, too. "OK..." she said quietly. She and TK raised their Digivices, and the gate opened. In a flash, only Izzy, Davis, Cody and their two Digimon remained in the room.

"Better put down some pillows or something," Upamon spoke up. "There's gonna be a people pile later on!"

Cody looked over at the D3s. "Oh, how is the research going?" he asked Izzy.

Izzy sighed and shook his head. "I haven't made much headway," he admitted. "I was able to copy over all of the data I could before, and with my American friend's help, I want to figure out exactly which part of the coding opens up the Digital Gate. I know it's in what I have... That's how we came to help you before."

"Damn..." Davis swore, more impressed than frustrated. "Sure wish I could learn computer like that. Between you two and Yolei, I feel like all I've got is a head fulla melty bubblegum."

"If any comes out your ears, can I have some?" Demiveemon asked.

"You have your own talents," Izzy assured the younger boy, reaching for the D3s. "They come in handy pretty often, from what I've seen... Here's yours back, and Cody, could you drop Yolei's off on your way home?"

Cody scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. "Actually, I've got a kendo lesson in half an hour," he said, "so I won't be able to do it until this evening... and if something happens..."

Davis cackled and snatched both D3s from Izzy. "Chillax, you guys!" he said. "We were gonna play in the park near Yolei's place, anyway. We'll drop it off on our way home."

"Well, as long as you get it back to her," Izzy said, going to the door and opening it for the boys. "Have a good lesson, Cody."

Cody and Davis left, taking their partners with them. Izzy walked back to his computer and sat down, typing up an e-mail. As easygoing and optimistic as his friends were, he couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency about his own job. The sooner his overseas friend and he cracked these mysterious new Digivices, the better.

* * *

Yolei really didn't know what to say as Mimi returned to the corridor, looking absolutely green. All she could do was twiddle her thumbs and wait for the imminent explosion.

Mimi took a few deep breaths, then looked at her charge. "Well..." she grumbled, her voice shaking, "it looks like I was wrong." She picked her duffle bag up.

Yolei's shoulders sagged. This would be the end of it, she figured; Mimi would give up and leave, and she would have to go through life Ken-less... maybe even sans boyfriend completely.

"Before we can cover makeup," Mimi said, tossing the bag into a corner, "we have to sterilize this mess."

On one hand, Yolei was glad Mimi wasn't stomping out the door. On the other hand... what mess? "What do you mean?" she asked.

Mimi's face went from green to red in record time. "What do I...?!" she huffed, yanking Yolei's door open again. "LOOK at this junk! It's an absolute disgrace!"

Disgrace?! _Junk?!_ Yolei's face went red as well. "That's not junk!" she snapped. "Those are some of the best games, manga and models in the whole continent!"

"They're junk!" Mimi retorted. "You HAVE to clean this room!"

"Why?" Yolei demanded. "It's my room!"

"Why?!" Mimi snapped, her voice rising in pitch. "I'll TELL you why! A: NONE of my lessons matter if you change back into the slob queen as soon as you step in here! B: If you invite a guy back to your place while it looks like this, he's going to be jumping out your window! C: What kind of girl... no, what kind of _human being_ can LIVE like this?!"

Yolei was genuinely stunned. Had she hit her head during the last Digital World romp, or was Mimi actually making some sense? Maybe she had been shirking in coming up with new outfit styles... and Ken was a refined genius; this sort of room would never impress him. The last argument... Well, she lived like that, and she was fine... but the first two stuck. "I... Oh... Ugh," was all she could say.

"Now," Mimi said, closing the door for fear of the smell escaping, "go get a broom, a duster, and a lot of garbage bags. We've got work to do."

Hanging her head in shame, Yolei plodded off towards the kitchen to gather the supplies.

* * *

Humming a merry little tune, a blue-cloaked stranger pushed a needle through a blood-red cloak and pulled it through, making a complete stitch. What a lovely day it was; the sun was bright but the air was cool, the grass smelled fresh and green, and the control spire he sat against was warm. "What a perfect day for sewing," he remarked, pulling the needle through once again.

The grass behind the spire rustled. "Forget that," Arukenimon's voice snapped. "Are you finished yet?!"

Mummymon bit the remaining thread free of his needle, then offered the cloak to the air. A hand shot around from behind the spire and snatched it away. "About time," she grunted.

"I'll start on your hat now," he replied, pulling his cane out of the grass. He painfully dragged himself to his feet, clawing into the spire for a grip with his free hand. He hobbled over to the jeep, plucked the tattered purple hat out of the back seat, and lurched back to the spire, wheezing all the way. He slowly lowered himself back into a sitting position with a long sigh, then took a spool of purple thread out of his pocket and threaded his needle with it. "Three and a half days I worked on that cloak," he remarked as he jammed the needle into the hat, a faraway smile crossing his gray face. "I think I made it even better than before. It brings out your subtle grace and... mature femininity."

Arukenimon just snorted. "Don't get too attached," she muttered. "It'll just get ripped up again the next time we fight them."

Mummymon sighed sadly at the thought; that was most likely true. "Ah, well... Then I shall make it even better the next time," he vowed. "But... why must you change? Why not just stay in your natural form?"

"Ugh, if only I could," she grunted, "but I can only create Spirit Needles when my hair is this vile human texture... so I don't have a choice. There's no shape I less want to be in, but if we're going to get rid of those children..."

"I don't know..." Mummymon replied, finishing up one hole patch and moving onto the next. "We did well enough on our own... Do we really need more Spire-Born?"

Arukenimon's fist flew around the corner and clubbed him in the head. "Did you SEE what they did to me?!" she hissed. "If you had bungled any longer, I'd have been spider-flavored Swiss cheese!"

Mummymon tried to both nurse the bump on his head and sew, but could only do one thing at a time. At the risk of another bump, he went back to sewing. "Besides," Arukenimon went on, "we HAVE to keep sending minions against them. It's the only way we'll win."

Both of them were quiet for a long while. Mummymon finished up the hat and offered it, and Arukenimon snatched it. She emerged from behind the spire, back in her cloaked mystique. "Ah... Lovely," Mummymon said, smiling at her. "It does my heart good to see them worn so well."

Arukenimon just looked away, grumbling. Mummymon once again dragged himself to his feet, wheezing and making little gasps of pain. "Have you picked up any Crest energy yet?" she asked, looking back at him.

With a tremendous groan, Mummymon pushed himself off the spire and leaned heavily on his cane. "No," he replied, actually sounding cross. "It's like the blasted little things know we're looking for them... and I haven't-"

Suddenly, a loud, lively song burst in from nearby, making them both jump; the jeep's radio had suddenly turned on. "Hey, hey, HEY, guys and gals!" an announcer roared, sounding like he had an IV full of coffee. "Lookin' for some rides? Some food? Some super-awesome fun?! Then COME ON DOWN to PINBALL CARNIVAL, the most jumpin' fun park in the DigiWorld!"

The little radio crackled with a chorus of cheering kid voices as Arukenimon and Mummymon moved closer. "PINBALL CARNIVAL has the most rides per triangular feet of anywhere!" the announcer belted. "You'll go flyin' so high and fast, you'll wonder where you left your eyes! There's even a casino for the grownups, with REAL money! The fun starts UP when the sun goes DOWN, so get ready to party-hardy all night long in a WHIRLWIND TORNADO of sound and light! Conveniently located on the SOUTHEASTERN COAST of Server Continent! TONS of FREE PARKING!"

An annoying song started playing. Arukenimon banged on the radio and it turned off. Mummymon looked at her, his eye shining. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah..." she replied, frowning. "Whirlwind tornado... That's redundant."

Mummymon grinned at her wickedly. "It looks like we're taking a little trip," he mused. "Think you can conjure up five new control spires if I do the same?..."

* * *

Tai cried out himself as he lurched back and grabbed Agumon's flailing arm, hoisting him back up onto Nefertimon with Kari and himself. "Be careful!" he chided. "If we fall here, we're sunk!"

"Aww..." Agumon groaned as he looked bitterly down at the dark blue waves. "It's bad enough we can't Digivolve on land... but why'd we have to come to the ocean today? I can't do anything out here!"

"Couldn't Joe and Gomamon have done this place?" Gabumon asked from his spot behind Matt and TK on Pegasusmon's back.

Tai shook his head. "Joe has a big med school test coming up," he explained, "so Matt and I said we'd do it today."

Kari looked down, but all she saw was rolling water and the tiny reflections of their flying partners. "Where exactly are we?" she asked.

"We left File Island and headed south..." Matt thought out loud, "so we should be reaching the southernmost part of the ocean."

"Is there a reason we're going all this way?" Pegasusmon asked, looking over his shoulder at his riders. "There wouldn't be any spires to destroy; Ken never got this far."

"Something else," Tai said. "Remember that weird floating island we found in the west?"

"The one with the blizzard around it?" TK asked.

"Yeah," Tai replied. "We obviously can't go any further west... so I thought we'd try south. Maybe there's another edge with another weird island."

"And the ocean's a great place to explore, anyway," Nefertimon said. "There's no chance of running into the Resistance out here, or Arukenimon."

"Could there really be another edge?" Kari asked, looking at her brother. "Could the Digital World really be flat?"

Tai was about to respond when TK looked down and gasped. "Woah! Stop!" he yelled. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon slowed to a hover, and everyone saw why TK sounded so freaked. Just up ahead, the ocean became a waterfall that spanned the entire horizon, gazillions of gallons of water pouring down into a black abyss. Amazingly, though, the sea showed no signs of a current going towards it; there was no telling that the drop-off was there unless you saw it from the air. All that lay beyond the waterfall was a haze of brownish-gray clouds.

"Woah..." Pegasusmon gulped. "Is this like what you saw?"

"Good grief," Kari managed. "It really is the end of the world!"

"We'll see," Tai replied. "Nefertimon, can you or Pegasusmon swish those clouds around any?"

Nefertimon and Pegasusmon flapped their wings. The clouds dissipated just enough to reveal a small floating island with a giant Egyptian pyramid on it, and streams of golden sand pouring off into the void.

"Wow!" Agumon exclaimed. "It's a flat mountain!"

Matt stared through the clouds, then looked at Tai with visible surprise. "How about that, Tai; you were right," he said.

"Yeah, I... Hey!" Tai smirked.

"I've seen some weird stuff here, but I never expected THIS," TK said, shaking his head in amazement. "Should we check it out, Pegasusmon?"

"No, wait!" Gabumon cried. "Remember what happened to Sora!"

TK, Kari and their partners looked at their older siblings. Tai and Matt exchanged glances, then nodded to them. "OK... but go slowly," Matt urged.

"And turn back if it gets ugly," Tai added.

"Right," Kari agreed. "OK, Nefertimon!"

The two Armor Digimon started into the smoky clouds, and the air got hot almost instantly... _too_ hot. Suddenly it was like the party had flown into a fired-up brick pizza oven. "Holy!..." TK rasped.

"Agh! Oooogh!" Gabumon gasped, trying to flail his furry coat off.

"Turn back! Turn back!" Kari wheezed.

Not having to be told twice, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon whirled around and flew back over the ocean, their bodies coated in sweat. "Oh, my...!" Nefertimon managed. "I thought I would melt for a second."

TK's clothes were drenched completely in sweat. He pulled off his hat and wrung it out. "What's up with these crazy places?!" he demanded. "I thought the Digital World was round, like the real one... but this...!"

"Yeah, what does it mean, Tai?..." Agumon asked, then looked up at his partner and cried out.

Tai's large fluff of hair had drooped completely down over his head, making him look like a dead palm tree. He reached up and pulled it away from his eyes, spitting some loose ones out. "I don't know," he grumbled, "but let's not try that again."

"We should ask Gennai about it some time," Nefertimon suggested. "Why don't we go see him now? We could ask him about my tail ring, too."

Matt looked at his watch and shook his head. "No time today," he reported. "We spent half of it getting here..."

"It's just as well," Pegasusmon said. "After a furnace blast like that, I'm ready to call it a day."

"Yeah..." Tai replied, fishing out his cell phone and taking a shot of the mysterious cloud curtain. "We'll have to come back some other time... For now, let's get back home."

"Kari, can we fly low on the way back?" Nefertimon asked. "I need to cool off."

"Fly as low as you want," Kari replied, glad her friend suggested it.

* * *

"Eeeyuck!" Mimi squealed as she unearthed a slice of pizza that had taken on the same color and texture as the gray shag carpeting. "How can you forget where you leave your food?!" With one swift motion, she chucked it into the nearest garbage bag, along with the paper plate it was on and the three socks that had been draped over it. She didn't know why she was actually helping clean this pig sty, but it was a feeling akin to seeing a traffic accident; she couldn't just walk away from it without doing something. Besides, she figured as she stuffed another sock ball into the black bag, it was part of her duty to show this girl how to live properly.

On the other side of the room, though, things were going in almost the opposite direction. Yolei grumbled to herself as she went through the bags Mimi had already stuffed, pulling stuff back out. How dare that glitz-hungry gremlin treat her treasures like this! Sure, she could stand to clean the place up, but Mimi had no idea of the value of some of her things! She bit her lip as she fished out her limited edition "Galaxy Tot" model. So what if it was missing an arm! She was going to glue it back together... eventually.

"Yolei, why are you digging in there?" Poromon asked as he fluttered near her. "Aren't you supposed to be putting things IN instead of-"

She panicked and grabbed him, clamping her fingers down on his beak. "Do NOT let her hear you!" she hissed, looking desperate. "Look, if you hide everything I ask you to, I'll buy you a whole sushi platter!"

Poromon didn't like the sound of that; it sounded like Yolei wasn't making any effort towards cleaning the room up... but a whole sushi platter... He sighed crossly. "My tummy likes it, but the rest of me doesn't," he said.

"Then listen to your tummy," Yolei replied, stuffing the model in his beak. "Get that somewhere safe!"

As Poromon disappeared into the closet, Mimi gave another disgusted cry. Yolei turned to hear, very much annoyed. "NOW what?" she grunted.

Mimi was holding a ratty-looking demon doll as far from her body as she could, with only two of her fingers. "This thing smells like old cigars!" she complained.

Yolei scowled. "Of course it does," she muttered. "The guy I bought it off of was a heavy smoker."

"And you didn't run it through the wash?!" Mimi snapped.

"I can't wash that!" Yolei argued. "The eye decals would fall off! I paid too much to mess it up like that!"

Mimi looked at her with utter disbelief. "You actually PAID for this?!" she asked.

"That's a limited edition Desdemona plushie!" Yolei replied, feeling the rage inside her boiling over. "It was a promotional item for the release of 'Razor Fangs VI!' They only made a hundred of them! Collectors would kill for one of those! So what if it smells bad; I've GOT one!"

Mimi was unimpressed by the spout of information. "If you spent as much on your looks as you did on this crap, we wouldn't even be doing this!"

"CRAP?!" Yolei yelled, letting her spittle shoot out of her mouth wherever it wanted to go. "IT'S NOT CRAP!"

"Maybe it's cool to nerds, but if you're trying to get a boyfriend, it's just pathetic!" Mimi rebuked, tossing the doll back on the desk and frowning at her. "What's wrong with you? You don't dress well, you eat horribly, you don't keep yourself clean, you leave trash everywhere, you spend your money on toys... You're just a backwards slob! No boy in his _right mind_ would want you!"

Yolei bit her lip, her fists clenched. As angry as she was, Mimi had drilled her points home enough that she was starting to hear the reasoning. Maybe... maybe she was totally right... and with that, every insult that had ever been hurled at her came back sounding true, too. She really had reeked, and lived in a filthy way, and even her favorite hobbies now looked shameful. After all, what would Ken say if he saw a room like hers? He probably wanted a clean, fresh girl with refined, genius-worthy tastes. With a room like this, the best she might get was a neanderthal. In response to Mimi's stabbing, all that escaped her was a whimper.

Poromon, who had quietly crept back in when Mimi was yelling, looked up at his partner, not knowing how to respond. He had never seen her look so poorly, and it scared him.

"Now stop acting like a baby and keep cleaning," Mimi snapped, turning to the closet behind her. "What's in here?"

"That's... for clothes," Yolei muttered, not really feeling like looking up.

"Oh, this'll be fun," Mimi grumbled as she grabbed the sliding door and pulled it back. "If it's for clothes, why is everything all over the—AAAAGH!"

Yolei hardly jumped at the shriek. Now what nasty little tidbit was she going to be bawled out about? She waited ten, then twenty seconds, but nothing came. That was weird; usually Mimi was a motormouth when it came to pointing out her faults. Puzzled, she looked up. "...What?" she asked.

Mimi turned to her, clutching the dusty, pink cowgirl hat that the Crest Fragment of Purity had been in. Her hands were visibly shaking as she clutched it. "I..." she stammered, looking down at it. "It's... my... my..."

Yolei looked up. "Yeah..." she agreed. "Izzy said that was yours."

She scowled at Yolei. "Why do you have it?!" she demanded. "How'd you find it?! Where?!"

Yolei swallowed hard. Once again, Mimi's mood had changed from irate to sad to genuinely angry, and she was actually feeling scared. "I... w-well..." she tried, "w-we found it in a marsh... It was blowing around, and we caught it... There was a piece of the Crest of Purity inside..."

"I... you..." Mimi spluttered, not seeming to take it well. "I want this back! It's mine! You... you can't just...!"

"We were going to give it back anyway," Poromon spoke up. "Right, Yolei?"

"Yeah..." Yolei agreed. "That's why I asked if I could bring it back."

Mimi looked at her, then down at the hat, an uncomfortable silence filling the room. Her glare gave way to something that looked like sadness mixed with longing. "Are... are things going well... there?" she asked quietly.

Yolei did a double take; Mimi actually wanted to know about how they were doing in the Digital World?

Poromon cleared his little throat. "Well, we have quite a mystery on our hands right now," he said. "Do you remember that Golemon from the last time you were there? The one that was all black on the inside?"

Mimi nodded slowly. Poromon glanced at Yolei. "Should I keep going, or do you want to?" he asked.

Normally Yolei couldn't get a word in around Mimi, so she seized the opportunity. Explaining everything as best as she could remember, she told the cheerleader about the Spire-Born, the hunt for the Crest fragments, Ken, the Resistance, and the mysterious woman who had turned out to be a giant spider and had a walking Egypt exhibit for a sidekick. As she talked, Mimi kept her eyes on her, being the most attentive that Yolei could ever remember. Mimi must have secretly still cared about Palmon and the others, she reasoned; why else would she ask?

"So, to sum it all up, we've got two Crest pieces, but Arukenimon just called in reinforcements, so Paildramon is gonna have his hands full. The faster we can get the older kids' monsters to Digivolve again, the better," Yolei came to her conclusion. "So... any questions?"

Mimi's eyes were wide with amazement, but they quickly shrank back and she looked away, a good deal of worry visible... or was it something else? "It's started again..." she whimpered.

"Huh?" Poromon asked. "What do you mean?"

Mimi shook her head, looking back at Yolei. "Haven't you ever thought about what'll happen?" she asked. "Whether it's even worth it?..."

Yolei blinked, confused. Worth it? What was this "it" Mimi talked about? Did she mean whether she thought they could beat Arukenimon? Or was this some dig at her personally, and whether she could handle the same kind of trouble that Tai and the others had gone through on their adventure? Sure, she hadn't had the best start- wetting her pants on her first trip in, for example—but she wanted to think she could mix it up with the baddies just as well as TK or Kari. "Sure it is!" she replied, defiantly making a fist. "We'll whip old spider hag's butt clean out of town!"

Mimi looked away again, her expression downright sad; that must not have been the right answer, Yolei thought. Could whatever she meant by that question have something to do with why she burned her bridges with the other Digidestined? "Uh... What did you mean by 'worth it,' exactly?" she tried.

Mimi just sighed and her expression changed back to peeved. "Forget it. Now let's get back to work," she snapped. "I have to be home by 6, and if this place isn't totally clean, I'm sure it'll all grow back."

Yolei fumed; so much for getting deeper into the Mimi mystery.

"Now, then," Mimi went on, tossing Yolei a half-full trash bag, "you keep going on the floor. Your sheets need a major wash, and I don't think you're capable of doing it."

Yolei looked up in horror as Mimi started for the bed and grabbed a corner of the blankets. "No, WAIT!" she started.

Mimi yanked the sheets, but the whole mattress slid off of the frame, revealing a whole layer of books. "Oh, not MORE of these!" Mimi yelled, grabbing one in a huff. "How can this garbage possibly be-"

Suddenly, she noticed the cover and her eyes bugged out. Yolei bit her lip, looked down and waited, her face growing hot; just what would Mimi say now, having discovered her hidden cache of adult doujinshi?

Once again, there was a heavy silence. After about thirty seconds, Yolei looked up. Mimi was flipping through the book, her cheeks as red as Yolei imagined her own were. She noticed Yolei staring at her and quickly slammed it shut. "Uh... You should find another place for these while we clean the bed," she said calmly. "How about your desk, with a cover over them?"

"Err... Y-yeah," Yolei stammered, moving to the bed and grabbing a stack of the books. The more she got to know Mimi, the more of an enigma she turned out to be. She went ballistic at the state of her room and laughed at her hobbies, and yet hardly made a peep at these raunchy books?

* * *

"Whoo!" Davis panted as he scooped up the soccer ball with his foot, kicked it into the air and then caught it in his backpack as it fell. "Now that was some hardcore playing!" His whole body was soaked with sweat, so tied his jacket around his waist instead of putting it on. As hot as he was, though, he grinned from ear to ear; he hadn't had that much fun in a long time!

Demiveemon, on the other hand, looked like a wreck. He wobbled back and forth, his little pink tongue hanging out. "Ooohhh..." he groaned. "Davis... I feel sick..."

"Hey, I told you to let go of the ball," Davis said, scooping the little Digimon up. "Not my fault you held on all the way down the hill!"

"Urp!" Demiveemon burped. "Is that how it feels when you fight with Yolei in the pond?"

Davis jumped. "Aww, crap!" he exclaimed, spinning around in the other direction; they had to give Yolei's D3 back before they went home! "Thanks, little buddy," he said as he jogged towards a tall set of buildings on the other side of the street.

"Thanks? For crap?" Demiveemon asked, raising an eyebrow.

His fatigue from playing starting to kick in, Davis took the elevator up to the fourth floor and walked to the Inoue apartment door. When he knocked, though, it wasn't Yolei who answered; it was one of her doofy older sisters, and not the one Jun was friends with. She stared at him for a moment. "...Oh, you're Daisuke, aren't you?" she asked.

"Is Yolei here?" he asked.

The girl blinked. "...What, is she having a play date or something?" she asked, glancing down at Demiveemon. "Or are you just dropping off a present? Is it that doll?"

As Demiveemon tried his best to stay still, Davis gritted his teeth. Why did he have to go through these crazy siblings every time he came to Yolei's place? "May I please..." he growled, "speak with Miyako? Like, now?"

"Huh! I'd watch that mouth if I were you," she replied. "You're not going to get a girlfriend like that."

Davis was going to reply that if he wanted a girlfriend, he wouldn't be at this apartment building, but the girl had gone back inside already. He sighed wearily and just rolled his eyes. Having one older sister was bad enough, but how did Yolei put up with two? Maybe that's why she was always in a bad mood.

* * *

Both Yolei and Mimi were surprised by an acute rapping sound at the door. "Hey, Miyako!" Chizuru's voice came. "Jun's brother's here! Sounds like he wants to talk with you!"

"What?!" Mimi asked, turning on Yolei crossly. "Don't tell me you double-booked?!"

Yolei's blood froze. She couldn't let Davis know she was getting attraction lessons from Mimi! She'd never hear the end of the jokes... and what if it got back to Ken? He might get weirded out, and her chances with him could be totally ruined! Her mind raced; what could she do to get rid of him?

"Hey!" Chizuru's voice came again. "You awake in there?!"

"Yolei, shouldn't you go see what Davis wants?" Poromon asked. "It might be important."

Mimi tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?" she asked. "What's this about?"

Yolei thought fast. "I'm busy!" she told the door. "I'm, uh, storming a troll garrison with my, er, guild! I need to focus!"

"All right," Chizuru replied, and walked off. Yolei sighed; she sure dodged a bullet on that one. "So," she said, turning back to Mimi, "let's keep going, huh?"

Mimi wrinkled her nose. "Why are you friends with that potty-mouthed little twerp, anyway?" she asked.

Yolei hesitated, then laughed. "Ha ha ha! Yeah, he is pretty stupid, isn't he? I wonder myself sometimes!" she agreed, hoping it would get her back in Mimi's good graces.

"Yolei..." Poromon complained, looking disappointed.

* * *

Davis wasn't expecting Yolei's sister to show up at the door again. "She says she's busy," she said. "Something about storming a troll garrison... Sorry."

Davis lowered his head. "...Thanks anyway," he said. "I'll come back later."

As soon as the door shut, he let out a particularly nasty cuss. "Yeah, you WOULD be playin' yer stupid games when I'm blowin' my valuable time trying to drop off your stinky Digivice!" he snapped at the door.

"Um, couldn't we have given it to Yolei's sister?" Demiveemon asked.

Davis shook his head. "That'd be the perfect way to let the whole damn high school know we had them," he grumbled, "an' I don't wanna be gettin' grilled over these things! I get in trouble for enough already!"

Demiveemon's ears sagged again. "Why didn't she want to see us?" he asked sadly.

Davis said nothing else. He stared at the door a moment more, then spat out the side of his mouth and stomped off.

* * *

Shooting little sharp breaths, Cody shuffled around the floor, his shinai raised and jerking around, ready to strike the target... which, in his mind, was the Digimon Emperor. One with a heart as wicked as his couldn't just change like that! He saw himself cornering the wretch, exposing him to the world, and raining justice down upon him for all his deceit and violence.

Unfortunately, his real opponent only saw what his body was doing, and it wasn't pleasing. "Iori!" his grandfather snapped, forcing the boy out of his thoughts and back into reality. "Your technique is very poor today!" he went on. "Your footing is off, and your strikes are unrefined!"

Cody suddenly realized how much he was losing himself to his thoughts, and stepped back. "...I'm sorry, Sensei," he apologized, bowing. "I will try to do better. May I try once more?"

"If you can't focus your thoughts," Chikara replied, "then you have no business sparring! Now, once again!"

They both struck new combative stances and the match continued. Cody thought hard for something that wouldn't make him lose his temper as much... After a moment, he decided to envision Arukenimon; the spider woman was a fiend, to be sure, but he could keep his cool when dealing with her. For about forty-five seconds, he was able to focus... but it didn't last. As he tried to keep focused on Arukenimon, he kept thinking of how much worse the Digimon Emperor was... and then he was right back to swinging away at the treacherous boy. He swung powerfully, but the force jerked him forward, and he stumbled, crashing down onto his face.

His grandfather stepped back, a disgusted grunt escaping his lips. "What is the matter with you today?!" he demanded. "Never have I seen you so sloppy!"

Cody slowly pulled himself up into a kneeling stance. "I'm sorry, Sensei..." he said again, his voice full of shame. "Please, let me try again."

Chikara regarded him for a moment, then set his shinai on the ground next to him. "We should call it a day," he said.

Cody looked up, greatly upset. "No!" he insisted. "I can do better! I promise!"

Chikara shook his head. "No," he repeated, "I think we should focus more on the mental side of kendo. Take off your armor; we won't be using it again today."

Half angry and half ashamed, Cody pulled off the pads and knelt down before his grandfather, who looked him over sternly. "Now," Chikara said in a somewhat softer tone, "Your motions during our sparring have shown that you're angry about something... very angry. Even your mother has noticed it in your attitude at home. What's wrong?"

Cody looked down at the floor. How shameful that his emotions could be seen so easily!... but it wouldn't do to try hiding it from his grandfather. After all, lying was one of the most shameful acts of all. "...Yes," he said quietly. "I'm angry. I've been angry for a few weeks now..."

"Why?" Chikara asked.

Cody thought about how he could describe things without mentioning the Digital World. "There's a boy," he began. "He's committed innumerable wrongs in the past, but now he seems to want to repent... and though I'm certain he's not sincere, many of my friends are starting to believe him..." He looked up at his grandfather. "That's why I'm angry."

Chikara was silent for a while, seemingly meditating on what he had heard. Cody waited, wondering just what he would say. Finally, he looked at Cody again. "Is this anger towards this boy..." he began, "or towards your friends' opening up to him?"

Cody looked at him, surprised and irritated. "What does that have to do with this?" he asked.

"You trust your friends," Chikara continued, "but you don't trust this boy... and yet, they do. However strong your feelings are, they have no bearing on how your friends feel, and you can't influence them to see things in your way... That, I think, is why you're angry."

Cody hesitated, then stared at the floor again. Could that really be why he was mad? He didn't trust the Emperor at all and he was sure it was all a big ruse... but he hadn't been seeing eye-to-eye with his friends lately, either... Maybe his grandfather was right. After all, he always had been before. "...What should I do?" he asked. "Do I have to wait for that boy to betray them?"

Chikara shook his head again. "Perhaps... perhaps not," he said. "A human being is very complex; he can be of one mind one day, but then change overnight, for better or for worse... but that isn't what you should worry about for now."

Cody raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

"Your test now is to learn acceptance," his grandfather said. "You have to accept that your friends want to reach out to him, even if you do not. Even though you disagree about this, you must strive to keep your friendship alive... It would be a tremendous shame to lose it to this."

Cody sighed. As much as he would deny it, he really did enjoy hanging around Davis, TK and the others... and it wasn't helping the team at all to be squabbling with them... He saw what his grandfather was saying, but at the same time, he couldn't ignore the threat that the Emperor possessed. "But if I'm a pacifist about it, terrible things could happen!" he argued.

"Yes, they could..." Chikara nodded, "but if you've wasted all your energy being worked up over it, what will you have left to react with?"

Cody had no rebuttal for that. He just silently stared at his feet again.

"I think that's enough for today," Chikara said, reaching into his duffle bag and pulling out a pack of prune juice. "Reflect on what's been said. You'll know what to do."

As his grandfather sucked at the juice, Cody turned and stared at the wall, thinking hard. Maybe he really was being too harsh on his friends... and their desire to see something good in a bad situation had brought about some positive results before... but he just couldn't shake his feelings about Ken Ichijouji. Even if Arukenimon was acting independently, he was sure Ken would stab them in the back the first chance he got... and when he did, Cody's retaliation would be swift and deadly.

* * *

The Gardromon flipped another page of his magazine, not bothering to look up. With the afternoon sun hanging overhead, there was little more to Pinball Carnival than a large wooden fence and his little box outside the gate. He loved this security job; he could do whatever he wanted as long as the sun was in the sky.

He heard the sound of a car driving up and stopping, but he paid it no mind. Suddenly, his reading light disappeared; three shadows had fallen over him. Someone coughed, presumably to get his attention. "Sorry, park's closed," he said without looking up. "Come back when it's nighttime."

"We're not here to play," a sultry but sharp female voice came. "We're here to work."

The Gardromon looked up to see a human woman in red, a hunched old fellow in blue, and a large, gray, ball-shaped shadow behind them. "'Zat so?" he asked, looking them over, especially the woman. "You don't look like fun park types."

"Ah, yes," the blue one rasped. "It's our first day, you see, and we haven't gotten into costumes yet..."

The Gardromon looked at them again, then shrugged. "OK, go on through," he said, turning back to his magazine. "Go see the manager; he'll sort you out. He's in the green trailer behind the casino."

"Thank you, kind sir," the blue one said, and he followed the other two through the gates. As soon as they were out of earshot, though, his attitude changed. "Ha! What a wretchedly stupid guard," he cackled.

Arukenimon just snorted. "I don't see why we had to talk our way in," she muttered. "We could have destroyed him easily."

"True, true..." Mummymon said, "but we also don't want to cause a commotion. If this is going to be a good trap, then we can't have it looking suspicious with a dead guard. Am I right?"

Arukenimon just shook her head and folded her arms.

Mummymon glanced over at the silent, round Digimon that followed them. "Besides," he said as his mouth curled into a wicked sneer, "this one will cause all the violence we need."

* * *

"...So I rubbed it in his face AGAIN, and when he got pissy, I threw him in the pond!" Yolei finished her anecdote as she helped Mimi stretch some fresh sheets over her bed. "I can't believe he still says crap like that when he knows what I'll do to him!"

"Yeah, you'd think some boys were monkeys with how dumb they can be," Mimi giggled. Suddenly, she looked around with surprise and delight. "Hey! Look! We're done!" she announced.

Equally surprised, Yolei looked up. Mimi was right; her room was clean. All the laundry was properly stored in her dresser and closet, all of the video games were put away under the television and the desk, all of the books were back in the bookshelf, and the remaining refuse was gone. The balcony door was open just a crack, allowing a cold yet clean breeze of air into the room. "Well... how about that," she said, feeling pleased, but also uncomfortable. The room didn't look like hers any more.

She wasn't the only one who looked upset. Poromon just stared at the clean, bare rug where his nest used to be. He had worked hard to turn that pile of rubbish into a comfortable sleeping place! "Now where will I bed down at night?!" he demanded, looking at the girls.

"Relax," Mimi said with a wave of her hand. "I'm sure Yolei can come up with something."

Yolei shifted her weight uncomfortably. "Um, right..." she muttered. "Well, uh, you can sleep with me in the bed for a while... until I can think of something else."

Poromon huffed and looked away.

"So, uh," Yolei said, turning to Mimi, "now that the room is clean, do we start the lesson?"

"What?! No way!" Mimi said, holding up her arm and showing her watch. It read 5:15 PM. "There's no more time today... and I need a hot shower after what we did."

"Oh..." Yolei replied, sagging a bit. "Sorry."

"We'll just save that for another day," Mimi said, walking to the corner and collecting her duffle bag and hat. "If this place is back to how it was when I come again, though, you're finished."

"Err... right," Yolei muttered.

Mimi walked toward the door, but then stopped. "Hey... I have to ask," she said, turning back to Yolei. "Where'd you buy those manga under your bed?"

Yolei looked up in shock; Mimi wanted to know something like that?! "Oh, uh... Well, I got them at, uh, Boss Bookstore, down on 6th Street," she answered.

Mimi raised an eyebrow. "The one by the hair stylists'? How?" she asked. "They don't let minors in there..."

Yolei's cheeks went red. "Uh, my brother..." she admitted. "I give him the money and he buys 'em."

Mimi blinked a few times. "...Wow," she said. "Must be nice to have an older brother."

Yolei shrugged. Not as nice as Mimi probably thought, but he did come in handy for procuring forbidden merchandise like those adult manga.

"Say..." Mimi went on, looking at her charge with a sly grin, "is he seeing anyone right now?"

Yolei almost bit her tongue. "ACK!" she gurgled. "Uh, uh, uh, YES! Yes, he's seeing... LOTS of girls!" she spluttered, flailing for any excuse to keep Mimi from testing the waters in her own gene pool. "Dozens! Dates 'em by the truckload! He's got a new one over every weekend! I don't even bother learning their names anymore!"

Mimi rolled her eyes, obviously not buying it. "Oh, really?..." she muttered. "Well, I'd better go. Call me next week and we'll set up another lesson."

Yolei opened the room's door and Mimi walked out. As she watched, Mimi walked past the couch where Mantarou sat, produced a slip of paper, handed it to him with a wink and kept walking.

As Mantarou stared at the little slip of paper, Yolei turned and relentlessly banged her head against the wall.

* * *

Izzy leaned back in his chair, taking a break from his European history textbook to look out the window. The sun was creeping away behind the cityscape; the day was ending. The others should be back soon.

As soon as he thought that, the computer beeped loudly. He shoved his swivel chair away as the screen flashed, and avoided being buried in the pile of limbs that appeared on his floor.

"AGH! Get offa me! GET OFF!" Patamon's muffled shrieks came from somewhere inside.

Matt was the first to get free of the mess. "...Nobody's gotten around to fixing that, I see," he grumbled.

Izzy helped the others get untangled. "How far did you go today?" he asked when they were all sitting on his bed.

Tai and Matt turned over their cell phones. He almost dropped them because they were so warm and sticky. "Good grief," he said as he plugged Tai's into his computer, "where did you go to get them like this?"

"Would you believe the ocean?" Kari asked.

Izzy blinked as the downloaded data told him the same thing. "No way. How did you get that sweaty flying over an ocean?" he asked.

"'Cuz we found the end of the world," Patamon coughed, "an' it's really hot and dusty."

Izzy turned around, puzzled. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Patamon began to explain when the computer beeped three times. Izzy whirled around and opened up the Digital World map. "It works!" he declared.

"What?" Gatomon asked, her tail swishing. "What's going on?"

"I programmed my computer to give a signal whenever a Crest's energy signature is detected," Izzy replied, turning to them, "and one just came up!"

The others ran to the screen. Surely enough, one of the gray squares on the southeastern edge of the Server Continent was flashing pink. Kari noticed the color and felt even sicker. "That must be part of mine..." she murmured.

"Why'd it come up so late?" TK wondered, looking out the window at the twilight.

"No time to lose," Tai said, looking at his younger friends. "Call the others!"

* * *

Davis sighed and sank back into the couch, his eyes watching the television but his brain hardly registering what was on. Playing with Demiveemon had tired out his body, and the pre-algebra homework had tired out his brain; now he was looking forward to not using either for a few hours.

Unfortunately, Jun had other plans. "Gimme that!" she exclaimed, snatching the remote out of his hand before he could clench it. "There's a special I wanna watch!"

"Aww, what the hell?!" Davis huffed, his body too relaxed to make an adequate grab. "I don't wanna be sittin' here watchin' some stupid crap!"

Jun sniffed. "Shows what you know!" she said, and pressed the button.

Davis braced himself for a bunch of tone-deaf teenagers butchering pop songs... but to his surprise, a calming, smooth stream of saxophone music floated out of the television, followed by a black-and-white photograph of a man playing the instrument. Beneath him came the words "Charlie Parker: The Bird Who Would Be King."

"...Huh?" was all he could say. "What's this?"

"Documentary," Jun replied, sitting down next to him. "Now shut up!"

As a soothing narrator began describing what life was like in 1920-era America, Davis just looked at his sister, not knowing what to think. Jun liked loud, peppy rock music, didn't she? What was she doing watching this?

He was about to ask her when he noticed his door swing open, and Demiveemon scrambled out of it, waving to him frantically. "Oh, uh," he spluttered, quickly shooting up, "I just forgot, I, uh, I hafta write something about, uh... pelvises for tomorrow. Gotta go!"

Not sticking around to see if she bought the excuse, he quickly pushed Demiveemon back into his room and shut the door. "What're you doing?!" he demanded. "If she finds out you're real, she'll freak!"

"Sorry!" Demiveemon said, rushing over and pulling the open D-Terminal off of the bed. "TK just sent us an e-mail, though! New Crest piece!"

"Wha...?" Davis asked. He read over the message and groaned out loud. "Aww, man! Now?!" he groaned. "There's school tomorrow!"

"Yeah, but shouldn't we go anyway?" Demiveemon asked. "Those things're important, and what if Arukenimon gets to it first?"

Davis sighed, defeated; his little buddy was right. "...Fine," he grumbled. "Lemme just grab my D3-"

His eyes fell on the red Digivice on his desk and he stiffened up. Yolei didn't have her D3; he did. "Shit!" he swore, grabbing both Demiveemon and it and rushing out of his room.

"Hey, where're you—" Jun began, but the front door slammed before she could finish. She just shook her head and turned back to the documentary. Little brothers. Go figure.

* * *

Ken squinted at the setting sun and grumbled crossly. He had been wandering around all afternoon, trying to get a fix on the control spire activity his computer had picked up... but he hadn't been able to find anything. Now that night was coming on, he thought about giving up and going home; his parents would worry if he didn't show himself for dinner.

Suddenly, the area up ahead of him lit up in every color imaginable, and exciting music filled the air. The lights whirled and spun around, with the sound of delighted shrieks following them. Ken was baffled for a second, but then he realized what it was; a fun park! He had been to one of those a long time ago. A smile briefly came to him as he remembered the fun Sam and he had riding on the roller coaster and the bumper cars... That had been one of the happiest nights of his life before... His memories trailed away, and he shook his head. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a quick look before leaving.

As he walked closer to the park, though, his eyes spotted a run-down yellow jeep near the entrance, and his smile quickly disappeared. He ran over and looked inside, and his suspicions were confirmed; the seats stunk of decaying flesh, and there was a sewing kit with several spools of red thread in the back.

Scowling, he looked at the car, then over at the carnival. It looked like he would be going in after all.

* * *

"Damn! Crap! Drat!" Yolei spluttered as she tore through her desk, undoing almost everything she had gotten done with Mimi that afternoon. She just didn't get it! She always left her D3 right next to her D-Terminal, but now it was nowhere to be found! How could she help the others if she couldn't reach the Digital World?!

"Yolei, calm down," Poromon grumbled, still upset with her about his nest.

"Calm down?!" she huffed. "My D3's gone again! I can't-" Suddenly, she remembered something and scowled. "Mimi!" she declared angrily. "SHE took it!"

"I don't think so," Poromon replied.

"She did before!" she huffed, scrambling for her cell phone; she was going to give that princess a piece of her mind. "She was just using me to get to my Digivice! ARGH!"

Poromon shook his head. "Calm down," he said. "Stop and think back to the last time we came home."

The phone clenched in her grip, Yolei hesitated, thinking hard. What had happened last time?... They had come back from Arukenimon's motel trap, and then... "...Oh," she said quietly as she shut the phone. "Izzy has it."

"That's right," Poromon said, glad that he had calmed her down. "Now-"

"IZZY has it!" she yelled, grabbing him and dashing for her door. "We gotta get over there!"

She burst out of her room and startled her TV-watching sisters as she raced past, jamming her bare feet into her shoes. Deciding to bound down the stairs instead of take the elevator, she threw open the door and charged out of the apartment...

...And right into something soft that went "OOOOFFF!" Davis staggered backwards and banged against the balcony railing, yelling as he grabbed on. "What the hell, Yolei?!" he demanded, easing his grip on the bug-eyed Demiveemon. "You coulda knocked me right off!"

"Sorry, Davis," Poromon apologized in a squeezed voice, "Yolei isn't-"

"Can't talk!" Yolei huffed, starting to turn for the stairs. "Gotta-"

Davis quickly yanked her D3 out of his pocket. "Chill out! I brought it!" he announced. "Now, can I-"

Before he could finish asking if he could come inside and warp in with her, the red Digivice had vanished and the door slammed shut. "Hey!" he yelled.

"Yolei! Wait!" Demiveemon squeaked, rushing up and banging on the door with his little knuckle-less arms. Suffice to say, it didn't make enough noise.

Davis swore loudly and kicked at the wall. Now he had to run all the way back home to his own computer! Dealing with Yolei was getting to be a real pain in his ass.

"Davis!" Demiveemon said, looking up at him. "Maybe Cody or TK will let you use theirs!"

Davis jumped up at the suggestion and tore off down the balcony, headed for Cody's place. Maybe he wasn't out of luck yet!

* * *

At first Ken was surprised when the guard station's portable TV lit up and two of the other Digidestined appeared, but then he realized this was probably part of his enemies' plan. "So..." he addressed them, "there's a Crest piece here?"

Kari, TK and both of their Digimon looked at him, surprised. "How'd you know?" Patamon asked.

Ken motioned to the yellow jeep parked nearby. Gatomon wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, if we're after a Crest, they will be too," she grumbled.

Ken was going to say that if Arukenimon and Mummymon were here, it also meant there was a trap somewhere, but the TV flashed again, and two more kids and their Digimon appeared... and one of them was that little boy who always gave him the evil eye.

"Sorry I'm late!" Yolei panted, then noticed Ken and dropped Hawkmon, beaming. "Hi, Ken!~" she giggled.

Cody scowled at the Digimon Emperor; why was he always around when they were trying to find a Crest piece?

Yolei heard the noise behind her, then turned and yelped with delight. "Ooh! They've got fun parks here, too?!" she exclaimed. "This is gonna rock! Let's get going!" She started for the gates with the zeal only a giddy schoolgirl can muster.

"Wait a second!" Patamon piped up. "Where's Davis? We shouldn't go in without him!"

Yolei stiffened up and turned around slowly.

"I sent him the message..." TK said, looking down at his D-Terminal with uncertainty. "...Didn't I?"

"I'm certain he got it," Hawkmon said, then frowned at his partner. "Don't you agree, Yolei?"

Yolei looked away, keeping her mouth shut. She probably should have let him use her computer... but she hadn't thought of that when it came up. Besides, she couldn't let him into her freshly cleaned room; how many hours of sarcasm and taunting would she have been put through if he had gone in?

"Yeah, it went to him; my 'sent mail' folder says so," TK said, putting his D-Terminal away. "What's keeping him?"

"Maybe it's a bad time," Armadillomon suggested. "He coulda ate some bad veggies an' got stuck on the potty."

"Or maybe he's doing homework," Kari said. "The teacher did give out a lot today..."

"Or he could just be playing with his airplanes," Cody muttered.

"Hey, give him more credit than that," TK said. "He's always shown up before..."

Almost as soon as he had said that, the TV flashed again, and out tumbled Davis and Veemon. They pulled themselves to their feet, panting hard. "Huuuugh... I... I'm here!..." Davis gasped.

"What took you?" Gatomon asked.

Davis glared daggers at Yolei. "Well, we _would_ have been here on time, but SOMEONE just slammed the door in my face when I gave back her D3," he growled.

"What?!" Kari asked, looking over at Yolei, who bit her lip and stared at her shoes.

"Yeah, then I had to try TK's and Cody's, but nobody came to the doors... so I had to run all the way back to my place!" Davis finished. "God!"

Veemon coughed and rubbed at his midsection. "I thought only Davith's sister could squeeze me that hard..." he muttered.

Hawkmon sighed. "I'm very sorry about that," he apologized, "and I'm sure Yolei is, too..."

Yolei glared at Davis, not looking very sorry at all; he had the nerve to badmouth her in front of Ken?! "Oh, yeah?" she huffed. "Well, why didn't you say something?!"

"I was gonna," he snapped, "but it's kinda hard talkin' through wood!"

"So talk faster!" she rebuked. "The door was open long enough!"

"I mean yer stupid HEAD!" he snarled.

That was enough. With a roar, Yolei charged at him, and the two of them started grappling and swatting at each other's limbs, grunting and cursing. The others didn't know what to think; this argument seemed more malicious than earlier ones, and they weren't sure how to react. "Hey! Davith!" Veemon tried.

"Please, stop it!" Patamon pleaded.

"Good grief..." Cody muttered, shaking his head.

Hawkmon harrumphed and put himself between the two pre-teens. "All right, that's quite enough," he said sternly. "You're making a scene!"

Davis and Yolei stopped and looked around. Surely enough, a few Digimon coming in and going out of the carnival were watching them worriedly. The Gardromon fingered his billy club, seemingly ready to swat them away with it. They let each other go and stepped back, folding their arms and grumbling to themselves.

"We ain't here fer fightin' each other," Armadillomon pointed out. "There's a Crest somewhere in this team park... so we hafta be a team!"

"Theme park," Cody corrected him, "but I do agree about not fighting."

"Theme park?!" Veemon asked, finally having the chance to see where he was. As he turned around to the flashing lights and the delighted shrieks of the carnival, his eyes almost popped out of his head with delight. "WOAH!" he yelled. "Davith! What IS this?! It looks... AWESOME!"

"It's a park where people go to have fun, with lots of rides and food," TK said, looking up at it with a little hesitation; he had been at a fun park in the Digital World once before, but it had been anything but enjoyable; if Tai and Patamon hadn't saved him, he would have had lost all of his memories there.

Gatomon looked over at a box of maps by the gate. She took a handful and passed them out to the others. "This could help us narrow where we should look," she said.

The kids looked over the maps. The fairgrounds were a lot bigger than they looked from the outside. It was shaped like a parallelogram with a wider top than bottom, and the inside was split into three main areas: the Pinball Midway, for rides; the Chance Game Alley, for the game booths; and the Casino for the older set of tourists. "Hoo boy," Armadillomon whistled as he looked at it. "Anyone else thinkin' 'needle in a haystack?'"

Ken looked over the map carefully. "Splitting up would cover the most ground," he concluded. "Arukenimon would most likely expect you to stay in a large group after how you got separated in the hotel."

Kari put her map down. "Yeah, I agree..." she admitted. "We don't have enough time to check it all out together... and I'd rather stick to the games, myself."

"OK, so who's going where?" Patamon asked.

TK looked around at his friends. Davis and Yolei certainly wouldn't make a good team; each was still grumbling about the other. Cody certainly didn't look like he wanted to go with Ken; he had been glowering at the armored boy since he had appeared... and Ken didn't look like he wanted to go with anybody. He sighed; this could be tougher than he thought. "OK, uh..." he tried, "Davis, why don't you go to the Casino... and Ken, could you go with him?"

Yolei looked up angrily. "What?!" she demanded.

"Fine by me," Davis snorted. Ken just nodded.

"OK, then..." TK went on, "Cody, how about you take Yolei and scope out the Midway, and Kari and I'll look at the games?"

"All right," Cody said, nodding.

Yolei felt like throwing her glasses on the ground and stomping on them. Why did Davis get to be with Ken again?! He'd had him all through the stupid hotel! What a waste of an afternoon of cleaning!

"Should we head in?" Gatomon asked. "I'm gettin' anxious standing out here."

"Yeah," Kari agreed. "C'mon, TK, let's go."

As soon as she said that, Davis felt sick. The awful truth hit him like a ton of bricks: if he was partnered with Ken, then he WOULDN'T be with Kari... but TK WOULD! And this was a carnival! "H-hey, wait! TK, you wanna trade partners?!" he spluttered, but TK, Kari and their Digimon disappeared inside, out of earshot. "...Aww, SHIT!" he snarled.

"Hah!" Yolei scoffed as she followed Cody and their Digimon towards the entrance. "I hope they start makin' out in a photo booth!"

Davis's whole body sagged. This day was going so horribly, he could rip all his hair out. What had he done to be smacked with such a rotten fate?!

"Uh, Davith..." Veemon's voice came to him as a hand jerked at his pant leg.

"What?!" Davis snarled; couldn't he even have a good mope?

"Ken's goin' in," Veemon said, motioning towards the gate. Surely enough, the gun-toting youth was already walking inside, looking around as if he was expecting snipers.

"Son of a... HEY! Wait UP!" Davis yelled, grabbing Veemon and racing after Ken. "C'mon! We're supposed to work together on this!" he snapped as he caught up.

"Then don't slow me down," Ken replied curtly.

The boys walked through the gates into a dazzling world of flashing lights of all the colors of the rainbow. The whirling rides were covered with them, as were the booths, and even the ground had sparkling symbols and numbers painted on it. Just like any real-world fair, hundreds of Digimon of all sorts wandered around, eating the goodies, playing the games, and counting the colorful tickets they had left. In this bright and colorful atmosphere, Ken had a hard time keeping his stony glare; this looked just like that park from his memories.

"Wooooahhhh!" Veemon drooled, his eyes growing as wide as saucepans; with all the flashing, whirling activity around him, he couldn't keep from being excited. "Davith! Can we try some of the rides? Can we? Huh?!"

Davis, however, didn't look in a good mood at all, and didn't bother to answer his partner. This place could ruin his chances with Kari completely, if TK got his hooks too far into her... He had to make sure that didn't happen! This day was _not_ going to get any worse!

"It looks like the Casino is in the middle of the carnival," Ken said, looking over his map. "If we walk right up this main drag, we should-"

"Hey! Davith!" Veemon's voice broke in. "Where're ya goin'?! Come back!"

Ken looked back and saw the goggle-headed boy disappear into the crowd in the game alley. Veemon called after him, but he didn't come back. "What..." the blue Digimon murmured, looking at Ken with both worry and disappointment. "Where's he goin'?..."

Ken's jaw locked and a scowl fell over his face. "...Come on," he grunted, taking Veemon's hand and leading him into the crowd.

* * *

An irritated snarl escaped Arukenimon's lips as her binoculars picked out the six children coming into the carnival. Did those little pests always have to show up so quickly? She had hardly had any time to search for that Crest fragment without dealing with them... She stuffed the binoculars back in her robe and crossly jerked her hat down. Well, hopefully Mummymon would be back soon, finished with the trap they had prepared. As feeble as he was, he worked pretty quickly.

"Arukenimon!" a voice came from the ground. "Are you still there?"

Speak of the devil... With the same death-defying grace she had shown the kids at the hotel, she gracefully leaped from the top of the casino tent and landed... and almost instantly her face twisted into a frown. Mummymon had returned... with a corn dog and a wad of cotton candy in his free hand. "Ugh! What's the matter with you?!" she demanded. "Can't you take this seriously?!"

"'Serious' is hard to do at a jaunty carnival like this," Mummymon replied, sticking his cane in the ground and taking the cotton candy. "Would you like some?" he asked, offering it to her.

Arukenimon folded her arms and gave a sharp, angry sigh. "Why would I want to eat something that looks like it came out of my own abdomen?" she scoffed.

Mummymon beamed at her analogy. "Well, in that case..." he said, and took a big bite out of it, a smile appearing across his full, chewing cheeks. "Ohhh... it's so good!"

"Is this what you were doing?!" Arukenimon snapped. "Buying treats when I told you to get ready?! They're here!"

"Don't blow a gasket, my dear," he replied, swallowing loudly. "I've set everything up, and our new companion has learned his role exceedingly well... I was just feeling a bit peckish."

"Then start on the next phase," she stated. "Stop dawdling and go!"

Mummymon grumbled something and turned around, only to stiffen up with a terrified gasp. Standing in front of him was a Gazemon clad in white face makeup and a big, red bubble-shaped nose, with a frizzy green wig, a yellow hat, and ruffled orange overalls. "Oh HELLO nice Mister Man with the matching blue coat and FEZ!" it exploded with joy and gusto.

With a bloodcurdling shriek from their master, Mummymon's legs leaped up by themselves. Faster than they ever went before, they spun him around half way, tripped over his cane and launched him face-down into the dirt.

As the clown skipped away, Arukenimon pried the gooey pink mess out of her hair and hurled it on the ground. "An Ultimate-level, undead Digimon..." she huffed, retrieving her hat and jamming it back on. "You really fool me sometimes!"

Mummymon looked over his ruined, dirt-coated carnival snacks and whimpered quietly.

* * *

The noise level doubled as Cody stepped onto the Midway, where the flashing lights and shrieking riders made it seem like the roaring, spinning, flipping machines were gigantic living beasts. He scratched his head and looked around, trying to make sense of the confusion. "Where could a Crest piece be in all of this?" he asked out loud.

"Boy, I don't know," Armadillomon said, looking around. "I ain't got a clue wheresabout to start!"

Hawkmon looked around and noticed a booth decorated in blue and white stripes. There was a large, black, metal drum behind the counter, and a bored-looking Geckomon clerk was pulling mysterious pink and blue clouds out of it for the other fairgoers. "I say, what's that?" he asked, but none of his friends heard him in the din.

He fluttered over and stood on the counter, looking into the strange spinning barrel, where the clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere in almost spider-web designs. What a perplexing device! "My goodness! " he exclaimed. "What-"

The clerk jerked around violently, surprised by the sudden voice. Hawkmon flinched, lost his balance and fell into the drum. The clerk looked around for a moment, and seeing nobody, shrugged and went back to work. Must have just been a passerby being loud.

"Yolei, you must have some ideas," Cody said, looking over at his teammate. "Where do you think we should look?"

Yolei didn't look at all like she belonged at a carnival with the sour face she wore... and she was still muttering to herself. After all that backbreaking, soul-smashing work she'd done that morning, she should have been paired up with Ken! "Argh!" she huffed out loud. "Why did Davis always get Ken?! Where's the justice?!"

Cody's face turned angry as well. "Ken again?!" he demanded. "Why can't you see..." Suddenly, he remembered his grandfather's advice from earlier, and grew silent. He really had no excuse for spitting this anger at her; he couldn't control what other people she liked.

Armadillomon looked up at him; it wasn't like his partner to stop in the middle of a sentence. "What's wrong, Cody?" he asked.

Yolei was looking at him, too. "Yeah, what's up?" she asked, annoyed. "Spit it out."

Cody stared at his feet for a few moments, then took a deep breath. "All right..." he said slowly, "I understand... that you would rather have been paired up with someone else..." He paused and looked up at her. "As it stands, though, we're working together... so let's do our best to find that Crest fragment. All right?"

Yolei felt pretty crummy after hearing that; she never thought that her griping might be hurting Cody's feelings. "...Oh, OK..." she said. "Sorry I'm being such a stick-up-the-ass."

Cody just shrugged, accepting her apology.

"...Yeeeah, OK," Armadillomon said, trying to break the awkwardness. "So, where d'ya think we should look?"

"Maybe we should try looking around the rides?" Cody asked Yolei. "It could be in the dirt, or even part of one of the machines."

"Yeah, yeah, it could be..." Yolei started, but just then her tummy growled loudly. Her cheeks flashed red as Cody and Armadillomon looked at her. "Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed. "I haven't eaten anything since lunch!"

Cody blinked with surprise. "You didn't have dinner?" he asked.

"I, uh, was busy," she replied sheepishly.

"Guess I could use a munch too," Armadillomon said. "What sounds good?"

Yolei looked around and spied the blue-striped booth. "Ooh! Cotton candy!" she said, pointing. "If we're checking this whole place out, I need to get my sugar buzz on!"

Cody was going to ask if she needed any money, but Yolei was already over at the booth. To his surprise, she quickly came back with four wads of cotton candy, two pinks and two blues. "Hot damn, what a deal! I had enough to get one for everyone!" she laughed. "Here you go, Cody; maybe you should hold Armadillomon's for him, too... Hey, where's Hawkmon?"

Cody looked at one of the remaining pink wads. "Um, Yolei," he said, "there's something odd about that one."

Puzzled, Yolei turned the cotton candy around in her hand and saw that it had a break sticking out of it. "What the?!" she gasped.

The wad shuddered and then flew apart, revealing a sticky, flailing Hawkmon. "Ugh! Yuck!" he spat, flicking pink every way. "If I wanted to become a cloud, I'd have flown through a real one!"

"Woah!" Armadillomon said. "You went through the cotton candy machine?!"

"Don't remind me," Hawkmon grumbled, kicking more fluff out from between his talons. "That's one experience I do _not_ wish to relive."

"...Can I still lick you?" Yolei asked. "I did pay for it."

Hawkmon leered at her. "That's another one," he quipped.

* * *

As stealthily as he could, Davis picked his way around behind the game booths, his eyes darting back and forth in search of his prey. He knocked over a garbage can and stepped in some discarded nachos, but he wouldn't let that stop him; he had to see just what TK and Kari were doing together!

Suddenly, he spied the swishing white tail of Gatomon and ducked behind a porta-potty, peeking out with just the tips of his eyeballs. They were standing at a booth run by a big yellow bear, and TK was chucking baseballs at pyramidal displays of milk bottles. "Yeah, that's _real_ tough," Davis grumbled. "I could do that blindfolded! You ain't so cool, strawhead!"

"DAVIS!"

He whirled around in alarm, only to see Veemon and a very angry-looking Ken. "Jeez! Do that again, why don'cha?!" he huffed. "I only got halfway to the heart attack!"

"Sorry, Davith," Veemon apologized.

Ken wasn't amused. "What's the matter with you?!" he demanded. "You just abandoned your Digimon!"

"What?! No, I didn't!" Davis huffed. "I just had to check on something!"

Ken wasn't buying it. "This place is huge and crowded! He could have gotten lost!" he snapped. "And what about Arukenimon or Mummymon? What if he'd run into THEM alone?!"

Davis's anger pushed itself onto a back burner as he realized that Ken was right; running off in a place like this just to spy on Kari was pretty irresponsible. He hung his head. "Sorry, Veemon," he apologized. "I didn't mean to ditch you like that."

Veemon brightened up. "It's OK!" he exclaimed. "Buy me a pork chop on a stick and we'll call it even!"

Davis smiled at his little friend. Ken just turned away. "Let's go," he said. "The Casino is where we need to be."

"Yeah..." Davis agreed and started to follow, but a noise from behind made him turn around. TK must have knocked down one of the milk bottle displays, because the booth operator was handing him a big stuffed toy that looked like Matt's Digimon. Kari, Gatomon and Patamon all looked ecstatic. "Aww, man..." he groaned as he looked at it. "I bet he'll give that to her..."

"Why?" Veemon asked. "She's not thinkin' of tradin' Gatomon in, is she?"

Ken grunted sharply. "Hey," he spoke, "can we focus on what we came here for?! Dealing with Arukenimon is more important than your petty teenage angst."

Davis gave him a hurt look. "Aww, c'mon, Ken," he pushed, "you know what it's like; you've had a thing for a girl before, right?"

"No," Ken replied bluntly. "Now come on. We're wasting time."

Davis sagged, looking like he'd just heard he'd been kicked off the soccer team. Ken sighed; maybe he was being kind of rough on him... and Wormmon wouldn't appreciate that. "I, uh..." he tried in a softer tone, "I'm sure you... uh... can find some way to get her attention... later."

Davis looked up, showing some relief, but mostly surprise. "Heh heh... Wow," he chuckled.

Ken raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

"Well..." Davis went on hesitantly, "that's the first time I've ever heard you say somethin' that wasn't focused on what we're doin'."

Ken thought about it for a moment. "Uh... I guess it was," he admitted, a bit surprised, himself.

* * *

"Ooh, boy oh boy!" Patamon squealed with delight at the giant toy. "You're so awesome, TK! Can I have it?"

TK looked at the massive toy Gabumon and scratched at his head. "Uh... I don't think we can carry this around; we've got a job to do, after all," he said, then turned to the Monzaemon vendor. "Sorry, but can you take this back?"

Noticing Patamon's disappointed look, Kari put a hand on the counter. "Hang on," she said, "can we leave it here and come back when we're done?"

"Sure," the Monzaemon agreed, and took the toy and hid it under the counter. "I close up around 2, so come back before then."

Patamon did a little somersault in the air. "Yayyyy!" he cheered. "Thanks, Kari!"

Gatomon smiled. That was Kari, always thoughtful and charismatic.

The group thanked the carnie and broke away from the booth, looking around at all the other games. "Man, we've got a lot of work to do..." TK said.

Kari scratched at her forehead for a moment. "Maybe we should narrow our focus," she suggested, "only try games that would offer a Crest as a prize."

"So, uh," Gatomon thought out loud, "maybe one that gives out little shiny things? Jewelry?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," TK agreed. "Let's start with that."

The four companions walked down the main spread, checking out lots games that looked enticing, but whose prizes were too large to fit the profile of a Crest piece. Despite their lack of luck, though, TK found he was enjoying the adventure. Even though he knew the others were around the carnival, he was glad of the time he was spending with only Kari. "So, uh," he tried to strike up a conversation, "have you gone to a lot of these things in the real world?"

Kari chuckled a little and gave him a tired look. "Well, a few," she said, "but I never have a lot of fun..."

"What?! But look at this place!" Patamon exclaimed. "The rides! The noises! The food! How can you _not_ have fun?!"

Kari looked both embarrassed and a little sad. "I got sick on the rides every time," she admitted, "so usually all I do is sit with Mom or Dad while Tai has all the real fun."

Gatomon blinked. "Wait, you get sick?" she asked. "But we're always flying and you've never gotten sick!"

"And you rode in Whamon with all of us, too," Patamon pointed out.

Kari shook her head. "It's not just the movement," she said. "It's the machines shuddering, too, and the lights flying all over the place... not to mention both you and Whamon stay right-side up."

TK scratched his head; no wonder Kari wanted to stay in the gaming alley. "Well, there had to have been something you liked," he tried. "Did you go to the arcades? Most fairs have those, with the claw games and pinball... Heck this place definitely has a pinball arcade; it's named Pinball Carnival!"

"Yeah, did you try those?" Patamon asked. "I bet you had fun there!"

To their dismay, Kari shook her head again. "No, I didn't," she said. "I'm terrible with almost every video game, ESPECIALLY pinball. Yolei would say I'm a bona fide 'n00b.'"

"What?" Gatomon asked. "But what about that system hooked up to the TV our apartment?"

"That's Tai's," Kari replied. "I've played it a few times, but I've never gotten very far..."

She looked pretty crummy just thinking about it. TK felt bad about where the conversation had gone; he had to cheer her up. His eyes fell on a nearby game booth. Players were trying to throw basketballs into hoops, and the prizes sitting under glass at the counter were small, shiny trinkets. What luck! "Hey, why don't you try that one?" he suggested, pointing at it. "They might have the Crest piece, and I did play the last one..."

Kari looked at the game hesitantly, but TK and both Digimon were smiling at her, encouraging her to try. "...OK," she agreed; maybe she'll be better at a game that wasn't electronic. She walked over to the booth and signaled that she wanted to play. The vendor gave her three small basketballs. She picked one up, concentrated on the hoop, and threw it.

* * *

With one last spinning loop-de-loop, the shining red roller coaster tumbled down the track, gradually slowing to a stop. As soon as the mechanical seat restraints lifted up, Yolei stumbled out, lurched towards the nearest trash can, which sported a goofy cover the shape of a laughing clown's head, and vomited into it loudly, pausing only to get in a few mad gulps of air before another bout came.

Cody, Hawkmon and Armadillomon got off the ride and calmly walked over to her crumpled state. "Good heavens!" Hawkmon exclaimed. "Is this what her brother meant by his phrase: 'praying to the porcelain god?'"

"Naww, can't be," Armadillomon replied. "This clown's metal... and ain't no gods what'll thank ya fer that kinda prayin'."

Cody shook his head. "You really shouldn't have eaten all that junk before we started checking the rides," he scolded Yolei. "The merry-go-round, the ferris wheel, the swinging pirate ship and then the roller coaster... How did you think you wouldn't get sick?!"

"Guggghhhh..." Yolei groaned, pulling herself out of the clown's maw, trails of pink and brown slime plastered on the corners of her mouth. "How... how can you NOT be sick?!..." she retorted. "You rode 'em, too!... That coaster was way... WAY more twisted than anything in the real world!... Urp!"

Cody thought about it, then shrugged. "Maybe it's because I'm smaller, and my center of gravity is different," he suggested. "On the other hand... maybe it's because I didn't have a cotton candy and two corn dogs beforehand."

Yolei's cheeks bulged and she thrust her head into the clown's mouth again, the horrible noises made even worse by the can's echo.

Cody just shook his head, a faint smile coming to his mouth. As serious as their mission was, and as ridiculous as Yolei was being, he was having a great time. Before this trip, he had only been to a theme park once, with his father, the summer before he had been... He shook his head again. Until now, hearing about carnivals only gave him the sad reminder that his father could never take him to one again... but now he had new, happy memories of fun park exploring, eating, and riding with Yolei, Hawkmon and Armadillomon. He couldn't help but be glad with that knowledge.

Yolei pulled herself out of the can again, finally empty but still green-faced, and sagged onto a nearby bench. Hawkmon perched down next to her. "Perhaps the next ride we try should be one that doesn't move so much," he suggested.

"Yeah," Armadillomon agreed. "I think that clown's had enough."

Cody looked around in search of a slow-moving ride. His eyes picked out a small, dumpy-looking shack in the shadow of the other rides, the words HAUNTED HOUSE splayed across its door in dripping black paint. It certainly looked the part of a haunted house, but oddly enough, it wasn't attracting any visitors. "Would that one be all right?" he asked Yolei, pointing at it.

Yolei looked over the shack for a few minutes, then shivered. "Ugh... If you really want to," she grumbled, wiping her face on her sleeve, "but if there're any zombie Mekanorimon, you'll be carrying me back out on a stretcher."

The four friends walked over to the dumpy place and opened the door. As they walked inside, Yolei instantly felt relief. It was an extremely low-budget haunted house: obvious rubber bats dangled from strings taped to the ceiling; bloated orange trash bags with triangle eyes littered the floor instead of glowing jack-o-lanterns; and cardboard cutouts of werewolves and vampires just stood around the halls, begging to be kicked over. "Heh heh..." she snickered, walking up to a bat and swatting it. "Did the sign outside say 'haunted' or 'half-assed'?"

Armadillomon guffawed as he bumped a statue of an overly cute, smiling witch. "They oughta put Cody's mom in here. She's way scarier than any of this stuff!"

"Ho ho ho!" Hawkmon laughed, walking behind a wolfman cutout and finding a boombox that the workers had forgotten to turn on. "I do agree, Armadillomon. Why, I dare say, Mimi is more terrifying than any of this!"

"Amen to that," Yolei laughed nervously. "Hah... Yeah."

As the others went further in, heckling the decorations like a bald man in a comedy club audience, Cody's scowl returned to his face. Suddenly he felt very edgy and suspicious. If this was made to be such a silly attraction, then why were no other fairgoers coming in?

"Hey, Cody!" Armadillomon's voice came from up ahead. "Whatcha waitin' fer? They got some funny stuff in here! C'mon!"

Cody walked down the hall and met his friends in a room made to look like an Egyptian tomb... if the ancient Egyptians had used cardboard, crepe paper and styrofoam. The pillars were square-shaped and still showed their product logos, and all the papery "treasure" scattered around was spray-painted a pasty yellow that made it look more like old teeth than gold. A large cardboard sarcophagus lay in the center, shaped with the creepy face the Egyptians were known for.

"Oh, my goodness!" Hawkmon chuckled. "I do believe we've found the tomb of Pharaoh Cornflakes!"

Yolei looked at the sarcophagus and almost died laughing; instead of traditional hieroglyphics, the sides were adorned with Japanese kanji, none of which made any coherent sentences. "Oh, GOD!" she cackled. "This is a hoot!"

Cody was even more nervous upon entering the Egyptian room; something was definitely not right. "We should go," he said. "I don't think-"

"Look at it! LOOK AT IT!" she roared, looking at the coffin's base. "It even says 'Made in China!' HAH!"

With that laugh, she smacked the lid with her palm. It popped off the sarcophagus and, to their shock, out jumped Mummymon! Before any of them could react, they were all wrapped up tightly in decaying yellow bandages. "Wonderful!" he cackled as he stood over the squirming masses. "I've got big plans for you!"

Leaning heavily on Obelisk, he grabbed their bandages with his free hand and started dragging them away. The kids and their Digimon thrashed around with muffled angry yells, punching and twisting to break free, but it was no use; for moldy old paper, the bindings held together like steel. "Don't bother," he said to them, "those won't break until I let them. Besides, you deserve it, making fun of my haunted house! It's not like I'm made of money... and it _did_ work well enough to catch you, didn't it?"

* * *

Past the game alley and a few dozen snack booths lay the large, ruby red casino tent. This area looked more sultry than the other parts of the carnival they had seen; the neon lights were dimmer and bent into shapes of Digimon, and there weren't many lower-level Digimon; mostly Champions and a few Ultimates, but a few tough-looking Rookies too. Veemon coughed at the sudden haze of smoke in the air. "Phlaaaugh!" he coughed. "It smells like Davith's balcony here!"

"Must be where the older crowd hangs out," Davis suggested, glancing at a few Goblimon leaning against a porta-john, puffing away on cigarettes.

"Yuck!" Veemon coughed, waving away the smoke. "If this is growin' up, I'll stay a kid!"

The Goblimon looked up crossly, and the threesome decided it was time to move along. As they made their way towards the casino, Davis suddenly had an irritating thought. "Hey, what if we can't get in?" he asked. "We're kids, after all."

Ken stopped and thought for a moment, then looked at Davis. "Let me handle that," he said. "Just hide Veemon."

Veemon looked up. "Hide me?" he asked. "Where?"

Davis looked down at him. Veemon was way bigger than Demiveemon; could he pull this off? "One way to see," he muttered, grabbed Veemon and stuffed him into the front of his shirt. Instantly he regretted it; he looked like he'd lived for a month on only cheeseburgers and gravy.

It was no bed of roses for Veemon, either; he was way more cramped than usual, and his face was pressed against his partner's navel. "Ugh!" he grunted. "Davith, when was the last time ya cleaned out yer belly button?!"

Ken approached the casino entrance with Davis hobbling along behind him. A big Frigimon wearing sunglasses stood in their way, its arms folded. "No kids in the casino," he barked as they came up to him. "Go on back to the rides!"

Ken shook his head. "We're not kids," he said calmly. "We're adults."

"Bull," the Frigimon replied, his brow furrowing behind his shades. "You half-pints better scram, or you'll make me mad."

Davis felt like backing off; he didn't feel like wrestling angry snowmen tonight. Ken didn't move. "Have you ever seen an adult human?" he asked.

The Frigimon hesitated. "...No," he said.

"Then how can you say we're not adults?" Ken went on. "You've never seen one."

The big lug scratched at his ear. "Uh..." was all he said.

Ken frowned. "Maybe I should talk to your boss," he said. "I'm sure he'd love to hear you're throwing out two potential customers."

"Uh, no, no! It's fine," the Frigimon panicked, scooting aside. "G... go on through, gentlemen."

Ken strode past the bouncer, never having lost his cool. Davis was stunned at the performance. He wished he could have those kinds of talents; he would love to shoot Jun down like that.

They walked into a smoky, cramped atmosphere full of whirring machines and flashing numbers and symbols. Rowdy Digimon jostled with each other and threw colorful coin-like objects onto the roulette wheels, green card tables, and even in front of the dartboards. "Whew..." Davis remarked as he tried not to bang into anyone. "This joint is jumpin'!"

He looked around for a moment, then opened his shirt and let Veemon out. "Ugh... Thanks," Veemon coughed. "I don't know which was worse; outside or inside!"

Davis rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll clean out the belly button when we get home," he grumbled.

Ken looked around, partly surprised that none of the roughnecks had noticed the Digimon Emperor in their midst, armed to the teeth. "Remind me," he said to Davis, "what are we looking for?"

"A piece of Kari's Crest," Davis replied.

Ken raised an eyebrow. "And what does it look like?" he asked.

Davis opened his mouth, but no answer came. He wasn't exactly sure of that himself; these little pieces could be in almost any shape, like the lightning bolt piece of Tai's Crest they had seen. "Uh... I don't know," he admitted, "but it'll be little, and Kari said it was pink."

"So... some tiny pink thing," Ken summarized, making Davis see how ridiculous his description sounded. The raven-haired boy sighed and scratched at his head. "This is going to be a difficult search," he muttered.

"Hey, Davith!" Veemon spoke up. "If it's really little, maybe someone's playin' these games with it!"

Davis looked at Ken. "Hey, he could be right," he said. "Let's start winnin' some chips! It mighta got mixed in here by mistake!"

Ken frowned, but the idea was a good one. "We don't need to waste our time on chance games," he said, "but let's go ask about it where they sell them."

The boys made their way through the crowd until they spotted a counter in the corner with a neon sign over it reading "TOKENS." A Meramon stood behind it, a mysteriously fireproof bow tie around his neck.

Davis and Ken walked up, making sure to keep Veemon behind them to keep attention off of them. "Excuse me," Ken spoke, "but do you have any pink-colored chips, or have you given one out tonight?"

"Nope," the Meramon replied curtly; he looked as if he'd been at this job for some time already and wasn't in the mood for silly questions. "Chips only come in red, white, blue and green. How many do you want?"

Davis rummaged around in his pockets and came up with a few yen bills. "How 'bout five of each?" he asked, putting the money on the table.

"Davis," Ken warned, "we don't have time to play."

"Yeah," Davis replied, "but maybe someone found it and it's a prize on one of the games... or maybe someone's usin' it as a chip but didn't get it here! It's worth a shot, right?"

Ken was about to reply when the Meramon let out and angry yell. "Hey!" he snapped at them, pointing at the yen. "What kind of junk is this?!"

Davis frowned at him. "Whaddya mean?" he retorted. "It's money!"

"The hell you say!" the Meramon said, sweeping it off of the counter with a wave of his fiery hand. "We don't take anything but DigiCredits!"

Both Davis and Ken looked surprised; the Digital World had its own currency? "DigiCredits?!" Davis asked. "Since when?"

"This is a Resistance-friendly establishment," the Meramon replied, "so we use their new currency. If you ain't got DigiCredits, then beat it."

Davis stamped his foot. "Resistance?! Screw 'em!" he snapped. "Look, buddy, we're lookin' for somethin' really important, and-"

The Meramon wasn't even listening. "Hey! New guy!" he yelled over the boys' heads. The whole room seemed to shake as footsteps thumped towards them. Davis, Ken and Veemon turned around and saw the biggest, grayest, roundest Digimon they had ever seen. It towered over them with a goofy, grinning face, its fingers twitching on its stubby red-gloved hands.

"Get rid of 'em," the Meramon said, turning away from the boys. "Don't care how."

At that, Davis and Veemon were scooped up in the creature's right hand, and Ken was snatched in the other. The goofy-faced monster silently plodded towards a darkened exit in the tent.

Davis struggled and swung himself around, but the Digimon's grip was just too strong. "This is frikkin' bogus!" he yelled. "Our dough's just as good! What the hell?!"

"If you want dough, I can get you bread! Or, or muffins!" Veemon pleaded. "C'mon, buddy! Whaddya say?!"

Ken glared up at the gray hulk. For something with a face like that, it was too quiet. Something wasn't right...

* * *

Kari swore she had thrown that dart hard enough, but it bounced off of the balloon target like it was made of felt. "Better luck next time," the carnie said, "now move along; give someone else a turn."

She groaned and stepped away from the booth. This was the sixth game she had tried... and also the sixth game she'd lost. "Sorry..." she apologized to the others, who were waiting nearby.

"No, it's fine... It, uh, it didn't look like that one had the Crest on the prize counter either..." TK replied, forcing a smile. To tell the truth, he was getting annoyed. Kari's apologizing after every game she screwed up was grating on his nerves.

"It's been fun anyway," Patamon spoke up, sensing the tension. "I mean, it was awesome when you hit the carnie instead of the targets at the 'Cream-A-Cat' booth!"

"I'm just glad it wasn't me," Gatomon replied, rolling her eyes.

Kari didn't look very cheered up. "Um... Let's try something else," TK suggested, motioning for them to start walking.

"But what's left to try?" Patamon asked, looking around. "I think we've played everything."

Gatomon noticed a large, red and black-striped tent at the end of the path with a neon sign in front of it that spelled out 'Pinball Arcade.' "We haven't been in there yet," she said, pointing.

"Yeah," TK agreed. "How about it, Kari?"

Kari sighed at seeing the word 'pinball.' Why would her friends even suggest trying something she knew she was horrible at? Still, she couldn't leave a spot unchecked when a Crest was at stake... especially if it was hers. "...Well, all right..." she said, "but you play this time, TK."

As they walked to the tent, the flap ruffled, and a familiar figure stepped out. Kari's depression changed to shock as the red-robed Arukenimon smirked at her, and the others jumped back as well. "Spider lady!" Patamon huffed, puffing himself up.

"Are you children enjoying this little carnival?" she purred, playing with a lock of her hair. "Good... You look far more acceptable here than gallivanting across this world."

Gatomon's eyes narrowed. "If you think you'll stop us from finding the Crest," she hissed, her claws emerging, "think again!"

"Oh, dear me," Arukenimon cooed, "the little kitten is so frightening!" She straightened up and frowned at the feline. "However, I'm a fully-grown woman and I'll do whatever I please, thank you very much."

"Fine, then," TK said, reaching for his D3... but something tight and smelly wrapped around him, pulling him to the ground.

Kari and Gatomon whirled around in horror. Both TK and Patamon were bouncing around in a swath of bandages... and at the other end was a grinning Mummymon. "Ho ho!" he laughed. "That was far easier than the fishing game!"

Gatomon's ears flattened against her head and her fangs glistened in the colorful lights. If she acted fast enough, she could slash the boys free, and then if Kari had her Armor Digivolve...

Kari, however, wasn't so optimistic. "No... Don't, Gatomon," she told her partner. "We're outnumbered."

Gatomon looked at her, lowering her claws. "Then... what do we do?" she asked. "We can't just give up!"

"Violence?" Arukenimon asked, the smirk returning. "Relax, kitten. We can completely avoid unpleasantness this time... We just want your partner to play a little game."

"Yes," Mummymon agreed. "If she wins, you can all go free this time."

Kari felt sick at Mummymon's words. They could _all_ go free? Did that mean they had caught the others, too?!

Gatomon's glare narrowed. "And what if we lose?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing much..." Arukenimon replied. "She'll just have to come with us... oh, and everyone else will die, of course."

Kari felt even sicker. Gatomon's white face had gone pink. "What kind of choice is that?!" she yelled.

"My, my... So loud and spoiled," Arukenimon said. "Think hard. You're not exactly in a position to negotiate."

Kari heard TK's muffled yells behind her and bit her lip. Arukenimon was right; they didn't have any way to slip out of this. They must have known she was terrible at these carnival games. That's why they wanted her to do it; they were sure she'd screw up. She shut her eyes, wishing this were just a bad dream, like all the others.

"Come on, now," Arukenimon purred. "Why spend so much time debating an inevitability?"

Kari sighed. She couldn't say no to this. As much as she knew she'd lose whatever sick game they were planning, she had to go through with it; her friends' lives were at stake. "...Fine," she growled, glaring at the silver-haired woman. "What is it?"

Arukenimon smiled in a way that neither Kari nor Gatomon liked. "Good..." she said. "Then step into the arcade. Mummymon, get things ready."

Mummymon grinned. Letting out various pained moans, he dragged the still-squirming TK and Patamon away, vanishing behind a tent. Kari wanted to charge after him and knock him down (how strong could he be if he was groaning like that?), but Arukenimon beckoned her towards the arcade tent, and she knew that was where she had to go. "...C'mon, Gatomon," she muttered, starting towards the entrance. With a grim look, Gatomon followed.

Much to their surprise, the large tent had nothing in it but a wooden platform only long enough to hold three or four people, equipped with a few amplifiers and a mysterious control panel. "...OK, so what's the game?" Gatomon asked.

"Oh, just a little something that will show off this carnival's best feature," Arukenimon replied, stepping up onto the wood. "You did realize how it's shaped, didn't you?"

"Not really," Kari replied crossly. "I didn't know there'd be a quiz."

Not amused, Arukenimon swiftly grabbed Kari's arm and yanked her onto the platform. She turned to the control panel, grabbed a green lever on the side and pulled it all the way down, then snapped it off with a twist of her hand.

The whole room instantly started shaking, and the tent around them fell away, exposing the night sky. The platform shot upwards about seventy-five feet, then rolled backwards to give Kari (who was now gripping the platform's railings with white knuckles) a full view of the carnival grounds, which were rising off of the ground and starting to tilt forward. A universal scream rose up as hundreds of fairgoers tumbled down the new slope and landed in a heap on the grass below. Kari now understood what Arukenimon had meant about the shape: the gates looked like flippers; the Midway was a spinning, sparkling obstacle course; and the Casino tent had a huge scoreboard on its top flashing "Hi-Score: 20,000." She felt even sicker. The whole carnival was a gigantic pinball table!

A white flash shot up from beneath and landed on the platform, making it jiggle so violently that Kari grabbed onto the railing again. Mummymon whirled around and reverted to his blue-cloaked facade. "Everything is all set, my dear," he reported.

"Good," Arukenimon smirked, grabbing a small speaker off of the controls. "Isn't this a simple game, little girl?" she asked, her voice booming across the night sky. "Just beat the high score, and everybody goes free."

Kari looked over the carnival, her arms shaking from both nerves and how high up she was. To add to her troubles, she could hear all the Digimon patrons down below, and they weren't happy. Some were screaming, some were crying, and many were swearing up at her captors and her; she caught the words "humans," "invade," and "Resistance" more than once each.

"What a delightful audience," Arukenimon observed. "Just think; you're putting on this show for them as well."

Kari turned to her, scowling. "Where are my friends?!" she demanded, hearing her own voice being broadcast on the amps. "I want to see them!"

Arukenimon smirked. "Oh, they're playing too... in a way," she said, glancing at Mummymon. "Show her."

Mummymon stabbed a red button on the control panel with his cane, and the cover over the lower-right part of the board slid away. Kari gasped. Trapped inside five clear balls were her friends and their Digimon partners! They all looked around, dazed and confused... then frantically started pounding on their enclosures. "Hey! Lemme outta here!" Davis's voice crackled through the speakers as he pounded from the rightmost ball. "I had my shots!"

"Davis!" Kari cried, looking down at the balls.

"What the?!" Davis's voice came. "Kari?!"

"Of course, we can't let you children have all the star roles..." Arukenimon cackled, pushing a yellow button on the panel. A flashing yellow star in the middle of the board slid away, and a massive, gray ball of a Digimon emerged pounding its fists together, its goofy grin not making Kari feel any better. "Meet Bigmamemon," Arukenimon said. "He'll be, ah, livening things up while you play."

"Anybody else hear that?!" Davis's voice came again. "I know I heard Kari!"

"I don't see her..." Hawkmon's voice said. "Yolei, do you?"

Kari grabbed the speaker on the panel. "I'm up here, you guys!" she yelled into it.

Everyone in the pinballs looked up. "What the...?" Veemon asked. "What's goin' on here?"

"Oooogh..." Yolei groaned; she was in the ball right beside Davis. "Someone tell me this is just a bad dream!"

"I wish I could..." Kari sighed, "but... I have to try and beat the high score on this thing, or Arukenimon's... Well... I have to try!"

The shaking in her voice didn't make any of them feel better. TK winced in his ball. Kari was bad enough at these games without being this nervous.

Cody, who was in the second ball from the farthest left, wasn't going to take any chances. "Armadillomon," he said, "get us out of this ball!"

Armadillomon curled up and threw himself at the shell, but bounced off without doing any damage. "What in tarnation?!" he huffed, and tried again, to no avail. He rammed, slammed, bashed and crashed at least a dozen times, but nothing happened; the ball remained intact.

"You're wasting your time," Ken said from his own holding, the ball in the middle. "These things are most likely unbreakable."

Cody scowled at the Digimon Emperor, but Arukenimon's laugh echoed over them. "Clever little Emperor!" she cried. "You _would_ know just how I think! Yes... Those balls are made of a transparent Digizoid alloy; something that only a handful of materials can even scratch. If you want to be free of them, you'd best pray your friend here has a few happy accidents on the pinball table."

Cody gave a frustrated grunt, and Davis swore. Kari swallowed hard. She didn't blame them for that. Her winning any game like this was a long shot. It would take a miracle!

Just then, there was a scraping noise from nearby. She turned just in time to see Gatomon heave herself up onto the platform, gasping and wheezing. "Gatomon!" she cried, rushing over to her partner.

"Ugh..." Gatomon groaned, flopping over onto her back. "Next time I'll ask you to hold the elevator..."

"Who said you could come up here?!" Mummymon huffed, hobbling over and grabbing her by the scruff of her neck.

A sharp ripping sound later, he reeled back, crying in pain and clutching at his face. Gatomon wasn't too tired to defend herself. "That's for caning me at Gennai's," she hissed, backing up against Kari.

Kari looked at her partner with panic. "I don't think I can do this..." she admitted, looking over at the control panel.

"I heard the whole thing," Gatomon said, turning to her. "C'mon! You said you were gonna try, so let's try! I'll help you out!"

Down on the pinball table, the others had gloomy looks. Cody shook his head angrily; he couldn't feel safe with a word like "try" in the sentence. Yolei's face was lime green; now she really wished she hadn't eaten all that junk food. Ken stared at his feet, resigned to his fate but also apprehensive. TK just looked up towards the podium, hoping for the best.

Only Davis had any hint of confidence in him. "C'mon, you guys!" he said, turning to the others. "This is Kari we're talkin' about! Sure she's gonna win!"

Arukenimon smiled unpleasantly. "He certainly has confidence," she remarked at Kari. "I hope you don't disillusion him too harshly... Start it, Mummymon."

Still clutching at his face, Mummymon stabbed his cane into a yellow button on the panel, and the pinball table started flashing and sparkling even more than before. Energetic music piped out from its sides, sounding out of place in the dire atmosphere. The screen on top of the casino went black, then displayed a digital green number 0. The chute where her friends were trapped whirred, and the right-hand wall opened, sending the ball with Davis and Veemon rolling into a tiny chute. "Oogh!" Veemon grunted. "I feel sick already!"

"Come on, Kari!" Davis yelled. "Go for it!"

Kari nervously looked over her controls. Aside from the buttons her captors had pushed and the speaker, there were only two white buttons and a horizontal rod sticking out of the side. She knew enough about pinball to know that was the plunger, the lever that launched the pinballs. "Well... here goes..." she said quietly, yanking the plunger back and letting it go.

With a loud TWUMP, Davis's ball flew out of the chute and onto the main board. Kari winced at Davis and Veemon's dizzied yells and lurched away from the controls. "Kari!" Gatomon shouted. "Stay with the buttons!"

Kari panicked and raced back as the ball went straight down the middle of the board, heading for the gutter at the bottom. She pushed the left-hand white button and the left flipper jerked upwards... but it was too late.

Spinning around and around, Davis could only register the white thing moving away... and then he wished it hadn't. The ball sailed under the flipper and disappeared into darkness with a fading yell of "WHAT?!"

A horrified silence caught Kari's throat. What had she just done?!

"Good heavens," Arukenimon purred. "Lost one already?"

"I dare say, my dear," Mummymon smirked to his partner, "this is going to be easier than I thought!"

Gatomon turned on them angrily. "What happened to them?!" she demanded, drawing her claws.

"Oh, put those away," Mummymon clucked, waving the threat aside with one hand. "They just went were all the dead balls go. You might be able to get them back... if you rack up enough points..." He gave a raspy, wheezy laugh.

Kari couldn't keep herself from shivering. "Dead... balls?" she gulped.

Gatomon was unnerved as well, but hid it better. "Don't lose your head, Kari," she said, turning back to her friend. "You still have four balls. All you have to do is keep one bouncing long enough to get past 20,000 points, right?"

Kari looked at the white cat, a tiny glint of hope entering her heart. When she put it that way, it didn't seem like such a daunting challenge. "...O-OK..." she muttered, screwing up her face and turning back to the controls.

The table whirred again, and now the ball with Yolei and Hawkmon fell into the chute. Yolei groaned loudly. "Come on...!" Kari heard her plead, "I was already sick ONCE today!"

"Sorry, Yolei..." Kari said, and yanked the plunger back. With another snap, the pinball sailed into the main drag. Not taking her eyes off of the action this time, she jammed her fingers onto the white buttons, catching the ball and sending it back up as a double grunt emanated from the amps. It shot upwards and smashed right into a green bumper. There was a crash and a snap, and the ball rocketed off to the right.

"Oh, goodness...!" Hawkmon wailed as the ball bounced around a trio of yellow pads.

"My glasses!" Yolei gurgled. "My glasses broke!"

"Sorry!" Kari apologized, feeling even worse. "Just hold on!"

After a few volleys in the pads, Yolei's ball lost its speed and dropped downward, bumping against the tip of the left-hand flipper. Kari punched the flipper button, but the angle made for a weird shot; the ball flew off to the right and slid into an alley on the side, vanishing. "Where'd it go?!" Kari gasped, frantically looking all over the board.

Gatomon spotted it as it popped up in the upper-left corner of the board, landing in a cup. "There!" she declared.

As both of them watched, the cup rose up, showing it was attached to a long arm that spun and flipped it around like a deranged tilt-a-whirl. An easily distinguishable disgusting noise dribbled out of the amplifiers, making them feel sick; Yolei had lost her lunch again.

"Oh, dear!" Hawkmon squawked. "That's not—Oh! Eugh! Wretched—OOH!"

Kari winced at what she imagined was going on in that ball, but as her eyes fell on the scoreboard, a twinge of relief came to her; as the flipping gizmo spun around, points appeared. If Yolei could hold on long enough, maybe she'd get enough to end this game.

"Very helpful, yes..." Arukenimon said behind her, seeming to hear what she was thinking, "but it wouldn't be much of a game if you won this easily."

A clear chute rose up out of the board next to the tilt-a-whirl, its other end right at Bigmamemon's feet. On its tenth spin, the machine spat the pinball into the chute. "Ohhh... Thank God..." Yolei groaned as her ball rolled slowly downward; Kari could see that the color of the ball had changed... most likely because of what else was now in it besides two captives.

Gatomon didn't like the way Bigmamemon was watching the approaching pinball. "Look out!" she shouted.

Hawkmon must have seen the Spire-Born too. "Yolei, quickly!" he yelled. "We have to get off of this! Jiggle around or something!"

Yolei's blurry, dazed eyes only barely picked out what they were headed towards. "...Huh?..." she murmured.

Bigmamemon pulled back his fist, and as the ball dropped out of the chute, he gave it a hard sock. Yolei and Hawkmon screamed as they shot up the board and hit a bumper, actually knocking their ball into the air. Kari gripped the controls, ready to catch them as they fell, but the ball crashed down just below her flippers and vanished into the black pit. Bigmamemon gave a deep, stupid sounding laugh and did a little dance, pounding his fists together.

"No!..." Kari cried, staring down the hole. That was four of her friends gone to who knew where now!

"What? What happened?" Patamon asked from his ball.

"Sounds like Yolei's ball went down the gutter," TK said quietly.

"Great," Cody huffed.

Gatomon looked upset too, but she tried hard to focus. "All right, all right..." she said, "so we know not to get close to Bigmamemon now. We can still do this! We got a few points, and we've still got three more balls! C'mon, Kari!"

"Yes, by all means," Mummymon wheezed laughingly. "We're having a good show back here!"

Kari looked up, willing to try again but still nervous. Ken's ball was next to drop into the chute. "Ken... You're a genius," she said quietly. "Can you help me?"

Ken looked up at the platform and shook his head solemnly. "I never had time for games," he replied. "Still, pinball is mostly physics... If you watch the angles at which you hit the ball, that'll help you learn how to direct it where you want."

Kari sighed; vague help was better than no help, she figured. She yanked the plunger and let it go, sending Ken's ball into the flashing maze. Unlike Davis and Yolei, Ken wasn't screaming or panicking as he was hurled around inside his ball, and that fact let Kari concentrate a little better. Taking his advice to heart, she paid close attention to where the pinball went when she launched it from different parts of the flippers. The closer to the flipper's edge the ball was, the more diagonal it went, not to mention faster. Again and again, the ball bounced off pads and bumpers, the score growing with each impact. "That's it!" Gatomon cheered from the side. "You're getting there, Kari!"

Kari was feeling a lot better now; she had gotten the hang of knocking Ken's ball around, and her score was almost at 4,000 points. Maybe she really could do this!

As soon as she thought that, though, her finger slipped on the button, making the left-hand flipper flick when the ball was only halfway down its edge. Ken flew straight up towards Bigmamemon. The big galoot laughed and pulled back its fist. "Oh, no!" Kari whimpered.

What came next happened so quickly that neither Kari nor Gatomon saw the whole thing. Bigmamemon socked Ken's ball backwards, but Kari's finger was still on the button and the left flipper was raised. The ball hit the center of the "V" shape it formed and bounced right back the other way. Bigmamemon was so surprised, it didn't think to punch again, and the speeding ball caught it in the right side of its stomach, knocking it flat on its back. The angle of the impact sent Ken off to the right, where he vanished down a hidden tunnel, like Yolei had. A loud fanfare played from the giant board as Kari's score jumped a little past 5,000, and colorful fireworks shot out of the top.

"Ooh, I didn't know there'd be fireworks, too!" Mummymon exclaimed joyfully, clapping his big hands. "I love fireworks!"

Arukenimon's smile lessened. "...Purely chance," she grumbled.

Bigmamemon slowly got back on its feet, its grin flipped into an angry, frightening growl. That wasn't going to happen again if it had anything to say about it.

Kari still wasn't sure what had happened, but she did know that her ball had vanished. "Hey, where's Ken?" she asked.

As soon as she asked it, Ken's ball popped out of an opening in the back of the field. It rolled into a blue-striped tent, which inverted itself and rose into the air. The scoreboard flashed with the words "CAPTIVE BALL."

Gatomon began to ask what that meant when suddenly Cody's ball was pushed into the shoot and launched. With a surprised yell, he bounced against several bumpers and rolled straight towards the gutter, wobbling a lot more than the others; maybe that was because Cody and Armadillomon were smaller and had more room to be knocked around.

"Kari! Hurry! Buttons!" Gatomon yelled.

Kari panicked and punched the flipper button just in time, knocking Cody diagonally at a dangerous speed.

"Let's help Kari out," Cody said, seemingly unaffected by the spinning and bouncing. "Lean right!"

With a wacky swerve downward, the pinball banged into one bumper and bounced up into another, which sent it crashing into Bigmamemon's back. With a surprised yell, the big lug crashed down onto its face and Cody's ball bounced to the left, disappearing down another hole.

"Man!" Gatomon huffed. "What's with all these holes?!"

"Ugh..." Armadillomon's voice came. "I reckon I'll do my own rollin' around from now on, thanks..."

The word "SLOT REELS" flashed on the scoreboard, and three tents above it started to rapidly change designs. Kari was surprised, but at least thought she knew how this little game worked. She pushed one of the flipper buttons, and the leftmost tent permanently became purple with orange dots. She focused hard and waited, then punched the button again; the middle tent stopped changing and became purple with orange dots. She tried to do it again, but this time she was too slow; the last tent became turquoise with green triangles. Kari's score jumped up an extra thousand points and Cody's ball popped back out of the hole. "Aww, no!..." Armadillomon groaned.

"Sorry, guys," Kari apologized, "but I'll try to go easier!"

Banging into several bumpers as it rolled back down, Cody's ball finally hit the right-hand flipper, which Kari raised so it would stop. "So, which way we leanin' now?" Armadillomon asked.

Cody looked around. Almost directly above the flipper was a bumper that could send them right down the gutter, but diagonally left was a small cache of pads where they could rack up some points for Kari. "Left," he said quickly. "Let us go, Kari."

Kari released the flipper and they started rolling, but Armadillomon didn't think he'd caught Cody's instructions. "You said left?" he asked.

"Right," Cody answered.

"Right? OK!" Armadillomon said, getting ready to shove himself right.

Cody realized the error too late. "No, WAIT!" he yelled as Kari flicked the flipper, but Armadillomon threw himself to the right. The ball jerked upwards, smacked into the bumper and flew right down the gutter. "Ooh... Musta been left after all..." Armadillomon's voice grumbled as it faded out.

"No!" Kari cried, so upset that she didn't notice that the spinning tent holding Ken's ball was inverting itself.

The ball dropped back onto the field, rolling right towards the gutter. "Kari!" Ken's voice came through the speaker. "Get ready!"

"Kari!" Gatomon screeched, slapping her partner's knee wildly. "Ken! The flippers! HIT THE FLIPPERS!"

Kari panicked as she saw his ball coming and slammed her fingers down on both buttons. The flippers raised and Ken slipped right between them, vanishing into the darkness after Cody and Armadillomon. Bigmamemon looked up at her, laughing loudly and doing a joyful dance.

"Ho! I was worried for a moment there," Mummymon cackled, "but fortune favors us tonight, my dear!"

Arukenimon's wicked smile was back on her lips. "Was there ever any doubt?" she clucked.

Kari felt like she was lying under a guillotine. There was only one pinball left, and her score stood at only 7,520 points; less than half of what she needed. She sagged against the control panel, her arms shaking. "I... I can't do this..." she whimpered. "I'm..."

"No, Kari!" Gatomon huffed. "Don't say that!"

"Smart girl," Arukenimon purred behind her, ignoring the cat. "Why don't you make things easier? You have one ball left... If you give up now, you'll be spared the knowledge that you failed every one of your friends."

Kari shuddered again, staring down at the last ball on the board. "What?!" Gatomon snarled at the despicable woman. "What'll that do?! You're just gonna kill 'em all anyway!"

"Ah, but think about it," Mummymon rasped. "If she surrenders now, she wouldn't have to see what little hope she has left get dashed when she loses the last ball." He paused, then leaned forward on his cane, his smile reflecting the colorful lights in a yellow tint. "Isn't it a far worse torture to have had hope and lost it than to never have had it at all?"

Kari stayed quiet, her back still turned to them. Gatomon's ears were completely folded back now, and her fangs glistened in fury. "You guys are sick!" she hissed.

"You can say that..." Arukenimon mused, playing with her hair, "but aren't we right as well?"

Kari felt like she was turning to stone. She didn't want to surrender to them... but she was so far away from escaping this trap... and she didn't have the skills to keep a pinball bouncing for as long as it would take to save herself... The words of Arukenimon and Mummymon rolled lazily through her head, sounding more and more reasonable each time.

Down in their pinball-shaped prison, TK and Patamon mulled over the fiends' words, too. "I don't like this," Patamon whimpered. "I wanna get out of this ball!"

TK had been silent for a long while, his eyes hidden beneath his hat. Now, however, he got to his feet and looked up at the platform. "Kari," he spoke calmly, "you could just give up..."

"TK!" Gatomon huffed, not believing what she had just heard.

"You _could_," he went on through the audio system, "but I don't think that'd be easier... not for you, anyway. You always want to do your best, and if you gave up when you knew there was a chance you could do it, even if it was little..." He trailed off, leaving everyone hanging.

Kari looked down at the tiny figures in the last pinball, swearing that TK was looking right at her. She knew how he was going to finish that sentence, and he was right. If she gave up now, when she hadn't tried her hardest, she wouldn't be able to live with herself... That was what Tai would have said, too. She slowly straightened up and gripped the control panel with her trembling hands. "...OK," she whispered.

Gatomon smiled with relief. "Attagirl, Kari," she said.

Arukenimon sneered. "Fine," she cackled. "I hope you enjoy nailing shut your friends' coffins."

Kari's sweaty hand reached over and grabbed the plunger. "I'll do it," she squeaked. "I'll win this!"

Down on the board, TK smiled. "Yeah," he agreed. "You will."

Kari yanked the plunger back and let go, sending the ball flying onto the board. Keeping a close eye on where it was and where it was going, Kari mashed the flipper buttons, knocking it all over the board but always recapturing it. The score sluggishly climbed up past 7,600 points, then 7,700, then 7,800. "Yeah! Yeah!" Gatomon cheered as the score hit 8,000. "Keep it up, Kari!"

Kari's teeth sunk into her lower lip. This was going too slowly; she might still screw up. She needed more points, and quickly... but how could she get them?

TK's ball bounced erratically off a pad and raced towards the gutter. Kari panicked and her finger slipped on the button. The flipper jerked up, but the angle was poor; the ball shot right up towards Bigmamemon, who laughed and threw a mighty punch, socking it right back towards the gutter. "NO!" Kari screamed, and slammed her hands down on both flipper buttons.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Just as TK's ball sped past the flippers, they both shot up and smacked it backwards. It tore up the board and crashed into a big green bumper, which sent it spinning right at Bigmamemon's backside. The big lug turned around just in time to be beaned right between its eyes, and it didn't fall so much as rocket to the ground, a big crack appearing on its back. The ball shot straight upwards and into a golden tent on the edge of the board.

A fanfare rocked the whole carnival, and several volleys of fireworks shot up all around. "Oh, my goodness!" Mummymon beamed as he watched them explode. "This must mean something great!"

Arukenimon's smile was now a snarl. "Not for us, you moron!" she hissed.

"What's going on?!" Gatomon asked, scrambling up onto the control panel to get a better look. The tilt-a-whirl thing in the back jerked and sprang back to life, raising up and starting to spin... and familiar yells were coming in from the speaker.

"Woahhhh!" Davis howled.

"Urrrgghhhh!" Yolei gurgled.

"No more, please!" Hawkmon begged.

"Criminitly!" Armadillomon yelled.

"Kari!" Cody shouted. "What's going on?!"

"Good work, Kari," Ken stated.

Kari wasn't sure herself, but then the scoreboard flashed. The word 'MULTIBALL' flickered on it, and then the tilt-a-whirl spat each of the balls out in different directions.

"They're back!" Gatomon exclaimed. "They're all back!"

Kari was elated too, at first... but once she saw five balls rolling around on the board, she bit down on her lip so hard she tasted blood. Her problems had just quintupled!

As she mashed both buttons as quickly as she could, it became clear that she wasn't the only flustered one. Bigmamemon was turning every which way, not knowing which ball to look out for, and its eyes were becoming swirls in its head.

Bumpers pinged and pads rang as the score started to take great leaps upwards. It was already at 11,000 and climbing. Kari was breathing easier now; juggling the five balls wasn't as hard as she had thought.

"Oh, no!" Mummymon gasped as he watched the numbers dance. "We have to do something!"

Arukenimon said nothing. She just strode up to the control panel and delivered a swift kick. Kari jumped as the machine rattled. "H-hey!" she squeaked.

Arukenimon kicked the machine even harder, and Kari's buttons stopped working for a few seconds, long enough for Yolei's ball to slip past her and drop down the gutter again. "Hey!" Gatomon snarled, racing across the panel and swiping at the woman. "Kari! She's tryin' to break the controls!"

Arukenimon swiftly dodged Gatomon's slash and kicked once more, an electronic wheeze filling the air. Kari's stomach shriveled up. Arukenimon hadn't just _tried_ to break the controls; she _had_. The word 'TILT' was flashing in gigantic yellow letters over the score. This was the end!

Or was it? She had managed to flick the four remaining balls high onto the board before she lost control, and they were still bouncing... and the score was now well past 18,000. Bigmamemon turned around to deal with the rolling pests, but they were coming in too fast for it to punch. Ken's ball crashed into its left leg, knocking it onto its face and making its crack larger. Cody's ball bounced against a bumper and smacked into its left side, creating another crack there. As he sailed towards the gutter, the crumbling Spire-Born got to its feet, only to be rammed from the right by Davis's ball, knocking off half of its outer shell and revealing its obsidian center. "Yeah! Suck on THAT!" the goggle-wearing boy laughed as he rolled away.

Davis's ball fell into the gutter. Kari looked at the scoreboard: 19,950 points! So close!... but how could she get the last few points when she couldn't work the flippers?

TK's ball was rolling slowly down the right-hand side of the board. "TK!" Patamon squeaked as he flopped from top to bottom of the ball. "It's almost there!"

TK saw the gutter coming up quickly, but he wasn't ready to give in yet; there was a bumper just a bit left of him; the one that had sent Cody and Armadillomon into the gutter the first time. "Let's do what Cody did," TK said quickly. "Lean left!"

Patamon and TK moved as much to the left as they could, and their ball gave the slightest hop towards the bumper. They bounced off of it, hit another one and crashed into Bigmamemon' knocking off another chunk of its shell. The score jumped to 20,050 points.

"We did it!" Gatomon gasped as she saw the number. "WE DID IT!"

"WHAT?!" Arukenimon roared, losing her cool completely. "NO!"

Kari was flabbergasted, but she noticed one other thing, too; the 'TILT' sign had disappeared, and she could work the flippers again! Gnashing her teeth, she put both fingers on the buttons. "TK! Patamon!" she shouted into the speaker. "Let's clean it ALL up!"

TK's ball rolled right between the flippers and Kari punched the buttons. Once again, both flippers slugged it backwards, right towards the swooning black mass that had been Bigmamemon. It hit with such force that the phony Digimon was knocked clear into the air. The scoreboard read 'NEW RECORD!' just before the monster crashed down into it and exploded, sending a shower of sparks, fireworks and black dust every which way.

"YEAH!" Gatomon cheered, jumping up and down on the controls.

Happy tears were forming in Kari's eyes. In spite of her horrible gaming skills and all the heckling from behind, she had won!

A bright light appeared on the ground beneath the giant pinball board. One by one, her friends' pinballs dropped down and smashed to bits in the dirt, freeing them. "Hey! Guys!" Kari yelled at them, waving wildly.

"Kari!" Gatomon exclaimed, grabbing her partner's shoulder and pointing at the scoreboard. "Look!"

Bigmamemon must not have totally broken the pinball machine, because the scoreboard was still flashing words on its broken screen. Kari could make out "G***D PR*ZE," and then tiny slot on top of the control panel opened, and up rose something with a gentle, pink glow. She snatched it and held it in her hands, knowing what it was immediately: a corner piece of her Crest of Light. A warm, familiar sensation came over her as she clutched it; it felt as if she had reconnected with some small part of her that had been lost.

"Oh... So THAT's where it was!" Mummymon exclaimed. "What an ironic twist, isn't it, Arukenimon?"

"It is indeed," Arukenimon said through clenched teeth, "but what's more ironic... is that by winning, she's going to lose!"

Kari whirled around just in time to see both of them coming towards her. Gatomon quickly leaped to her defense, her claws out. "Not if I can help it!" she hissed, her tail slapping around like a whip.

Arukenimon and Mummymon advanced anyway, but before blows could come, the platform gave a violent shake, then tilted dangerously to the left. "What the?!" Mummymon gulped.

Kari could hear steel bending behind her. The whole theme park must have collapsing from the damage Bigmamemon did; she had to escape! Still clutching the Crest piece, she dug for her D3. "DigiArmor-" she began, but the platform totally gave out, sending all of them plummeting towards the ground. As Arukenimon and Mummymon's screams rang in her ears, she shut her eyes and hoped she could get Nefertimon in the air before they splattered. "DIGIARMOR-"

Suddenly, the falling sensation stopped. Confused, she opened her eyes... and saw the helmeted face of Angemon smiling at her, with Gatomon in his other arm. "Bungee jumping is safer with a cord, you know," he rumbled jokingly.

"Thanks, brainiac," Gatomon muttered.

Kari just smiled.

* * *

In no time at all, Kari and Gatomon were back on the ground with her friends. Angemon had turned back into Patamon and was perched on TK's hat. "Thank goodness..." Kari said, overjoyed to see everyone safe. "I was so scared!"

"Yeah... So were we," TK admitted, smiling wryly at her. "But you know what? You play pinball pretty well!"

"Indeed," Cody agreed. "You performed admirably."

"Yeah!" Veemon laughed. "That was fun! We gotta do it again sometime!"

Even Ken was nodding in approval. Kari felt her cheeks getting hot from the praise. "I... Well..." she stammered.

"Aww, crap!" Davis shouted, startling everyone. He was clutching a cracked chunk of his goggles in each hand and gnashing his teeth. "Broken again! This's gonna look awful when I tape it back up!"

"You think that's a problem?!" Yolei huffed, waving her bisected glasses in the air, her unprotected, beady eyes glaring in his general direction. "Those're just stupid! I NEED these!"

"Ain'cha got a spare?!" Davis snapped. "These're my only ones!"

"These WERE my spares!" Yolei retorted. "My regular ones broke last April, when SOMEONE kicked a soccer ball in my face! REMEMBER?!"

Davis and Yolei moved towards each other to grapple, but Hawkmon stopped them. "Stop it, you two!..." he warned.

"Yeah..." Armadillomon said, sounding a little nervous. "Looks like we've got a bigger problem brewin'..."

Everybody looked around. The large crowd of ejected fairgoers was now encircling them, and there wasn't one happy face among them. "Hey!" a Meramon shouted. "You wrecked our park!"

"Yeah!" other angry Digimon resounded.

"Hey, they're humans!" an Elecmon exploded. "And ain't these the guys the Resistance is after?"

There were various murmurs of agreement through the crowd, and the gazes became stony and cold. The kids and their partners huddled together in case things got ugly. Ken shrank back the most, hoping that the crowd wouldn't recognize him as the Digimon Emperor and turn violent. He didn't want that to happen; not when the other kids could be hurt, too.

Davis, already pissed off at his broken goggles, was in no mood for being accused. "Yeah?" he dared them. "What if we are? What're you gonna do about it?!"

Kari stamped on his foot and he yelped. "That won't help, Davis!" she snapped. "We don't want to fight them!"

"Yeah..." Cody agreed solemnly. "We did have a hand in wrecking this place... If we hadn't come..."

"But we had to," TK objected. "There was a Crest piece here! We couldn't let Arukenimon get it..."

Kari hesitated, then looked up at the muttering crowd. "I'm sorry about all this," she spoke loudly enough for them all to hear. "We came here to find something important, but we didn't mean to ruin your theme park. In fact, we'll all help you fix it."

There was some more muttering in the crowd, but the air grew less tense; Kari's olive branch must have sounded reasonable. "...Good move, Kari..." TK whispered to her.

"Yeah, but how do we fix a park?" Patamon asked. "All I can do is hold nail buckets!"

"Hey!" a Gotsumon shouted at them from the crowd. "You said you didn't mean to wreck it, but it got wrecked anyway! Why?!"

Kari swallowed; if she tried to pin the blame on Arukenimon and Mummymon, she might lose the mob's trust again. "Well, uh..." she stammered.

"It wasn't them!" a gruff voice rang out over the crowd. "I saw it! It wasn't these kids! It was those other weirdoes! The woman in the red hat and the guy in blue!"

The gaggle of Digimon suddenly erupted into confusion. "What?" a Gazemon yelled. "Those guys?"

"I saw them, too!" a purple Chuumon shouted from the top of its Sukamon ride. "They looked more creepy than these guys!"

"Where'd they go?" the Frigimon bouncer asked. "Anybody see?"

The crowd dispersed, searching around for the mysterious duo. Ken looked over towards where their yellow jeep was parked, but it had vanished just like they had. "They got away," he said to the others with a scowl.

Patamon noticed that one Digimon was coming towards them instead of leaving. "Heads up!" he chirped, landing back on TK's hat.

Everyone turned around as a Monzaemon lumbered up. "Are you guys OK?" it asked in its low, rumbling voice. "That coulda gotten ugly."

TK blinked a few times, then smiled. "Hey, you're the one who was running the can game!" he exclaimed.

"You spoke up about Arukenimon, didn'tcha?" Armadillomon asked.

"Yeah," the Monzaemon said, nodding. "You may be humans, but you didn't look like you were there to make trouble. Those other guys, though... I saw 'em come in before the park opened, and the way they were talkin', they sure weren't interested in havin' fun."

Kari smiled at the yellow bear. "Thanks," she said. "We'll be back first thing tomorrow to help rebuild."

"Yeah," Davis agreed, finally calmed down. "Soon as we're outta class!"

"Ugh... if I can see, anyway," Yolei muttered, still looking around and squinting. "Oogh... and nobody let me eat any more corn dogs..."

"Great," the Monzaemon said with a big grin. "Oh! I almost forgot..." He reached behind him and produced the big toy Gabumon that TK had won in the game. "I can't let ya leave without yer prize!" he chuckled.

"Oh, boy!" Patamon laughed, happily jumping off TK's hat and landing on the toy. "Thank you! This place is the best!"

"Yeah..." Kari agreed, opening her palm and letting the Crest fragment glow. "It sure is."

"Sweet!" Davis cackled, looking at the shining pink object. "That's part of your own Crest?"

"Three down, five to go," Cody said. "Izzy and Tai will be happy, too."

Gatomon stared at the pink glow, her eyes wide. She would be Angewomon again some day soon; she just knew it.

* * *

With a complaining squeal, the yellow jeep made a hard right turn and sped into a dark forest far away from the carnival. Mummymon would have paid more attention to his driving, but he was too busy watching out for Arukenimon's flailing limbs. "All that work!" she yelled, swinging her fist at the dashboard. "All that work, and we had that girl right where we wanted her!... and then, they found the blasted Crest, too!"

"Relax..." Mummymon replied, not sounding particularly upset. "We have plenty of chances to snatch her and kill the others; we'll do it next time..." He glanced at her, his yellow eyes friendly. "Look on the bright side; you don't have to have your clothes stitched up this time."

His answer was a gloved fist in the cheek. "This is all your fault!" she roared. "We should have just attacked them instead of making them play that stupid game! Why did I listen to you?! You're never right!" She folded her arms and slouched in her seat.

"Come now," Mummymon said, taking it all in stride, "you can't tell me that wasn't a little fun, at least... A whole carnival turning into a flashy pinball table, and those lovely fireworks, too! Didn't that spark some joy in your heart?"

Something long and hard bashed into his skull; Arukenimon had yanked his cane out of the backseat and smacked him with it. As she went back to brooding, he just sighed and shook his head. "You need to let your inner DigiEgg out more," he murmured.

* * *

"Well, the dishes are done," Izzy reported as he walked back into his room.

Tai and Matt were sitting on the bed, going over their calculus homework. "Did your parents mind that we stayed for dinner?" Tai asked, looking up.

"Not at all," Izzy replied. "Mom said it's nice to have some company; we haven't had dinner guests in a while."

Matt stuck the blue-lined paper in his book and shut it. "Where could they be?" he muttered.

Almost in reply, the screen on Izzy's computer lit up. The boys pulled back as a flash illuminated the room, and then TK, Kari, Patamon and Gatomon were in a heap on the floor, along with one other large figure.

Matt jumped up in shock. "Gabumon?!" he asked, running over and picking up the figure... but was disheartened to see that it was just a stuffed toy that had two horns and an orange belly instead of a yellow one... and it faintly smelled like french fries.

TK rolled over onto his back. "Hey, Matt," he said.

Matt looked down at him. "Where did you get this?" he asked, shaking the toy.

"We won it!" Patamon ejaculated. "It was awesome! TK's the best can-knocker-downer in the world!"

"Can...?" Tai tried, but was only able to scratch his head. "Kari, what happened? Where'd you guys go?"

The Digidestined sorted themselves out, and then Kari explained about Pinball Carnival, Arukenimon's newest trap, and what they had gone through. Izzy and Tai both looked stunned as she spoke. "What?!" Tai asked. "The whole carnival was a trap?!..."

"I don't think it was supposed to be, originally," TK admitted. "Sometimes the Digital World's randomness just throws a wrench in things."

"It was pretty hard..." she admitted, "but at least we came back with this."

She produced the tiny pink shard. "Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed. "May I?"

Kari offered him the Crest fragment, and he put it with the other two. "Good work, you guys," he said to them. "Sure wish I could say that to the others..."

"Yeah, why didn't they show up?" Gatomon asked, looking around. "I was wondering about that..."

Izzy scratched his chin. "Maybe the Digital Gate remembers what terminal each person warped in from," he proposed. "That way, it spits you back out in the same place. I would think Davis, Cody and Yolei are back in their own homes... Ask them tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll start looking for another Crest signal right away."

"Um, actually, you can take your time, Izzy," Kari said. "We promised the Digimon we'd help them fix the carnival for the next few days."

Matt scowled. "You don't have time for that," he grunted. "You have to find those Crests."

"Yeah, but Matt," TK objected, standing up, "the Resistance is spreading around all sorts of bad stories about us, and more and more Digimon don't like us showing up. We have to show that we're not like the Emperor was, or we might lose their trust."

Matt said nothing. His brother had a good point. Tai smiled. "Good thinking, you two," he praised. "Keep it up."

Patamon noticed that Izzy's computer clock read 11:27 PM. "Ooh! TK, we have to go!" he exclaimed, pointing at it. "Your mom's gonna be mad we're late!"

"Holy...! Yeah, you're right!" TK gulped. "Sorry guys, but we've gotta get home."

"I'll walk you back," Matt said, gathering his things and also the toy Gabumon.

Kari hesitated, then caught up to TK as he was heading out the door. "I'm sorry this was such a close one," she apologized. "Really..."

TK shook his head. "It's fine," he replied. "You pulled it off, after all! Besides..." He smiled warmly. "Aside from the spinning, crashing and bouncing, I had a really good time."

Kari looked away, her cheeks slightly pink. "...See you tomorrow," she said.

TK, Patamon and Matt said goodbye again and walked out the door. "We should get going, too," Tai agreed, stuffing his backpack and throwing on his blue jacket. "It's not the weekend yet."

Kari collected her things, scooped up Gatomon, said goodnight to Izzy and followed her brother out into the chilly November air. "Big day, huh?" Tai asked, looking back at them.

"Tell me about it!" Gatomon said, yawning loudly. "Can I stay home tomorrow? I could use a ten-hour catnap."

Kari laughed. "Well, I hope you're not too tired," she said. "It's not going to be long before you're Angewomon again!"

Gatomon nodded. "Yeah..." she said dreamily.

They turned a corner and walked on towards their home. "A big old fun park... Wow," Tai remarked. "Wish I coulda come. I'd have tried out the roller coaster."

Kari suddenly had an entertaining thought. "Say, Tai..." she said, "the next time you're playing 'Cuttlefish Crashball,' can I play too?"

"I... Well, sure," Tai said, looking surprised, "but I thought you always said you stunk at games?"

Kari chuckled. "Well... Let's just say I've been inspired," she replied.

* * *

Yolei almost thought she had been transported to a stranger's hazy bedroom when she reappeared. "Hey, what the?!" she declared, looking around wildly. "Where are we?!"

The pink puffball next to her turned, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked. "This is your room!"

Yolei blinked and stared for a few moments. Then she remembered all the work she had done with Mimi that afternoon... not to mention that her glasses were off and everything was a blotchy blur. Knowing the room was clean and organized gave her a rush of pride, despite how ill she felt. "Hah... This is an improvement, isn't it?" she asked her partner.

Poromon, however, didn't look at all happy. "Speak for yourself!" he huffed, fluttering around the clean patch where his nest used to be. "I'm homeless now!"

Yolei winced. "I said you could sleep with me..." she tried.

"No thanks," Poromon grumbled. "Not the way you smell right now."

"What?! Why, you-" she began, but then remembered what she had gone through at that carnival. Her Digital World clothes had vanished, and a good deal of the gunk with it, but there were still syrupy traces of it on her skin that stunk enough on their own. Even her broken glasses had traces of grayish-green goop on them. Poromon was right. "Uh... I guess I'll go take a bath," she muttered. "I could use a good soak, and—WOAHHH!"

She almost screamed as banged her toe on the side of her bed and stumbled across the floor, smashing into her bedside table. The four red numbers on the alarm clock made her squint. 11:20 PM?! Her parents would have a conniption fit if they knew she was up this late on a school night!... not that this was unusual for her; she usually did stay up this long, but she was always really, really quiet... unlike the last few moments. She had to clam up, and pronto.

She gathered the special bathroom products that Mimi had given her and slowly snuck out of her room... but it was all in vain. As she tried to zip past the living room entrance, Mantarou looked up from the couch; some late-night fashion program that he liked was on. "Yolei?" he asked. "Are you still up?"

"Uh, well..." she stammered, edging into the room. "I was just, uh..."

Mantarou reeled back as he got a snoutful of her. "What were you _doing_?!" he asked, grabbing at his nose. "Ugh! You smell like corn dogs and vomit, and you look about the same!... and where're your glasses?"

Yolei swallowed hard and thought fast. "I, uh, I, um, well, I was messing with my swivel chair..." she fumbled, "and, well, I hit my face on the desk and broke 'em... and then I barfed."

Mantarou looked her over again, then shook his head. "Kids," he muttered.

Yolei quietly sighed with relief and started to turn for the bathroom.

"Hey, by the way," he said, forcing her to turn around again, "that girl who came by today, Mimi Tachikawa?"

Yolei bit her lip; it tasted just like what Mantarou described. "...Yeah?" she asked.

"Are you good friends with her?" he asked.

"Well, uh..." Yolei stammered again. "She's, ah, helping me with, um... a project. Yeah, a project."

Her brother raised an eyebrow. "Huh," he replied, turning back to his show. "I never expected someone like her would come here, especially on an invitation from you."

Yolei went red. "What does that mean?!" she hissed, trying to keep quiet but also irritated. "You think I'm not cool enough to have a friend like her?... Or do you like her, too?!"

"What? Oh, no, no," Mantarou said, shaking his head. "Nothing like that. She's too phony for me... Forget I said anything."

Yolei turned back towards the bathroom, her mind suddenly full with this puzzle. Phony? Just what did her brother mean by that? And why couldn't she have a friend as trendy and hip as Mimi? That wasn't a very nice thing to-

Mantarou winced as Yolei banged into the bathroom door's molding and fell over.

* * *

A light aroma of strawberries and cream wafting in the air, Mimi lay on her bed in her fluffy pink bathrobe, staring out the window at the cityscape... but her mind wasn't in the same place.

She was traveling through the Digital World, reliving her own adventure and also pondering what Yolei had told her that afternoon. Why had the world opened up again? Why was it getting so dangerous now? Would Palmon be all right, or...?

Her eyes wandered over to the pink cowgirl hat that hung on the right-hand bedpost. She had tried hard to restore it, but the dust and wind damage were too great. She looked at it for a moment, then scrunched her eyes shut and turned away. She couldn't go back. She would never go back there.

Just then, the cell phone on her bedside table shuddered. She picked it up and grunted at the caller's ID. "...What do you want?" she asked curtly as she opened it.

"Uh, hi, Mimi," Joe's nervous voice came from the device. "Hey, uh... Can you talk?"

Mimi gave no response, so Joe cleared his throat. "I was studying for my test when Izzy called me and told me what's been going on..." he said. "You know, in the Digital World..."

"I don't have time for this!" Mimi sniffed. "Joe, you stop calling me! I'm not going to tell you again, got it?!"

"But Mimi..." Joe tried again. "Things are getting really tough for the new kids, and we really could use your-"

"Good NIGHT!" she yelled, snapped the phone shut and slammed it down on her table. The nerve of that guy! Was he deaf or something?!

She lay down on her bed and tried to nod off, but she couldn't; Joe's call had riled her up too much. She needed to blow off some steam. She glanced around, listening to hear if her parents were still awake, and then got up and opened the top drawer of her dresser. The fairly new doujinshi "Vampire Cherry" and "Milk, Cookies and Heavy Cream" gleamed up at her and she picked them up, not giving much thought to the fact that Yolei was now without her own copies.

She flopped back down on her bed and flipped through them, her eyes dilating as a smile came. That girl may have been a social wreck, but she had good taste in this stuff. She was almost sad there was only one more lesson to go; she would have to figure out another way to get her hands on more of these.


	32. Sink Or Swim

**CHAPTER 32**

**SINK OR SWIM**

For the third time in five minutes, Yolei squinted at the blackboard so hard she thought her cheeks and forehead would tear off from the effort. Had it been a video game, her typical school day would be on the highest difficulty level without her glasses. She could see her desk well enough, but her eyes watered when she tried to read her textbooks and take notes, and the blackboard was just a giant smear of darkness at the front of the room, anything written on it being swallowed up in its blackness. Homework was going to be a nightmare, she thought; between squinting and eye watering, she'd be completely blind by the end of the week!

She bit her lip and scooted herself closer to try and get a better look at what her teacher was writing, but it was no use; the black mass yielded nothing, and she was already scooted in so much her desk was cutting off her air. She sighed and slumped in her chair. Life had officially become a sick joke. She had asked her parents to get her glasses fixed that morning and had been met with her unpaid tab at the family store; if she wanted her glasses fixed, they had said, she would have to cough up the money herself. This filled her with both fury and resentment; she couldn't come up with that kind of money that fast, especially when she couldn't see six feet in front of her!

"Oh, yes," the teacher said, suddenly changing from the dull topic he'd been on before, "I'm sure I don't have to remind most of you, but the inter-class trip to Kyoto is coming up at the end of November. Make sure you've got your permission slips filled out and returned to me by next Wednesday, and gather the necessary items on the handout..."

Yolei could have slammed her head on the desk. The school trip was something most every student looked forward to... if they were going. Every year, one 7th grade class and one 8th grade class got to go on the historical field trip, and her class was the lucky 8th grade one for this year. Unfortunately, the 7th grade class chosen wasn't going to be the one that TK, Kari and Davis were in; that would make for a lonely trip. She hadn't been thrilled anyway, but now she wasn't looking forward to it at all; since she was scrounging up money for glasses, she wouldn't have any to spend there! And if she didn't make enough before the trip, she'd be going half-blind, too! _And_ Mimi still expected her to buy her own trendy things, to boot! She angrily chomped into her pencil's eraser. Money problems were for grown-ups, not her! How'd this month end up sucking so badly?

It was about to get worse. "Miyako!" the teacher snapped, making her jump. "Didn't you hear me? Answer the question on the board!"

Though she couldn't see it, she was sure everyone in class was staring at her. She squeezed her eyes as tightly as she could, but all she saw were thin, dancing squiggles, which quickly vanished into the overwhelming black void. She swallowed hard. "Ehhhm... six?" she tried.

There was an unpleasant silence. "This is a _history_ question, Miyako, not math!" the teacher huffed. "At least _try_ to look like you're paying attention!"

As the teacher went back to his lecture on the origins of Bastille Day, Yolei just sagged in her chair, her face hot enough to fry eggs.

* * *

Feeling two extra-long school days had been crammed into one, Davis dragged himself down the hallway, his face sagging off of his head. Given last night's crazy carnival adventure, he hadn't gotten much sleep; it had felt like less than a second between his body hitting the mattress and his mom's scream heralding his lateness.

TK and Kari lagged behind him, looking equally drained. Kari was paler than usual, and she had caught flack from the teachers for several big yawns in the middle of their lectures. Faint dark bags hung under TK's eyes, so he wore his hat low on his face.

They reached the computer lab door and quietly shoved it aside. Cody sat in one of the chairs, his hands folded in his lap and his eyes closed. All of the Digimon were waiting, looking much more upbeat than the humans. "Hiya, Davis!" Demiveemon chirped, hopping off the table and running over. He paused for a moment, then tilted his head to the side. "Boy, you don't look so good," he remarked.

"Feels like I puked up half my soul," Davis grunted, "and the rest of it's dribblin' out my eyes."

"Ewww!" Demiveemon squealed, feigning disgust but not containing his giggles.

"That's what staying up so late will do," Cody remarked, opening one eye and looking over at them.

Davis fumed at the boy. "Not like you're any better!" he snapped. "And you were sleepin'!"

Cody's looked even crabbier than usual; his eyeballs were tinted the slightest pink. "I was _meditating_," he corrected Davis.

Davis blew a raspberry and turned away.

"Aww, c'mon, don't get mad," Upamon urged. "Let's go to the Digital World!"

TK laughed tiredly. "You've sure got your energy back..." he said.

"Yeah, we spent the day sleeping," Patamon replied. "We're all ready!"

"Well, good for you," Davis grumbled, glancing around and looking even grouchier, "but I ain't goin' in unless we're ALL goin' in."

Kari blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Of course we're all going in."

"Yeah?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow. "Guess who's missing."

Kari and TK looked around. Surely enough, Yolei wasn't there. "Oh, boy..." TK sighed.

"Has Yolei come in here at all, Cody?" Kari asked.

Cody shook his head. "I haven't seen her since we came to school," he answered.

"I haven't heard from her either," Poromon replied, "but she's not having a good day... She doesn't have any glasses now..."

"Oh... yeah..." Kari said quietly, feeling partly responsible; after all, her lackluster pinball skills where why Yolei's glasses had broken. "I guess we can wait for a little while..."

Everyone just stood there in awkward silence. Finally, Upamon cleared his throat. "Say, ya think Ken'll show up to help, too?" he asked.

Cody frowned at his partner like he had said a bad word. Davis, however, looked up in surprise. "Whaddya mean?" he asked. "Sure he'll be there! No sweat."

TK took off his hat and scratched his head. "I'm not so sure," he replied. "I mean, he was the Digimon Emperor... I don't think he'd feel safe around so many of them. If one of them figured out who he was, it might get—"

Just then, the lab door rattled and slid open. "Finally!" Davis snapped, turning angrily towards the door. "What's yer lame-ass excuse this time?"

It wasn't Yolei. Joe stood in the doorway, looking rather confused at the greeting. "Uh..." he tried, "I needed a break from studying?"

"Joe!" Kari exclaimed, nudging Davis aside. "How've you been?"

"Oh, I'm fine..." the college student admitted, then chuckled weakly. "Still, it gets kind of rough reading all the time... I figured I'd come help you guys out this afternoon. Is that OK?"

The others looked at each other. Joe had a good head on his shoulders, but he probably didn't know what they had planned for the day... and he didn't look much for physical labor. "Well, yeah, sure..." Davis started, "but, uh... are you good at fixin' fun park rides?"

Joe looked even more confused. "What?" he asked.

"Err... maybe we should explain..." Gatomon suggested.

"Yeah," Patamon agreed. "That would kill time until Yolei gets here."

Joe looked around, surprised. "Yolei's not here yet?" he asked. "Where is she?"

"Well, I think we can tie that into the carnival rides," Cody said, getting off of his chair. "You see..."

* * *

With a world-weary sigh, Ken plopped down at his desk and turned on his computer. He wasn't going to the Pinball Carnival today—he couldn't risk those Digimon figuring out who he was—but he at least wanted to look over the Digital World's map. He had to keep tabs on what went on. Davis and the others might be hard at work, but so might Arukenimon and Mummymon. If those spire-violators were causing trouble somewhere else, then he'd have a chance to deal with them on his own terms.

The monitor sprang to life, and he grabbed his mouse. He opened the Digital World map program and the little grayscale grid appeared. He had overheard one of the other Digidestined saying how they were creating a detailed, full-color map of this world... He would have to ask Davis if he could get a copy; it would be much more useful than this.

As he looked it over, though, nothing caught his eye; it seemed peaceful enough. He was about to close the program when there was a loud beep, and the square just south the carnival turned black. He clicked on the space, and his eyes narrowed as a notice came: ten new control spires had emerged within the last three minutes! Arukenimon and Mummymon were definitely up to something. He exited the program and started typing an e-mail; he had to warn the others. He just hoped that Davis would answer his D-Terminal; the goggle-wearing boy didn't really look like one to check his messages often...

_Davis,_

_Ten spires just appeared south of the carnival. I think Arukenimon and_

"Ken!" his mother's voice came as his door opened. She wore her jacket and clutched a big bag full of magazines, candies and yarn. "Are you in here?"

He leaped up and blocked the screen with his body. "Uh... Yes, mom," he said quickly. "What, uh, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I'm going to head out," she said, motioning to the bag. "I decided to start volunteering at the rest home down the street. Those poor people can get so lonely."

"Err... That's really nice, mom," Ken said, not sure what else to say and wishing she'd just go. "So, uh, I guess Dad and I are on our own for dinner, huh?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd come along," she said, beaming. "A cheerful young celebrity like you would really brighten them up! Please?"

Ken almost bit his tongue in half. He couldn't leave! He had to warn Davis about the spires!... But at the same time, he didn't want to upset his mother, and she didn't look like she was going to take "no" for an answer anyway. "...OK, just, uh, just let me clean up a little in here," he surrendered, quickly shutting off the computer's monitor and clearing off his desk. Whatever those hateful monsters were up to today, he hoped the others could handle it alone.

"Oh, good!" his mother beamed. "Now, just remember to be polite to them, and I'm sure they'll have lots of good things to say about you."

Ken forced a smile and followed her out the door, his only wish that nobody at this place was a cheek pincher.

* * *

Her hands creeping along on the wall, her head darting left, then right, then left again, then right again, Yolei slowly made her way down the hall towards the computer lab... at least, she thought that's where she was headed; the world was so different when it was a fuzzy haze. A door almost flew open in her face, making her jerk back. This wasn't fair at all! If one of her siblings broke her glasses, she was sure her parents would give _them_ replacements!

The door shut and Yolei kept moving, her hands telling her she was reaching a left turn. How could they deny her glasses? Just because she wasn't completely blind like the rest of them didn't mean she wasn't a wreck without them! Human beings were supposed to look like human beings, not colorful, shapeless masses appearing out of—

Her jerking around the corner stopped abruptly as she smacked right into two green mounds. "Woah!" they said in a familiar voice. "Yolei! I coach _soccer_, not wrestling!"

Yolei blinked for a moment, then lurched in close to the shape. It turned out to be Tai Yagami, who was staring at her with a mixture of surprise and humor. "Oh!" she gulped, jumping back a bit and blushing. "S-sorry, Tai."

"Are you OK?" he asked. "You look flustered."

"I'm fine! Really!" Yolei grumbled. "I'm just... kinda disoriented without my glasses."

"Yeah, I thought you looked different somehow," Tai said, chuckling a little. Seeing she wasn't taking it well, though, he coughed and changed the subject. "You're going to the computer lab, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"Well, you're almost there," he said, pointing further down the main hall, past the intersection where they stood. "We're at the stairwell, with the bathrooms on your right. Just three more doors down that way."

Yolei sighed with relief and staggered across the gap, putting her hand on the other wall. "Thanks, Tai," she said. "Hey, you wanna come? We're fixing up a place Arukenimon wrecked yesterday."

"Thanks, but I've already got something else to do," Tai replied. "You go on. Get Gatomon to be your seeing-eye cat or something until you get some new specs, OK?"

"Heh! Yeah, like she'd do that..." Yolei grumbled in a joking way, then started feeling her way along the wall again.

As she passed the first door, Sora stepped out of the girls' bathroom. "OK, now I'm ready," she said to Tai. "We're doing centrifugal force for the project, right?"

Tai opened his mouth to answer when Yolei gave a surprised yelp; the second door had opened right in her face, sending her stumbling backwards. She scooted around the door, then vanished into the door Tai had mentioned.

Seeing the spectacle, Sora turned back to him in shock. "What's she doing without her glasses?" she demanded.

"Kari said she broke them last night," Tai replied. "I guess she hasn't gotten new ones yet."

"What?!" she asked, looking mortified. "How can she think of going to the Digital World if she can't see?!"

"Hey, take it easy," he said, a little surprised at her outburst. "Her Digimon and the others'll take care of her."

Sora hesitated, looking towards where Yolei had gone, then sighed and shook her head. "I don't know if they can handle this Arukenimon person..." she admitted.

Tai frowned. "Whaddya mean?" he asked. "Sure they can! They took down the Digimon Emperor, didn't they?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Sora said, looking down at her feet, "they got really lucky, too, like when that golden DigiEgg showed up... but if they're fighting two Ultimate-level Digimon, plus the monsters they make out of control spires..." She paused and shook her head again. "I don't know if they can do it. They only have one Ultimate of their own, right?"

"But they're a great team," Tai said, his tone sounding more annoyed. "Davis is always thinking on his feet, for one..."

"He's good on your soccer team," she broke in, "but he's gotten the others into way more trouble than he's saved them from, hasn't he?"

Tai paused. She had a point there.

"Cody's smart, but he's still just a kid," she went on. "I don't know if he'll be able to handle it when things get really rough..."

"He's the age we were when we first went," Tai replied. "We handled it OK; I bet he will, too!"

"And Yolei, well..." she continued, shaking her head. "TK says she's been disappearing a lot lately, and now... I don't know... She still seems to treat it like a game."

Tai was genuinely stunned. "Sora!" he exclaimed. "Yolei looks up to you! And here you are, putting her down? God, you almost sound like Matt!"

"I... Well, maybe he's got a point," she replied, starting to sound more pointed. "Maybe we really should get in there and do it ourselves! At least we know how we'd handle stuff like Arukenimon!"

"Yeah? How?" he snapped, no longer in good spirits. "We can't get in there without D3s, control spires keep us from Digivolving half the time, and we don't have our Crests!" He hesitated. "But those are what the new kids are looking for," he went on more softly. "We'll get back in the game soon! We just have to be patient! They'll do it!"

Sora scowled at him. "How can you be so optimistic?!" she huffed.

Tai's glare hardened again. "Pheh... You always were quick to give up," he grunted.

They glared daggers at each other in angry silence. "You know what?" Sora hissed. "You can do that project with someone else!" With that, she stormed down the stairs.

Tai stared after her in shock, then shook his head angrily. "_You_ know what?! I think I _will!_" he shouted after her.

There was no answer. He grumbled something unpleasant, then turned and took the other path out of the building. What was the world coming to when Digidestined wouldn't believe in each other?

* * *

"...So that's the case," Cody finished. "We're working to restore the carnival, and Yolei can hardly see right now."

"OK, but where IS she?" Gatomon asked. "Doesn't she know this school well enough to get by?"

A violent THUD came from the doorway, and then a familiar groan. "...I guess not," Upamon said.

The door slowly opened, and in staggered beady-eyed, blinking Yolei. "Well, it's about time," Davis chortled.

"I don't wanna hear it," Yolei grumbled, frowning towards the colored mass that was her tormentor. "YOU try getting around with eyes like these!"

"Maybe you need a new pair of eyes, then," Davis smirked. "Hell, you should trade up your whole head; maybe you'll luck out and get something not ugly!"

Yolei could see well enough to grab his repaired goggles, pull back and let go. The extra layers of duct tape across the center kept the eyewear intact as it snapped against his face, but that was more than could be said for the bridge of his nose and his upper teeth; they stung like Hell. "Aghhhh!" he screeched, grabbing at both.

"Wee-hee-hee!" Upamon laughed. "Rubber is awesome!"

"Yolei!" Poromon scolded, flying into her vision. "That was uncalled for!"

"I told him I didn't wanna hear it," Yolei replied curtly.

"Oh, no!" Demiveemon gulped, running up to his partner and grabbing his leg. "Davis, are ya OK?"

"Dammit!" Davis swore, little red flecks jumping out from between his hands. "I taste blood!"

"Here; open your mouth and let me see," Joe said, walking over and grabbing Davis's head with his hands.

Yolei swallowed hard at realizing Joe was there; it was embarrassing enough for Davis to be taunting her around her friends, but with one of the older kids being present, too...! "Uh... Hi, Joe," she said quickly.

"Hi, Yolei," Joe said, releasing Davis and turning to her, "I heard about what happened. Don't you have another pair of glasses?"

Yolei coughed and looked ashamed. "My folks said I'd have to earn them," she muttered. "I've overspent, and I gotta work it off..."

"What?" Kari asked. "That doesn't seem fair! You need your glasses!"

"Well, I can't say I blame them," Poromon sighed. "You do buy quite a lot of video games and toys..."

Yolei scowled at him. "It wasn't those!" she huffed. "I ran up too big a tab at our store! Buying snacks for all of _you_!"

"Ooh..." Patamon winced, his wing-ears drooping. "...Sorry..."

Cody shook his head. "I'm sorry too," he said. "It wasn't all yours; all of our Digimon partook of your food."

"Yeah, we'll help you pay it off," Kari agreed.

"Well... starting tomorrow, anyway," TK said, trying to bring everyone's attention back to the computer. "We promised we'd help clean up the park today, and we're running out of time."

Yolei scowled at TK's pushiness, but nodded in agreement; after all, they couldn't do much for her situation this very afternoon.

Everyone produced their Digivices, and with a bright flash, they were back in the Digital World, just outside a tilted mass of machinery loosely restrained by a broken wooden fence. Various Digimon scrambled around carrying buckets, hammers, saws, and other tools. Joe looked around, scratching his head. "Uh, Cody," he said, "I thought you said there was a theme park here?..."

Cody motioned to the rubble. "That IS the theme park," he said.

Joe made a gurgling noise, looked at the mess, then back at Cody. "You... you guys destroyed that whole thing?" he exclaimed.

"No," Kari corrected him. "At least, not entirely... Arukenimon and Mummymon are the ones who caused most of it... but _they're_ not going to help clean it up."

The party started towards the ruined park, Yolei holding onto Hawkmon's outstretched wing for guidance. As they got closer, a Monzaemon looked up and waved at them. "Hello!" it called. "Thanks for coming!"

TK recognized it immediately; it was the carnie who had called off the angry mob the other night. "Hi!" he replied. "How's it going?"

"Not bad for the first day," the Monzaemon replied, motioning inside the fence. Several dozen Digimon were mounted on the metal structure that had changed the park into a pinball table, hammering and soldering it back into place.

Kari blinked in surprise. "You're fixing the pinball part?" she asked. "I would've thought you'd get rid of that."

"Well, we were gonna," Monzaemon replied, "but then all the managerial-types got together and talked it over, and they figured if it's there, we should use it. Once we get it all fixed, we'll have a wild pinball ride one night a week!"

"Urgh..." Davis groaned at the thought. "You'd better stock up on barf bags."

Joe looked over the mechanical monstrosity and looked pensive. "Cody," he said to the young boy, "can you write Izzy? If we can get Gomamon over here, it'd be way more helpful than me on my own."

Cody nodded and got out his D-Terminal. "How does Izzy contact your Digimon, anyway?" he asked.

Joe scratched his head again. "Gee... I don't know," he admitted. "I'll have to ask him some time."

"Well, what would you like us to do?" TK asked the Monzaemon. "We've got plenty of people here."

"Yeah!" Yolei agreed, staggering forward and trying to look excited. "Shurimon can chop a lot of wood, and I'm great with a hamm—"

Her foot caught a loose wooden plank and she stumbled, her other foot coming down heavily on Monzaemon's toe. He yelped and jumped back, bouncing up and down like an injured cartoon character. Hawkmon grimaced. "Errmmm... Maybe you'd be better holding the nail buckets, Yolei..." he admitted.

Yolei's face reddened, and she sank back behind her friends.

"Well... Ooch... We've got a lot of Digimon working on things here already... but there is something you could do," Monzaemon said, rubbing at his squashed foot. "We've almost used up all our repair supplies. Another shipment's coming from Santa Geria, though, and it's due at the docks southwest of here. You all must be pretty strong; could you go and get the stuff?"

"Awww, what?" Davis huffed, obviously disappointed. "We hafta be gofers? I thought we were gonna be doin' IMPORTANT jobs!"

"Relax, Davis," Joe said, trying hard to repress his relief. "Every job is important."

"OK!" Kari said, pulling out her D3. "We'll be back before you know it!"

The others pulled out their Digivices too. Several bright flashes later, Aquilamon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were up in their air with their partners on their backs. Raidramon and Ankylomon followed on the ground, Joe having hitched a ride with Cody. "Wow!" Joe exclaimed, rapping on Ankylomon's hard shell with his knuckles. "When did this happen?"

"Let's see..." Cody said, pleased to be bringing the older boy up to speed. "It was when we started rebuilding Suadi Arugula, and-"

A panicked yell from above cut him off; Yolei was sharply tugging on Aquilamon's feathers. "Back up!" she shouted, pulling. "We're gonna rear-end TK and Kari any second now!"

"But we're not anywhere near them," he tried.

Yolei squinted ahead, trying to gauge the distance between the colored blobs in front of her. "Well... back up anyway," she muttered. "It doesn't feel right."

Aquilamon sighed and backed further away from the others. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

Glancing between the computer screen and the notebook in front of him, Izzy's eyebrow was a tangled knot of confusion. He had got an e-mail from his overseas friend with several helpful notes, but those alone weren't enough to help him make any sense of the coding for the new Digivices. He had hoped to find a Rosetta Stone of sorts in the letter, since his friend was better at breaking encryptions, but very little real headway could be made yet.

With a frustrated whistle, he thumped his elbows on his desk and glared at the screen. Whoever had made these new Digivices had gone to a lot of trouble to keep them mysterious... but why? He needed answers, and he knew just who could give them: Gennai. He had been anxious to ask about all of it when he had gone to Gennai's house the month before, but all of his questions had been waylaid by the talk about the Crest fragments. The next time he went, though, he wouldn't leave until he got what he needed out of the strange old man.

As he was pondering if maybe the answer lay in Gennai's big library, his computer beeped; there was a new e-mail from Cody. Thankful for the break from driving himself loony, Izzy read over the letter and brought up the map, ordering his program to search for Gomamon's signal. Even if he found him, though, there might be the problem of distance; now that the worlds' times were synchronized, a call for help might not be able to be answered before the day was through. Hopefully the fun-loving water critter was close to the carnival grounds where he knew the others were... Otherwise, he could bring up the warp to Tentomon's tree in Pyro Pit Prairie; he knew that was where his partner returned every night. Somehow, Tentomon always got the messages to the other Digimon. That was another thing Izzy didn't quite get; he would have to ask next time...

A loud, irritated buzz burst from his computer's speakers, almost knocking him over. He looked up and almost fell over again; the words 'SUBJECT NOT FOUND' were splayed across the map. Both confused and annoyed, he ordered the computer to search again, and thirty seconds later, he got the same result. "What?" he asked out loud, at a loss for any reason for this to happen. Where was Gomamon? Was this happening with the other partners, too? He needed to run tests, and fast!

He typed out a quick letter to Cody and sent it off, then started on searching for the other Digimon. Why in the world had he wanted a distraction?!

* * *

Just fifteen minutes of Raidramon's high-speed running later, the grassy plains turned into a sandy shoreline, garnished by dunes instead of hills. A seemingly endless blue-green ocean stretched out before them. "Man!" he exclaimed as his mount slowed him down, "didn't know the place was this close to the ocean; it sure didn't look like it last night!"

"It was so dark, we couldn't see much besides the carnival lights..." Kari reasoned, though she didn't sound too thrilled about being there; in fact, she was clutching at her arms like she had a chill.

Davis raised an eyebrow. "You OK?" he asked.

Kari jerked a bit, startled that he noticed what she was doing. "Oh... I'm fine," she said quickly. "Really! I'm fine!"

"Well, I knew the ocean was close; I could smell it last night," Ankylomon rumbled as he knelt down to let Cody and Joe off. "Hey, Cody! How's about you make me Submarimon and we go fer a swim?"

"Maybe later," Cody replied. "We're here to work today, remember?"

"Yeah..." TK said, looking around for the dock Monzaemon had mentioned. He looked up and down the beach, but there wasn't anything around that looked suitable for unloading cargo; the only man-made structure was a small wooden platform that looked like it belonged at a lake instead of an ocean.

"Is that it?" Raidramon asked.

Yolei squinted hard at the platform. "Ugh, stupid eyes," she grunted. "They're worse than I thought!"

"No," Aquilamon said, "that really is a small dock."

"How's a cargo ship gonna park at something that puny?" Davis asked. "Hell, forget park; how's it even gonna FIND it?"

Joe looked at the pathetic little structure, then smiled and shook his head with a chuckle. "I guess we'll see what kind of answer the Digital World gives us," he replied.

Davis was about to ask what he meant when there was a great roar from the surf. With a mighty swell and a wild splash, a gigantic Whamon emerged from the sea, firing water from its spout in triumph. Cody jumped back in shock. Yolei rubbed at her eyes to be sure this wasn't some other optical problem. Davis was so surprised that he fell off Raidramon.

The Whamon sucked in air, then opened its mouth and ralphed at least two dozen supply crates onto the dock, along with a pervasive fishy stink. Its job finished, it floated back a ways and dove beneath the water.

Davis, Cody, Yolei and their Digimon looked sick. "Ughhh," Ankylomon gurgled, trying to clamp his paws over his nose. "That ain't sanitary!"

Joe, TK, Kari and their Digimon took it a lot better; in fact, they laughed with delight. "Well, how about that!" TK chuckled. "That must be what overseas shipping means around here!"

Raidramon made a face. "Remind me to use air mail," he grumbled.

"It's nice that the ocean Digimon are helping rebuild with the land Digimon," Kari said. "I think that'll make the Digital World a better place in the long run."

Yolei staggered over to the crates and tried to pick one up. She recoiled instantly, flinging bits of slime from her arms. "Euuuugh! And in the short run, we're stuck hauling phlegmy crates!" she huffed.

"Are they very heavy?" Pegasusmon asked.

Davis kicked at one, but it didn't budge. "I'd say 40, 50 pounds, easy," he replied. "This's gonna suck."

"Well, how's about you get a couple of 'em up on my back and I'll run 'em to Monzaemon?" Ankylomon suggested. "I can come back for more."

"That'd be good," Raidramon said, "but how would we get 'em up there in the first place?"

"We could tie a few up with our noose and fly them back, too," Nefertimon piped up.

As the others discussed moving the crates, Cody pulled out his D-Terminal to see if he had any new letters. There was an answer from Izzy... but it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Joe!" he said, tugging on the older boy's uniform. "Izzy can't locate Gomamon!"

Joe looked genuinely baffled. "What?" he asked. "What does he _mean_ he can't locate Gomamon?"

Cody handed Joe his D-Terminal. The med student read over the message, his brow starting to sweat. "I don't get it!" he exclaimed. "How can a Digimon NOT show up on Izzy's program? He's always been able to find them before!"

Cody's expression darkened as he suddenly remembered something. "Not always," he said gravely. "The other time Izzy couldn't track your Digimon was when—"

Just then, with a sound like a sneezing tyrannosaurus, a massive explosion of seawater and sand erupted from the beach near the dock, and a gigantic black figure towered over the party, flexing its two muscular arms.

"WOAH!" Davis yelled, his eyes bulging in his head.

Kari screamed wildly and crashed to the ground, kicking and flailing until she righted herself and tore behind the others. "NO! NO!" she shrieked.

"What?! What is it?!" Yolei yelped, straining for a better look. It was surprising enough to have a giant shape burst out of the sand, but the way the usually calm Kari was panicking made her doubly nervous.

The clouds of sand fell back to earth, revealing the form of their assailant. It looked like a demented mash-up of a walrus, a turtle and a grizzly bear; it had long, shining tusks, a sharp, jagged horn, wildly orange fur, and a spiky black shell. It also gripped a shiny, heavy-looking hammer in its oddly furless right hand. Its blood-red glowing eyes leered down on the party, a feral snarl rumbling from its maw.

"Get back!" Nefertimon ordered, zipping in front of the kids. The other Digimon raced to protect their partners, too.

"WHAT the fark is THAT?" Davis demanded.

Kari released her panicked grip on Joe's arm and stared up at it. "It's... It's a Zudomon..." she said. "That's an Ultimate... and what Gomamon turns into!"

The mammoth creature bent down over the party, filling the air with its moist, vile breath. TK looked up and suddenly pointed at Zudomon's left arm. "LOOK!" he shouted. All of them gaped at the familiar obsidian object coiled tightly amidst the fuzz; even Yolei could see that it was one of the infamous Dark Spirals.

Everybody turned to Joe, who's face showed a horrified disbelief. "I... Gomamon?" he asked. "But... Could it... Are you...?"

In reply, Zudomon brought its hammer down on the pathetic little dock, sending wood splinters into the air and all the drool-coated cargo into the drink.

Davis swore at the monster. "Hey! We needed that stuff!" he yelled, shaking his fist.

"Davis, don't—" Aquilamon started, but then Zudomon turned on the party with another menacing roar. The flying Digimon took to the air and the kids raced behind Raidramon and Ankylomon.

Nefertimon and Pegasusmon crossed in the air and created a golden noose, which they quickly lashed around the beast's arms. Zudomon shook and screeched, kicking up sand clouds in every direction.

"Dammit, Davis!" Yolei snapped at the boy. "You pissed him off!"

"I don't think so..." Kari said sadly. "If that's a Dark Spiral, then he came looking for a fight to begin with."

Yolei grimaced at that undeniable logic... but it wasn't going to get Davis an apology. She yanked out her D-Terminal and D3, typing as quickly as her eyes would let her; a Dark Spiral had to be dealt with delicately. "Aquilamon!" she shouted. "I'm switching you!"

Aquilamon landed and shrank back to Hawkmon. Yolei raised her D3 and he became Shurimon, the best Dark Spiral remover she could think of. "I'll get it off," he huffed.

No sooner had he said this, though, than Zudomon strained his arms and snapped the glittering ropes like they were cheap dental floss. "Ugh!" Pegasusmon grunted. "Better make it twice around this time!"

Nefertimon and Pegasusmon scrambled to make another one, but one sweep of Zudomon's massive backhand put them both face down in the sand in their weaker forms. Shurimon rushed past them and hurled a throwing star at the spiral, but the big lug was quicker than he looked; his hammer sent it flying off into the water, then smashed into the ground in front of the ninja. Just the force of the swing sent Shurimon flying into Raidramon, downing them both. "I must be losing my edge..." he muttered disdainfully.

"Ya feel sharp enough to me!" Raidramon wheezed. "Get off!"

"Aww, crap!" Ankylomon swallowed. "What do I do, Cody? We're th' only ones left!"

Cody swallowed hard; Ankylomon was too slow to fight Zudomon head-on, and there was no time to switch forms... What could he do?

Someone grabbed his shoulder, and he looked up to see Joe. "I'll distract him," Joe said quickly. "You guys get that spiral off!"

"Wh-what?" Cody stuttered, but Joe had already run out from behind Ankylomon.

"Hey! Zudomon!" Joe shouted, waving his arms and dancing around. "C'mon, don't you recognize me?"

"No! Joe, stop!" TK yelled. "He can't hear you!"

Zudomon had certainly heard Joe; he turned his attention on the blue-haired boy with a terrible snarl, raising his hammer to smash him into jelly.

Cody gnashed his teeth, realizing what a slip-up would result in. "Ankylomon!" he yelled. "Now!"

Ankylomon started to run at Zudomon, but the sound of another explosion took everyone by surprise, and then a large, black sphere shot past Zudomon's cheek. The giant monster jerked around and stared out at the ocean, then snarled and dove beneath the water.

"Wait!" Joe yelled, running out to the wrecked dock and looking around frantically. "Zudomon!"

Ankylomon, Shurimon and Raidramon shrank back to their Rookie forms while the others dusted themselves off. "What was that all about?" Gatomon demanded.

"I've heard of drive-by shootings," Patamon said, "but do they do it with hammers, too?"

"Let's get after him!" Cody said, pulling out his D-Terminal and hitting some buttons. "I'll get in Submarimon, and—"

"Wait!" Kari said, stopping him. "What was that black thing that flew past?"

Yolei looked at her in surprise. "You saw it, too?" she exclaimed.

"Looked like a big, black soccer ball," Veemon piped up. "Davith, if it's a black ball, do people have to play the game in the air?"

TK scratched his chin. "Black ball... Maybe a cannonball?" he suggested.

Kari blinked. "Where did it come from?" she asked.

"I think..." Hawkmon began, pointing to the right, but now it was clear where the flying ball had come from. Sailing around the bend right towards the beach was a gigantic boat. It had high wooden walls, at least twenty cannons jutting out on the side they could see, and at least four masts with flapping white sails and a ton of ropes between them. On its bow was an ornately carved figurehead of a girl that could have been Mimi... if it hadn't had a mermaid tail.

"Boy howdy," Armadillomon whistled, "that's one big tugboat."

Cody looked over it and knew what it was. "It's a Spanish galleon," he said out loud. "One of the most powerful sailing ships in old Europe."

"Okayyyy..." Davis said, scratching at his scalp, "but what's it DOIN' here?"

The boat dropped its large, silver anchor, and the whole ship slowed to a halt as it came alongside the wreck of the dock. A long, wide wooden plank came over the side and made its way down to the sand, and down came some of the most bizarre creatures that any of the kids had ever seen. They were large, red octopi pushing themselves along with most of their tentacles and carrying old-looking swords or pistols in their free, black-tipped ones. Their heads were hidden in ancient-looking pots cracked enough to show their sharp horns, which stuck out of the sides, and also their glowing yellow eyes, of which some had two and others had only one. The pots were adorned with mollusks and only a bandanna or a tri-cornered hat sat upon them. They lurched down the gangplank and scrambled onto the sand, looking over the humans and their Digimon partners.

"Holy crap!" Davis gasped, taking a few steps back just like everyone else. "Boat aliens!"

"Um, no, Davith," Veemon said. "I think these're Octomon; Champion-type Digimon!"

The Octomon said nothing, but shuffled to the left or right of the gangplank. One more Octomon came down it, bigger than the rest and much more intimidating. One of its tentacles was tipped with a shining metal hook, and the hat on top of its pot was wide and black, a skull and crossbones stitched into it.

The kids fingered their D3s in case this turned ugly, but the big Octomon just laughed loudly. "Ahoy, little mateys!" it rumbled in a familiar accent. "I be t' captain o' this ship, t' _Siren_. Be ye all safe? Me lookout saw ye almost guzzled by t' beast."

The kids just stared at the Digimon for an awkward moment, not quite sure what to make of it... and not quite sure what he said, either. Finally, TK cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Uh... thank you, sir," he said. "We're all safe. Thanks to your shooting, the, uh, 'beast' swam away."

"Gyarrr!" the captain huffed, visibly agitated. "Blisterin' Barnacles! I was sure we'd sent 'im to Davy Jones that time! We'll 'ave to hoist sail and go after 'im smartly!"

"Wow..." Yolei said, looking over the new arrivals as well as her eyes would let her. "Are you guys pirates?"

"Pirates?" the captain Octomon asked, looking surprised. "Nae, lass; we're just a pack o' old dogs who like our adventures on t' sea instead of on land."

Kari looked up at the proud-looking ship and smiled. "You sure picked a nice ship to sail in," she said. "It's just like one of the toys we saw in Gennai's house, isn't it, Gatomon?"

Gatomon looked it over, her tail twitching. "Kinda..." she said, "but something tells me it floats better."

"Aye, ye beauties have a good eye fer craftsmanship," the captain chuckled, turning to them with a gleam in his eye. "I've sailed with me crew in this old girl for nigh on ages, and she's ne'er let us down! Built by the finest Geckomon craftsmen o'er a hundred years ago, she was, from the best quality timber the Server Continent could yield! Her sails can stand up to a gale the strength of five thunderin'—"

"E-excuse me," Joe interrupted him, walking up and looking a little nervous. "This 'beast' you're chasing... Do you mean that Zudomon?"

"Aye," the captain grunted, though Joe wasn't sure if he was annoyed by the thought of the monster, or because he'd been cut off mid-sentence. "The devil made a mess o' our hideout t' other day, and we aim t' pay back its kindness."

The Octomon behind the captain grunted and growled in approval. "Um, well..." Joe hesitated, "could we all come with you?"

The captain looked surprised, but not as much as the other Digidestined. "What the... Joe, what're you doin'?" Davis asked. "We ain't got time for this!"

"Yeah, we've gotta get those supplies out of the water and back to the carnival," Patamon pointed out.

Joe looked pained. "I know, and I hate to pull you guys off like this," he admitted, "but... I can't help thinking that Zudomon could be Gomamon."

The others exchanged looks. Considering that the monster had been wearing one of those Dark Spirals, and remembering what had happened with Agumon, Gabumon and Biyomon... it wasn't beyond speculation. "Ugh..." Veemon groaned. "Looks like we're gonna hafta tell the carnies we're runnin' late."

Cody scoffed. "You know what this means," he growled. "Ken had to have put that thing on Gomamon!"

"What?" Davis huffed.

"No way!" Yolei snapped.

"Who else uses them?" Cody demanded. "And why isn't Ken around today? Face it! He's been lying to you all this time!"

Joe grimaced, suddenly aware of the rift in the friendship that he had opened up. TK wasn't sure Cody was right; he himself had battled a monster who's Dark Ring had turned out to be phony. Both of them started to say something, but it was Armadillomon who spoke up first. "C'mon, Cody," the little yellow critter said, looking disappointed at his partner. "Can't sayin' 'I was right' wait 'til later?"

Cody looked down at Armadillomon for a moment, then sighed and looked away as he remembered his grandfather's advice about tolerance. "...Fine," he muttered.

"So, um..." Kari said, stepping in and looking at the Octomon captain. "I think we all want to find the Zudomon, Captain. Can we come along?"

The captain looked over the kids and their partners, his eyes unreadable. "Well... The lot of ya don't exactly look seaworthy," he grumbled. "Ye might be more trouble 'n yer worth."

"Captain, please," Joe said, suddenly looking defiant. "That monster could be one of my best friends!"

"Yeah!" Patamon spoke up. "One of _our_ crew!... Kinda."

"Forgive me for asking, but isn't brotherhood important to seafarers?" Hawkmon asked.

The captain rubbed at his pot with a tentacle, as if scratching his head in thought. Finally, he laughed loudly. "Hya hya hyar! Good points and well made, the lot o' ye!" he cackled. "Come aboard and we'll cast off!" He turned around and started shouting at his crew. "Avast, ye bilge rats! Hoist the sails! Secure the rigging! Prepare to weigh anchor! Put some speed to it! We ain't runnin' a pleasure cruise!"

The Octomon crew scurried back up the gangplank, almost knocking each other over in their hurry. "Well, this sure beats hauling junk," Yolei chuckled, starting up after them.

"I just hope we can get that Spiral off of Zudomon before the pirates sink him," Gatomon muttered. "They seem pretty keen on that..."

Everybody got on the gangplank and started walking. Everyone, that is, except Cody. He stayed on the beach, looking over the ship. Just like everyone else, he had been glad for the pirates' timely arrival, but now it felt funny. Something about it seemed... a little _too_ timely.

Joe noticed the boy lingering. "Cody?" he called. "What's the matter?"

Cody looked up and shook his head. "I don't know about this, Joe," he started. "It's not—"

"Oh, for God's sake!" Davis yelled, looking back at him angrily. "What is it NOW?"

Cody felt himself going red as the others turned towards him, all of their faces showing some level of irritation; they were getting sick of him, and fast. "Well..." he began, trying to choose his words carefully. "I don't know if this is such a good idea... I mean, these Octomon just—"

"Son of a bitch!" Davis snapped, stomping on the gangplank. "First it's Ken, and now it's the Octomon?"

"I... But..." Cody tried.

"Cody..." Armadillomon started.

"Phah!" Davis huffed, waving him off crossly. "We're goin' after Zudomon. You don't like it? Stay there!"

Cody bit his lip, then shook his head in defeat. "All right... wait for me," he sighed, dragging himself up the gangplank.

The party boarded the ship, where all the Octomon crew were hard at work throwing lines, pulling ropes, and preparing the ship for departure, and thanks to their eight legs, all at a much quicker speed than any human crew could do it. "Whew!" Armadillomon remarked. "Imagine what these guys'd be like on bikes."

The sails puffed out, catching the wind. "Weigh anchor!" the captain shouted. "We set sail!"

Just then, there was a thud and a splash. "Oh, no! Wait!" Hawkmon cried, rushing to the other side of the ship with the others. Yolei was splashing around in the water, coughing and flailing her arms; she must have walked the width of the ship and gone over the rail.

Davis couldn't help but burst out laughing. "AAH HAH HAH HAAAHHHH!" he cackled, pointing at her. "Aww, man! Finally decided to take that bath, huh?"

"Agh! Phloagh! Shut up!" Yolei yelled up at the blurs, shaking her fist while trying to stay afloat. "I'm gonna (GLUB) pound your (PFFHH) face when I get up there! (HACK)"

"Belay the weighin' anchor!" the captain called, then looked down at the spluttering girl and shook his head. "One of ye get that one a rope," he muttered, "and be sure she keeps hold of it."

* * *

Groaning crossly, Izzy pulled back from the computer and stretched to pop the crick in his back. The orange sun was disappearing behind the buildings, and darkness was seeping over in its wake. He had been searching for at least an hour, and there was still no sign of Gomamon. He had tried dozens of searches, and all had turned up the same results: he could pinpoint Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Palmon and Tentomon... but never Joe's white-furred partner. What in the world had happened to him?

Just then, there was a knock at his door. "Izzy?" Masami's voice came. "Your friend Taichi is here."

Izzy blinked and jumped up. "What? Oh, uh, come on in," he replied.

His father opened the door and in came Tai. "Hey, Izzy," Tai said, loosening the grip on his backpack. "Howzit going?"

As his father closed the door, Izzy could tell right away something was bothering his pal; he was still scowling and there was a slight stomp to his feet. "Is, um, is something wrong, Tai?" he asked. "What is it?"

"Sora, that's what," Tai grunted.

Izzy scratched his head, suddenly feeling nostalgic; this wasn't the first time Tai and Sora had gotten into a nasty fight. "Well, uh..." he tried.

"Izzy you're the genius around here," Tai snapped, cutting him off. "How do you get a girl to change her mind about something?"

Izzy blinked at Tai like he'd asked him to help steal the Clockman Diamond. All he could do was shrug. "Beats me," he replied. "My field is computers; women are a whole other kind of program."

"Heh... Yeah, I thought you'd say that," Tai said, cracking a smile in spite of his mood. "In that case, would you be my partner on the physics project?"

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "You're not just going to sit back and make me do all of it, are you?" he asked with suspicion.

Tai had a sudden coughing fit, which changed to uncomfortable laughter. "Aww, c'mon, Izzy," he reasoned. "I promised I wouldn't do that again."

"Yeah, only because the teacher noticed," Izzy muttered. "And that's not even counting the history project in seventh grade..."

"I'll help! Honest!" Tai pleaded. "C'mon, be a pal!"

Izzy glared at him a moment longer, then sighed and shook his head. "What've you got done already?" he asked.

Tai didn't get a chance to tell him; the computer beeped loudly, startling them both. Izzy raced back to the keyboard; he knew what that sound meant. "A new Crest fragment!" he announced.

"What?" Tai asked, almost knocking Izzy over as he ran to look himself. "Where?"

Izzy hit a few buttons and the Digital World map focused on an unexplored sector south of Pinball Carnival; it was past the coastline, so it had to be in the ocean. "Oh, dear..." he said. "This could be a tricky one."

"If it's in the ocean area..." Tai thought out loud, pointing at the blue tiles to the right of the empty one. "Maybe it's on an island or something..."

"It could be underwater, though..." Izzy pointed out. "Good thing Cody has Submarimon. I'd better e-mail them."

"Where are they now?" Tai asked, glancing out the window at the dwindling sunset. "Can they get there in time?"

Izzy hit a few more buttons, but what appeared on the screen just raised more questions; the little colored dots that symbolized the kids were already off of the land, and traveling on the water. "What...?" he whispered.

"Are they flying?" Tai asked, looking at the dots. "I mean, most of them can now, right?"

Izzy typed some more and some numbered appeared near the dots. He scratched at his chin. "The speed they're going at is slower than they usually fly..." he replied, "but what's strange... Look; all five of them are going at the exact same speed! And that includes Cody; Submarimon can't swim as fast as the others fly! What in the world...?"

Tai leaned back and thought for a moment. "Maybe they're all on a boat," he suggested.

"A boat?" Izzy asked, frustrated. "Tai, be reasonable! This is the Digital World!"

Now it was Tai's turn to be irked. "What's reasonable about the Digital World?" he asked.

Izzy hesitated, then opened his e-mail program and started typing. He just had to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

Kari couldn't help but be awed by the beauty of the sunset from the ship's swaying deck, almost half the sky glowing an orangey red around it. "Wow..." she said, leaning against one of the masts.

"You said it," Gatomon agreed. "We sure don't see skies like that back home."

"Yar-har-har-har!" the Octomon captain laughed, lurching up beside them. "As they say, 'Red sky at night, sailor's delight!' If we don't catch the beast this night, tomorrow will be grand weather for huntin' it; the sky be tellin' us so."

Kari's smile faded. "Tomorrow?..." she asked out loud.

Gatomon looked up in surprise. "What's the matter, Kari?" she asked. "Don't you want to find Gomamon?"

"Well, yeah..." Kari replied, "but tomorrow's a school day... We can't stay here all night or we'll be worn out... and if we don't show up tomorrow..."

Gatomon's ears drooped. "Oh. Right..." she mumbled. "I forgot about that."

"Not to mention what Monzaemon and the other carnival Digimon must think," Kari went on. "We promised we'd get those supplies to them ages ago; what if they think we ditched them?"

"We'll explain everything when we get back," Gatomon replied, "and we'll make up for it by bringing them some fresh fish."

Kari hesitated for a few seconds, then smiled wryly at her partner. "That's why you're up for this little detour, hmm?" she asked.

Gatomon grinned sheepishly. "I'm a cat," she replied. "What did you expect?"

Standing up at the bow of the ship, with the salty breeze blowing through his straw-colored hair and Patamon sitting on his shoulder, TK wasn't worrying about very much. Ever since he had started reading, he had enjoyed European novels about these great galleons, and actually being on one was one of his fondest daydreams.

His ears caught the whimsical tones of an accordion behind him, playing some nameless sea shanty; one of the Octomon must have been playing it. He took in a big lungful of sea air and heaved it out in an exhilarated sigh. "This is the life, eh, Patamon?" he asked, glancing at his little friend.

Patamon didn't look as enthusiastic. "I don't see what the big deal is, TK," he admitted. "If we were _flying_ after Zudomon, we'd be going faster... not to mention smoother."

"You know, Patamon," TK pointed out, "there was a time when we humans didn't have airplanes, or anything to use in the sky. The greatest adventures all happened out here, on the ocean... Brave men went out into the unknown, discovered whole new continents and started to bring the world together... into the world we have today." He paused and smiled at Patamon. "In fact, I'd have to say that it's partly thanks to the people who sailed around the world that we needed to create things like phones and the Internet to keep connected... and so, in a way, those ships helped make the Digital World."

Patamon stared at his partner for the longest time, definitely surprised. "Wow," he finally said. "If you can talk like that, how come you have so much trouble writing?"

At the stern of the ship, things weren't going as smoothly. Yolei was swaying more than the rest of the boat; missing her glasses made keeping her balance a lot harder, and she was quickly turning pale. "Oogh..." she groaned, sagging against the wall. "I don't feel so hot..."

"Ya don't look it, neither," Armadillomon remarked, swishing his tail as he sat next to Cody on a nearby crate. "I hear ya, Yolei; this boat don't agree with me much, either, always goin' up an' down, up an' down, up an' down..."

Seeing Yolei's eyes start to roll back, Cody gently patted his partner's head to make him quiet. "My grandfather told me that if you're feeling seasick, you should stare at the horizon from the front of the boat," he said.

Yolei frowned at him. "You've got an answer for everything, don't you?" she muttered crossly.

"I was just trying to help, Yolei," Cody replied, looking very much offended... not that she could see that. "You don't want to end up like Joe, right?"

The kids and Armadillomon glanced over at the ship railing, which Joe was flopped over like a towel hung out to dry. The older boy had been there since almost the beginning of the ride. When he wasn't groaning, he was emitting the loudest, most disgusting vomiting sounds any of them had ever heard.

"Boy..." Yolei coughed, forcing a chuckle, "you'd think a guy with Ikkakumon for a partner would be really good on water, wouldn't you?"

Joe's answer was another round of horrible noises, sounding like he was pouring a cauldron of chunky vegetable soup overboard while doing an impression of a death metal singer.

Yolei's eyes crossed. "I think I'll go up front," she gurgled, and started feeling her way towards the bow.

"Ugh... Me too," Armadillomon muttered, trudging after her.

Cody stayed for a few more moments of Joe's noises, then decided to take the preventive approach and followed the others.

Up by the steering wheel, Hawkmon perched quietly and watched the Octomon at the helm while Davis and Veemon watched the flapping sails like they were some wild rock concert. "Man..." Davis chuckled. "It's no airplane, but it's a pretty sweet ride."

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Veemon cheered. "I never thought I'd be on an actual pirate ship, Davith!"

The Octomon at the helm scowled towards the blue lizard. "Here, now, they are _not_ pirates," Hawkmon corrected Veemon crossly. "They're far too kind-hearted to be pirates, and it's very offensive to call them that."

"Aww, sorry," Veemon apologized, looking confused. "So, uh... What are they?"

"They're simply hard-working, rugged seamen," Hawkmon answered.

Both of them jumped at the snorting raspberry Davis gave. "Mbl... phee!" he choked, clutching at his sides. "Say it again, Hawkmon!"

Hawkmon blinked. "...Say what again?" he asked. "That the Octomon are hard-working seamen?"

This time, Davis erupted with laughter, falling back against the railing and hooting loudly, slapping at his forehead. "Aww, MAN!" he cackled. "Aww, God, yeah! Say it again!"

Hawkmon turned to Veemon. "Have I said something funny?" he asked.

Veemon shrugged. "Nuthin' I heard," he said. "Whatcha laughin' about, Davith?"

Davis was still clutching at his sides, his cheeks red from laughter. "Wha... Whaddya mean?" he snickered, surprised that they hadn't figured it out yet. "You didn't hear it?"

"Hear what?" Hawkmon asked, starting to get annoyed. "Honestly, Veemon what is he talking about?"

"Beats me," Veemon replied, still looking baffled. "Maybe he's seasick or somethin'."

The Octomon at the helm just shook its head. "If he were one o' us, I'd be thinkin' he'd had one nip o' the creature too many... but a whelp goin' about like that, methinks there be summat awry in his 'ead."

Hawkmon, Veemon and also Davis just stared at the Octomon. "OK, so what did HE say?" Veemon asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Hawkmon replied.

* * *

The ship sailed onward into the twilight, until the sun had vanished beneath the western waves, replaced by the gentle twinkle of thousands of stars. The Octomon didn't seem to mind that it had gone dark, though; they just lit the torches and kept on doing their jobs.

The kids had all convened up at the bow, finding it had the best view on the ship, and also because they wanted to stay out of the crew's way. That sunset had been spectacular, but now they were all starting to feel the drowsiness that nighttime brings. Patamon couldn't keep from yawning. "Ooh... TK, I'm getting sleepy..." he murmured, sagging on his partner's shoulder.

Kari tapped on TK's other shoulder at almost the same time. "He's right," she said. "We can't stay out this late again!"

"Why?" Yolei asked, looking much healthier than she had earlier, if not still squinty. "Our parents've been cool about it."

"Yeah, but that can only work for so long," Kari pressed, "and we'll also be really tired in school tomorrow! I've almost dozed off in class a few times already, and I hate it when the teachers get mad at me..."

"Plus you don't play with me when we get home," Gatomon said. "You're out like a light as soon as you hit your bed, and Tai handles yarn about as gently as soccer balls... and Miko's still afraid of me."

Cody looked down at the deck. He wanted to get to the bottom of this Zudomon mystery, to prove that the Digimon Emperor was up to his old tricks... but he knew Kari was right, and he didn't want to ruffle any more feathers today. "I'll e-mail Izzy and ask him where a warp is," he said, reaching for his D-Terminal. "Then we'll ask the captain to—"

"Hey! C'mon, Cody! What about Zudomon?" Davis huffed at him, seemingly forgetting that it was Kari who had suggested they leave. "You wanna just ditch Joe's partner?"

"Yeah, come on!" Yolei snapped. "God, sometimes you're more of an ass than Davis, Cody!"

Cody recoiled, upset; in trying not to anger his friends, he'd ended up doing just that. "I... I wasn't—" he tried, his face getting hot again.

"Easy, you two... Cody and Kari are right," Joe said, though his pale face gave away his disappointment. "You all need to stay in good shape... Trust me; I know."

"But Joe," Armadillomon said, "don't you wanna find out, too?"

"Yeah..." Joe admitted, shaking his head, "but it can wait."

"No way!" Davis argued. "We're here right now, so we should do it right now!"

"We were very lucky to find a ship," Hawkmon pointed out. "We may not get this chance again."

"He's right," TK agreed. "I vote we keep going."

"But what about bedtime?..." Patamon groaned.

Before the bickering could escalate, though, the D-Terminal in Cody's hand beeped. "Hang on," Cody said loudly, holding up a hand. "I think Izzy's calling!"

Everyone stopped arguing and looked at him. Cody opened his device and read the new letter out loud:

_Cody-_

_Why are you all out on the ocean? Did you find a boat or swimming Digimon?_

_Still no sign of Gomamon's signal, but a new Crest piece has appeared in a region south of your current position. If you're in a boat, head for it right away._

Cody looked up at the others, his face showing mixed emotion. "That's what it says," he finished.

The kids and Digimon all looked at each other, mulling over this change in events. Davis was the first to speak. "Well, looks like Izzy solved our problem!" he said. "We've got a Crest to corral!"

"Yeeeeah!" Veemon laughed as he jumped up and down, but then he stopped and looked puzzled. "Wait, there's a corral out here?"

"Perhaps they raise seahorses," Hawkmon suggested, chuckling. Seeing that nobody else was laughing, though, he quickly stopped.

Kari looked out at the sea and bit her lip. "So much for going home on time..." she sighed.

"Joe, are you cool with this?" TK asked. "I know you want to find that Zudomon... uh, or go home... and this isn't either of those."

Joe thought for a minute, then nodded. "Those Crests are more important," he replied. "We should definitely go after it."

Cody and Armadillomon rushed back to the stern, where the Octomon captain stood beside the helmsmon, a smoking pipe jutting out from his jar. "Excuse me, Captain," he said, bowing politely, "but could we please change course? There's something due south that my friends and I need to look into..."

"Hmm..." the captain murmured, taking a long drag of his pipe. "Ye wants to go to Pixel Island, eh? I thought ye lads said ye wanted to be huntin' the beast with us."

"Well, uh, Zudomon's important an' all," Armadillomon tried, "but this's somethin' we gotta do, too. Please?"

The captain and the helmsmon looked at each other, and then the captain nodded. "Brace the sails! We be headin' south!" he shouted to the crew... and then added, in a sharper tone: "_Davy Jones be smilin' tonight!_"

Cody was about to ask what he meant by that when two slick, cold tentacles seized his arms from behind and he was hoisted into a wet bear hug; one of the Octomon had grabbed him! "Hey!" he yelled, struggling angrily. "What're you doing?"

"What in the name of... Get off!" Armadillomon shouted as another Octomon did the same thing to him. "I only like octopus in the eatin' way!"

Cody looked back at the captain, who was watching with a dark gleam in his eyes. "Strap 'em to the mainmast," he ordered loudly.

Cody and Armadillomon were hauled towards the biggest wooden pole on the ship, and they saw that they weren't alone; other Octomon had apprehended the rest of their friends and their Digimon. "Hey! Stop!" TK yelled. "Let me go!"

"Hey, c'mon!" Veemon coughed, trying to yank himself loose. "Weren't we just havin' fun?"

"N-no!" Kari squeaked, sounding almost as terrified as she had been on the beach. "Please, don't! Stop!"

"Oh, man..." Yolei gasped, "is this gonna be just like that doujin?..."

"It sure as hell better NOT be!" Davis snapped.

With eight arms on each Octomon, it wasn't long before the six kids and five Digimon were tied around the mast with incredibly thick and abrasive ropes, hardly able to move. The captain scooted down and looked over them, drowning them in the reeking smoke from his pipe. "Bonny good job, lads," he congratulated his men.

"Just WHAT is going on?" Hawkmon demanded.

"C'mon, now, this's just outta spite," Armadillomon coughed; out of meanness, the Octomon had tied him scrunched up against the mast with his head facing downward.

"Yeah!" Gatomon huffed, her tail angrily swishing around and slapping Kari's ankles. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Exactly what you asked of us, me beauty," the captain cackled. "We be headin' south to Pixel Island... but when we go ashore, we gotta be sure ye don't make off with all the booty!"

Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Booty?" Patamon asked.

"This's about shoes?" Veemon asked. "C'mon! We won't steal your shoes! Look at me! I don't even wear 'em!"

"Not boots, ye bilge rat!" the captain huffed. "Booty! Gold and doubloons! _Treasure!_"

"Treasure?" Yolei asked. "What treasure?"

"Don't be playin' the slippery eel with us, wench," the captain huffed. "It's all come to pass just as we be told: if we got you mangy pups aboard, ye'd lead us right to the king of all treasures!"

"The king of all...? That's bullshit!" Davis snapped, struggling against the ropes but not moving an inch. "Total bullshit!"

"We don't know where any treasure is!" TK said. "Why do you think—"

Before he could finish that sentence, the door to the captain's cabin flew open with a crash, and out stepped two familiar figures: Mummymon, leaning heavily on his cane and wobbling; and Arukenimon, with her sunglasses flashing wickedly in the torchlight. "Finally," she snapped at the children. "I thought you'd never pick up a new Crest signal." She looked over at the Octomon captain and smiled. "Excellent job, captain," she purred.

Davis's jaw dropped. "Aww, hell," was all he could grunt.

"Children are so predictable," Arukenimon chortled, giving her hair a swish. "This was almost too easy! I knew you'd walk right into a trap if I...if I..."

She stopped with an angry huff. The eyes of everyone on board had jerked away from her and onto Mummymon, who had scampered over to the railing and was now ralphing just as loudly and messily as Joe had been earlier. "...Ewww," Patamon gurgled.

"By the look o' that one, I didn't think he ate so much," one Octomon muttered to another.

Joe turned green and looked away, hoping his own stomach was empty.

After two or three horrible minutes, Mummymon's retching ceased, and he staggered back towards his cohort, feebly wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

Arukenimon scowled at him. "Are you finished?" she hissed.

Her ire quickly switched over to Davis and Veemon, who were laughing very hard. "Whoo! Oh, man!" Veemon roared. "That was a hoot!"

"It was NOT!" Mummymon coughed, trying to sound mad but still obviously nauseated.

"HAH!" Davis cackled. "Not lookin' so tough when yer pukin' over the side like Joe, are ya?"

"Why, you little... I ought to—" Mummymon began, but as he stepped forward, the ship went over a high wave. He groaned, swayed for a moment, then backed up clutching at his chest. "Ought to... ought to be home in bed..." he whispered.

"Why don't you just untie us and park the ship, and we can pick this up tomorrow?" Gatomon sneered at Arukenimon. "Doesn't look like this is your finest moment, here."

Arukenimon stiffly put two fingers in her mouth and emitted a shrill, piercing whistle. A series of small waves made the ship shudder, and then the water on the starboard side began to bubble and froth. It rose up in a high swell, and out burst Zudomon with a terrible roar.

"Guoooo!" Mummymon howled, racing for the railing. "Couldn't we have trained him to come up more smoothly?..."

"Woaaaah!" Patamon shouted.

"Hey, look! It's 'the beast!'" Yolei shouted at the Octomon. "Go on, boys! Sic 'im!"

The Octomon, however, stayed where they were, hungrily watching the children. Cody's eyes widened at the horrible truth. "They weren't chasing it!" he exclaimed.

The other kids twisted to look at him. "Wait, what?" Davis asked. "Sure they were!"

"No," Cody growled, looking towards Arukenimon, "they were chasing US. Zudomon was just a ruse to get us on this ship!"

"WHAT?" Yolei yelled.

"Aha... You're very bright for your age," Arukenimon cooed, smiling at the child. "I'd give you a gold star if I had one."

"Cody, you _knew_?" Hawkmon asked Cody.

Cody shook his head. "I suspected it when the ship appeared," he admitted.

"For God's sake!" Davis yelled. "Why didn't you SAY something?"

Cody scowled at the goggle-wearing kid. "I tried," he growled. "You blew me off."

Davis looked surprised, but only for a moment. "Like that's ever stopped you before!" he snapped.

Arukenimon didn't seem to mind the kids' bickering. "Now, we're headed to where the Crest is," she said. "You're going to take us to it."

TK defiantly stared down the woman. "And why should we?" he asked. "You'll probably just kill us anyway!"

Arukenimon sighed and took an interest in tugging on her gloves. "True," she admitted, "but that can be a peaceful process..." She paused and snapped the glove sharply. "...Or not so peaceful."

Several of the Octomon produced jagged-looking cutlasses and pointed them at the kids' throats. Even Yolei could make out what they were, and her face lost most of its color. "Hey, uh... That's a nice one!" she chuckled nervously. "How's it handle?"

Cody felt as frustrated as he did rotten. When he voiced his opinions, his friends got mad at him... but when he kept quiet, they got mad anyway! What did they expect of him? He sighed and shook his head. They were probably thinking he could find a way out of this mess, too... but he'd get them mad again; he didn't have the slightest idea of how to break the ropes, let alone escape the ship.

Just then, something big and yellow swatted him in the face, and hard. He twisted over and saw Armadillomon's tail swishing around wildly, accompanied by a gentle scraping noise. "Ow!" he hissed. "That hurt!"

"Sorry, Cody," Armadillomon grumbled at Cody's ankles. "I'm just tryin' to get more comfy down here... Them Octomon just don't know how to treat us four-leggers."

Cody glanced down as far as he could at Armadillomon's head, and he noticed several wood scraps flaking down around it; the little Digimon must have been scratching into the mast with his claws. Suddenly, he got an idea. Looking around quickly, he saw that none of the Octomon had noticed it, probably because the scratching noises were muted by the sea breeze. "Armadillomon," he muttered out of the side of his mouth, "can you dig yourself out of the ropes?"

Armadillomon thought for a moment, then dug his claws into the wood and scratched; he gouged out a fair chunk easily. "I reckon I could," he said, "but I'd just get tied up again, wouldn't I?"

Cody frowned. Armadillomon was right; they had to distract the Octomon somehow... but how?

He didn't have to wait long for a chance. A big wave came along and rocked the ship, startling all the pirates. Mummymon gurgled and tried to reach the railing, but he didn't make it. With another horrible noise, he lost his lunch... all over Arukenimon.

Arukenimon shrieked as the gruesome event unfolded. "You disgusting old dolt!" she yelled, stomping around. "These were designer boots! You—AAAGH!" She slipped on the mess and fell flat on her back.

The Octomon erupted in wild laughter as Arukenimon tried to pick herself up, but fell again. "Ho! I didn't be knowin' we'd be havin' a show this voyage!" the captain cackled.

As Arukenimon finally got to her feet and proceeded to snatch Mummymon's cane and beat him over the head with it, Cody turned to Armadillomon. "Now!" he barked, and then he turned to the others. "Get ready!" he ordered.

The others looked at him, confused. "Get ready?" Joe asked. "For wha—"

Before he could finish, Armadillomon dropped out of the ropes in a hail of shredded wood. That loosened things enough for Cody to slip out, too. "RUN!" he yelled back at the others, then swallowed; that was definitely too loud!

Arukenimon looked up immediately; her eyes locking onto him. "Get him!" she snarled, pointing. The Octomon whipped around immediately and charged.

"Aww, catfish!" Armadillomon gulped.

Cody did the first thing that jumped into his mind; he grabbed Armadillomon, yanked out his D3 and made for the starboard railing.

"Get back 'ere, ye filthy blighter!" the captain yelled, pulling out a pistol. He fired it and a jet-black stream of ink sprayed across the deck. Cody tried to stop, but his legs caught the slick trail and he went skidding right for the edge. With a heavy wooden THOCK, the boy and his Digimon banged into the railing and fell over it, disappearing from view.

"No! Cody!" TK yelled.

"Oh, no..." Gatomon gasped.

"What?" Yolei snapped, looking every which way. "What's going on?"

There was a terrible silence as everyone waited for the splash... but none ever came. Instead came Cody's raspy cry of "DigiArmor Energize!" and a brilliant flash of light from the water. Arukenimon and the Octomon raced to the edge and peered down to see the brilliant white of Submarimon's hull shooting away from the ship like a torpedo.

"Blisterin' Barnacles!" the captain roared. "He's got a sea monster!"

The other Digidestined looked hopeful, but it didn't last long. "And in case you hadn't noticed... so do we," Arukenimon growled, looking out at Zudomon. "Sink them," she barked, pointing at the escaping craft.

Roaring wildly, Zudomon dove into the water and took off after the little submarine. "Cody!" Joe yelled.

Davis reached for his D3; Submarimon was going to need a hand against an Ultimate like that. "Veemon!" he shouted. "Let's-"

He couldn't finish his sentence; the ropes tightened up and slammed him back against the mast with the others. "And where d'ye think YOU be goin'?" one growled.

"Gueeee!" Yolei wheezed as the bindings squeezed into her midsection. "Ohh, that's not a good burn!"

Joe worriedly looked out at the mass of froth coming up from the water, wondering just what fate awaited his young friend.

* * *

Cody hadn't even expected to get off the ship, let alone get Submarimon up and running... but rushing through the waves with a walrus monster the size of a two-story building on his tail, he wished he had thought things through better. A tremendous swell from the right made Submarimon tilt wildly and almost flip over; Zudomon's hammer had just barely hit them.

"Cody, we're gonna be plankton food if we don't do something!" Submarimon's voice came. "Tell me you've got a plan!"

Cody jerked the controls to the right to barely avoid Zudomon's jagged claw, sweat pouring down his forehead. "I... I don't know!" he gasped. "I don't know!"

"Woah, woah, calm down, Cody," Submarimon said quickly, not wanting to give his partner a panic attack. "Just chill out and think!"

Cody saw Zudomon's horn coming up in the rear-view mirror and forced his partner to dive. The gigantic monster sailed overhead, snarling angrily as it missed. It sailed a few hundred feet ahead, then veered left and disappeared into the hazy waters; it must have decided to circle around behind them again.

"I'd be able to think a lot better if that thing wasn't..." Cody began grumbling, and then his eyes lit up. That was it! That Zudomon had a Dark Spiral on its arm! If he could get it off, the monster would stop chasing him, and maybe Joe's partner would be free again! With Ikkakumon along for the ride, they would have no problem attacking the pirates and saving the rest. "Submarimon!" he said, the control back in his voice. "Get ready; we're going to attack!"

"What?" Submarimon asked. "Cody, have you flipped your flapjacks?"

"I know we can do it," Cody said, pulling up on the controls. "We got the spiral off Megaseadramon, remember?"

As Submarimon's mind trailed back to his victory against the other Ultimate-level marine monster, confidence crept into him. "All right," he agreed. "Let's do it!"

Their agreement couldn't have happened at a better time; Zudomon suddenly tore out of the murkiness a few hundred feet behind them, murder in its eyes. "Get ready!..." Cody huffed, gripping the controls with white knuckles.

Zudomon charged with its hammer again, but this time Submarimon stopped moving just out of range of the blow. The resulting wave knocked him not only out of harm's way, but also turned him around to face the big lug. Cody bit his lip and aimed at the Spiral on Zudomon's right arm. "Now!" he yelled.

Submarimon launched three volleys of Oxygen Torpedoes right at the Dark Spiral. Zudomon emitted a muffled roar as they detonated, sending up a cloud of white bubbles. "Bull's eye!" Submarimon laughed.

Cody sighed deeply. "...Good work," he congratulated his partner.

"Hey, it wasn't all me; YOU were the one who..." Submarimon began, but his complimenting stopped cold as the bubbles disappeared. Zudomon was still there... _but so was the Dark Spiral!_ Even with all that firepower, the black device was still coiled around Zudomon's arm, like it was stuck to its skin!

Cody jerked up so fast, he almost hit his head on the ceiling. "No!..." he whispered.

"What? No way! I hit it dead-on!" Submarimon yelled, sounding very nervous.

Zudomon wasted no time in charging the pair, its fangs glistening as much as its horn.

"Fire again!" Cody yelled, panicking again. "Quickly! Fire-"

Submarimon never got the chance; Zudomon's hammer smashed into his right side like a runaway grand piano. He spun off through the water, Cody crashing around inside him like a rag doll in a dryer.

Cody's skull banged against the ceiling glass and he thought he felt something in his chest snap when he landed again. "Uooohhhh..." he groaned, trying to reach the controls. "Submarimon... we... we have to..."

Submarimon groaned weakly. "Cody..." he gurgled, "are you... all right?..."

Cody pulled himself up to the controls again and tried to make Submarimon move, but all he got was the sound of a sputtering engine. "Submarimon!" he hissed, ignoring his own pains. "Don't quit now!"

"I... I'm sorry, Cody..." Submarimon coughed. "I don't think I can hold on..."

Cody yanked on the controls as hard as he could, but the engine wheezed and stopped making noise altogether... and then he saw something that took his breath away. Zudomon was coming at them like a freight train, its horn gleaming wickedly. "SUBMARIMON!" Cody screamed, banging on the control panel with all his might.

There was a horrible sound, like two cars crashing, and then Cody was all wet. He instinctively sucked in his breath and got only a salty, wet rush that he couldn't spit out. Armadillomon drifted past him, battered and unconscious. He felt himself floating downward, leaving only a stream of jiggly bubbles behind as the sea turned black all around him.

* * *

Zudomon emerged from the waves, roaring in triumph. The Octomon crew let up a cheer in response. Arukenimon's lips curled into a faint smile. "Excellent," she said, turning to her remaining captives. "Now, for the rest of you..."

The Digidestined and their partners stared out at the ocean, their mouths hanging open, not daring to think what had just happened.

"I... What..." Davis stammered.

"Oh, dear..." Hawkmon gulped, his feathers drooping.

"No..." Yolei gasped, then started jerking back and forth furiously. "No way! HELL NO!"

"Cody..." Kari whimpered, her eyes starting to spill over. "Armadillomon!..."

"TK, he got away, right?" Patamon cried at his partner. "He _had_ to!... Didn't he?"

TK said nothing. He just kept staring at the ocean, his face turned to stone.

Gatomon glared daggers at Arukenimon and Mummymon, her ears pulled back in the sure sign of feline hatred. "You..." she hissed. "When I get my claws on you, so help me...!"

Arukenimon just smirked at them, clearly not intimidated. "I believe we have a Crest to find," she said, glancing up at the mast. "Let's go, captain."

"Ahoy, ye lazy dogs!" the Octomon captain shouted, banging a tentacle on the deck. "Set course fer Pixel Island!"

As the Octomon scrambled to turn the ship back on its heading, a great cloud of misery settled over the Digidestined. Yolei slowly ended her struggling and sagged in her bindings, sniffling loudly. "I... I can't..." she gasped.

"Dammit..." Davis sighed, shaking his head.

TK sighed. "Well..." he said quietly, "we all knew the risks coming here..."

Yolei turned on him with feral, red eyes. "Don't!" she snapped. "Don't say that!"

"Yolei, please, calm down," Hawkmon said gently.

"I know how you're feeling, Yolei," Gatomon offered, "but you shouldn't take it out on TK..."

"He's not...!" Yolei huffed after a pause. "He can't BE...!"

The word missing from both her sentences obviously impacted everyone tied to the mast. "Yolei, don't..." Kari pleaded.

"Zudomon is really strong... I know," TK said. "I don't think... Submarimon could..."

"Shut up!" Yolei squeaked between sniffles. "Just... just shut up!"

Veemon looked up at Joe, who had been silent this whole time. "Joe," he tried, "what do you think?"

Joe looked down at Veemon, his face still pale, but thoughtful. "...I agree with Yolei," he replied.

Everyone looked up in surprise. "What?" TK asked.

"But Joe..." Kari started.

Joe shook his head. "I know it looks pretty bad," he admitted, "but I'm not giving up on Cody yet."

Gatomon's ears sagged. "Is this just because he has the DigiEgg of Reliability?" she asked.

Joe looked them all over sternly. "I haven't spent as much time with him as you all, but Cody strikes me as a very quick and resourceful kid," he said. "Let's just wait and see."

Yolei sniffled again, seemingly calming down. "Joe..." she murmured.

Hawkmon shook his head. "I say, for a man of science, you certainly put a lot into faith... and luck," he said.

Joe smiled faintly. "It's all thanks to Digimon," he replied. "You'll understand some day."

There was a tone in Joe's voice that made Davis suddenly feel a lot better about their situation... but it didn't last long. Suddenly a cold hand plunged into his pants pocket. "What the—HEY!" he yelled as Arukenimon grabbed his D-Terminal. "Give that back!"

"Hmm... What a fancy toy this is..." she purred, turning it over in her hands and opening it. "Letters to someone who goes by 'Izzy?' Well, well... So, it's not just you, is it? You've got to have help."

Davis fumed, but Veemon laughed. "Yeah! You'll be sorry, lady! We've got tons of friends!" he declared.

"Veemon, shush!" Gatomon hissed.

Arukenimon smiled again. "Oh, yes?..." she asked. "Would some of these friends be holding those other Crests you stole from me?"

"That's none of your business!" TK replied.

"Yeah, and they weren't yours anyway!" Patamon added with a huff.

Arukenimon wasn't impressed. "Well... This is turning into a wonderful day," she said, starting to press the D-Terminal's buttons. "I go off in search of one Crest... and I'll get four."

"What?" Kari asked. "What're you doing?"

"Yes, what _are_ you doing, Arukenimon?" asked Mummymon, peering over Arukenimon's shoulder. "Is that some kind of computer game?"

Her smile gone, she shoved him away. "Get back to your vomiting," she snapped, and resumed typing.

And Mummymon did.

* * *

"OK, so a good example of centrifugal force is filling up a pail of water and spinning it around with your arm, and nothing spills out?" Tai asked, looking over his physics book again.

"That's right," Izzy answered, "and you'll be demonstrating that."

"Uh, yeah..." Tai said, looking a bit irked. "Why am I the one doing that again?"

Izzy grinned slyly. "Because you're the more athletic one; you could keep it going longer than I could," he replied, "and we agreed that I'm better at lecturing."

"Hey, when did we decide—" Tai began, but suddenly Izzy's computer beeped.

"Oh! That's an e-mail from one of them," Izzy said, jumping off the bed and racing for the keyboard. "Maybe they found the Crest, or..."

Izzy's voice stopped dead as he stared at the screen, and an uncomfortable silence filled the room. "What?" Tai asked, walking over and reading over his shoulder. The letter was marked from Davis, but what was written froze his blood:

_Dear Mr. Izzy,_

_I regret to inform you that unless the three Crest fragments you hold are turned over to me, the lives of your accomplices will reach an early end._

_Meet me on Pixel Island and we can make a proper trade._

"What?" Tai asked, recoiling. "Who the hell's this?"

"Probably that strange spider woman, or her accomplice..." Izzy said, his face troubled. "Whoever it is, we're in a real predicament; even if we wanted to trade the Crest pieces for our friends, we can't get into the Digital World on our own..."

Tai thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "I know! Let's call Ken," he said. "He's not in the Digital World right now, is he?"

Izzy quickly turned and opened the Digital World map, searching around for the black dot that represented the boy. Surely enough, it wasn't there. "That's the only thing we can do right now," he admitted, and scrambled for the door.

The two boys raced to the Izumi family phone, which hung on the wall next to the kitchen area. Tai often wondered why a technophile like Izzy didn't have his own cell phone, but now wasn't the time to ask that. "You still have the number?" he asked Izzy.

Izzy grabbed a notepad near the phone and flipped it back a few pages, then took the phone and started pushing buttons. He listened to it ring several times, but all he got was the Ichijouji answering machine. "I don't think anyone's home," he growled.

"What?" Tai demanded. "Where could he be? When he was the Emperor, we were always tripping over him!"

Izzy hung the phone up and looked at Tai. "I'm not giving up yet," he said. "Grab your coat and shoes."

"Izzy?" Masami's voice came from the living room. "What's all the noise?"

"Oh! Uh..." Izzy thought quickly as his father walked up to them. "Tai and I have to run to Tamachi really quickly," he said. "School errand, nothing big."

"Tamachi?" Masami asked, scratching his head. "That's a ways off for this late... Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"It's OK, Mr. Izumi," Tai said. "We're, uh... well, they're waiting for us."

"Oh..." Masami said, still not looking very approving. "Well, I guess you don't want to keep somebody waiting... but Tai, you have a cell phone, right? And make sure you stay in brightly-lit areas."

Both Tai and Izzy nodded. "We will, Dad," Izzy said. "We should be back soon. Thanks."

The boys jammed their feet into their shoes, threw on their coats and made for the door. Where in the world could Ken be at this hour if he wasn't in the Digital World?

* * *

The gentle swishing of the seashore and its salty scent crept into Cody's senses, slowly bringing him back into the world. His eyes fluttered open to a brilliant array of gleaming stars, and warm, wet sand tickled the back of his neck. He tried to sit up and winced at the soreness he felt in every limb. Groaning loudly, he forced himself into a sitting position. Armadillomon lay asleep beside him, looking scuffed up, but breathing regularly.

"Oh, good, you're finally up!" a familiar voice came from the right. "You had me worried for a sec, there."

Cody turned and saw a happy-looking little seal-looking thing with white fur and an orange crest. "...Gomamon?" he asked. "Joe's Gomamon?"

Gomamon grinned. "Oh, cool, you remembered me!" he laughed. "It was because of my jokes, wasn't it?"

"Ooogh..." Armadillomon groaned, and they turned to him. He slowly got to his feet and stretched, moving as stiffly as a tin soldier. "Anybody get the license number o' that tanker?"

Cody touched his partner's shell. "Take it easy," he said. "You got gored."

"Tanker? Gored?" Gomamon asked, looking confused. "Is there some new bull-ship-fish thing out there I don't know about?"

Cody looked the white Digimon over, frowning. "Why're you back to Gomamon?" he asked. "I thought we couldn't break your Dark Spiral..."

Gomamon looked even more confused. "Dark Spiral?" he asked. "What're ya talkin' about? The Emperor's gone and I'm free as a bird! A plane! A speeding bullet!"

"Ya didn't get enslaved again?" Armadillomon asked.

"Nope," Gomamon replied. "I've been here on this island for the last few days, doin' some deep-sea fishing."

"Fishing?..." Cody asked.

"Yeah, there's this super yummy coral way down there," Gomamon went on, motioning to the water. "Tastes just like french fries! Huh... but I guess it's not fishing, huh? What would you call that? Deep-sea coraling?"

"Gomamon," Cody said, getting back on his feet, "have you been deep-sea diving a lot?"

"Oh, yeah!" Gomamon replied. "I mean, I was down there just an hour ago when I found you guys! Boy, it's a good thing I did too, 'cuz another few seconds... I mean, your face was blue and everything! Really gross!"

Cody and Armadillomon looked at each other. "I reckon Izzy can't pick 'im up if he's that deep underwater," Armadillomon suggested.

"Yes..." Cody agreed thoughtfully. He remembered reading that radars had trouble with the deep seas in the real world, too... but he decided to save his pondering for later. "Gomamon, quickly," he said, "do you know where Pixel Island is?"

"Sure I do!" Gomamon said with another grin. "It's just two islands east of here. Why?"

Cody explained what had been going on with the Octomon pirates and the Zudomon. When he was finished, Gomamon's jolly smile had flipped into a determined scowl. "Well, what're we waitin' for?" he demanded. "Joe's fish food without me! Let's go!"

"Amen to that!" Armadillomon agreed. He started to take a step, but fell over in the sand.

With a sympathetic smile, Cody scooped up his partner. "You should rest for a while," he said. "You were impaled, after all."

"But how're we gonna go if I can't be Submarimon?" Armadillomon asked.

"You leave that to me," Gomamon declared, splashing into the surf. "Come out of the sea! Marching Fishes!"

Both Cody and Armadillomon jumped in surprise as a slew of colorful fish magically sprang up around Gomamon, forming a splashing, flopping raft. "C'mon!" Gomamon said, hopping on top of them. "They'll get us there in no time!"

Cody was still a bit uncertain about that, but they didn't have much choice at that point, so he carried Armadillomon on and sat down. Gomamon slapped the fish at his feet and the whole raft took off at the speed of a small motorboat. "Hah! See?" Gomamon laughed. "Boat? Who needs a boat?"

"Well, I'll be," Armadillomon remarked, lying down to relax. "An' it smells good, too."

Cody shook his head, amazed. "I'll never look at sushi the same way again," he muttered.

Gomamon looked at him, puzzled. "Sushi? What's that?" he asked.

Cody coughed awkwardly. "Uh... Some other time, Gomamon," he said.

* * *

"LAND HO!" the Octomon lookout cried, snapping the captured Digidestined out of their gloomy thoughts. Even though it had only been half an hour since Cody's disappearance, it had felt like an eternity to them... and now that they had arrived, they could only imagine what horrible fate awaited them.

Kari was suddenly aware that several Octomon had surrounded the mast where the others and she were tied up, and those that weren't holding swords were coming closer. "Wha... what do you want?" she asked nervously.

"Oh..." Yolei swallowed. "I think this is another thing pirates like to do..."

Gatomon hissed and spat, trying hard to free her claws.

"Get outta here before I turn you into calamari!" Davis yelled.

The Octomon's tentacles coiled around the ropes and pulled them away. The captured Digimon fell to the deck, and the kids all froze. "Hey..." TK started, "what's going on?"

"Aha!" Veemon laughed. "I get it! These ones're on our side! They're gonna help us get away!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, my friend..." Hawkmon said, pointing.

Arukenimon's heels tapped on the deck as she came up behind the Octomon, her usual smug expression in place. "It's much smaller than I thought," she said. "We're taking a lifeboat."

Veemon felt the Octomon's slimy grip close around his arms, and then another rope coiled around him. "Oh..." he laughed weakly. "Well, it was a nice idea..."

Arukenimon walked to the railing and grabbed Mummymon, who hadn't moved since he had stumbled over there. "Come on," she huffed, grabbing his jacket collar and yanking him away. His answer was another sick groan.

TK yelped as something sharp poked at his rear end. "Ye heard the lady!" a sword-wielding Octomon grunted. "Get to th' jolly-boat!"

Unable to do much else, the five kids and four Digimon let the Octomon take them to the port railing, where a rickety-looking lifeboat was suspended off of the side of the ship. Arukenimon was already sitting in the back seat, and the captain and a few other Octomon were in it, too, clutching oars. Mummymon was slumped over the bow, moaning quietly.

"Come now, children," Arukenimon said, motioning for them to get in. "We must keep our appointment."

With quiet bitterness, the kids sat down on the hard, splinter-filled seats, their Digimon at their feet on the floor. "Cast us off, first mate!" the captain shouted, and the remaining Octomon started pulling ropes and turning cranks. The small boat slowly dropped into the water, and the crew started working the oars. They rowed away from the ship and past the Zudomon, which was simply floating nearby, watching them in eerie silence.

"That thing's givin' me the creeps," Veemon sighed.

"Yeah..." Davis agreed. "It's like it turns into a statue until spider bitch gives it an order."

The cold metal of Mummymon's staff smashed into his forehead. "Don't EVER speak about Arukenimon that way!" Mummymon roared. "The next time you do, I'll..." He stopped short, then whirled around and began retching again.

"Oh! Davis, are you OK?" Kari asked as she tried to help Davis sit up.

"Oogh... Dammit..." Davis groaned, seeing stars.

TK stared at the Zudomon again, suddenly hitting upon new thoughts. Davis made a very good point. From what he had seen, that monster only attacked when Arukenimon gave the signal; the Digimon controlled by spirals and rings obeyed the same, but never froze up like this... Could that really be Joe's partner?

Arukenimon peered out into the dark waters for a moment, then pointed a little to the right. "There," she stated.

"Pixel Island, 25 degrees off starboard!" the captain barked.

The other Octomon changed their rowing and the boat turned towards an island that couldn't have been more than fifty feet across. The Digidestined wouldn't have even seen it if not for its distinguishing feature: a high rock spire shaped like a spiral shell.

"Wow, that's an island?" Patamon asked, surprised. "Looks more like a plankton's playhouse."

He yelped as the captain grabbed him with a tentacle. "Ye whelps have too much lip," he growled. "Be silent, or I be splittin' it for ye!"

"You can't fault him for stating facts, captain," Arukenimon said, twirling her hair with a cruel smile on her face. "Yes, it is a small island... but it's big enough to hold what we're looking for, isn't it?..."

The captain scowled, then threw Patamon back on TK's lap. Joe gave the little guy a sympathetic smile. "I think it's best if we keep quiet for a bit, Patamon..." he whispered, "see where this is going."

The kids went quiet until the small boat landed on the island with a rough thud. The beach wasn't even sandy; it was little more than sharp pebbles and broken shells. Mummymon didn't seem to care. He stumbled off the boat and threw himself onto the rocks like they were a silken bed. "Ohhh, land! Sweet land!" he gasped, clutching the rocks to his chest.

As the Octomon scrambled off to pull the boat further in, Arukenimon stood up. "The ride's over now," she announced to the children. "Get off."

The bound kids and their partners dragged themselves onto the shore, where they found Octomon swords pointed at them again. Beyond their guards lay the rock spire, which they saw opened into a black cavern.

Arukenimon was the last one off the boat, taking care not to let her boots touch the water. "Take them inside," she snapped at Mummymon as she grabbed him off of the ground and stood him up. "Make sure they find the Crest before anything else."

Mummymon marched towards the kids, still looking seasick but also nasty. "Right!" he said, waving his cane sharply at the cave. "Get a move on!"

Yolei groaned loudly. It was bad enough that she was half blind now; in that dark cave, she'd be completely blind.

Kari looked up at the entrance, her mind dragging her back to that horrible place near the dark sea where she met the Scubamon. She shut her eyes and shook her head violently, but her legs were already trembling.

"Oh... are you afraid of the dark, little one?" Mummymon said in a phony tone of sympathy, hovering over Kari's shoulder. "Don't want to go in that big, spooky cave, do you? Afraid of the creeps and crawlies?"

TK glared at Mummymon, suddenly furious. "Get away from her!" he shouted.

Davis winced; another chance lost. "Err... Yeah!" he tried. "What he said!"

Mummymon glared right back at the kids and slammed his cane on the rocks. "Move!" he barked.

Gatomon moved close enough to Kari that the girl could feel her fur. "Kari, I'm right here," she said reassuringly. "We're going to be fine."

Kari sucked in a deep breath, then nodded and started into the cave with her fellow captives. Mummymon followed behind them, tapping his cane loudly.

As soon as they had vanished into the blackness, Arukenimon heard the Octomon captain clear his throat. "Well, milady, that be our part o' the bargain," he said. "Now, then..."

She turned and faced the pirates. "My, my... 'Now, then' what?" she asked innocently.

"Don't think yer beauty will make us lose our wits!" the captain huffed. "My crew and I be sick o' playin' in this farce. Give us our share o' the booty and let us be off!"

Arukenimon's lips rose into a faint smile. "I'm sorry..." she said, "but what exactly are you speaking of?"

The captain snorted angrily and drew his sword, and his pirates did the same. "Filthy wench!" he shouted. "Ye think ye can double-cross us and live?"

Arukenimon laughed softly. "My dear captain..." she purred, "surely you've heard the saying about honor among thieves..."

Before the pirates could react, she put her fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply. Out on the sea, Zudomon roared furiously. The pirates whirled around just in time to see the giant creature raise his hammer and put it right through their ship, smashing it to splinters. "NO!" the captain yelled. "Me ship! Me crew!"

The other Octomon turned back to Arukenimon and shrank away; she was walking towards them slowly, humming a quiet tune. The captain turned around, his eyes wide with terror. "What... what kind of devil...?" he managed.

"Yo ho, yo ho..." Arukenimon spoke as she reached up for her sunglasses, "a pirate's life for you."

* * *

Pushed on by Mummymon, the Digidestined and their partners wandered into a cavern the size of a living room. Despite how foreboding the entrance looked, the inside was surprisingly well lit; dozens of holes in the rocky roof let moonlight stream down, making the wet stones on the ground sparkle an aquatic blue. If they hadn't been tied up, the kids would have found it a very pretty and relaxing place. The only eyesores were a small box television on the far right side of the room, and a large red X painted in the dirt in the center of the floor.

"Now, where oh where could it be?" Mummymon asked aloud, looking around. "Does anyone see anything unusual?"

Davis looked over at the X, then back at Mummymon. "...You're kiddin' me," he grunted.

Mummymon shuffled over to the marking and thrust his cane into it. The cane sank down a good three inches. "Well, then this must be it!" he cackled. "Now, dig."

"How?" Yolei huffed. "We're tied up, bandage brain!"

Mummymon scowled at Yolei. He hated that these kids didn't respect them—heck, they didn't even fear him—but the girl made a good point; they couldn't dig with their feet. "Well, let's do something about that, hmm?" he snapped.

The kids watched in surprise as Mummymon did a high back flip, shedding his blue coat and revealing his skeletal, bandage-swathed form and also his giant gun. A few blasts of it, and the ropes dropped away from his captives. "Now... get to work," Mummymon barked, pointing at the X. "No funny business, or Obelisk will give you a tongue-lashing!"

Almost everyone made a gulping noise; if could aim well enough to break their ropes... well, they didn't want to think about what else he could do. Bitterly wishing Cody and Digmon were there to help, they dropped down and started digging. The dirt and sand were wet and easy to move, so it didn't take long for them to make a hole as deep as it was wide.

"Well? Anything?" Mummymon asked, peering down into the hole.

Kari frowned up at him, wiping her hand on her forehead and leaving a dirt mark. "No, there's nothing," she replied.

Mummymon raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "You wouldn't be... _lying_ to me, would you, my dear?" he asked, tapping his gun with his free hand.

"She's not!" Gatomon huffed. "There's nothing down here!"

"Yeah!" Veemon added, picking up a clump of dirt; he'd had enough of this motion-sick mummy. "There's nothin' in this dirt but more dirt! _See?_"

Veemon hurled the chunk at Mummymon, but it fell apart in mid-air, with only a few bits of it landing at his target's feet. An awful silence descended on the captives.

"Veemon!" Hawkmon yelled.

"What'd you do THAT for?" Yolei shouted.

Veemon suddenly remembered the gun, and his ears sagged. "Heh... Whoops," he gulped.

"You insolent little toad!" Mummymon snarled, raising Obelisk. "I ought to—"

He stepped forward to blast Veemon, but suddenly something gleamed at his foot. Curious, he looked down. Something was shining in the middle of the dirt clump Veemon had thrown; it was a small, diamond-shaped piece of gray plastic with a fragment of an engraving of a cross. "Oh!" he exclaimed, bending over and snatching it up. "Here it is!"

The kids looked on in mixed emotion. On one hand, this might keep Mummymon from blasting Veemon and the rest of them; on the other hand... he now had the Crest piece. Davis just grunted and flicked dirt off of his hands. "Well, good for you," he muttered.

"You should be grateful; your little friend just saved his skin," Mummymon cackled, clamping the shining object tightly in his hand. "At least, for the moment... All of you, outside again! Arukenimon has something special planned."

* * *

"There it is, Cody: Pixel Island!" Gomamon announced as the fishy raft raced over the waters.

Cody looked in every direction, but he didn't see the pirates' ship; there was only the island, with that overpowered Zudomon floating nearby. He frowned. "I wonder if they've gotten here yet," he remarked.

"Just one way to find out," Armadillomon said, getting back on his feet. "Don't you worry, Cody; that lil' nap was all I needed. I'm good to go!"

Cody shook his head. "After what that Zudomon did to us last time, we shouldn't risk another fight," he said.

"So what do we do instead?" Gomamon asked.

Cody thought for a moment. "Let's get there and wait for the pirates," he thought out loud. "Then we can make a diversion and set our friends loose... Gomamon, have the fish take us to the side opposite Zudomon."

The fish raft veered right and pulled up behind the giant shell-shaped rock, where its passengers departed. "This's an island?" Armadillomon asked, wincing at the sharp rocks. "Where's the sand?"

"Shhh," Cody whispered, then motioned for the two Digimon to follow him. They crept among the rocks, glancing up every so often to see what Zudomon was doing... but to their surprise, it didn't do anything at all; it just sat in the water like a terrifying beach toy.

"That's weird," Armadillomon muttered. "Gomamon, d'you sit that still when you turn inta that?"

"I've never sat that still in my life," Gomamon replied. "Think he's sick?"

They snuck around a particularly big rock and then Cody stopped; they had run out of rocks to hide behind. All three of then slowly peered up over the last rock. Arukenimon stood nearby, impatiently tapping her foot. They could see a lifeboat on the other side of the beach, and several broken swords and smashed pots scattered around the rocks. However, there was no sign of their friends.

"Didn't peg Arukenimon as the rowin' type," Armadillomon whispered. "I'd reckon she'd have Mummymon do it..."

"Or the pirates," Cody replied, "but... where are they?"

"Oh, Arukenimon!" a familiar voice cried. Cody and the Digimon ducked down as Mummymon bounded out of the cavern, looking like a pleased puppy. The kids and their partners followed behind slowly, their arms bound in yellowed bandages.

"Did you get it?" Arukenimon asked brusquely.

"Why, yes indeed!" Mummymon laughed, opening his hand. "Isn't it splendid?"

If he was expecting a thank-you, he didn't get it; Arukenimon just snatched the gray object and stuffed it in her pocket next to the bulge that was Davis's D-Terminal. She noticed him lingering and scowled. "What?" she asked. "Have you come down with rigor mortis? Give me my space!"

Mummymon sagged and backed away. "Whew!" Gomamon remarked from the hiding place, "not very friendly!"

"As Yolei would say, 'understatement of the year,'" Armadillomon replied.

There was a moment of silence on the island. "Well?" TK asked, frowning at Arukenimon. "Now what?"

"Now we wait," Arukenimon replied. "Your friend 'Izzy' should be here soon to trade the trade."

Kari looked at her in surprise. "Izzy?" she asked.

"I'm sure he's one to believe that your lives are far more important than some silly trinkets," Arukenimon smirked. "After all, he's a friend of yours, isn't he?"

TK, Kari and Yolei all looked at each other worriedly... but Davis snorted and started cackling. Arukenimon and Mummymon both looked at him, their smiles fading.

"Hey, Davith," Veemon said, "what's so funny?"

"Poor guy's finally snapped his noodle," Patamon sighed.

"Finally?" Yolei muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Arukenimon approached the chortling child, then grabbed him by his jacket and yanked him towards her. "Would you care to share with the rest of us just what is so funny?" she purred.

Davis coughed from the strength of her grip, then defiantly sneered at her. "Joke's on you!" he jeered. "How's Izzy gonna get here? He doesn't have a D3, you stupid old bitch!"

Arukenimon's smile disappeared altogether. The others looked at Davis, horrified that he'd said such a thing. From his hiding space, Cody groaned and shook his head; just when he thought Davis couldn't get any more stupid, he went and blurted out the only thing that could have kept them all safe a bit longer.

Arukenimon's face twitched involuntarily as she heard someone else laugh; she turned and glared at Mummymon, who tried hard to stifle it. "W-well," he tried, "when you think about it, it _is_ rather comical... I mean, we go to all this trouble, and the child we're supposed to trade with can't even get here!"

Arukenimon snarled for a moment more, but then she became calm, and her little half-smile returned. "You're right; this is funny..." she admitted, dropping Davis and walking a few feet away. "There was no point in taking hostages in the first place."

The kids stiffened up as they heard Mummymon's gun click. "Err... Now, dear lady," Hawkmon tried, his voice wavering, "surely there's some other way we could resolve this..."

"Yes... yes," Arukenimon agreed. "We'll take the Crests from Izzy when he shows up... with the Emperor. After all... after tonight, he'll be the only child with a D3 left."

A pall of gloom fell over the captive kids as they realized what their fate was. "...Oh, no..." Gatomon groaned, her ears and tail sagging.

"Thanks a LOT, Davis!" Yolei shouted at the goggle-wearing boy. "Thanks so very freaking much!"

Davis hung his head. "...Shit," was all he could say.

Joe looked around at the rocky shore, and then his eyes locked onto the spot where Cody was watching... almost like he knew the boy was there. Cody felt a surge of heat from his neck to his toes; now was the time to act. "Armadillomon!" he whispered sharply.

Armadillomon nodded grimly. "All over it," he replied.

"Well, we know what happens to Digimon when you shoot them..." Mummymon chortled as he limped forward and raised Obelisk. "I hear that something different happens with humans... something much more satisfying!"

"YEEEEHAAAWWWW!" Armadillomon screamed as he launched himself off of the rock, smashing into Obelisk with the force of a thrown bowling ball. Mummymon screamed as he lost his grip on the weapon and toppled to the ground himself.

"What?" Arukenimon shrieked, recoiling at the sigh of the yellow monster.

"Hey, what the—" Veemon started, looking up in shock.

Cody and Gomamon vaulted over the rocks and raced towards the others. He grabbed onto Yolei's yellowed bandages and tore them away.

"Cody!" TK cried. "You're alive!"

"Ohhh, thank God!" Yolei bawled, grabbing on and hugging tightly. "Thank God, thank God, thank God!"

"Yolei, please let me breathe," Hawkmon gurgled.

"Gomamon!" Joe laughed as his partner leaped up and tore off the wrappings. "So you didn't get caught!"

"No way!" Gomamon cackled, then frowned at Arukenimon, who was pulling Mummymon to his feet. "Now, let's teach these jerks a lesson!"

"Yeah," Joe agreed, whipping out his old Digivice. "Armadillomon, want to give me a hand?"

"Sure thing, pardner!" Armadillomon huffed, joining Gomamon in facing down the fiends. "Can ya gimme a boost, Cody?"

Cody and Joe raised their Digivices, and Gomamon and Armadillomon became Ikkakumon and Ankylomon, taking up most of the beach and protecting the others while Cody and Yolei fumbled with TK's and Kari's bonds.

"Hah!" Mummymon laughed, clicking his gun again. "Two champions against three Ultimates? I think you swallowed too much seawater, boy!"

"Three?" Ankylomon asked. "Funny, I'm only seein'—"

Arukenimon whistled sharply. The sea behind Mummymon and her swelled, and Zudomon erupted from it with a bloodthirsty roar.

"...Three," Ankylomon finished crossly.

Joe scowled at the Zudomon. "You've got some nerve luring us out here," he huffed. "Ikkakumon, let's show him!"

Cody raced to Davis and Veemon and yanked off their bindings. "He's right! Quickly!" he ordered. "Get Paildramon ready!"

Over the shock of seeing Cody alive, Davis nodded and whipped out his D3. "Got it!" he agreed. "Ready, Veemon?"

"You know it, Davith!" Veemon affirmed. "C'mon!"

"Don't forget about us," Gatomon said, ready to finally get into the fray. "Kari!"

"TK!" Patamon shouted.

Davis, Kari and TK raised their D3s, and Veemon, Gatomon and Patamon became Exveemon, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon, taking to the air and circling around the villains.

"Hey, save some for me!" Yolei said, mashing buttons on her D-Terminal and then raising her D3. "Shurimon'll slice that Spiral right off! DigiArmor Energize!"

Hawkmon flashed, but instead of becoming Shurimon, he turned into Halsemon. "...You really need to get your glasses back," he remarked.

Yolei fumed. "Just go!" she muttered.

Halsemon joined the other fliers in their disorienting sky race. Mummymon swiveled this way and that, but the flying Digimon were too fast for him. One by one, they flew in close and bopped him with their legs, knocking him to the ground yet again. "Ohh, damn and blast!" he coughed. "I would have a gun that doesn't have an auto-lock function!"

"I guess I'll have to do things _for_ you... _again_," Arukenimon muttered, then strained and burst into her spidery alternate form. The fliers aimed to charge her as well, but she was ready; she filled the air with her putrid purple mist breath, blinding them.

"Hah! Lucky break!" Yolei snapped. "Halsemon, blow that fart gas away!"

Arukenimon flung her sticky threads up into the haze and miraculously snared all four of the Digimon, then hurled them to the rocky shore, where Mummymon laid into them with Obelisk.

"Oh, no!" Kari cried. "Nefertimon!"

Ikkakumon moved to help the downed fliers, but a giant hammer smashed down right in his way. He looked up to see Zudomon roaring right in his face. Seeing a chance to keep the big brute away from his smaller friends, he took it. "Oh, you wanna go?" he growled. "Fine!" He rushed into the water and dove under. Zudomon snarled and sank in after him.

Joe raced all around the spot where Arukenimon had shed her human form, picking through the torn cloth. Suddenly, though, he found himself cornered by the owner of those clothes. "Looking for something?" Arukenimon hissed, her tongue flicking. "How about a melted face?"

She moved to spit, but suddenly Ankylomon got between them, swinging at the spider with his tail. "Joe, what're ya doin'?" he asked.

"I'm just... Aha!" Joe exclaimed, pulling up the wad of cloth that held a pocket. He shook Davis's D-Terminal out, but also the Crest fragment.

"You little...!" Arukenimon shrieked at the thief. "I'll suck you dry!"

As Ankylomon barely held her back, TK and Cody ran in and pulled Joe to safety. "Are you crazy?" Cody yelled. "She's too strong!"

"Ikkakumon can't fight Zudomon like that," Joe explained, holding up the Crest piece. "I have to even things up!"

TK gave him a sad look. "But Joe... those won't work right now," he said. "Trust me; I tried."

Seeing how distraught Joe was at the news, Cody pulled out his own D-Terminal and pushed some buttons. "I'll give Ikkakumon help," he said. "Ankylomon! Get in the water! DigiArmor Energize!"

Ankylomon leaped off of Arukenimon and hit the drink just as he changed into Submarimon. Running as fast as he could, Cody dodged Arukenimon's flailing threads and leaped to the controls, taking his partner down. "I dunno about this, Cody," Submarimon said. "I mean, we tried this once already!"

"True..." Cody agreed, "but this time, we're not alone... and we're not running."

The water got deep very quickly as they swam away from the island, and it didn't take long to find the undersea battle taking place. Ikkakumon was having a rough time; he kept swimming back and forth, but Zudomon was so big he couldn't escape its range. He fired his Harpoon Torpedoes, but Zudomon just bunted them with its hammer.

"Ikkakumon!" Cody called. "We're here to help!"

Ikkakumon looked up at the wrong time; Zudomon swung its hammer and sent the white-furred walrus flying into a mound of rock. Once again, the waves knocked Submarimon around, and Cody had to really mash the controls to stay in one place.

"This's just like before, Cody; he hasn't changed," Submarimon grunted.

"Good," Cody said, smiling wryly. "That makes our chances even better... Ikkakumon! Keep attacking from the front!"

Ikkakumon wasn't sure what was going on, but with few ideas of his own, he did as he was told and kept shooting his torpedoes. Zudomon blocked the first few when an explosion on its backside took it by surprise. It whirled around just in time to get caught in the chest by two Oxygen Torpedoes from Submarimon.

"Heh.. Good idea," Submarimon laughed, "but now he's lookin' at us! What now?"

"The same thing anyone does with a good idea," Cody replied. "Keep using it!"

Submarimon fired more volleys of torpedoes, and Zudomon deflected them with its hammer, only to be hit in the back by Ikkakumon's torpedoes. When it turned to block Ikkakumon's projectiles, though, it was plastered with Submarimon's. Back and forth it went, continuing to take hit after hit on its shelled back, until it froze up, not knowing which way to turn.

Cody grinned. "See, Submarimon?" he asked. "That's the power of brains over brawn. Now, let's get that Spiral off!"

"Uh... It's not the kind of brawn we thought, though," Submarimon said, sounding worried. "Check it out!"

Cody looked at Zudomon and bit his lip. All along the area of its back where the projectiles had hit were cracks and holes, and traces of black dust were drifting out into the water. This Digimon wasn't enslaved with a Dark Spiral; it was a Spire-Born! "Uh-oh," was all he could say.

Sensing that its cover was blown, Zudomon roared wildly. It spun around and around in the water, creating a massive whirlpool. Neither Submarimon nor Ikkakumon could fight its force, and they were pulled into the sickening cyclone.

"N'gaaaahhhh!" Submarimon yelled. "We can't swim outta this, partner!"

Cody took a deep breath and fought his panic back under control, thinking hard about a solution. Suddenly, he remembered what he had learned in school about getting caught in rip tides... and also that Submarimon had a harpoon for a nose. "Submarimon, listen closely," he said, "I want you to swim diagonally and towards the center of the whirlpool."

"What?" Submarimon asked. "That sounds crazy!"

"Trust me," Cody said. "I'm sure we'll be all right."

Submarimon hesitated for a moment, then revved his engine. "OK!" he said. "Here we go, partner!"

With Cody's hands glued to the controls, Submarimon thrust himself towards the whirlpool's center at a 45-degree angle, and amazingly, he moved like he was going down a spiral slide at the playground. Before they knew it, they saw Zudomon's big, furry feet dead ahead... and then Cody hit the accelerator. Submarimon launched himself forward and his spiky snout thrust right into the big brute's left foot. The monster let out a horrible howl and shot upwards, stopping the wild whirlpool.

Both Ikkakumon and Submarimon slowed to a stop, laughing. "Super, Cody!" Ikkakumon rumbled. "We showed him!"

"Whoo!" Submarimon laughed. "That's Cody: 2; Zudomon: zip!"

Cody nodded, but wasn't ready to celebrate yet. "Let's get back up," he said. "Zudomon's down, but not out!"

Submarimon and Ikkakumon nodded, and they shot up towards the surface.

* * *

The land-based part of the battle wasn't going in the Digidestined's favor. Despite their bickering, Arukenimon and Mummymon were a formidable team; Arukenimon confused and snared the flying Digimon, and then Mummymon blasted them out of the sky with Obelisk. Thanks to that, Hawkmon, Gatomon and Patamon were strewn around the beach, battered and bruised. Only Exveemon was still in fighting form, and he was looking pretty nervous. "Well, come on!" Mummymon cackled, clicking his gun. "Don't you want to try your luck?"

"Sorry, buddy," Exveemon growled, "but I'm too young to gamble."

"Then how about we just dance?" Arukenimon hissed, swatting at him with her threads. "Come now... A waltz with a woman of my beauty is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Exveemon almost tripped over himself as he dodged the lashes. "Y'know, I'd be up for it if it wasn't gonna be the END of my lifetime, too!" he grunted.

"Shit!" Davis huffed from nearby. "Fine time for Ken to be gone!"

"Where're Submarimon and Ikkakumon?" Yolei demanded. "Veemon needs help!"

"They might have their hands full with Zudomon..." Kari admitted.

Joe noticed the water starting to swell offshore, along with a pained howl bubbling up. "On the other hand..." he began, pointing.

Everyone jumped as Zudomon leaped out of the ocean roaring in agony, and nobody could keep himself from moving back as it crashed down onto the beach, more of the skin on its back flaking off to reveal the Dark Spire beneath.

"Woah!" Exveemon remarked. "That's one heck of a sunburn!"

"It's a Spire-Born!" TK exclaimed.

"WHAT?" Arukenimon screeched at Zudomon, stomping her six legs. "You CAN'T have lost to THEM!"

Davis grinned evilly at his foes. "Well, we know just what to do with Spire-Borns," he growled, fingering his D3. "Don't we, Exveemon?"

"You know it!" Exveemon declared, taking to the air. Mummymon fired at him, but he dodged the blast easily and countered with a shot of his own, knocking Obelisk away.

"Send that jackass to Davy Jones!" Davis yelled, holding up his Digivice. It sparked and fizzled for a moment, and then Exveemon transformed into Paildramon. His Desperado Blasters out, he flew over the beached Zudomon and pumped it full of bullets, reducing it to a heap of black rubble.

"YEAH!" Davis cheered, pumping his fist. "That's showin' 'em!"

"You little monsters!" Arukenimon snarled. "Do you know how much work goes into a Spire-Born?"

"Um, Arukenimon," Mummymon gulped, tapping her shoulder, "now might not be the best of times for that..."

Arukenimon looked around and gulped. Paildramon floated over them, his guns ready... and Ikkakumon and Submarimon were in the water behind them, preventing escape with the boat. "...You!..." she hissed.

"It's kind of hard to get away without a getaway car, isn't it?" TK mused.

"Let's get 'em!" Yolei yelled angrily.

Arukenimon thought quickly. Before Paildramon could fire, she launched a thread, snared Joe and dragged him back into her clutches.

"JOE!" Ikkakumon shouted.

"Hey!" Paildramon complained. "What is it with you and hostages?"

Joe couldn't say much; he was gasping for air in Arukenimon's iron grip.

"Back off! All of you!" she shouted, clamping her free arm around Joe's chin. "So help me, I'll snap his neck!"

"What?" Kari cried. "No! Paildramon, don't shoot!"

Ikkakumon and Submarimon floated a distance away.

"...Dammit!" Davis grunted. "So close... Stop, Paildramon."

Paildramon hesitated, then lowered his guns. "That's more like it!" Arukenimon sneered.

"Excellent thinking, my dear!" Mummymon cackled, putting his Obelisk-wielding arm around her middle (much to her chagrin). "Now, let me show some brain power, too!"

Before anyone could stop him, Mummymon grabbed Joe and hurled him to the ground with his free arm, then leaped into the air. Dozens of his bandages flew upwards into a makeshift parasail, and the wind blew them off across the water. All of the kids on the ground could hear Arukenimon's furious screams of "YOU IDIOT!" until they were out of earshot.

"Whew..." Paildramon chuckled, "he's in for it tonight."

Cody stepped out of Submarimon and brushed himself off as the Digimon returned to their lesser forms. "Well, that's that," he stated.

He was surprised when the other kids surrounded him. "Cody!" Kari laughed. "Thank goodness you're all right!"

"Damn, man, you know how to make an entrance!" Davis laughed.

"And you messed Zudomon up pretty bad, too!" TK said. "Nice work!"

"Exemplary," Hawkmon agreed.

"I'd hug you," Yolei tried, "but I'd probably end up touching Davis."

Cody stared at the ground, embarrassed by all the praise. "I... It wasn't much..." he said quietly.

"It sure was," Joe said, kneeling down and clapping Cody on the shoulder. "You've got a really good head on your shoulders to do all that."

Cody's cheeks went bright red. It was one thing to be praised by his friends, but praise from a senpai was a whole other elation. "U-um... Well..." he stammered.

There was a brief silence. "Hey, Cody?" Kari asked. "Sorry I didn't believe you about the Octomon. You were right about them being strange."

Cody looked at her and smiled. "Thanks," he replied.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," Gatomon agreed.

"Yeah, me too," TK added.

"Aww, hell, are we all doin' it?" Davis grunted. "Fine... I'm sorry, too, Cody."

"Yeah... and so'm I," Armadillomon said. "I thought you were bein' a might too suspicious, too."

Cody turned to him. "Armadillomon..." he said.

"Not any more, though," Armadillomon said. "The next time you get a bad hankerin' 'bout something, I'm going to listen to you. I swear!"

Joe nodded. "Yeah, and so will I," he agreed. "Don't be afraid to come and talk to me."

There were various cries and motions of agreement among the group. Cody sighed and looked out at the ocean. They were saying they would listen now, but he was certain they wouldn't follow up on that promise when he brought up the Digimon Emperor again.

Veemon looked up at the starry sky. "Woah boy, look at all them pretty stars," he remarked. "I'm usually asleep when they come out at home."

"Asleep?" Kari suddenly gulped. "Oh, no! We've got to get home!"

"There was a TV in the cave," Patamon pointed out.

"Well, it'd better work," Davis grumbled. "I ain't swimmin' home at this hour."

* * *

After saying goodbye to Gomamon, the kids were back in the empty school's computer lab, fumbling with a window. TK had read on the bulletin board that the door alarms were going to be set at night, and none of them felt like being escorted home by police. It was a little scary getting down from the second floor, but after what they had gone through that night, they pulled it off swiftly and quietly.

"I guess we'll just have to go back tomorrow to help fix the carnival," TK admitted as they stepped out of the school gates.

"Aww, man!" Davis groaned. "Don't tell me that NOW! I just wanna go to-OOOOF!"

Davis hit the pavement, and so did the two familiar figures that had run right into him. "Izzy?" TK asked in surprise.

"Tai?" Kari asked right afterwards.

"Ugh... Kari?" Tai asked, jumping back up, his face as red as a strawberry. "You're OK?"

"What? It's them?" Izzy puffed, getting to his feet and looking them over. "Oh! Thank... thank goodness!"

"What're you guys doing out this late?" Poromon asked.

"Besides usin' me as a bowling pin," Davis grunted, picking himself up.

"Well, we got that threatening letter from your D-Terminal, Davis," Tai said, "so we were on our way to Tamachi to ask Ken to take us to the Digital World."

"Ken?" Cody huffed.

"Tamachi?" Yolei asked. "On foot?"

"Well, we don't have many other options," Izzy remarked, "but now that you're all back safe and sound... there's no problem."

"What in the world was going on, anyway?" Tai asked, looking at Joe for a sane explanation.

"Well, we ran into some trouble," Joe admitted, "and it got pretty hairy in parts, but it wasn't anything these guys couldn't handle... Oh, and we walked away with a nice prize, too." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gray Crest fragment.

"All right! Reliability!" Tai laughed.

"Very nice," Izzy said, taking it and putting it in his own pocket. "That means we have half of the Crests now."

"Oh, yes," Joe went on as he gave Davis his D-Terminal back, "I should tell you, Izzy, you need to upgrade your scanning software."

Izzy blinked. "What?" he asked. "In what way?"

"Ohhh, can't we do technobabble tomorrow?" Upamon groaned from Cody's lap. "I'm gonna keel over in a second!"

Cody smiled quietly. "He's right; it's pretty late," he agreed. "We should be getting home."

Nobody could dispute that. Walking quickly but still talking pleasantly, the Digidestined headed for their apartments, all thinking of the comforts of bed after a hard day's work.

* * *

"And you just had to touch me!" Arukenimon snapped from her side of the driftwood. "You don't have the right to touch me!"

Mummymon just laid there, his head leaning over the side for the inevitable. "Would you rather I had left you to be done in?" he gurgled. "I would think you'd be grateful..."

"Yes, of course," she snorted. "I'm exceedingly grateful you swept me away to a floating door in the middle of the ocean!"

"...You did order Zudomon to destroy the pirates' ship," Mummymon coughed. "If we had kept it afloat..."

"Shut up!" she huffed. "We'd better get back to land soon, or I'm going to yank off your bandages and make a sailboat!"

Mummymon didn't answer in words. Arukenimon shuddered and looked the other way, pretending she didn't hear anything.


	33. Arrival

**CHAPTER 33**

**ARRIVAL**

Three days passed and the world underwent another Monday. Monday was the only day in the week hated simply for being itself, and Yolei was one of its most bitter enemies. She dragged herself through the hallway, feeling like going back to bed despite it being past 2 PM. The remnants of her glasses dangled on her face, held together only by scotch tape and hope. It looked horrible—one of the lenses was gone, and she had to reinforce it with fresh tape every morning—but she couldn't keep going without them; there had been a three-page composition exercise over the weekend, and she was on that teacher's bad side already for daring to use the word 'pwned' in her last essay. She sucked in air and gave the world a spittle-drenched raspberry. Man, why did Mom and Dad have to be such Scrooges with—

She turned the corner and the sudden dull pain of a bone-against-bone impact knocked her into an equally painful smack against the wall. "Hey!" a familiar voice huffed, "why don't you watch where you're going?!"

Yolei registered Mimi through her good lens. "Oh... hi, Mimi," she said. "Sorry about that."

Mimi was about to tell her off some more when she noticed the glasses. "What happened to you?" she asked. "I didn't hit you that hard, did I?"

"No, it wasn't you," Yolei said. "This happened when I got used as a pinball."

Mimi blinked. "...What?" she asked.

In quieter tones, Yolei explained to Mimi what had happened at Pinball Carnival, and also out on the ocean. Mimi listened intently, her expression changing between irritation and shock, with a little concern mixed in. "...So I've been blind for nearly four days, and I've only worked two shifts at the store since," Yolei sighed. "I'm nowhere near paying off my tab."

"That is SO unfair!" Mimi snorted. "How can they do that?! I mean, MY parents never say 'no' when I ask for money... and don't you need to, like, SEE?"

"THANK you," Yolei grumbled, taking the busted eyewear off and fingering the tape. "Aww, man, I'd better re-tape this when I get home; it's getting all greasy again..."

After trying to blot some of the gunk off the tape with her sleeve, she put the glasses back on to see Mimi looking at her strangely. "...What's wrong, Mimi?" she asked.

Mimi was silent for another moment, then a sly gin crossed her face. "You know... without those glasses, you look a little more attractive," she said.

Yolei stiffened up. "Are you comin' on to me?" she blurted out, going red as she heard herself say it.

"Wh-what?! NO!" Mimi snapped, turning pink herself. "Stop that! What I'm TRYING to say is… have you ever thought about contact lenses?"

"...Contacts?" Yolei asked. She had never seen herself without glasses—she was just a blur in the bathroom mirror—but positive comments from Mimi were few and far between. "Well, I've never tried them," she admitted, "but..."

Mimi pursed her lips in thought. "...Let me see your notebook," she said. Yolei offered it, and Mimi took a pink gel pen and scribbled down something at the top of a blank page. "This is the address for the eyewear shop Daddy goes to," she said, handing the book back. "He says they do real quality repair work, and they also sell contacts. They might do the trick for you."

Yolei squinted at the store name. "Yeah, I've been by there," she said, smiling at her mentor. "When I get some money, I'll go and look. Thanks Mimi!"

Mimi hesitated a moment more. "Hey, you really need to see, right?" she asked, sounding a bit nervous as she reached for her purse. "Well... Why don't I—"

"Oh, hey, Yolei," Sora said as she popped around the corner, startling the other girls. She looked unusually flustered. "Why aren't you at the lab yet?" she asked.

"Hi, Sora," Yolei replied. "Mimi and I were just... uh..."

Mimi had turned away from them, suddenly taking great interest in the corner of a wall. "Well, I was going to get there soon... How're you?" Yolei tried.

"Ugh, don't ask," Sora grunted, dropping her backpack to the floor with a thud. "Thanks to stupid Tai, I don't have a partner for my physics presentation. It's due on Friday, and everyone else is taken already!"

Yolei blinked. "Tai? What did he do?" she asked.

"I... he... oh, nothing!" Sora snapped, shaking her head. "Anyway, he's got Izzy helping him now, but I'm up the creek!"

Yolei winced; though it was cute in a teenage kind of way, she didn't want Sora to stay angry. "Well, maybe I can help you," she suggested. "I mean, I'm not in advanced science or anything, but I'm a fast learner. What's it about?"

Sora straightened up and looked at her, surprised and a little ashamed of her behavior; she hadn't intended to wheedle for help. "Well, uh... thanks, Yolei," she said, "but I don't want to take up your time... I mean, you've got the Digital World, right?"

"Meh, it's nothing major right now," Yolei replied with a little wave of her hand. "I mean, all we've done the last few days is fix the carnival, and now that we're done, we're going back to knocking down Spires."

"Uh... well, if you think you can handle it..." Sora said, an appreciative smile coming to her face. "I've gotta coach today, so how about we meet tomorrow after school, at my place?"

"OK!" Yolei agreed. "I'll bring my laptop!"

Sora walked away looking much happier. As soon as she was gone, Mimi turned back around, suddenly peeved. "Sorry, Mimi," Yolei said. "What was it you were saying?"

Mimi folded her arms and sniffed. "Still associating with problem children?" she huffed. "How stupid can you be?!"

With a huff she stormed off, leaving Yolei to stare after her and wonder what in the world she meant.

* * *

Even the ticklish froth of the warm bath couldn't pull Arukenimon's mind out of the stew it was in. It was bad enough that she was behind on putting up new control spires—she had only managed to get herself to shore that morning—but adding her defeat on the sea to the ones at the carnival, in the motel, and with every one of her Spire-Born was intolerable. How could she be losing to a pack of ill-bred children?! She was stronger than them... smarter than them... _better_ than them.

She leaned back in the tub, the scenic cliff edge not doing a thing for her attitude. Life just wasn't fair anymore. While she dragged herself all over the Digital World, striving to find some intact spires to work with, those little snots had stolen four Crest fragments already... and they weren't very nice about it, either. She sank back into the bath and felt the sting of her newest wounds, a sting that just made her hate the Digidestined even more. This was personal now. She'd hit them with everything she could muster, and she wouldn't be satisfied until each of those brats—both the troublesome younger ones and the older ones who dared intervene—was six feet underground!... but how could she go about that?

The sound of a car pulling up hardly registered in her brooding ears. "Arukenimon!" Mummymon called in a singsong tone, "I've got your new clothes! And this time, I made them waterproof!"

There was no response. The blue-cloaked fellow pulled himself out of the jeep and limped towards her, his cane tapping on the stones. He paused and looked at the sheer drop on three sides of the mountaintop. "An odd place for a bathtub..." he remarked. "Ah, well... All you need to do is build the rest of the cabin around it, hmm?"

Still no response. Grinning craftily, he tapped closer to the tub, then quickly leaned over the side. "My, that looks comfort—" he began.

Arukenimon's fingers closed around his neck before he could finish, and she whipped him over her shoulder. He came down on top of the jeep, setting off the alarm.

"Well, of _course_ I'm losing!" she shouted angrily, stepping out of the bath miraculously dry and throwing on her new robes. "What a sorry excuse for a partner you are!"

Mummymon coughed and looked at her upside-down. "Is this about my throwing up on you last night?" he asked. "I promise you, it won't happen again... at least, as long as we're on land."

Arukenimon snarled and folded her arms, looking down at the forests beneath them and the few control spires jutting out. If she was going to take care of those kids, she needed something stronger and more dangerous than the excess baggage who dared call himself a mummy... and one with better breath, to boot.

As she thought these things, a cold wind blew across the plateau. Looking over the tops of her sunglasses, she saw the color slowly drain away from the woods and the sky. "I say," Mummymon commented as he eased himself off the graying jeep, "unusual weather we're having."

Arukenimon scowled into the distance. "Hmmph... so, it's you, huh?" she asked.

A dark, familiar chortle filled the air. "What's the matter?" the voice asked. "Not appreciating your gifts?"

"A fine lot of good they're doing; look what I have to work with!" Arukenimon snapped, motioning at Mummymon.

"Well, then..." the voice went on, sounding enticed, "perhaps I can be of a little more assistance to you..."

* * *

The slick black surface of a control spire caught the late afternoon sun at a breathtaking angle... but not for long. Ten seconds later, it lay in a crumbled heap in the grass. Flamedramon blew the smoke off of his knuckles and moved for the next one.

From his perch on one of the only trees on the plains, Davis watched his partner demolish the next eyesore with a delighted laugh. Between Flamedramon, Ken's artillery and the other Digimon, the kids had really cleaned up on Server's eastern plains; with Flamedramon's latest spire smash, they had taken out five dozen in just that afternoon! "Keep it going, Flamedramon!" Davis called. "We'll have this place cleaned up by dinner time!"

Flamedramon didn't look so enthusiastic; he staggered back to the tree and sat down in the shade, reverting to Veemon. "Davith, can I have a break?" he asked, wiping the sweat from his brow. "For bein' a buncha rocks, those things sure take it outta me..."

Davis smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, sure," he agreed. "Hell, I'm gettin' tired just watchin' ya." He climbed further up the tree and waved at Kari and Nefertimon, who were nearby. "HEY!" he shouted, "BREAK TIME!"

"Ow!" TK's voice came from below, making him jump. "I'm right here, Davis! You don't have to yell!"

"Are you gonna switch to being a cheerleader?" Patamon asked.

Davis glared down at the smiling boy and his Digimon, wondering if he was accurate enough to put a loogey right between his stupid gray eyes... but Kari and Gatomon walked onto the scene before he could try it. "Whew... boy, I'm thirsty," Gatomon said. "Anyone have a milk saucer?"

"I don't know about milk, but I think there was one of those wacky vending machines back by the warp," TK said, motioning towards the south. "I'll go get drinks for everybody."

"Really? Mind if I come?" Kari asked. "I'm kinda picky about my drinks."

TK nodded, and they started off. Davis panicked. "Hey, HEY!" he yelled, scrambling to get himself down, "I'm comin' too! Wait for—"

His foot came down hard on a dead branch, and the next thing he knew was the taste of dirt. "Good grief, what a crash!" he heard TK say. "Are you OK?!"

Davis groaned softly. So much for impressing Kari with his tree climbing.

"Yeah, he's fine," Veemon said, waving the others away. "You guys better bring back somethin' big enough for him to put on his bruises, though!"

"Well, if he's OK..." Kari said, and then walked off with TK, Patamon and Gatomon.

A dreary sigh escaped Davis's crumpled form, followed by an angry curse as the fist that didn't ache pounded the dirt, as it was too far away to pound Veemon's head.

Veemon rushed around to look at his face, his expression worried. "Hey, Davith? What's wrong?" he asked.

Davis blew a raspberry, getting more dust on his tongue. "Forget it," he grumbled.

Veemon shook his head. "I know when somethin's wrong," he pushed, "an' somethin's wrong. Now what's wrong?"

Davis's arm was in range to strangle the little blue runt when Yolei came up, a wry smirk on her face. Hawkmon was next to her looking puzzled. "I say, I've heard the expression 'taking a dirt nap,' but is that the proper way to do it?" he asked.

"What're you doing, Davis? Trying to plant yourself?" Yolei cackled. "Hey, maybe you'll sprout some ugli fruit!"

"Yeah?! Well, what about you, One Blind Mouse?" Davis snarled, heaving himself up into a sitting position. "You look just like that comic bad guy with the monocles... uh... the Vulture!"

Yolei fumed. "Maybe I oughta drop you on your head again," she growled. "Make sure your brain's totally broken!"

"Now, Yolei," Hawkmon said sternly. "Remember why we came to Davis."

Yolei hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Right... C'mon," she muttered, grabbing Davis's arm and pulling him back on his feet. "I gotta show you something."

Acting purely out of boredom, Davis and Veemon followed Yolei and Hawkmon over to the rubble that had been a control spire. On one side sat Cody and Armadillomon, and on the other stood Ken. Though they were fairly close to each other—the width of a spire, to be precise, they had their backs turned. The air felt thick and tense.

Veemon raised an eyebrow; nothing looked unusual. "Um... what's the problem?" he asked.

"What's the...?!" Yolei huffed angrily. "Them!" She pointed at the boys. "They're not friendly with each other!"

Davis rolled his eyes. "What else is new?" he grunted.

"Come on, this is serious!" Yolei pushed. "If they're on the same team but they won't work together, it could be a real problem later!"

"Yeah, I guess..." Davis said, "but Ken's still shy around us, and Cody... well, we know how he feels about Ken."

"That's why I've got a plan," Yolei went on, seemingly ignoring Davis, "and I want you guys in on it."

Veemon scratched his head. "Why?" he asked.

"We thought you'd be more open to it than TK or Kari would," Hawkmon explained.

"...Oh, yeah?" Davis asked, not looking flattered. "So what is it?"

"I want Veemon to fake being tired," Yolei said. "That way, we can get Cody and Ken to work together wrecking a control spire! See? That way, they'll warm up and Ken can be a better part of the team!"

Davis and Veemon just stared at her for a few moments. Her enthusiastic smile faded. "...What?" she asked.

"Uh... It sounds easy enough," Veemon admitted, "so why don't you do it?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be working over that way," Yolei replied, pointing off to the northeast. "I, uh... I don't want them to think I'm slacking off."

Davis scoffed. "Forget it," he grunted.

Hawkmon blinked, surprised. "Erm... could you tell us why, Davis?" he asked. "Usually you're willing to try anything."

"Gee, I dunno," Davis grunted, folding his arms. "Maybe 'cuz you want ME to catch the heat when it goes south! God, you think I'm that dumb?!"

Yolei's face flushed and her fists clenched.

"Besides, I don't like it," Davis went on, sounding more scolding than angry. "It's none of your business how they see each other... and it ain't gonna work anywaAAAAAAIIIII! LEGGO! LEGGO!"

Yolei released his arm from her Indian burn and smiled. "I knew you'd understand," she said sweetly. "Now, listen up..."

A few moments later, Davis approached the two boys while Yolei and the others stayed behind the tree. "Hey, Ken! Cody!" Davis said loudly. "Can you guys do me a favor?"

Both boys and Armadillomon looked up. Davis pointed at the nearest control spire, just a few dozen yards away from the rubble. "See that spire?" he asked. "Uh... it's at a weird angle, so Veemon couldn't knock it down himself... and now he's worn out."

"Nuh-uh, Davith!" Veemon huffed, starting to come out of hiding. "I could knock that thing down with one—"

Yolei stomped on his tail and dragged him back, giving him a look that could turn Greeks to stone. "_Pretending!_" she hissed.

Cody and Ken looked at Davis, then over at the spire, then back at Davis. "...It doesn't look any different," Cody remarked.

Davis grinned weakly. "Well, uh... Think you guys could take it out for him?" he asked. "He's one bushed little blue dude... heh heh."

"...Fine," Ken muttered, slowly getting back on his feet. Armadillomon changed into Digmon at Cody's command.

Yolei cackled silently as the two of them rushed the spire and Digmon launched his drills at the base, blowing black dust every which way. Ken's laser swiveled and fired, hitting it dead center. It groaned for a moment, then toppled backwards onto the dead ground with a heavy thud.

"WHOO! Yeah!" Davis laughed, pumping his fist. "That's showin' it!"

As the dust clouds drifted away on the wind, Ken turned to Digmon. "You're very accurate with those drills," he commented.

"Aww, shucks," Digmon chuckled, blushing a little. "Well, it weren't all me; you're a sure shot straight shooter!"

Yolei grinned as she saw the two of them complimenting each other; this was working better than she had hoped!... but as Ken walked back to his side of the rubble and Digmon returned to Cody, the expressions on the boys' faces made her think twice; both of them were scowling at her patsy.

Davis swallowed hard. "Uh... Somethin' wrong, guys?" he gulped.

"Davis," Ken said sharply, "there wasn't anything different about that one."

"Flamedramon could have destroyed it on his own," Cody snapped, folding his arms. "Why are you we doing your work for you?"

Davis felt his face getting hot, and he took a step back. "Er... OK, now, uh..." he stammered.

Veemon scrambled out before Yolei could grab him and ran to his partner. "No, wait! Don't be mad at Davith!" he yelled.

Ken raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were too tired?..." he asked.

"This wasn't Davith's idea!" Veemon said. "Don't be mad at him! He got his arm twisted."

Cody stared at him flatly. "You mean someone twisted his arm," he suggested.

"Ugh... actually, both," Davis muttered, rubbing at his limb.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Yolei's voice came, making everyone whirl around. She stepped out from behind the tree and stomped towards them. "Davis! You ruined it!"

She found the angry eyes trained on her instead. "Yolei," Cody growled, "is this your doing?"

"What's wrong with you?!" Yolei barked like a furious movie director. "You two just proved you can work together! You knocked down a control spire!"

"Who has to work together to knock down spires?" Ken huffed. "One is enough."

"You're making us waste our energy," Cody said crossly. "Why?"

Yolei recoiled, most of her gusto extinguished. "I... well, you guys should be friendly!" she tried. "We're supposed to be a team!"

As soon as the word 'team' came out, Yolei knew she'd picked the wrong word; Cody's little face turned raging pink. "Are you insane?!" he shouted. "The Digimon Emperor will never be on the same 'team' as the rest of us!"

Ken's face darkened. "If you have no use for the Digimon Emperor," he growled, turning away, "then the Digimon Emperor has no use for you." With that, he strode off across the rubble.

"No, wait!" Davis shouted after him. "Ken, come back!"

"Ken, please!" Yolei cried. "Ken!"

Ken didn't reply; he just kept walking.

Hawkmon scratched his head worriedly. "Oh, I dare say we've ruffled his feathers a bit too much," he sighed.

Davis glared at Yolei. "Told you it wouldn't work," he grumbled.

Amazingly Yolei didn't retaliate against Davis; she bore down on Cody with all her teeth showing. "This is all your fault!" she screeched.

"Easy, Yolei," Armadillomon tried. "Why're you so mad?"

Cody said nothing. He just looked out across the field of spires.

* * *

Floating just off the edge of the cliff, Devimon looked down at the woman who glared at him and her blue-coated companion. "You want more, hmm?..." he said. "The gifts the master bestowed upon you aren't things to be scoffed at, you know; it's quite a triumph to bring life to the lifeless."

"I'm aware of that," Arukenimon huffed, "but it's not powerful enough! A spire only makes a Champion, and ten only make an Ultimate... and those little brats are destroying my supply faster than I can replace it!"

"Why not have your partner make use of his gift?" Devimon asks, looking at Mummymon. "Fallen spires are his realm."

Mummymon shook his head. "Yes, they are..." he agreed, "but while Arukenimon's hair grows back, I have to put a little of my spirit into my creations... and look at the state I'm in. Why, when I made that Ultimate in the swamp, it took me three days to recover."

Arukenimon huffed. "See?" she muttered, motioning to him like she would motion to a dumpy used car in hopes of getting a price cut.

Devimon scratched his chin, a crafty smile on his face. "Hmm... perhaps you're right..." he mused. "How _else_ could they have gotten four pieces of Crests already?..."

Arukenimon fumed at him. "I need more power!" she demanded. "I have to make a stronger Digimon!"

"But Arukenimon," Mummymon spoke up, "if you can use ten spires to go up a level, why not try adding more spires instead of begging like this? It's so unbecoming of you."

Arukenimon hesitated, then pursed her lips. "Hmm... you're right; this _is_ beneath me," she said. "Still, more spires... perhaps that would work. What if I used fifty of them? Or maybe even a hundred? Why, that just might—"

"No," Devimon snapped, cutting her off. "You are merely Ultimates yourself. A creature above your level would turn on you."

Arukenimon scowled. Mummymon raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you just a Champion?" he pointed out.

"Using any more than ten spires would be sealing your own caskets as much as the Digidestined's," Devimon went on, ignoring him, "and it wouldn't be polite to die without fulfilling your part of our deal... would it?"

"So what then?" Arukenimon asked, growing impatient. "Ultimates are no good; not when they have Paildramon!"

Devimon grinned widely. "I have permission to offer you an edge," he said. "I can grant you a very powerful Digimon... for a price, of course."

"And what's that?" Mummymon asked.

"One hundred of your control spires," Devimon replied, pointing at the nearest black obelisk. "Not just that, but they have to have the spark of life inside of them... The master wishes to sample the power he wrought."

Arukenimon folded her arms, thinking hard. "Master, huh..." she grumbled.

"A hundred spires?" Mummymon exclaimed, looking shocked for a moment... and then a wry grin spread over his face. "Why, that means you'll have to use a hundred hairs! Ho ho ho... You could get a job at the circus as the bald lady!"

Arukenimon had him by the collar in an instant. "And YOU can be the human cannonball!" she shouted, pitching him off the cliff like a rag doll. He vanished into the forest below, sending up a chorus of shattering branches.

"An amusing performance," Devimon said. "Now, do we have a deal?"

"Of course we do," Arukenimon snapped. "Just give me time to get the spires ready."

Devimon's smile made even her shiver for a moment. "Then I'll be waiting for you in the center of the Asp mountain range. Be there within two days; that should be enough time to prepare."

With that, the devilish creature melted into the air, and color and warmth slowly came back to the world. Arukenimon walked over to the jeep and honked the horn loudly. "Mummymon!" she shouted down the cliffside. "Hurry it up! We have to find a place they haven't been yet!"

Down in the woods, in a pile of broken branches and tattered leaves, Mummymon slowly pulled himself to his feet. Arukenimon was always abusing him like that, but for some reason, he didn't mind it. In fact, it was rather entertaining watching her blow up like she did... but what was on her mind right now? How strong a Digimon did she want?

Another blast of the horn from above made him jump out of his pile. He collected his cane and limped off, searching for a route back up the cliffside.

* * *

"What?!" TK exclaimed, almost dropping his root beer. "We're gone ten minutes and there's a mutiny?"

Kari, Patamon and Gatomon had similar shocked looks. Cody sat far away from the others, scowling off into space. Armadillomon sat nearby, not looking very comfortable himself. Yolei sulked on a spire slab, while Davis leaned against the tree with Veemon nearby. Hawkmon, who had told them the news, just shrugged and shook their heads. "I'm sorry we couldn't stop it," he sighed.

"Don't be," Davis grumbled. "It was gonna happen sooner or later."

"Whaddya mean, Davith?" Veemon asked.

"Well, look at 'em," Davis grunted, motioning to Cody. "Cody won't give an inch about Ken bein' on the team, and Ken, well..." He sighed and sucked at his cola. "Pushin' it like we did just set 'em off."

"Then why'd you do it?!" Gatomon scolded.

"Hey, don't gimme that lip," Davis snapped. "It was all Yolei's idea!"

Everyone turned to Yolei. "Is that true?" Patamon asked.

Yolei shot Davis an evil glare and the lemon-lime can in her hand crinkled. "I _thought_ Cody had loosened up a bit after what happened with the pirates," she growled, "but it looks like he's as much a JERK as ever!" The last words she yelled towards the younger boy. She got no response.

Kari shook her head. "Come on, Yolei," she tried. "I'm sure he feels awful about this."

TK glanced towards Cody, whose face was not remorseful. "I wouldn't be so sure..." he mumbled.

Everyone just sighed and sipped from their cans. Finally, Davis put his down. "Dammit, Cody's actin' like a little kid," he muttered. "I oughta go straighten him out."

Awkward silence set in. Davis looked up and saw that everyone was looking at him, surprised. "...What?" he grunted.

Patamon looked off to the west, where the sun was halfway gone. "Well, whatever we do about it, we'll have to do it tomorrow," he said, pointing.

"Yeah..." Veemon agreed. "Let's call it a day, Davith."

Hawkmon turned towards Cody and waved. "I say, Cody!" he called. "It's time to go. Come along."

"Why're you telling him?..." Yolei grumbled.

Cody slowly got to his feet and walked over to them, Armadillomon at his side. "Hey, guys," Armadillomon said. "Ooh, ya got sodas?"

"Uh... yeah," TK said, uncertainly offering a can to Cody. "Here, Cody. I know you like grape, so..."

With the expression on Cody's face, Yolei thought he would knock the can out of TK's hand... but to her surprise, he took it with a nod and slowly started drinking. "...Thanks, TK," he said after a big enough gulp.

"Yep, knockin' down spires sure is hard work..." Armadillomon remarked, eyeing the can. "Real... real hard work."

Cody smiled down at his partner and offered the rest of the can. "I can't let Mom think I've spoiled my appetite," he reasoned. Then he looked up at TK. "Did you want some money for that?" he asked.

Yolei blinked a few times, feeling nothing but revulsion. "You're a real piece of work," she snapped. "I can't believe you!"

"Boy, you sure are mad about this," Veemon remarked. "Why?"

Yolei just snarled and headed for the warp.

* * *

The day only got worse once Yolei returned from the Digital World. What happened that afternoon was bad enough, but then to have to sit through another trendy diet meal her siblings had whipped up was too much. And naturally, having remarked that the food smelled more "thrown up" than "whipped up" had landed her with cleaning the dishes. She grumbled under her breath as she scrubbed a plate free of brown slime and dropped it on the counter; could this day possibly get any worse?

As she knelt down to grab another plate, her remaining lens popped out and dropped into the suds. "Oh, COME ON!" she howled, plunging her hands into the scalding, murky depths. She could practically feel the smoke blowing out of her ears. This whole predicament was the worse case of "not fair" in the history of Eastern civilization! How could she work to make money for new glasses when she couldn't see in the first place?!

"I heard yelling," Mr. Inoue said, stepping into the small kitchen area. "How's it going?"

"You want the regular answer or the 'I had a really shitty day' answer?!" Yolei snapped, glaring at him through her empty frames.

Usually she got told off for using dirty words, but to her surprise, her father chuckled. "Miyako, your mother and I have noticed what a tough time you've been having," he said, "and we're glad that you've been trying hard in spite of what we said... so we decided that you can get new glasses now."

Yolei's anger changed completely into surprise. "I... what? Really?" she asked.

"You're just like the rest of us; you can't see at all without them, and it's not fair to force you to go blind," he went on. "We'll just put it on the rest of your tab."

Tab or no, Yolei was overjoyed and showed it. "YEAH!" she yelled, throwing up her hands and flicking suds all over.

"OK, OK, take it easy!" he chuckled. "So, should we get going before the clinic closes?"

Yolei was about to say yes when she remembered what Mimi had told her earlier. "Uh, actually..." she said uncertainly, "if it's OK with you, can I try contacts this time?"

Mr. Inoue looked surprised for a moment—nobody in the family had ever chosen contacts over glasses—but he smiled and nodded. "If that's what you want, then fine," he said.

"W00t!" Yolei hooted, grabbing a towel and drying off her hands. "I heard about this place that does really good work! Can we go there?"

"Uh, if you've got the address..." he said, "and if it's not too expensive."

Yolei was gone and back with the notebook in a flash. "Here it is!" she said, shoving at her father. "Lemme get my stuff on!"

Mr. Inoue looked at the name and winced. Yes, that place did quality work, but he'd heard from the commercial grapevine that they loved to bleed their customers... but he said that Miyako could have what she wanted, and it had been a little cruel to make her go without glasses; he would just have to grin and bear it.

Yolei reappeared with her jacket and shoes on. "OK, I'm ready!" she announced. "One, two, three, goooo!"

She raced out the door, and only ten seconds later, there was a loud bang and several thumps. "Miyako!" Mr. Inoue shouted, running out. "Are you OK?!"

"Uh... yeah..." Yolei groaned from somewhere in the stairwell. "Just... forgot about the stairs... Ow..."

Mr. Inoue sighed. It looked like they'd first be making a trip to the I-mart for bandages.

* * *

Despite the delicious dinner he had inhaled, Upamon couldn't help but feel disappointed as he watched Cody swing his shinai around. "Why can'tcha be nice to Ken, Cody?" he asked bluntly.

Cody stopped and frowned at him. "Upamon..." he began.

"He's good now!" Upamon asserted. "He's helped us a lot! I don't get why you're so mean!"

Cody was quiet for a moment, making sure the little ball was finished. "Remember how you said you'd listen when something was bothering me?" he asked.

Upamon's bristles drooped. "Well... yes..." he admitted.

Cody shook his head. "It's like I've been saying," he said, putting his shinai back in the corner. "Someone who did things as horrible as Ken did can't change overnight. It's just not possible."

Upamon frowned and pouted. "Did your dad teach you that, too?" he asked. "Sure doesn't sound like the rest of what he said."

Cody was silent, his mind traveling back to his deceased father. Upamon was right; that certainly wasn't what his dad said. His father held a firm belief that people could change. He remembered hearing his father say that during conversations about work. "It's never too late to change," he would say with a thoughtful smile. It had made young Cody proud that his father was a policeman, helping criminals turn their lives around...

At least, it used to. He walked over to the bookshelf, moved a few volumes and pulled out a yellowed newspaper. "What's that, Cody?" Upamon asked.

"See for yourself," Cody replied, putting it on the bed.

Upamon looked it over, struggling to remember his impromptu lessons on reading. "Uh... Jam... no, January... January fuh... five... fifth, two... two zeros and a one," he managed. "January fifth, 2001?"

Cody sat down next to him to read the rest. "See the main headline? 'Failed Reform Leaves Officer Dead,'" he read out loud, and then the subtitle: "Cop Murder Raises Questions About Effectiveness of Criminal Rehabilitation."

Upamon thought for a moment, then his eyes widened. "Oh, no!" he gasped. "This is...!"

Cody nodded quietly. "This was the paper the day after my father was killed," he said. "The shooter was a fanatic who had been in jail once already for trying to shoot a political figure... and was supposedly rehabilitated."

Upamon looked at the newspaper, then up at Cody. "So... is that what you think of Ken?" he asked.

Cody scowled and shook his head. "People changing... That's the one thing I just can't believe," he said icily. "He believed that... and he was this criminal's second victim. What does _that_ say?" He stared at the paper, his expression dark.

There was a moment of silence as Upamon absorbed all of this... but he wasn't finished yet. "But Cody," he said, hopping to get his partner's attention, "what if something BIG happens? What if we really need Ken?"

Cody looked at the yellow ball for a moment, then got up and put the newspaper back on the shelf. "No obstacle I might face could ever make me ask help from the Digimon Emperor," he growled.

* * *

Retiring to his room after a bland dinner, Ken sank into his chair with a world-weary sigh. To his surprise, the visit to the retirement home the day before—despite the cheek pinchers—had put him in good spirits... but after what happened that afternoon, all warmth in him was snuffed out. He shook his head with a scowl. It was just as well he was reminded of his crimes, and of his situation. Trying to make peace with those he once tortured was a waste of time; no matter what he did, they never would forgive him.

He stared at his black computer screen for a few minutes more, then reached into the top drawer and pulled out his journal, taking a pen from nearby. Some wrote to forget, but he did it to remember. He put his tool to the paper and started scribbling:

_With his Dark Rings, the Emperor set out in the Digital World, capturing the creatures and subjugating them into his warriors, his slaves, and his entertainers. In less than two weeks, the whole of File Island was under his control. But he wasn't satisfied with that; the vast Server Continent lay to the north, filled with more lands to rule and more Digimon to impress into his service._

He paused only long enough to let his hand relax before he started on the next sentence. That boy was right: he was still the Digimon Emperor... and he could never let himself forget it.

* * *

"Boy, Davis, you're sure in a good mood today," Demiveemon commented from inside his partner's bag. "You didn't call Jun anything at breakfast."

"Heh! I'm always in a good mood on Tuesday!" Davis laughed. "It's the first soccer practice of the week!"

"Oh, yeah!" Demiveemon exclaimed. "I forgot!"

He rounded the corner to school and he saw something that made his grin even wider. Yolei was walking in front of him, talking to TK with Cody quietly following at a distance... and she wasn't even wearing her broken glasses! "...Just got better..." he snickered. "What say we give Yolei a flat tire?"

Demiveemon blinked. "How?" he asked. "She doesn't drive, does she?"

Motioning for silence from his partner, Davis walked quickly but quietly up behind his victim, readying his foot to come down on the heel of her shoe, which would make her stumble right out of it. This was one of his favorite pranks because he was fast enough to pull it off and fast enough to get away... and Yolei being as blind as a bat made it even more fun!

But when he stomped down this time, he hit nothing but concrete. He looked up just in time for Yolei to snap his goggles, and he was so shocked he fell on his behind. "YEOWWW!" he shouted, grabbing at his face. "What the hell?!"

"Oh, hey Davis," TK said, turning around.

Cody rolled his eyes. "Flat tires again, I see," he mused.

Yolei gleamed at him. "Contacts, flyboy," she jeered, pointing at her lensless face. "Ever heard of those?"

Davis just sat there, stunned. Here was Yolei, able to see his every move, and yet... without the glasses, it was like he was dealing with a totally different person. He didn't know how to react.

"News flash for you, huh?" Yolei smirked. "Well, see you guys later." She turned and headed for the building.

Cody followed quickly after. TK looked down at Davis, smiled and offered his hand. "I had to look twice, too," he said. "C'mon, Davis, we don't wanna be late for the bell."

Davis let TK pull him up and followed behind him into the school.

* * *

This Tuesday went like most every other Tuesday, as far as Davis's school routine went: he gave the wrong answer in science class and got extra homework; he traded the lunch his mom had made him for something more appetizing; and he managed to kick a goal from half the field away in soccer practice. By the time he got to his locker to change, he was feeling pretty awesome. "Hey, Davis! I'm hungry!" Demiveemon complained from his backpack.

"What, again?" Davis asked, hardly believing the little guy's appetite. "Man... You must have a hollow log or something."

Demiveemon blinked. "...What?" he asked.

"It's, uh..." Davis said, trying to remember the expression. "It's when you just keep eatin' and eatin', like you're stuffin' it all into a log instead of your stomach. Y'know, like squirrels."

Demiveemon still just looked at him. "...I don't get it."

"...Ya know, me neither," Davis replied, shrugging. "Ahh, forget it. Once we get home, I'll get the toaster goin' and—"

"Hey! Davis!" Kari's voice came. "Wait!"

With an enthusiastic grin, Davis whirled around... only to see that Kari was accompanied by TK. And Yolei. "Good thing we caught you," Kari said. "We have to go to Izzy's!"

Davis was oddly silent. Even though Kari was talking to him, he couldn't take his guise away from Yolei's face. After all the years he'd known her, seeing her being able to focus on him without her glasses felt... unnatural.

The purple-haired girl gave him a sour look. "What?" she grumbled.

Davis looked for a minute more, then shook his head. "Forget it," he muttered. "What's at Izzy's?"

"He found a new Crest Piece!" TK said.

"How 'bout that!" Davis laughed. "Does Cody know?"

Yolei scowled and looked away at the name. "He's gone ahead," Kari said. "We waited to make sure you knew."

Davis brightened up immediately. She waited to tell him! Sure, TK and Yolei were there too, but this had to count for something. "Well, what're we waitin' for?" he exclaimed, jamming his feet into his street shoes. "Let's get crackin'!"

* * *

Its engine complaining angrily, the yellow jeep pulled up on the outskirts of the eastern plains, where dozens of spires stretched towards the sky. "That's funny; the kids were working yesterday," Mummymon remarked. "Why are so many spires left? They're getting sloppy."

"Because they're constrained by their lives in the real world," Arukenimon replied, getting out of the car. "They can only be here for a few hours in the afternoons, and then they have to run home to their mommies and daddies. We, on the other hand..."

She brushed a large swath of hair from her bangs and gently bit it loose with her teeth. "Ho ho ho..." Mummymon cackled. "I always love watching you work."

"Then you'll enjoy helping me with this," she snapped, shoving the hairs at him. "Count out a hundred of those."

Mummymon hobbled back to the jeep and set them down on the hood. As he started counting, though, the radio crackled and sprang to life. "And at the top of the hour, the weather is sunny with a slight chance of licorice twists over File Island," the announcer said. "And now, some breaking news..."

Both Arukenimon and Mummymon stopped and listened as the announcer ruffled some papers. "Miners in Spaghetti Junction claim they have successfully tunneled all the way through Copperhead Mountain, the tallest mountain in the Asp mountain range north of the town. Named as such because it looks like a snake coiled in a ring, the empty center was thought inaccessible until now..."

Mummymon blinked. "Isn't that where we're supposed to go?" he asked.

Arukenimon shushed him; the news wasn't over.

"As monumental as this is, what they discovered could be even more interesting," the newscaster went on. "A few of the miners thought they saw a deposit of gold, but not one of them dared to get near. They said they could feel a malignant presence in the area, characterized by an abnormal level of heat, and, surprisingly, an onset of colorblindness from each of the miners. This has yet to be confirmed."

The radio turned itself off. Mummymon looked at Arukenimon. "It wasn't the miners who were colorblind, was it?" he cackled.

Arukenimon's triumphant smirk returned. "Gold, hmm?..." she thought out loud. "Keep counting those hairs, and quickly! We're not going to be alone on this venture."

* * *

"No way!" Davis yelled. "Gold?!"

"Well, that's what I heard through the Grapemon vine," Tentomon admitted through the little screen within Izzy's screen, "but I thought it had to be a Crest piece!"

"And he was right," Izzy said, hitting a few buttons and bringing the Digital World map up next to Tentomon. A small orange dot was flashing in the middle of a ring-shaped mountain range. "And we're in even better luck. Remember the piece from the Gigas?"

"The one Paildramon went and blew up, you mean?" Yolei muttered.

Demiveemon's little ears sagged.

"You weren't complaining then," Cody pointed out. "That Crest went berserk."

"Well, this is part of the same one: Courage," Izzy said. "We have another chance to grab part of Tai's Crest."

"Oh, good!" Gatomon exclaimed.

"Yeah, provided Davis doesn't blow this one up, too," Yolei jeered. She looked at Davis for some kind of angry rebuttal, but got none. In fact, he was just staring at her face again. "OK, what?!" she snapped. "You've been doing that all day!"

Davis hesitated, then shook his head. "You just don't look right," he said.

"Whaddya mean, Davis?" Upamon asked, bouncing around and looking at Yolei, too. "Is she sick?"

Yolei scowled at the goggle-headed boy. "Oh, I get it," she snapped. "You mean I don't look WEIRD enough for you!"

"Pheh," Davis grunted. "You're weird no matter what you're wearing!"

"Excuse me, can we get back to business?" Izzy broke in, annoyed.

"Yeah, come on, you guys; you cut Izzy off," TK scolded.

Davis, Yolei and the Digimon quieted down. "...Thank you, TK," Izzy said, turning back to the computer screen. "Now, this piece is in the middle of the mountains just north of Spaghetti Junction... How to get at it, though..."

"Tentomon said there was a mine," Poromon pointed out. "They tunneled through to the middle, right?"

"Hey, I know!" Davis piped up again. "Let's go ask the miners in town what they know; maybe one of 'em can lead us there!"

Kari balled her hands and looked worried. "I don't know..." she said. "The last time I went to Spaghetti Junction, it wasn't very friendly... and if that report we saw at the motel was any indication..."

Demiveemon laughed. "Relax, guys!" he chirped. "Starmon and Deputymon are on our side! They wouldn't let anything bad happen!"

"I don't know about that," Cody said, looking sour. "Given how charismatic Gargomon and the Resistance seem to be, the whole town could be against us."

There was a grim silence as everyone considered that. "Oh, geez... You don't think they'd try to hang us again?" Yolei asked, for once not getting angry with Cody.

TK scratched his head. "Hang us?" he asked. "What for?"

"What do you mean 'what for?!'" Gatomon huffed. "Don't you remember what happened to Kari and Sora and Biyomon and me when we went there?"

Patamon blinked. "Uh, no," he said. "We weren't there."

"Come to think of it," TK admitted, "I've only heard about it from the rest of you. Why don't we go and see instead of guessing? I'd like to see what it's like for myself."

The other kids looked at each other, then back at TK; he had a good point. "OK..." Davis said, "I guess we're gonna go one way or the other."

"If things get nasty, don't say we didn't warn you," Gatomon muttered.

"Tentomon, get ready to move," Izzy said, bringing up the gate and looking at the others. "Are you all ready?"

The kids produced their Digivices and held them up to the screen. After a moment of high-speed sideways falling, they were all in a flailing heap in the dirt, with Tentomon looking down on them. "Good grief!" he muttered, shaking his head. "That doesn't look comfortable at all!"

"It ain't," Davis grunted, scrambling off of Cody and Patamon and looking around. Spaghetti Junction lay a few hundred feet away, looking just as it did before. Thankfully, the sky was clear and blue today, with no sign of dust storms like the last time.

"We're going in to scout around," TK told Tentomon.

"OK, but be careful," Tentomon warned him. "I'm going to get back to my tree. See you guys later."

"Hey, Tentomon, wait," Cody stopped him. "I wanted to ask: how do you guys get around so quickly?"

"Yeah," Armadillomon agreed. "I mean, we ran into Gomamon way out in the middle of the ocean. No way he coulda swam that far very fast..."

"You think we get around all by ourselves?" Tentomon asked. "No way! We've got plenty of Digimon friends who give us lifts and things. I've got a Unimon friend nearby who's more than happy to take me home."

"Heh. Well, how about that," Davis remarked.

"You know, I was wondering the same thing," Kari admitted.

Tentomon buzzed off into the sky, and the kids turned and headed for the town gates, which were built higher and thicker than Yolei remembered. "You said they were fixing this place when you came last?" she asked Kari and Gatomon.

"Yeah..." Gatomon said, her eyes widening. "Looks like they finished, too!"

The kids marveled at Spaghetti Junction's main street; it looked amazing. Buildings that had been reduced to heaps of rubble by Garudamon were back up and shining with fresh paint, and there were several new buildings between them. The streets were a little wider, too, and lined with lampposts. Carriages and wheelbarrows were parked on the sides, full of barrels and other cargo. Dozens of Digimon strode about, going peacefully about their daily grind.

"Wow," Veemon said. "They sure did fix this place up!"

One of the residents turned at the comment, noticed the kids and screamed. Suddenly the hubbub turned to havoc, with Digimon crashing into each other as they raced inside, slamming the doors and shutting windows in a deafening clatter of wood. The town fell silent, save for the wind.

"Woah!" TK exclaimed, shocked at the dramatic change.

"Gee, we've never got a reception like that before..." Patamon said, scratching his head.

Davis peered ahead. Something was going on at the end of the street. An angry mob of various Digimon—mostly Rookies and Champions—was marching toward them, yelling and waving hand axes, pitchforks, and even a few pistols. "It ain't over yet," he growled, pointing.

"Oh, man!" Yolei gulped. "It's a mob!"

Without any warning, a rain of little rocks came from the furious crowd, and the kids had to put up their arms to protect themselves. "For cryin' out loud!" Armadillomon grunted, knocking some of the stones away with his tail.

Yolei yelped as a rock bounced off of her forehead. TK bit his lip. The accounts he heard didn't look far from the truth; this town really didn't want humans in it.

"Wait! Please!" Kari tried, holding out her arms as a sign of peace. "We're not here to hurt you! We just need—"

An axe whizzed through the air, barely missing Kari's left ear. She cried out and retreated, Gatomon leaping in front of her with an angry hiss.

Davis was furious, too; nobody threw sharp things at them, especially Kari! "That does it!" he snapped, pulling out his D3. "These pissants are Exveemon toejam!"

A hand closed down on his arm. "No, wait," TK urged, pushing it down. "If you Digivolve and attack them, that'll just prove Gargomon right!"

"What?!" Patamon yelled. "So then what? We just stand here and get chopped up?! We gotta protect you guys!"

"But—" TK began.

A gunshot rang out and a plume of dirt shot up inches from Cody's foot. "He's right; this is too dangerous!" he growled, producing his own D3. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Armadillomon glowed, and then transformed into—much to everyone's shock—Submarimon. "What the?!" he yelped, struggling to move in the dirt but only managing a feeble wobble. "Cody!"

Cody groaned out loud; he had forgotten to switch to Digmon's egg on his D-Terminal! But another gunshot told him there wasn't time to fix it now. Everyone jumped behind the misplaced submarine as he was pelted with rocks and more weapons landed around them.

"Shit!" Davis cussed. "This blows!"

"We can't stay here forever," Hawkmon growled. "We need to reach the mines!"

"How?!" Yolei snapped. "Does it look like they're gonna let us?!"

TK ground his teeth. This place really was as bad as Kari and the others had made it sound... so how could they get out of it?

"I'm done with this," Davis snarled, whipping out his D3. "I'm gonna—"

Suddenly, a much louder gunshot rang out, and the angry noises died down. "Oh, man..." Submarimon coughed. "Thank goodness!"

Curious, Yolei slowly peeked out, and a heavy sigh escaped her. Standing between Submarimon and the frozen mob were the kids' old friends Starmon and Deputymon. Deputymon's gun-shaped chest was smoking; he had fired to make the others stop. "Take a load off, little lady," he said, glancing at Yolei. "We've gotcha covered."

"What's going on up there?" Gatomon asked.

"It's OK," Yolei replied, waving them all up.

The kids and their partners slowly came out of hiding. Starmon folded his arms and frowned at the residents. "Now what in the name of Sam Clanton McGee is goin' on here?!" he demanded.

"Those _humans_ are invading our town!" a Gazimon shouted, pointing at TK so venomously that he couldn't help but flinch.

The mob erupted with angry shouting and it started to move forward. Deputymon quickly fired his gun into the sky and the monsters stopped again. "Simmer down!" he shouted.

"Please!" Kari tried again. "We don't want to hurt any of you! We just—"

"Yeah, sure you don't!" a Vegiemon snapped, giving a sarcastic wave with one of its tentacles. "Just like the Emperor didn't!"

"Run 'em outta town!" a Geckomon shouted.

"Forget that; kill 'em!" a Meramon screamed.

At that, the mob started forward again, and only another shot from Deputymon slowed them down.

Starmon sighed and looked at the kids. "I'm sorry, pardners," he apologized. "Ever since Gargomon an' his buddies rebuilt the town, it ain't been no place for humanfolk... Lotsa hate floatin' 'round..."

"No kidding!" Veemon huffed.

"Listen, we're not going to stay long," TK said, moving to the front; maybe if he explained exactly why they came, they would be met with less hostility. "We just wanted to learn about the mines up north. There's—"

"They want the gold!" a Numemon shrieked. "They want our gold!"

The mob screamed and booed with cries of "thieves!" and the kids had to take cover from flying rocks. A pitchfork embedded itself in Submarimon's side, and he cried out in pain as he shrank back to Armadillomon.

"Oh, no!" Cody gasped.

"DOUBLE oh no!" Yolei yelled as she held up her arms to block the falling debris.

Deputymon was so angry that he fired three rounds into the sky to silence the throng. "That's ENOUGH!" he bellowed.

"Now y'all go on home; us lawmon'll take care of this," Starmon warned the angry Digimon.

"We're not going anywhere until they're gone!" another Gazimon yelled, and others shouted in agreement.

"We're not thieves and we're not invaders!" Davis snapped. "Why, I oughta..."

Starmon looked at him and shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, friends, but I have to ask y'all to leave Spaghetti Junction," he said, "and not come back."

"What?!" Gatomon huffed. "But we didn't even do anything!"

"_Et tu,_ Starmon?" Hawkmon asked coldly.

"It's my job to keep peace and order," Starmon replied, sounding stern. "There's nothin' orderly about an angry mob." In a quieter tone, he added: "this's the safest way."

"Safest way?!" Yolei snarled.

"Bull!" Davis huffed. "You're just coverin' yer own—"

"Davis, Yolei, stop," Cody said, cutting them off. "Starmon is right. If that mob got even more out of control, the Digimon might not only hurt us, but themselves, too."

Davis and Yolei, subdued, turned away grumbling. Cody turned back to Starmon. "We'll be on our way, then," he said.

"I'm sorry," Starmon apologized. "Really, I am. Happy trails."

The Digidestined and their partners turned and walked towards the town gates, the cheers and jeers of the mob behind them. "Yeah! That's right!" someone shouted.

"Humans go home!" another yelled.

"Long live the Resistance!" a third screeched.

The town gates slammed behind them, almost too harshly for wood. "Boy..." Patamon sighed. "You guys were right."

"Gargomon's got his hooks in deep," Gatomon muttered.

"...Jackasses," Davis grunted.

"You can't blame them," Cody said, shaking his head. "They're scared."

Kari sadly looked up at the sky. "You don't think the whole Digital World could get like that, do you?" she asked.

The others were silent for a long while before Hawkmon coughed. "I say, we ought to be heading for the mines," he pointed out. "We'll have to figure it out for ourselves, but I'm sure we can..."

TK nodded. "Yeah... let's go, guys," he said. "Which way is north from here?"

* * *

"There we are," Mummymon announced, holding up a fistful of white hairs. "One hundred, exactly!"

"Not a moment too soon," Arukenimon snapped, snatching the bundle from him. "Those kids are liable to be here by now, and they could catch up to us!"

Mummymon grinned wickedly. "Well, in that case..." He somersaulted into the air and came down in his gun-toting, bandaged form. He lifted Obelisk and took out ten control spires in record time.

Arukenimon was horrified and furious. "Have you lost your mind?!" she shrieked, grabbing him by the neck.

"If the kids could catch up to us, then we need to keep them busy, yes?" Mummymon coughed, pulling her hand away gently. "The close quarters of a mine are an ideal battleground for what I have in mind."

Arukenimon still wore a scowl, but she withdrew without further violence. "Just make it good," she grumbled.

As Mummymon reverted to his cloaked shape, the hairs in Arukenimon's hand stiffened into long needles. "Rise," she said to them. "Rise and follow!" With that, she leaped into the air and hurled the hairs towards the spire-ridden field. Each one found a mark.

Chanting darkly, Mummymon plunged his cane into the earth, and eerie red liquid oozed out of its tip and into the fallen spires. Each one of the affected obelisks, fallen or erect, shuddered, then slowly lifted into the air, causing the land to shudder and tremble violently.

"Quickly!" Arukenimon huffed, racing to the jeep. "We have to get there first!"

Panting heavily and wincing with every step, Mummymon hobbled in and put the pedal to the metal, speeding off to the north as one hundred and ten Control spires formed into an eerie line in the sky behind them.

* * *

The earthquake was not a small one; most of the Server continent felt it, and that included Spaghetti Junction. "Woooaaahhh!" Veemon shouted as he lost his balance and fell. "What's happenin', Davith?!"

"Earthquake!" TK yelled. "Everybody stay in the open!"

"Stop the ground; I wanna get off," Armadillomon gurgled.

Kari was about to ask whether they should leave and wait until it stopped when she looked to the south and her heart almost stopped. A parade of black spires slowly floated along in the distant sky, the line seemingly endless. "Look!" she yelled, pointing.

Everybody looked. "Holy...!" Yolei choked.

"First an earthquake, and now flying spires?" Hawkmon asked. "What in the world is going on here?!"

Gatomon squinted beneath the black structures. She could make out a yellow jeep kicking up dust just ahead of them. "Guess who," she snarled, "and then guess why they're headed north."

"What?!" Davis fumed. "Do those jerks have EXP or somethin'?!"

"We'd better go, and quickly," Cody said, glancing at TK. "Can we ride with you, please?"

The others raised their Digivices, and Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, Exveemon and Aquilamon took to the sky, the others on their back. "Northward, ho!" Yolei shouted, pointing towards the mountains.

It wasn't long before they came alongside the procession of flying spires. Kari looked over at the lengthening line of them and shuddered. "Thirty-five up in the air, and more are coming..." she said to TK. "What could they possibly make with all of those?"

TK frowned at the obelisks and shook his head; he didn't want to think about it. "Let's get the Crest, and fast," was all he said.

The flying creatures soared as quickly as their wings would take them, trying to catch up to the speeding jeep... but that busted-up old vehicle was faster than it looked, and they could not overtake it. As they reached the mountains, it disappeared among the rocks. The spires, now in numbers so great that none of the kids could count them, slowed their pace and began to encircle the mountain range like a ring of black candles. "Man..." Davis remarked as he looked at them from Exveemon's shoulder, "that's freakin' creepy."

The Digimon descended and the kids looked around for any sign of their opponents. The jeep had gone into a large opening in the mountain, framed by wooden beams. "Huh... this looks a lot like the mine entrances I've seen in books," TK suggested.

"So it's man-made?" Yolei asked. "Or would that be 'mon-made?'"

"This has to be the mine," Cody stated. "Let's hurry inside."

"But what about the spires?" Patamon asked.

"If Arukenimon is inside the mine, I don't think she can make any monsters from them," Kari pointed out. "We should be OK for a while..."

"Right!" Davis huffed, balling his fists. "C'mon, guys! We gotta get Tai's Crest before they do!"

The kids and their partners raced into the mines. The tunnel inside was surprisingly well lit, thanks to a series of 19th-century English lampposts jutting out of the floor. "...OK, that's just weird," Yolei said, rapping on it with her knuckle.

Gatomon sighed. "How long have we been coming here now?... " she asked.

They followed the lamps until the tunnel opened up into a large cavern strewn with mining equipment. On each wall were several more tunnel openings at the ground level, not to mention others higher up. Veemon gulped loudly. "Oh, boy; which way did they go?" he asked. "It's like we're in a big ol' block of Swiss cheese!"

Curious, Armadillomon sniffed at the air. "Ugh, sure don't smell like cheese," he grumbled, wrinkling his nose. "Yeeuck! Nothin' but rusty metal an' burnin' rubber!"

Cody's eyes lit up. "I know how we can find them," he announced, looking at his partner. "Armadillomon, follow those smells, please."

"Hey, yeah!" Patamon piped up. "That's the jeep!"

Armadillomon looked sick. "Do I have to?..." he muttered.

"I'm sure it'll show us exactly where Arukenimon went," Cody said. Seeing his partner was still hesitant, he caved in and added: "I'll sneak you some good sushi the next time Mom makes it."

"Yeehaw!" Armadillomon cackled, and immediately started sniffing at the ground, then at the air. After a few tense moments, he pointed at the leftmost tunnel on the other side of the room. "That way!" he shouted, and raced ahead.

Cody raced after his friend, and the rest followed quickly. "I say, he certainly changed his tune," Hawkmon remarked.

"You would too if you'd ever tasted Cody's mom's sushi," Yolei laughed.

* * *

As the jeep's engine groaned again, the dark tunnel gave way to a large, empty meadow. That news report hadn't been kidding, Arukenimon thought; there was hardly any color in the place between the mountains, and the wind blowing over her was unnaturally hot, even for the desert climate.

"Well, we're here..." Mummymon rasped, tugging at his collar. "Where shall I park?"

Arukenimon stared around the barren place. Near the center was a large rock, and standing in front of it was a tall, black figure. "There," she said, pointing.

The old jeep fumbled through the gray grass and rolled to a stop near the rock, which upon closer inspection had the tiniest glint of orange glowing on it. Devimon turned his attention away from it and smiled coldly. "Very good... you decided to come," he said.

Mummymon sagged in his seat, beads of sweat trickling down his face. "Oogh..." he groaned. "I'll leave this to you, Arukenimon... I need to rest a moment."

Shaking her head in annoyance, Arukenimon briskly stepped out of the jeep. "We have your spires," she said to Devimon, motioning to the floating obelisks at the tops of the mountains. "Now give us what you promised."

Devimon regarded her for a moment, then turned towards a flat patch of meadow near the rock and made a strange gesture with his hand. The earth changed from gray to black and seemed to begin evaporating into haze, and then it all started to swirl around like an obsidian dust devil. A foul-smelling wind blew out of the rift and the air grew even warmer... but Devimon didn't seem to notice. "Feed the spires into this," he instructed, pointing. "When all one hundred have gone in, you will have the most powerful creature at my master's disposal."

"All of them? Now?!" Arukenimon argued. "The Digidestined could get here before I'm finished!"

"All of them," Devimon repeated, not looking willing to negotiate.

Arukenimon snarled, then turned and snapped her fingers. Forming another silent procession, the spires slowly floated down the mountainside towards the black portal. "If the kids get here before I'm done, it's all your fault," she muttered at Devimon.

"Oh, don't worry..." Mummymon cackled, getting out of the jeep with a pained wheeze and making his way to her side. "With the surprise I left for them, they won't be coming any time soon."

The first spire stopped, then slowly plunged itself into the opening, the whole earth shuddering as it went. As it disappeared into the blackness, a secretive grin came over Devimon's face.

* * *

_The Emperor returned to his throne, enraged that once again the meddling children had relieved him of his servants. Despite Wormmon's pleas to admit defeat, though, he redoubled his efforts to quash this rebellion, and_

Ken winced as a painful spasm made him drop the pen, and he leaned back with a sigh. He had made good progress with his writing that day, but the hours and hours of scribbling were taking their toll; his hand ached terribly. He rubbed at it with his free hand, wishing it would stop so he could continue; after all, what else could he do now?

The pain eased, but didn't disappear entirely. To ward off carpal tunnel syndrome, he decided to do something else. His eyes wandered around the room, looking for some sort of distraction: his schoolbooks on his bed; the soccer ball next to the trash can; and his desk, upon which sat both the computer and the journal. He frowned. This was one of the rare times when he wished he had more hobbies. Preferring the computer, his good hand grabbed the mouse, ready to check the Digital World map; perhaps blasting a few control spires would be a good amount of exercise.

When the map appeared, though, he leaped out of his chair with a shout. One hundred and ten control spires had vanished from one sector... and one hundred had showed up in another one?! And the others were already there, too; they could be in danger! He glared icily at the screen. Arukenimon and Mummymon were up to something _big_ this time; he had to get in there and stop them!

He opened the top drawer and started to reach for his D3, but suddenly the short boy's angry words burst in his mind, paralyzing him. They didn't want his help any more. Why should he go?

He hesitated, then scowled and grabbed the Digivice. It didn't matter how many scorned him. Sam and Wormmon needed him. He had to destroy those spires, along with the ones abusing them.

* * *

"Is it getting any stronger, Armadillomon?" Cody asked as he followed his yellow partner through another tunnel. Armadillomon's keen sense of smell had led the party in a straight line so far, but it seemed like there were still a lot of mines to go through.

"Yeah, it is," Armadillomon replied, not taking his eyes off the ground. "Not much longer, I reckon."

"Heh, this is awesome!" Davis laughed. "I totally forgot Digimon could be able to smell stuff like this!"

"Sometimes it's not such a blessing," Hawkmon mused, then shrank back as Yolei glared at him.

"Keep it up, Armadillomon," Gatomon encouraged. "We'll be out of here in no time!"

They walked through another large chamber and into another long, cramped tunnel. Suddenly, Armadillomon stopped, sniffing intently. "Hey, woah, I'm pickin' up somethin' else, too," he warned. "Kinda like a Digimon, but kinda not."

TK hesitated. "You don't think—" he began.

Suddenly, all of the lamps went out, throwing the kids into darkness and confusion. "HEY!" Veemon shouted. "Who turned out the lights?!"

"I think the miners didn't pay their bills," Patamon suggested.

A noise from nearby made Kari shudder. "I think we just walked into a trap," she said.

Yolei started to ask why Kari thought that when she heard it, too: a loud, harsh rattle from the darkness up ahead. It stopped once or twice, but then it sounded constantly like a set of maracas keeping an eerie beat.

The others heard it, too, and nobody liked it one bit. Davis swallowed hard. "...Somebody tell me we're about to run into a giant baby toy..." he tried feebly.

A pair of gleaming yellow eyes opened in the dark, their mere slits of pupils leering hungrily at the Digidestined. "...Nope," was all TK could say.

The lights snapped back on, revealing the creature the eyes belonged to: a gigantic rattlesnake with gray skin adorned with brown and white blotches, like a diamondback. "Holy cow!" Armadillomon gulped. "That's a Rattlermon! An Ultimate!"

Gatomon's ears swiveled back. "And I know exactly who put it here," she snarled.

Its tail making a sound like a dozen sizzling frying pans, the serpentine Spire-Born reared up and hissed, bearing its long, sharp, glistening fangs. "It's not leaving on its own," Cody growled, reaching for his Digivice. "Come on!"

The other kids grabbed their Digivices, too, and tunnel flashed brightly as the Digimon changed. Exveemon, Digmon and Shurimon stood between the kids and the monster, ready for action. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon lingered behind, too restricted by the low ceilings to do anything. "I bet this's why they put it in the tunnel," Pegasusmon grumbled.

"You three fight hard!" Nefertimon huffed.

Exveemon, Digmon and Shurimon charged the mammoth-sized reptile, but it was surprisingly fast. It slithered under Digmon's launched drills and rushed Shurimon, knocking him onto the bug-mole. "Ack! Get off! You're too pointy!" Digmon complained.

Exveemon came up behind it and threw a punch, but it heard him coming and jerked to the side. He landed on one knee and Rattlermon rammed him, sending him crashing onto his back. It hovered over him with a hissing kind of laughter, its fangs poised to strike.

"Aww, shit! Get up, Exveemon!" Davis yelled.

Exveemon started to roll away, but the serpent's speed was horrendous; it buried a fang in his left wing and pinned him down. Exveemon screamed in pain, then reverted to Veemon. Rattlermon dove at him with its maw gaping, but found a giant ninja star waiting instead; Shurimon's well-timed projectile gave it something to snack on while Davis grabbed Veemon and dashed to safety.

"A frontal attack isn't working," Cody snapped. "We have to lure it to a wider room!"

"How?" Yolei asked. "It's lightning fast, but it hasn't moved from where we met it!"

"Maybe if we got it really, really mad, it would chase us!" Veemon suggested.

"How would that be a good idea?!" Gatomon argued.

Davis's eyes lit up, and he pulled out his D-Terminal and hit a few buttons. "You guys back off," he told his friends. "I'll get this thing moving but good!"

"Be careful," Kari urged him, and then they retreated out of the tunnel.

"Shurimon! Digmon! Get outta the way!" Davis yelled as he held up his D3. "DigiArmor Energize!"

There was another flash, and Veemon became Raidramon. As Shurimon and Digmon fell back, Davis hopped on his partner and the electric steed sprayed Rattlermon's face with dozens of lightning blasts. "Go crawl in a boot!" Davis taunted. "C'mon, ya big asshole! Come and get me!"

Rattlermon's golden eyes turned orange with rage, and just as Davis planned, it started moving... although it was going way faster than he had hoped. Almost as soon as Raidramon had spun around and started running, the serpent was right on top of them, snapping its teeth and lashing at their backsides with its tongue.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, Davis!" Raidramon panted.

Davis was thinking something similar, but all that came out of his mouth was an angry snarl. Rattlermon's hot breath blew down their necks as they made another sharp left and caught sight of the tunnel's opening. He bit his lip, hoping the others were ready.

He burst into the larger chamber with Rattlermon right behind him, hissing like an overworked steam engine. "NOW!" TK shouted.

Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, Digmon and Shurimon all hurled their strongest attacks at Rattlermon... and missed it completely! The fiend lurched out of the way at the last moment, then bore down on Davis and Raidramon again. "Razzle frag—" Davis choked. "RUN!"

Not knowing where else to go, Raidramon tore off into another tunnel, and Rattlermon went right after them. "Oh, no..." Kari groaned. "This is bad!"

"We've got no chance if that thing doesn't slow down," Cody growled.

Yolei said nothing; she just gulped loudly.

The noise gave TK an idea. "Hey," he said to the others, "Wasn't Rattlermon's mouth open the whole time it was chasing Davis?"

"Well, except when it was eating my Double Star..." Shurimon groused.

TK set his jaw. "Exactly," he said. "What if it had its mouth full?"

"TK!" Pegasusmon gasped, shocked. "You're not suggesting we let it—"

"Let me finish," TK snapped. "If we can plug its mouth up, maybe it'll slow down enough to attack!"

"Why not?" Nefertimon asked. "I can't think of anything better."

"But what could we throw in its mouth?" Shurimon asked. "...And don't say 'Davis,' Yolei."

"I wasn't going to!" Yolei huffed.

Cody thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Digmon!" he ordered, "knock some big chunks out of the wall!"

"Gotcha!" Digmon agreed, and plunged his drills into the rock.

Cody turned and glared at the tunnel Rattlermon had vanished into. "C'mon, Davis..." he muttered.

* * *

One by one, the floating spires came to a stop over the portal, then quietly sank down into the blackness like monks stepping into quicksand. "Twenty-five..." Mummymon counted. "Ah, one fourth done! We're making good progress."

Suddenly, there was an explosion near Arukenimon's feet. Mummymon and she whipped around to see Ken standing at the bottom of one of the mountains, his weapons smoking and a mask of icy hatred on his face. "Not enough..." Arukenimon growled.

Devimon smiled at the newcomer. "Well, if it isn't the little boy Emperor," he clucked. "I really must thank you for erecting so many of these spires."

Ken's eyes didn't leave Arukenimon and Mummymon. "This is the end," he growled, raising the weapons on his arms. "There's nowhere to run."

Arukenimon smirked at him. "Yes..." she purred. "How very right you are! Mummymon!"

Mummymon's cloak vanished, and he lifted Obelisk. "Ready and waiting!" he cackled.

As the two sides charged, Devimon turned back and watched the twenty-seventh spire vanish.

* * *

Like a rabbit fleeing a fox, Raidramon raced through tunnel after tunnel, but Rattlermon never lost any ground; if Davis had put an arm out behind him, its tongue would have snared him and that would have been it. "Faster, Raidramon!" he ordered his partner. "C'mon!"

"I... I'm trying, Davis," Raidramon panted, his voice heavy with fatigue. "This... I can't keep this up much longer!"

Davis almost wet himself at the sound of Rattlermon's maw snapping just inches from his backside. "Give it all ya got!" he yelled. "We gotta get further away!"

Raidramon growled and pumped his legs as fast as he could go, but it didn't make much difference; Rattlermon kept up without another thought. Davis bit his lip; what could they do to shake this snake?!

Another fork in the cave reared up to greet them, and he lurched his ride to the right, hoping it would go into a lower tunnel that Rattlermon couldn't squeeze itself into. Much to his horror, not only did the ceiling remain the same height, but the tunnel started sloping _upwards_. Raidramon heaved and gasped; the elevation was robbing him of what was left of his stamina. "Davis!..." he wheezed. "I'm...!"

Rattlermon hissed and closed in for its meal. Davis looked ahead, hoping for some kind of salvation. Instead all he saw was a blur of a yellow DANGER sign, and then there was no more ground beneath Raidramon's feet, and the exhausted Digimon shrank back to Veemon. For a split-second, the pair got a view of the tallest chamber from the ceiling level, and then down they went. As they plummeted, Davis spun around saw Rattlermon bearing down on them, its mouth open and tongue flailing. What would be the way he left this world, he wondered: breaking his neck from the fall, or being ingested in midair?

A flash of gold suddenly burst between the orifice and him, and Rattlermon shrieked and jerked back. He suddenly found himself on Aquilamon's soft back, and then safe on the ground with Veemon beside him. Rattlermon crashed down in the dirt in front of him, lashing itself around and angrily trying to hiss through the giant boulder stuck in its craw.

"Davis!" Kari shouted from atop Nefertimon; Pegasusmon and her partner were still connected by the golden rope that had held the rock. "Now's your chance!"

Veemon got to his feet, covered with sweat but looking far from down and out; he must have got a fresh burst of adrenaline from seeing Rattlermon get lockjaw. "Yeah!" he managed. "C'mon!"

Davis raised his D3 again, and Veemon transformed into Exveemon just as Rattlermon bit down hard on the boulder and shattered it. It threw itself at Exveemon, but Davis's D3 spat sparks and Paildramon took the Champion's place, whipping out its guns. As Rattlermon dove in for the kill, Paildramon pumped its throat full of lead, reducing it to a heap of black dust.

"YEAH!" Digmon cheered, whirring his drills.

"Thank goodness," TK sighed.

Paildramon sank to one knee, exhausted. Davis's knees shook, and he flopped down on the ground. That had been _way_ too close.

"Hey, hey! No time for rest now!" Yolei argued, grabbing his arm and yanking him back up. "We've gotta get to the Crest!"

Davis grunted crossly, but he knew she was right. "Paildramon, you good to go?" he asked.

Paildramon stood his ground, miraculously re-energized by the battle. "You bet," he agreed. "Just point me toward Arukenimon!"

Cody nodded and looked to Digmon. "Can you pick up the scent again?" he asked.

Digmon shrank back to a cross-looking Armadillomon. "OK, fine..." he muttered, "but that sushi better be prime cuts!"

He put his nose to the ground, snorted for a moment, then raced back up the tunnel Rattlermon had been hiding in. The rest ran after him, hoping they weren't too late.

* * *

Ken took aim and launched another volley of grenades, but once again Arukenimon bounded out of the way, cackling. Mummymon slashed at him with some loose bandages, but he rolled away unscathed. He was holding his own against the dastardly duo, but their actions made him suspicious. They didn't seem to be trying their hardest, like he had seen in the motel; it was more like they were stalling for time. Of course, their defense wasn't any less shoddy; while they hadn't hurt him, he hadn't been able to get any shots in either.

"I told you to leave. There's nothing left for you in this world," Arukenimon sneered at the boy, winding up to hurl her spidery threads. "Nobody likes someone who can't take a hint!"

Ken leaped away from the purple tentacles and fired a stream of bullets, but they hit nothing but dirt. "My spires... my shame... you're abusing them!" he growled. "There _is_ something left for me here: it's getting rid of you two!"

Mummymon threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, my goodness! Are you serious?!" he roared. "For being an Emperor, your ego's about as tough as wet tissue paper!" Three grenades came his way, but he leaped to safety just as they exploded. "Go home!" he laughed. "Nobody wants you here!"

Ken's eyes narrowed. That wasn't true; somebody did want him here. Sam did. Wormmon did. The ones that weren't wanted were these two fiends. Thinking for a moment, he aimed his shoulder laser at Mummymon. "Ho! This again?" Mummymon laughed. "Give me a break!"

Mummymon bounded away, but the laser didn't fire at him; at the last moment, Ken swerved to the left and shot Arukenimon in her side. Arukenimon gave a screechy hiss and fell back, clutching at the smoking wound, her face going purple with rage. Mummymon stiffened, gaping at the scene. "Yeeeew..." she snarled, getting back on her feet. "I gave you a chance to leave on your own... but _now_..."

Ignoring her threats, Ken raised his guns to deal the final blows... but suddenly he found his legs snared up in yellow bandages, and then Obelisk's butt connected with his face, knocking him down like a bowling pin. Mummymon towered over him, his expression one of raw hatred. "The only place you're going is into a BOX!" he screamed.

Ken tried to shake himself loose, but Mummymon wasn't finished; he yanked on the bindings and jerked the boy back up just to swat him again. Arukenimon stared at the scene, wide eyed and stunned—she had never seen her partner act like this before—but she didn't intervene.

Three, four, five times, Ken felt himself get yanked up and knocked back down, and then he came up one last time. Mummymon swung Obelisk like a baseball bat, and after an indescribably painful sound the child crashed into the dead grass ten feet away, blood gushing from his nose and more flecking from his coughing mouth. He sucked in a shuddering breath, amazed that he was still alive. Those two were worse than he thought. He could hardly scratch them even when they were just toying with him, and when they were angry... He tried to get up, but his arms just wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't beat them by himself; that was proven beyond a doubt. He needed help.

"Ken! KEN!" a familiar voice yelled, and he heard the patter of feet behind him. "Holy shit!" Davis swore as he looked over the downed fighter. "Are you OK?!"

Yolei helped Davis drag Ken to his feet and glared at the enemies. "How could you do this to him?!" she demanded.

"Well, well..." Arukenimon sneered, clenching her fists. "If it isn't the rest of our mutual irritations."

"How about we show them just how we could?" Mummymon cackled, clicking Obelisk.

Kari noticed the black portal on the ground and couldn't stop herself from shaking. "You... Is he...?" she began, looking up at Devimon.

Nefertimon leaped in front of her partner, staring down the devil. "Round two," she snarled, her eyes burning beneath her stone mask.

A control spire dropped down into the blackness. Armadillomon looked up and saw one other spire floating in the sky. "Hey, weren't there a lot more of those when we went in?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Cody agreed, and frowned at Devimon. "Is this your doing?"

"TK, look!" Pegasusmon said, motioning to the glow in the rock. "That must be the Crest piece!"

Surely enough, lodged in the rock was a small, cloud-shaped piece of orange plastic... but TK's eyes went right to Devimon, and he scowled. "What're you up to?" he asked.

Devimon just stood there glowering. "Well, whatever it is, we're stopping it!" Aquilamon rumbled.

Cody raised his D3 and Armadillomon changed into Ankylomon. "Make this one count," he huffed.

"They're sure goin' to a lot of trouble this time," Ankylomon said with a cocky grin. "Must be runnin' scared!"

Arukenimon grinned wickedly, her mouth showing exactly how wide it was. "We aren't the ones who'll be running scared..." she purred.

The final spire plunged into the void. "Yes," Devimon agreed. "It's time."

Aquilamon, Ankylomon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon started to charge at the enemies, but suddenly the ground shook violently—more violently than when the spires went airborne—and a powerful blast of cold air blew across the valley. Ankylomon dug his claws in and Aquilamon landed behind him, but Pegasusmon and Nefertimon weren't so lucky; the wind put them in crumpled heaps on the ground.

"What the?!" TK shouted.

"Nefertimon!" Kari cried.

"What the hell kinda wind can do THAT?!" Davis demanded.

Cody bit his lip, daring to wonder what was going to come next.

Bearing all his teeth in a vile grin, Devimon pointed a long finger towards the portal. "Mind your manners, children," he sneered. "You're about to meet the Lord of Darkness."

The darkness emanating from the hole amazingly turned darker, and it swirled faster and more wildly than before. Something slowly rose up from the void; a tall, muscular figure with a body like a man's, but a head, claws and feet like a reptile's. Its black body was coated from head to toe in thick black armor, save for the grungy yellow hair that jutted out above its neck and the golden eyes that flashed behind its triply horned mask.

As Davis, Cody, Yolei and their Digimon regarded the newcomer, a strange feeling crept over their bodies; it felt as if they were reliving their collective worst nightmares and might never wake up from them. "Wha... what the hell?..." Davis murmured.

Ken's body shivered uncontrollably. That creature had a familiar aura... _too_ familiar. It felt as powerful as the Kimeramon he had made... no... it felt as powerful as ten Kimeramon!

TK's eyes were wide and full of fear. "They didn't!" he gasped, trying to drag the downed Pegasusmon further back. "They couldn't!"

Kari's blood froze and her face turned white. Nefertimon looked up and, in a whispered scream, uttered a name for this thing: "W... Wargreymon?..."

For a horrible few moments, the kids just gawked at the creature, which stared right back like a terrible statue. "Wargreymon?" Paildramon asked.

"What Tai's partner Agumon can turn into..." Pegasusmon said, "but... he isn't colored at all like this..."

Yolei was the first to recover from the initial shock. "Yeah? So what?!" she huffed, scowling at the monsters. "We already deep-sixed one Spire-Born today, and I've seen _way_ worse than that thing! Get 'im, Aquilamon!"

"You too, Ankylomon," Cody huffed.

"Got it!" Aquilamon snarled, and flew at the newcomer.

"He's as good as dust!" Ankylomon snapped.

TK leaped to his feet, his eyes full of blind panic. "No! WAIT!" he shouted.

His warning came too late. Faster than it takes to write it, the black-armored creature shot into the air and slammed its claws into Aquilamon's sides, immobilizing him... and then it pulled back and smashed its skull into his, sending him straight down into Ankylomon and stopping him dead. Before either one could even consider getting up, it tore down and rammed them, and like a high-octane bulldozer, it shoved them through fifty yards of dirt and gravel and smashed them half-buried into the mountainside.

Yolei almost choked on her own spit. This thing wasn't an ordinary Spire-Born; it was too fast and too strong! Aquilamon was totally outclassed!

Cody's small eyes widened, and his arms trembled. Seeing this creature at work had suddenly forced his mind's eye to picture his own demise.

Arukenimon burst out laughing; she couldn't control her delight. "Yes! Yes!" she cackled. "This one is perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

Devimon bowed to her, leering. "Blackwargreymon in action. So good to see that you're satisfied," he mused.

"Oh, man!" Paildramon gulped. "This guy doesn't play around! I'd better—"

"No way; you're still beat!" Davis told him. "TK! C'mon, get yer rear in gear!"

TK looked at Davis like he thought he was insane. "But...!" he choked.

"He's right!" Yolei huffed, stomping up and down even with Ken's weight. "You too, Kari! Help us out!"

Kari bit her lip, still petrified with terror. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon slowly began to get up. "No, Pegasusmon!" TK said, grabbing at his partner.

"They're right, TK," Pegasusmon grunted. "I have to try to protect you."

TK looked absolutely desperate. "But what if you—" he started.

Pegasusmon didn't stick around for him to finish. Nefertimon and he took to the air and flew at Blackwargreymon... but it was all for nothing. In an instant, Blackwargreymon flew upwards, his whole body spinning like a drill, and he tore right through them. In a hail of feathers and fluids, Patamon and Gatomon fell to earth, barely alive.

"NO!" TK screamed at the top of his lungs. Kari could only manage a gurgling wail.

Ken's eyes widened. "So fast..." he gasped. "It's... it's unbelievable!"

Davis gnashed his teeth. He looked over at Aquilamon and Ankylomon, broken against the rocks, and then at Kari, sobbing as she tried to get a response out of Gatomon. Another human being in his position would have suggested a hasty retreat, but Davis did something else entirely: he got mad. _Really_ mad. "Goddamn sumnaBITCH!" he swore at Blackwargreymon. "NOBODY kicks my friends around! PAILDRAMON!"

Paildramon was nowhere near his full strength, but he was all the Digidestined had left and he knew it. He charged in and struck a fighting stance before Blackwargreymon. "You heard him," he growled. "That's enough!"

Arukenimon smiled again. "This is the best that these children can offer, Blackwargreymon," she cackled, pointing at Paildramon. "Now show them what happens to those who get in our way!"

Paildramon's lances slid out of his claws and he flew at Blackwargreymon, and the vile newcomer charged at him. They collided in midair with a terrible metal-on-metal crunch, and Paildramon sailed down towards earth, only to be launched back up by Blackwargreymon's somersaulting kick.

Davis was practically foaming at the mouth now. "No frickin' WAY!" he snarled. "He's knockin' him around like a frickin' SOCCER BALL!"

The others were silent, their eyes glued to the monstrous abuse happening in front of them. Ken glanced over at him, his face grave. "Davis," he muttered, "this one may be stronger than an Ultimate..."

Davis looked down at him, his eyes wide. There were Digimon stronger than Ultimates?!

With a swift motion, Blackwargreymon hurled Paildramon into the air again and landed in the center of the valley, seemingly resting. "OK, that's it!" Paildramon huffed, dropping down and whipping out his guns. "Go to sleep on me?! I'll teach you!"

Blasting faster and louder than he ever had before, Paildramon emptied round after round of his Desperado Blasters into Blackwargreymon, and the dead field became a haze of dust. He fired like a madman for two whole minutes, when finally he ran out of ammo. "There!" he panted, sweat gleaming on his forehead. "What do you say to that?!"

The smoke cleared to reveal a deep crater all around Blackwargreymon... but the monster didn't have a scratch on it. Paildramon recoiled in shock.

"What?! NO!" Yolei shouted. "That's not...! That's just not fair!"

"You goddamn freak!" Davis yelled at the monster, suddenly able to smell his own fear. "Why aren't you dead yet?! You HAVE to be!" He sounded enraged, but he was slowly coming to see that yelling was really all he could do.

The wind suddenly changed; it blew towards Blackwargreymon and swirled around it. Small black fires started to burn on parts of its body, and the very air around the creature seemed to be turning dark.

Mummymon, who had been watching silently, suddenly saw what was about to happen. "Arukenimon," he said, tapping her on the shoulder, "I think we should be pulling out about now..."

"What are you talking about?!" Arukenimon snapped, brushing him off. "I want a front row seat for this!"

"We're not in the front row; we're on the STAGE!" Mummymon huffed, grabbing her and shoving her into the jeep's backseat. He quickly got in and threw the vehicle in reverse, ripping backwards across the valley in spite of her angry protests. Devimon watched them go, then turned back to the spectacle.

The squealing tires snapped Kari out of her paralysis and she realized what was about to happen. "Everybody RUN!" she screamed, pointing toward the mine entrance.

The way Blackwargreymon looked, nobody had to be told twice. They all broke into a mad sprint for the mine, and even Ken kicked his legs along the ground to help Davis and Yolei speed up. Paildramon brought up the rear, looking back at the fiend. He was the only one who saw exactly what happened then.

Blackwargreymon's eyes disappeared into the blackness of its helmet, and it tilted its head back, looking up into the sky. Everybody had the same two words burst in their eardrums: "TERRA DESTROYER."

A wild swell of black energy whooshed out of him and engulfed the valley, a torrent of earth and stone flying into the air like raindrops in a hurricane. The ground fell away from Davis's feet and he couldn't find it again. All the screams of his comrades and even his own were drowned out by the sheer howling of the wind.

There was a long period of terrible silence. As the light reluctantly drifted back into the world, Arukenimon and Mummymon saw the horrible aftermath: every mountain on the far side of the valley was gone, devoured by a mammoth trench that ended at Blackwargreymon's feet. The Digidestined were strewn among the rubble, painted with streaks of red from their mouths and limbs, barely rasping with breath. Most of the Digimon were so beat up, they had shrank all the way back to their bulbous In-Training shapes; the once-proud Paildramon was little more than a blue sock ball face-down among the rocks. Blackwargreymon turned around and regarded the rock where a piece of the Crest of Courage lay, then put his claw through it, destroying it in a wink. Devimon nodded silently.

Blackwargreymon didn't look up as the jeep rumbled in. "Good Lord..." Mummymon gawked, seeing the destruction up close. "Did that really just happen?!"

Arukenimon was trembling with giddy excitement. Devimon smirked. "Will this be satisfactory, then?" he asked.

"Ohhhh, yes," Arukenimon cackled, unable to hide the shudder of ecstasy in her voice. "Blackwargreymon!" she addressed him, leaping out of the jeep. "With you at my side, this Digital World will soon be nothing more than a memory! Now, let's go and make an example of the town just beyond these mountains!"

Blackwargreymon didn't respond. It stared at the ruins it had made, and the creatures it had hurt... specifically the girl wearing pink, which lay splayed out on her back in the middle of the gorge, her battered cat partner crumpled on her chest.

Arukenimon scowled at the inaction. Mummymon got out of the jeep, too. "Well, don't just stand there patting yourself on the back!" he shouted. "Your master has given you an order! Now get to work!"

Blackwargreymon was silent for a moment longer, then turned and scowled at them. "I have but one master..." he spoke in a harsh, gravelly tone, "and that is not you."

Mummymon visibly recoiled. Arukenimon was furious. "What?!" she shrieked. "How DARE you speak to me that way!"

"I didn't come here to do the bidding of cowards weaker than myself," he growled, then stared up at the sky. "There is much to be done."

Without another word, he shot upwards and disappeared among the gray clouds, making a gust of wind that almost knocked Arukenimon over. Her mouth hung limp for a moment, and then she turned on Devimon in a rage. "What's going on here?!" she shrieked. "You said we'd have the most powerful creature!"

Devimon chortled, his grin turning nasty. "Yes, I did..." he sneered, "but I never said you would be able to control him. Good day." With that, he melted into the air and was gone. What color could be found among the rubble slowly returned.

Mummymon sagged. "Oh, dear, oh dear..." he groaned. "Perhaps we just bit off a smidgen more than we could chew..."

Arukenimon said nothing else. She just stared up at the sky, her limbs trembling violently.


	34. Downhill

**CHAPTER 34**

**DOWNHILL**

TK could have slept forever if not for the obnoxious beep that sounded nearby every few moments. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes, wondering why it was so dark; was he still dreaming? Thousands of flickering stars came into his blurry vision, and he felt the warm, rough rocks under him. His memory of what had happened crawled back into his head. He forced himself to stand up and immediately his whole body complained. He ached in all of his limbs, his nose picked up the scent of blood, and he could imagine he had bruises in all the worst places... but miraculously he didn't seem to be missing anything.

A sudden fear struck him: if _he_ felt this awful, was anyone else even alive? Looking around frantically, his heart leaped into his chest as he picked out the fallen shapes of his friends in the moonlight. Patamon lay closest to him, sprawled out on his side. "Patamon..." he grunted, shaking his partner. "Patamon! Wake up!"

Patamon groaned and rolled onto his back, his bright blue eyes springing open. "TK?..." he asked. "Are we in heaven?..."

TK couldn't help but smile sadly. "I don't think so," he said, scooping the little Digimon up. "C'mon, let's get the others up."

They stumbled over to the others and shook them awake. Cody sprang up almost immediately, though Upamon needed some extra pushing. Ken was easy to revive too, but he wouldn't let Patamon touch his equipment in case something was broken. Davis grumbled and rolled over, but Chibumon jumped on his shoulder until he finally sat up. Yolei wouldn't wake up until Poromon had sat on her face for at least two minutes. They came to Kari last, who TK brought around easily. "Are you OK?" he asked, noticing the shine of blood on her cheeks.

"I... I think so..." she replied, trying to get up but stumbling. With TK on one side and Gatomon on the other, she was able to get back on her feet.

"Ugh..." Gatomon grunted, swishing her tail around to be sure she could still move it. "Feels like I got hit by a garbage truck at high speed... on ice."

"Is everybody OK?" Poromon asked.

Cody glanced around at the field of rubble. "We're better off than the terrain," he said gravely, peering into the darkness. "This used to be a whole ring of mountains, didn't it?"

What little relief was left in the others fizzled away at that. Looking around and seeing only _half_ a ring of mountains was a ghastly shock. "...Holy shit," was all that escaped Davis's mouth.

Yolei poked at herself to be sure she wasn't ghostly. "How are we even here now?" she exclaimed.

"Blackwargreymon can do that?" Upamon yelped.

TK suddenly thought of something. "The Crest!" he exclaimed, whirling around... but there was nothing left of the stone that had held it. He visibly sagged. "...Oh..." he groaned.

"We blew it..." Patamon sighed, his ear wings sagging.

The others showed similar gestures of glumness... but Kari shook her head. "Right now, I'm just glad we're all OK," she said with a weak smile.

Davis glanced over at Ken, who was fussing with his weaponry. "You need some help, Ken?" he asked.

"Nothing you could help me with," Ken muttered, angrily slamming shut the compartment hatch. That explosion had completely fried his equipment; he would have to waste precious time repairing it... and with that _thing_ running loose, he now had even less to spare.

Just then, TK's D-Terminal beeped loudly again. He picked it up and opened it to at least ten new messages, all from Izzy. "Oh, geez!" he exclaimed loudly. "Izzy!"

The others all looked up in alarm, too. "What time is it?" Cody asked.

Ignoring the message, TK looked at the clock on the device and his face contorted. It read 11:32 PM. "...Late," was his response.

"Oh, man!" Yolei winced. "Our parents are gonna be freaking out by now!"

"We gotta get home, and fast!" Chibumon chirped, and turned to Ken. "Hey, Ken! Where did you get here from?"

"There was a warp in front of the mine entrance," Ken said, pointing down the newly formed gully. "But... that was before..."

"Well, that's worth checking out," Poromon said. "Can you show us, please?"

Ken took a few steps forward, then almost collapsed. "Woah!" Davis yelped, running and struggling to help him up. "Take it easy, man!"

Yolei raced over and held Ken up on the other side. "You've done enough today," she said, grinning awkwardly. "I mean, taking on Arukenimon and Mummymon all by yourself... That was really brave!"

Ken shook his head. "It was stupid," he growled. "I couldn't beat them even when they were playing with me... I need something more..."

Yolei's hopeful smile faded. "Hey, worry 'bout that when you're home in bed," Davis told him. "For now, just show us where the warp was."

They slowly started down the trench, with Cody, TK and the Digimon following along behind. Gatomon started to follow, but noticed Kari hanging back, staring up into the starry sky. "Kari?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Kari kept staring for a moment more, recalling Blackwargreymon and the horrible feeling surrounding him. She looked down at her friend with a look of pure gloom. "What isn't wrong right now?..." she sighed.

* * *

Izzy had memorized the telling off he was going to give the Digidestined for staying out until nearly midnight without a word of contact, but when he saw the state they were in, his irritation switched completely to shock. "Good grief!" he exclaimed as they staggered from the floor before his computer and flopped into a heap on his bed. "What happened to you all?"

"Blackwargreymon happened, that's frickin' what," Davis grunted bitterly, choosing to sag against the wall instead.

Izzy almost threw up his heart. "Black... _what?_" he choked.

The others were practically out cold already, so Davis and Chibumon recounted the afternoon's events to Izzy: the floating spires; the mines and Rattlermon; the colorless canyon; and Blackwargreymon and that crazy move he pulled off. By the time they were finished, the boy genius looked uncharacteristically horrified. "He destroyed... mountains?" Izzy gasped.

"Look at the map!" Chibumon urged. "You'll see!"

Izzy turned back to the computer and brought up the Digital World map. Surely enough, the Asp Mountain Range had only half of the mountains it started with that afternoon. He leaned back in his chair, chewing at a fingernail. "This isn't good... No, not good at all..." he muttered. "Arukenimon can create Mega Digimon now?..."

Davis and Chibumon stared at him blankly. "Say what now?" Davis asked.

"You lost me," Chibumon said.

Izzy turned and looked at them darkly. "Ultimate is a powerful level, but there is another level above it: Mega," he explained. "Wargreymon is a Mega Digimon, so we can only conclude that Blackwargreymon is the same."

Davis's face paled as this new fact sank in. Paildramon's attacks bouncing off Blackwargreymon without so much as a dent, and now Izzy confirming it... There were Digimon stronger than Paildramon; _much_ stronger. Chibumon or he could get hurt even worse than tonight... or even... As it dawned on him just how much trouble they were in, his limbs started to shake uncontrollably.

"Davis?" Izzy asked. "Are you OK?"

"Davis!" Chibumon chirped worriedly.

The back of Davis's throat was bone dry. He swallowed a few times, but to no avail. "What do we do?" he screeched at Izzy. "What do we do? _Tell me_ you've got a plan!"

Izzy put his hand on Davis's shoulder. "Calm down, Davis," he said calmly. "You look like you're going to wet yourself."

At that moment, Davis almost did... but got himself back under control. "There has to be some way to win..." he urged.

Izzy shook his head grimly. "This is too much to absorb..." he said. "I have to talk with Tai and the others..."

Davis sagged even more. Everything that had happened was bad enough, but when even Izzy didn't have a plan ready, it was time to mash the panic button.

"For now, though," Izzy went on, glancing at the half-comatose group on his bed, "we need to get you all home. Your parents have to be worried sick by now."

Kari jerked up. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed, remembering her parents. "What if they called the police?"

"Heh heh..." Davis coughed, trying to laugh his way into a better mood. "Jun says if my folks ever call the police when I'm out late, it's because they're worried about the c_ity_."

"Why's that?" Upamon asked. "Are you part Godzilla?"

"Only his table manners," Yolei retorted.

The others forced laughter at this... but like Davis's joke before, it fell flat against the shroud over them.

The kids quietly talked and slowly came up with an excuse for their being late and their injuries: they had a rough pick-up soccer game after school let out, and they were having so much fun, none of them realized how late it was. "How about that?" Davis asked. "Sound good?"

"What about the ball?" TK asked. "We don't have a soccer ball with us."

Davis winced, but Kari had an idea. "It, um, we kicked it into the river by accident!" she blurted out. "That's when we saw how late it was!"

Cody grimaced. "There're plenty of holes in this story," he remarked.

"Yeah..." TK admitted, "but it sounds a lot better than saying we each got mugged; that would _really_ get our parents upset."

The others agreed on that. Izzy snuck out of his room and came back with a cordless phone. "OK, make your calls," he said, "and then I'll get you down to the curb."

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "I think we can do that much ourselves, Izzy," she remarked.

Izzy smirked. "Oh yeah? Can you get out of my apartment without hitting the squeaky floorboards?" he asked. "Imagine what MY parents will say if they see I have five underage kids here after curfew."

Yolei swallowed. "Uh... r-right," she said, and started punching the buttons on the phone.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, a gray car and a red SUV squealed up to the curb in front of the Izumis' apartment building, where the silent squad of kids waited. They knew their parents would be worried, but they hoped this wouldn't be too embarrassing, either.

TK's mother stepped out of the car and rushed over to him. "TK! Oh, thank God!" she gasped, grabbing him and squeezing tightly. "I was afraid you'd...!"

TK bit his lip at the squeezing; her hands had both found bruises. "I... It's OK, Mom!" he managed. "I'm... urk... I'm just... fine!"

Cody was surprised when Nancy turned to him with an equally relieved smile. "Oh, Iori!" she said. "Your mom caught me in the parking lot and asked me to bring you home, too. Come on, now."

Cody scratched his head and looked around awkwardly. That was his mom; even in a crisis situation, she championed efficiency. Sure, it would have been a waste of gas for her to drive here, too... but seeing the grip Nancy had on TK made him feel a bit left out.

Yolei's father stepped out of the SUV, an expression on his face that made Yolei's go pale. He didn't come over, but motioned for her to get in the vehicle. "Um... uh... See you tomorrow, guys..." she muttered, and shuffled off towards him.

Nancy, TK and Cody got in the car and drove away, with the SUV slowly following behind. "Whew... Well, that's most of us gone home," Kari said.

Davis noticed how downcast Kari looked. He also noticed that, aside from Izzy and the Digimon, the two of them were alone. It was a golden opportunity. "So, uh..." he tried, moving a bit closer to her, "crazy day, huh?"

"No kidding!" Chibumon huffed in his hands. "I mean, when I woke up, I had feet! Now look at me!"

Davis squeezed his partner sharply, then grinned at Kari again. "Uh... How 'bout you?" he asked.

She just shook her head. "I just want to go to bed," she sighed.

Davis's feet tapped impatiently, annoyed that he couldn't even get a decent conversation going with her. How could he get her attention if he couldn't even, well, get her attention?

A shrill whistle behind him told him he wouldn't be, either. His stomach fell as he turned and saw Jun pedaling down the sidewalk on her bike. "Took you long enough to phone home, ding-dong!" she cackled as she skidded to a stop, her face resembling that of a smug cat. "Oh, boy... Just think of how much you owe me for not waking up Mom and Dad!"

"Aww, shuddap!" Davis snapped at her, his face going red.

The sound of another bike made Kari turn in the other direction, and she found the energy to wave as Tai came around the corner. "Kari! Woah, what happened to you?" he exclaimed as he got closer and saw the state she was in. "Are you OK?"

"Oh, uh, hey, Coach," Davis tried, putting on a big grin for Tai. "Relax! We're fine... We're all fine!"

"Sure you are," Jun mused from her bike. "That's why you're out past midnight looking like a taxi dragged you six blocks."

"Will you just zip your yap?" Davis snarled at her, flecking spittle.

Not noticing the sibling quarrel, Tai looked at Izzy for some kind of explanation. Izzy glanced over at Jun, then shook his head. "I'll tell you tomorrow," he said. "Let Matt and Sora know there's a meeting after school."

"...Err... right... See you tomorrow, then..." Tai sighed. "Goodnight, Davis. Jun." With that, he put his arm over Kari's shoulder and they started home.

Davis cursed into his clenched teeth and glared at his sister. "Why've you always gotta show up at the worst time?" he grunted.

"Oh, did I butt in on your sweetie time?" she crooned, batting her eyes. "You don't want her to get the wrong impression about you, do you?"

Arguing loud enough to wake the whole block, the Motomiya siblings walked off. Izzy watched until they were out of earshot, amazed that Davis could take a blast from a Mega Digimon and still have enough energy to trade barbs with his sister.

A cold November wind sent him into wild shivers, and his thoughts changed to why he came outside without a decent jacket. It was time to go in and get some sleep.

* * *

Yolei's father found his voice easily once he was alone with his daughter. "What the HELL were you doing out so late?" he demanded. "Do you know what time it is?"

Yolei swallowed hard, trying to keep her story straight. "I, um..." she stammered, "I lost track of time... I-I was playing soccer with the others, and—"

"Since when do YOU play soccer?" he snapped, not buying it for an instant. "Every time I see you, you've got your face against a screen! Now what were you _really_ doing?"

Yolei winced and small, frightened tears blurred her contacts... but that gave her an idea. "I... I decided to try it," she said. "It... it's the new contacts, Dad. They made me feel so different, I wanted to try something new!" After an awkward pause, she added: "I didn't lose them..."

Her father glared suspiciously at her in the rear view mirror, then went back to watching the road. They drove six blocks before he spoke again. "I can't believe you'd be so irresponsible," he muttered. "Your mother was about to call the police, you know!" He shook his head. "I thought you knew better. If your brother or sisters are going to be late, at least they remember to call home!"

"I... I'm sorry," Yolei whimpered.

"You bet you are," he grunted. "I'll have to talk with your mother about how long you're going to be grounded!"

Yolei sagged so much, she almost let go of Poromon. She bit her lip and blinked away the tears, staying silent for the rest of the ride.

* * *

Ken's night was uneventful; he just reappeared in his room and fell into bed, exhausted. It was in the morning, as he limped to the breakfast table, when he realized the state he was in.

"Ken!" his mother gasped as he stumbled into his seat. She got up and rushed to him. His father jerked up in his chair, dropping the newspaper.

Ken looked down himself and saw what they were so upset about; his hands were scratched up in several places, painted with streaks of dried blood. His mother pushed one of his sleeves up and even he was shocked; cuts and bruises had turned it almost entirely purple. The way his mom was gaping at his face, too, he guessed it looked equally bad.

His father's mouth hung open. "What in the world happened?" he demanded.

Ken looked away from their worried faces, cursing himself for forgetting how injured he was from both Mummymon's berserk assault and Blackwargreymon's energy bomb... but he quickly made an excuse. "I, um..." he said softly, "I was rearranging stuff in my closet, and the top shelf came loose... dropped a lot of stuff on me and knocked me down," he mumbled. "I... It's OK... I don't feel that bad."

He sat down and tried to get some toast down his throat, but his parents didn't take their eyes off of him. After just four bites, he pushed his plate away. "...I should get ready for school," he muttered, heading towards the bathroom to wash up. Their gazes followed him around the corner.

He got to the bathroom mirror and shuddered at his bruised, cut face. He wet a washcloth and dabbed away what crusty blood he could. That had been a pretty lousy excuse, and from their stricken faces, he didn't think they had bought it. Could he keep this mission from them much longer?

* * *

School on Wednesday was painful enough without the kids having to contend with sore limbs and the stares of their classmates. By the end of the day, Davis was ready to keel over. "Oogh... I'm done," he groaned to Kari as they headed towards the exit. "Soon as I get home, I'm goin' right to bed."

Kari stifled a large yawn herself. "It's funny how we're still tired even though we were unconscious most of the time," she observed.

That reminder of yesterday's events made Davis groan again. How could he even think of sleeping when that psycho Spire-born was running free? He looked at Kari worriedly, but if she was disappointed with him, it didn't show; she just looked tired and downcast.

As they passed the locker rooms, Tai emerged with his duffle bag. "Oh! Hey, guys!" he called, waving them back. "Glad I caught you. You want to stick around; we're meeting at Izzy's."

Davis and Kari turned around, the looks on their face showing Tai they wished they had moved faster. He gave them a sympathetic smile. "Long day, huh?" he asked.

"You said it, coach," Davis muttered.

"I think it's going to be an early night for all of us..." Kari sighed.

Just then, Izzy rounded the corner with Cody, TK and Matt behind him. "Hey, Tai," he said. "Did you find them?"

"Well... most of them," Tai replied, motioning to Davis and Kari. "What about everyone else?"

"Joe's headed there already," TK spoke up.

"Did you call Sora?" Matt asked.

Tai scratched at his head and looked away. "Um, yeah..." he admitted. "But, uh... she didn't pick up."

The others could sense there was something Tai wasn't telling them, but Izzy pressed onto the next topic. "What about Yolei?" he asked. "Does anyone know where she is?"

Davis, Kari and TK shook their heads. "She might have gone home already," Cody pointed out. "She said her parents were pretty upset..."

"Yeah, who wouldn't be?" Kari asked, smiling faintly. "Mine flipped out when they saw me this morning. They thought I'd been mugged until Tai explained."

"Mom was trying to sound angry, but she finally broke down about how afraid she was..." TK sighed. "She thought I'd disappeared again, like before..."

"I got a stern talking to from both Mom and Grandpa," Cody said, "but I could tell they were more relieved than angry... Actually, Grandpa took me aside and asked if I could show him some basic soccer moves, since kendo doesn't exercise his legs as much as he'd like."

"Hmm... I guess we can assume Yolei won't be coming, then," Izzy sighed. "Shall we go? The Digimon should be waiting outside."

Davis kicked at the ground. "Dammit!" he huffed. "Why's she always gone when we actually want her around?"

* * *

Actually, Yolei hadn't gone home; she was walking with Sora towards her apartment for their study session. Being an educational errand, her parents had allowed her to go through with it as long as she promised to be back by seven o'clock sharp. She sighed and shook her head; today might have been a freebie, but their parental wrath would descend on her again the minute she stepped through her front door.

"It's right here," Sora spoke, and Yolei stopped. They were in front of another of the city's large apartment complexes. If not for the slightly greener stone exterior, Yolei would have thought she was home. Sora made for a flight of steps nearby. "It's on the fifth floor," she said, starting up them.

Yolei looked at the concrete steps and groaned; she had managed to get through the day with her bruises, but she certainly didn't feel like climbing five flights of steps. "Isn't there an elevator?..." she asked.

"Uh, well... yeah," Sora replied, a bit taken aback until she remembered her friend's wounds. "How did you get so beat up, anyway?" she asked.

"Well..." Poromon began.

Yolei pinched his beak shut. "I don't want to talk about it," she grunted. "Let's just get this project going."

"Oh... OK," Sora said after a pause. "Here, the elevator's this way."

They walked behind the stairs to an elevator and got in. Sora hit the '5' button and it slowly rose up. "So, how are the contacts working out?" she asked.

"They're fine," Yolei replied, not really looking in Sora's direction.

Sora chuckled a little. "I have to admit, I had to look twice," she said. "Without your glasses, you look... well..."

"That's what I say," Poromon spoke up. "I mean, she got out of bed, and I thought she forgot her glasses... but she didn't!"

Yolei bit her lip. Didn't any of her friends have nice things to say about her new look? Oh, well. As long as Ken noticed, that was what mattered.

The elevator dinged, and the girls got off and walked to the corner apartment, where the characters of the name "Takenouchi" were stamped on a plaque to the side of the door beneath a golden 507. "Well, this is it," Sora said, unlocking the door and motioning her guests in.

They walked into an apartment that had the same layout as Yolei's own apartment, but furnished completely differently: the walls were decorated with old Japanese paintings instead of family photographs; there were stands with ornately-trimmed bonsai trees on them instead of overcrowded coat racks; and the faint scent of greenery and flower petals hung in the air instead of deodorant and burnt toaster pastries. "Wow..." she murmured as she stepped out of her shoes.

"Trees can grow inside houses?" Poromon asked. "Wow! Yolei, can I get a closer look?"

Yolei almost didn't want to go further in; the place looked so delicate and formal, she was afraid she might break something. "I... is there anybody else home?" she asked.

Sora put a hand to her ear for a moment, then smiled. "Come on, let me show you around," she said, stepping onto the carpeting. "The sun room's just to the right."

Yolei gave her a puzzled look. What was a "sun room?"

She followed Sora a few paces into the living room, then turned right. In a spot where she was used to seeing her brother's closed door, she was greeted with a blinding rush of blue and the powerful fragrance of at least a dozen kinds of flowers. She threw up one hand over her eyes and saw that there were three giant windows in place of the far wall, streaming in the eastern sky. Pots lined all four edges of the room, brimming with flowers of every color of the rainbow, most of which Yolei had never seen before. In the center was a short table with three more bonsai trees on it, and kneeling before them with little clippers was a woman with short, oily-brown hair drawn into a bun in back. The thing that surprised Yolei, though, was that she was wearing a blue kimono as she worked.

"Hey, Mom," Sora spoke. "I'm home, and I brought my friend."

Toshiko Takenouchi put down her clippers and turned around, revealing sharp, thin eyebrows above her small, potently brown eyes. Her thin mouth lengthened into a warm smile. "Hello, there," she said, getting to her feet. "You're Yolei? Sora's told me so much about you. I'm so glad to finally meet you."

"Oh... Uh... hello," Yolei stammered with a small bow, trying to be polite in this alien, organic atmosphere. "I, uh... so, um... you like flowers?" she tried with an awkward smile.

Toshiko glanced around the room, then beamed and nodded. "Why, yes," she chuckled, "I guess I do. I run a flower shop down the street, but these are my own little projects."

Yolei's cheeks went red at the stupid conversation, but inside, she was feeling a little uncomfortable around Mrs. Takenouchi; despite her smile, her eyes looked veiled by some unknown glumness.

"We're going to do that schoolwork I told you about," Sora said. "We'll be in my room, OK?"

"All right," Toshiko replied, picking her clippers up again. "If you'd like to stay for dinner, Yolei, you're more than welcome."

"Uh... that sounds great," Yolei said, her body giving another nervous bow, "but I think my parents'll want me home by then... Thanks, though."

"Oh... All right," Toshiko replied, her smile fading a bit. "Well, good luck with your schoolwork."

"C'mon, I'll show you my room," Sora said, motioning for Yolei to follow her.

The girls left the sunroom and walked through the living room, which had a bonsai in every corner and more paintings on the walls, with one couch and a television only half the size Yolei thought they should be. Besides the walk-in kitchen area, there was one other door on the side they were on, and two doors on the far side.

"It's this way," Sora said, motioning to a room on the right side, surprisingly in the same place as where Yolei's own room would be.

Yolei glanced at the other doors, puzzled; did the Takenouchis need an apartment this big when there were only two of them? "Are there more plants over in there?" she asked.

Sora shook her head. "No, one's my parents' bedroom," she said, "and the other is my dad's study."

Yolei paused, intrigued. She'd heard Sora talk about her mother, but never about her father... but opening her door, Sora didn't look like she would say much else, so she just followed her inside.

Yolei got another surprise at Sora's room. It was another blinding contrast to her own room, but also the rest of the Takenouchi home: there was no TV, but instead a four-tier bookshelf filled with volumes on soccer and the great athletes of history; the posters on the walls depicted famous soccer players in action, as well as diagrams of foot techniques; over the wooden desk hung photographs of natural landscapes with a few traditional Japanese buildings, giving off relaxing vibes; and a single bonsai stood on a small table near the far window, a bit more roughly trimmed than others in the house.

"Ooh!" Poromon said, fluttering up to the pictures and looking at them from every angle. "I like these!"

"Hey, easy, Poromon!" Yolei huffed. "You might knock them over!"

Sora smiled. "It's OK; look all you want," she assured him.

Poromon happily went back to doing just that... but slightly further away.

Sora looked at Yolei. "So, you like it?" she asked.

Yolei was flipping through one of the books, her eyes unable to register what was going on for lack of any pictures. "Uh... yeah, I guess..." she said, putting it back on the shelf, most likely in the wrong place.

Sora didn't seem to mind. "OK, then!" she said, swinging her backpack off and dropping it on the modest twin-size bed. "Now, then... Measuring volume and other stuff using only water displacement: what do you know about it, and how can we make it into a report that'll make Tai's and Izzy's look like preschoolers did it?"

Yolei blinked a few times, not sure what to say to that. "I... uh... Boy..." she mumbled. "I don't think I'm THAT good... but what's wrong with Tai and Izzy?"

Sora paused, then laughed. "Oh, I'm just kidding," she chuckled. "I must still be a little mad... Heh, but wouldn't that be funny if we scored higher than them!"

Yolei scratched her head. "What happened?" she asked.

Sora was about to explain when she suddenly thought better of it. "...Oh, never mind," she said, turning to her backpack and digging out a thick physics volume and a notebook. "Let's get started, OK?"

* * *

Once again, Izzy was amazed at how many kids and Digimon his room could hold. TK, Kari and Davis sat on the bed with their partners, while Cody stood by the window with Upamon. Joe and Tai stood near Izzy at the computer, taking in their younger friends' horror story, while Matt leaned against the far wall looking strangely attentive.

"...And then he drew in wind and even light, and did... _something_..." Kari recounted, clutching Gatomon tightly, "and when we came to, half the mountain range was gone."

There was a thick silence as the older kids registered the words. "No way!" Joe gasped. "Gone? Completely?"

"She's right, I'm afraid," Izzy said, turning around and typing on his keyboard. Two maps appeared on his computer's screen: the one on the left showed the ring-shaped Asp Mountains the first time they had been photographed during the mapping process... and the second showed the crescent-moon shape that they were now.

Joe stiffened up, his face going white. Matt bared his teeth at the images. Even the kids who had been there found it hard to take in. Tai sucked in his breath. "So they went that far..." he murmured.

"Well, they had help," TK said, frowning at the memory. "Devimon was there, too. I think he's working with them."

"What?" Izzy asked, jumping up. "But didn't we...?"

"They come back in the Digital World, genius," Matt fumed.

"...Great..." Joe sighed, his shoulders sagging. Izzy sat back down, sufficiently sussed.

"Ugh..." Gatomon groaned, flopping backwards onto the bed. "We needed this like a hole in the head."

"After THAT, I'm surprised we don't have 'em already!" Upamon remarked, motioning towards the screen.

Matt said nothing; he just glared at Davis and Cody with more malice than usual. Cody saw the look, but decided to stick with the discussion. "So... what do we do?" he asked.

"What else can we do? We kick his ass!" Davis said, making a fist and punching the air. "We just need to sneak up on 'im! Like ninjas!"

"Yeah!" Demiveemon chirped, hopping up and down. "Ninjas!"

Patamon's ears sagged. "You've been listening to Yolei too much," he muttered.

TK chuckled weakly. It was nice to see Davis get his confidence back so quickly.

Davis looked around for support, but all he saw were shaking heads. "I don't think that'll work," Joe admitted.

"Yeah..." Tai sighed. "Blackwargreymon is a Mega, and he could blow you all to dust... or smaller."

Kari's mind suddenly put several facts together and hit a real paradox. Blackwargreymon had the power to destroy them—the decimation of the mountain range proved that—and yet he didn't. How in the world were the Digidestined still alive?

* * *

Bumping along between dozens of shining black obelisks, the yellow jeep and its two riders were steeped in uncomfortable silence. Normally in an area full of control spires like, Arukenimon would at least look halfway pleased... but not today. She just stared straight ahead, her arms folded and her lips pressed into a bitter pout.

Mummymon worriedly glanced at her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Arukenimon just grunted and rubbed at her throat, as if it were sore.

He sighed and turned back to the wheel. "Things aren't looking all that rosy, are they?" he asked.

His answer was a sharp slap from the brim of her hat. "Just shut up and keep driving!" she huffed as she jammed it back on, her voice raspy. "We have to find that monster and get him under control!"

"I don't know..." Mummymon said, shaking his head. "He's far too strong for us... Maybe we should leave him alone and..." he trailed off as Arukenimon's shaded glare penetrated him and put his foot down on the gas pedal.

She glared at him a few moments more, then slumped back in her seat and went back to staring at the horizon. "If you hadn't pulled me away..." she muttered, "I might have been sucked into his attack."

Mummymon beamed quietly. "I think there are some cough drops in the glove compartment," he said.

* * *

"OK, so fighting's a bad idea," Patamon went on, perching on TK's head and folding his trotters into a "Thinker" pose, "but the other Crest pieces are still out there, and we need to get them!"

Izzy sighed. "You're right..." he admitted. "So the question is: how do we get the remaining fragments without dealing with Blackwargreymon? He's sure to appear wherever his masters do..."

"Which is everywhere we're supposed to go," Gatomon grunted.

Pensive silence filled the room until Demiveemon jumped up. "Ooh! I know! I know!" he chirped, clapping his little arms together. "We grab the Crest... and run to a TV really, really fast!" He looked around with a big smile, waiting for a reaction.

Matt scowled at him. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," he snapped.

Demiveemon sank down like a punctured tire. "Hey, c'mon, Matt!" Davis huffed. "Take it easy on 'im!"

"Actually," Tai said, scratching at his hair, "that could be the only thing we can really do if Blackwargreymon shows up..."

"Yeah, 'cuz he doesn't like Crests much either," Upamon spoke up.

Tai sighed and folded his arms. Davis looked at the floor sadly. "Sorry, coach," he apologized. "That's twice we blew gettin' your Crest."

Tai forced a smile at his protégé. "Don't worry about it," he said. "You've seen two pieces already; I'll bet the third time's a charm."

Just then, the computer beeped. Izzy's eyes lit up. "Speaking of which..." he said, whirling around and typing wildly. "Another Crest has just shown up!"

"I... huh?" Kari started, snapped out of her thoughts.

"What?" Davis cried, leaping up and rushing towards the screen.

"Where? Where?" Upamon asked, hopping towards the desk.

It would have been easier for Izzy to answer had he not suddenly been crushed into the wood as everyone jostled to look at the screen. "OK, OK! HEY!" he yelled, frantically waving his arms.

Everybody backed away. "Sheesh!..." Izzy huffed, then turned back to the map and studied it. In the center of Server Continent, north of Horatio Hall and west of the desert where the Crested Coach Motel had been, was a prominent rectangular mountain, encased in white. A small, blue dot was flashing over it. "There," he said, pointing at it. "It's on that mountain."

Demiveemon hopped up on the desk. "Ooh! That's Grave Glacier!" he announced. "That's 'cuz it looks like a tombstone from the bottom."

"Yeah, and up at the tippy-top is Shred Peak," Upamon added.

"We'd better get moving," TK said, pulling out his D3. "I don't know how Arukenimon knows when the Crests show up, but she's always there."

The other kids reached for their Digivices too, but suddenly realized something. "Yolei isn't here!" Gatomon said.

"Oh, right!" Kari said, surprised that she had forgotten. "We'd better call her!"

Davis rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like she's gonna show up," he huffed. "She flaked out on us back in the marsh, remember?"

"Yeah, but she said she'd never do that again!" Demiveemon piped up.

TK took out his D-Terminal and started pushing buttons. "Are you nuts?" Davis snapped. "We've gotta make tracks!"

"Yeah, but this's important, too," TK said, not looking up. "With Blackwargreymon around, we'll need all the help we can get."

Davis grumbled to himself. No matter how many times it happened, he still hated losing arguments.

Matt returned to leaning against the wall. He looked at the blue flash on the computer screen, then at the new kids, then at TK fumbling with his D-Terminal. His eyes sank inward beneath a dark scowl.

* * *

Somewhere in the darkness of Twin Time Jungle, two trees suddenly fell to earth, cleaved in half. Ten seconds later, two more trees met the same fate. The native Digimon fled as quickly as their limbs could carry them, shrieking in terror of a creature that could cause such destruction without even being heard.

Blackwargreymon continued his walk through the darkness, rending any plant life that stood in his way as if snapping soggy toothpicks. What a strange world this was; all of this inferior plant life grew unchecked, without rhyme or reason.

A sudden click behind him made him stop and look back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large, red beetle-like creature trying to hide behind a comically small tree branch, sweat steaming off it as it tried to stay absolutely still. In its blind terror, its mandibles were chattering.

Blackwargreymon turned and looked right at the creature, and it was so shocked that it lost its grip and fell to the ground. It flailed around for a moment, then scrambled to its knees and bowed down, shaking violently. It buzzed and clicked in pitiful tones, as if it were begging for mercy.

He stared long enough to watch it collapse out of sheer fright, then turned and kept walking. Other creatures that had crept closer turned and ran again, screaming. They were wise to run. Were they to show any kind of hostility towards him, he would have cut them down just like the trees. Still, fleeing or begging for mercy before any of them had tested him... what rare beings they were, to submit so quickly... Had news of the mountains he leveled spread here so quickly, or could they simply _sense_ his power?

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he looked up with a start, then shot up into the sky, bringing down every tree branch he connected with. These questions would have to wait; one of THOSE had mustered enough power.

* * *

"So that's how they judged if the crown was made of real gold," Yolei said, putting the book down. "Does that make sense?"

Sora scribbled in her notebook, looked it over for a minute and nodded. "Yeah, now I get it," she said with a smile. "Boy, you should be teaching this class, Yolei; you make a lot more sense than these books."

Yolei beamed. They hadn't been at work for long, but already the girls had made lots of progress; Sora had understood everything Yolei had explained, and also filled up three whole pages in her notebook. "Well, I'm not THAT good..." she chuckled. "I just said it how I see it."

"Say how you see?" Poromon asked, looking puzzled. "I thought you _see_ how you see..."

"Don't get us all confused," Yolei muttered.

Sora put her pen down. "I'm kind of thirsty; think I'll make some tea," she said, getting off the bed. "Do you two want anything?"

Yolei didn't really want tea—she would have preferred soda pop—but she nodded to be polite. "Just a little, please," she said.

"May I have some, too?" Poromon asked.

"OK. Be right back!" Sora said, walking out of the room.

Yolei relaxed on the bed for a moment. Poromon got up and fluttered next to her. "Sora's room is a lot different than I thought it would be like," he said. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Yolei replied, not sure what to say, but also not feeling like talking much. Looking over at the bedside table, she found a good distraction. Propped up in wooden frames were two photographs: one showed a younger Sora wearing a yellow shirt, jeans and a blue helmet-like cap, standing with Tai and the other kids who had gone on the first adventure... everyone but Mimi. The other picture, though, was much more interesting: it showed an even younger Sora, riding on the shoulders of a man with faded brown hair in a forest green jacket. The man had pitch black eyes that were nonetheless bright and friendly, seeming to smile as much as his mouth did.

"Who's that, Yolei?" Poromon asked, noticing how intrigued his partner was with the picture. "Do you know him?"

Yolei scratched her chin. "No..." she admitted, but quietly she thought she knew who it could be. Sora wouldn't have this picture in her room unless—

The door latch clicked and Yolei quickly moved back to the schoolbooks. Sora came in with a small tray and three cups of tea. "All we had was green," she said. "Hope that's OK... Here, Poromon, I'll pour a little in a saucer for you."

Sora produced the tiniest plate that Poromon had ever seen and poured a little of the tea into it. Poromon stuck his beak in and lapped at it, then jerked back. "Ow!" he winced. "That's HOT!"

Sora was surprised at his reaction. "I... well, yes, it's hot," she tried. "I mean... it's tea... so..."

"Whoo!" Poromon huffed, trying to cool his beak down by flapping his little wings at it. "I've never had this before! Do people drink it just to burn themselves?"

Sora blinked and looked at Yolei. "He's never had tea?" she asked.

Yolei shrugged. "It's not the top drink around my house," she replied, for lack of a better excuse.

Sora wasn't sure how to respond to that; her mom and she drank more tea than they drank water. "Uh... OK," she said, setting the tray down. "Try blowing on it, Poromon; that'll cool it down."

Yolei watched Poromon puff on the saucer for a moment, then looked over at the pictures. "So, uh... got some pictures there, huh?" she asked.

"Oh, you saw those?" Sora asked, walking over and picking up the big one. "Yeah... We took this three summers ago. Some crazy stuff went down in the neighborhood..."

Crazy stuff? Yolei's mind went back three summers, trying to remember what could have happened. "Well, my brother got his driver's license around then," she recalled, "but he couldn't use it because we had to stay at Grandma's until August. Boy, was he mad."

"Do you remember why?" Sora asked. "During May, a missile crashed down in the river and we all had to evacuate."

Yolei's eyes widened. "THAT'S what it was?" she asked. "Man... Sometimes I'm glad I don't watch the news."

"It was because of a crazy Digimon called Diaboromon," Sora went on, smiling a little. "If I hadn't been so mad at Tai, I could've helped beat it, too..."

Yolei blinked. "Diaboromon?" she asked. "Like what I was sending e-mails to?"

"Yeah," Sora said, then laughed quietly. "Isn't that funny? Without knowing it, you helped stop that monster."

Yolei chuckled a bit, then looked at the picture again. "I don't see Mimi here," she pointed out.

Sora's smile faded. "Yeah... This was right after she stopped talking to us," she said. "Have you learned anything?"

Yolei looked at Sora for a moment, then remembered what she had promised back in October. "Uh... no... nothing," she said, looking around for some kind of diversion; she found the second photograph. "So, who's this?" she asked.

Sora put the first frame down and picked up the second. "That's my dad," she said.

"Really?" Yolei asked, though she'd had a hunch; considering Mrs. Takenouchi, that orange hair had to have come from somewhere else.

"Yeah..." Sora said, nodding. "He's a professor at the university."

"Joe's school?" she asked, suddenly understanding why he had a study; big professor-types always needed studies. "What does he teach?"

Sora shook her head. "I don't really know..." she admitted. "He doesn't talk about it when he comes home... He'll just take Mom and me to a few restaurants, go see some other events, and then he's off again... He does most of his work out of town." She sighed and looked at the picture again.

Yolei had all the pieces she needed to finish the puzzle: Sora's mom looked glum; her father didn't show up very often; and then there was Mimi's comment about her being a 'problem child...' It all came together. "I'm sorry, Sora," she said sympathetically. "My house is always so packed, I don't know what it's like having divorced parents..."

Sora's reaction wasn't what she expected; the older girl recoiled and looked at her with shock and more than a little anger. "My parents aren't divorced!" she stated sharply. "Why'd you say that?"

Yolei backed up, feeling her face burn. "I... I'm sorry!..." she stammered.

Poromon spluttered in his tea and looked at his partner. "What's wrong, Yolei?" he asked. "What did you say?"

Sora glared at her for a tense few moments, then put the picture back on the table. "Let's get back to work," she muttered, walking back to the bed and picking up a book.

Yolei sat back down and read along with Sora, but the tension in the room was still thick. After her initial shock at Sora's response faded, she started to feel hurt that Sora was still fuming... but more annoyed. Why was Sora so mad? She didn't know! It wasn't like Sora ever brought up her family situation... She had no right to snap like that! Didn't she know what Yolei had just gone through in the Digital World?

As they kept on reading, Yolei got more and more irritated. She got so angry, she had half a mind to just get up and leave... but she had offered to help Sora with this project; how could she flake out like that? It wouldn't be something a good friend would do. Then again, getting as pissed off as Sora had wasn't something a good friend would do either...

As she wondered how she could get out of there, her D-Terminal suddenly beeped. "Oh!" she exclaimed, and pulled it out to look. Inside was a message from TK:

_Yolei,_

_Please come to Izzy's as soon as you can. Another Crest has shown up!_

"Woah! Sorry, Sora, I've gotta split," she said, trying to mask her relief. "Another Crest piece just popped up!"

"What?" Sora asked, jumping up with gusto. "Well, what're we waiting for?"

Yolei quietly winced at the thought of her coming along. "Uh, no, that's OK," she said, grabbing her backpack. "I mean, you can't... well... And besides... you have to keep working on this, right?"

Sora looked as downcast as her mother when Yolei refused her invitation to dinner. "Oh... Well..." she said, "I guess you'd... better get going, then."

"Keep up the good work!" Yolei said, grabbing Poromon and heading for the door, making a mental note to give TK a big bear hug at some later point.

Sora listened to the door shut, then looked down at the science books, her shoulders sagging. Now who would help her with this?

* * *

With a sigh, Ken closed his door. School had been extremely frustrating, as it often was these days; ever since he had gone from the top of the heap to nearly the bottom, he'd had to swallow a lot of heckling. Adding into that the sore beating from those fiends the other day, he felt lost and overly morose.

He turned on his computer and sat down, but jumped right up again when he saw the Digital World's map. Another Crest meant he knew exactly where Arukenimon would be... and Mummymon, too... and Blackwargreymon. The thought of the dark-armored demon made him shudder. If he could hardly damage the Ultimates, did he even dare approach something like that? His fingers rubbed at the crack in his D3. He had to avenge Sam and Wormmon; should he go and try again? Or—

The door opened behind him. He instinctively jammed the Digivice in his pocket and whirled around to see his mother. "Oh... Hi, Mom," he said, forcing a smile. "What's going on?"

"Ken... I want to talk to you," Mrs. Ichijouji said, the worry apparent in her voice. "I... I thought we had resolved everything back when you came home... but now you're disappearing into your room all the time... and now you're getting bruises and scratches..."

Ken bit his lip and looked away, feeling his stomach knot up. He was afraid she wouldn't let those drop.

"Your father's noticed, too," she went on. "Please, tell us what's going on..."

Ken was silent for a while, then looked at her and shook his head. "Nothing's wrong," he repeated. "I've just got a lot of studying to do. Now, I should get back to it..."

His mother didn't leave, and he knew she didn't completely believe him. "Well... we can talk about it over dinner," she said, backing out and closing the door.

Ken felt like he had just melted down her favorite sewing kit. No matter how much he tried to keep his parents from worrying, they ended up doing just that... But now wasn't the time to fret about it. Blackwargreymon could turn the Digital World to ash, and he couldn't have that. Not before he destroyed all of the control spires.

He started to raise his D3 when he remembered what his mom had said. They wanted him home for dinner, and after being so late last night, disappearing again could really give them a scare. He looked at the blinking map and sighed; it would be safer if he restricted himself to destroying spires today. He hoped that the others could get that Crest... and get out alive.

* * *

"Oh! How about that?" Mummymon asked, pointing towards a black patch on a nearby hunk of rock.

"For the umpteenth time, NO!" Arukenimon rasped, swatting him again. "That's just our shadow! You've heard of those, haven't you?"

Mummymon sighed and clenched the steering wheel. "I'm just a bundle of nerves, I suppose..." he admitted.

Arukenimon raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you still have some working in there," she quipped.

Just then, the jeep's radio crackled to life. "...And that's the weather," an announcer said in a calm tone. "In other news, at Grave Glacier today is another one of Shred Peak's famous snowboarding contests. Any Digimon who can stand on a board is welcome to compete for valuable prizes. These races have drummed up a lot of controversy with some because of how dangerous they are, but it doesn't deter thrill seekers searching for fame, glory, and the fastest way to an ice cream headache."

Arukenimon's shades flashed in the sunlight. "Head for that glacier," she ordered.

"But shouldn't we keep looking for Blackwargreymon?" Mummymon asked, already hanging a left.

"If that meant what I think it does," she growled, "then he won't be far."

* * *

Yolei almost knocked Tai down with the door as she burst in, panting loudly. Poromon was clamped in her armpit, his little blue eyes looking ready to pop out. "I... I... I'm... here!" she wheezed.

"Good!" Poromon squeaked. "Can you let go of me now?"

She loosened her arm and he dropped to the floor. The others looked her over, wondering how she got in such a state. Matt shook his head in disapproval. Davis folded his arms. "So where were you THIS time?" he grunted.

She looked exhausted, but she had enough energy to get angry. "None of your business!" she huffed, then looked at Izzy. "What's going on?"

"There's a new Crest piece on Grave Glacier," Izzy replied. "The others were just about to head in."

"Yeah? Good..." Yolei said, fumbling for her D3. "I need some cooling off!"

"Hey, can't we wait a second?" Poromon objected. "I think I'm still half-deflated..."

"I like how you're raring to go," Tai said, "but Yolei, be careful. I don't need to tell you how dangerous Blackwargreymon is."

Yolei's face changed from red to white as she remembered what had given her all the bruises and scratches. She had to make herself breathe again.

"Just like I told everyone else," Tai went on, his eyes trained on hers, "if you see him, just run. Don't worry about anything else; just get yourself out of there."

Yolei nodded, subdued.

"That could be hard..." Poromon pointed out. "He didn't give us a choice last time."

"We'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open," Gatomon said.

"Yeah..." Kari agreed. "So, should we get going?"

The kids began to raise their Digivices, but Matt's voice stopped them. "Wait," he rumbled, pushing himself off the wall.

TK looked at his brother. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Matt stepped forward and pulled out his old Digivice. "That flash is blue; my Crest's color," he stated.

The others exchanged worried looks. "Matt, are you sure?" Joe asked. "I mean, Blackwar—"

"If anyone's going to get _my_ Crest, it'll be _me_," Matt cut him off, and his eyes said he wasn't going to be dissuaded.

"Well, uh... OK..." TK said. "If that's really what you want to do..."

The kids raised their D3s and the computer screen lit up. Matt lifted his Digivice and was pulled into the vacuum with them... and subsequently ended up in the flailing, dusty pile they usually ended up in.

"OK, this is gettin' REAL old!" Davis snapped as he grabbed at the ground and tried to claw his way out.

Once everybody got unscrambled, they got a good look at where they were. The tall glacier looked exactly like a tombstone from this angle... that is, a neglected tombstone in the dead of winter; it looked to be made of solid ice. Its strange form was accentuated by its strange location; it towered over a dry, dusty valley, with no other mountains within throwing distance.

"Boy," Armadillomon remarked, "that's one big popsicle."

"Yeah, but where's the stick?" Veemon asked. "Maybe they forgot it."

The party walked to the mountain's base. Not only was it high, it was smooth and almost as straight as a wall. "I say, this will be a devil to climb," Hawkmon remarked. "No outcroppings on which to catch our breaths."

Cody put his hand on the stone and it slipped off, almost making his face crash against it. "There's no way we could climb it," he reported. "It's solid ice."

"You think there's another way up?" Gatomon asked.

"Maybe there's a better climb on the other side," TK pointed out. "Matt, what do you...?"

He looked left, but his brother was no longer beside him. The older boy was walking away from the group, towards a cavernous opening on the far end of the mountain. "Hey! Matt!" he yelled.

"That could be dangerous!" Patamon added.

"Come back!" Kari pleaded.

Matt reached the opening and looked back at them scornfully. "I said I'd be the one to find my Crest," he said.

"Don't be a jackass!" Davis snapped; the last thing he needed was a dose of Matt's attitude. "Gabumon ain't here! What can you do if Arukenimon shows up? Or ANYTHING?"

Matt shot Davis a glare even nastier than usual. "Just as much as _you've_ done," he retorted, then walked into the cave. Davis swore and kicked at the dirt.

Yolei recoiled. "Geez!" she huffed. "What was THAT about?"

"...I think we just got burned," Cody said, looking at the ground.

"How?" Veemon asked. "It's too cold!"

TK hesitated for a minute, then balled his fists. "Let's go after him," he said.

"What?" Davis huffed. "Why the hell should we?"

"Davis," Kari objected, "without Gabumon around, he could get hurt!"

"I agree," Cody said. "Besides, that cave could take us to the summit."

Davis grumbled, but regrettably saw the logic. "...Fine! C'mon," he said, trudging crossly towards the cave with the others following close behind.

Yolei sighed heavily and brought up the rear. Matt never played well with them; why did they let him come along?

Through the rocky mouth, they stepped into a crystallized wonderland, where twinkling icicle stalagmites and stalactites stood at attention between stones coated with so much frost that they looked like oversized bits of breakfast cereal. There wasn't much in the way of land, though; a good deal of the cave sparkled with a lake of sparkling ice water, pumped in by a waterfall in the far wall.

"Boy... this place is cool!" Veemon laughed, then shivered and hugged himself. "Seriously!"

Hawkmon fluffed his feathers for some extra warmth. "It's certainly different from outside," he chattered.

TK couldn't see his brother anywhere in the cave... but looking down, he found a clue. In the frosted dew that covered the ground were dozens of footprints from a lot of different creatures... and one pair that had come from shoes. "He must've gone this way," he said, pointing at the tracks. "Come on!"

The others followed TK's lead and walked after the footprints. The path led a little downwards and along the edge of the lake. "Sure is a lot of foot traffic in here," Yolei said, looking at some of the other tracks.

"Yeah, but why?" Kari asked. "It's not somewhere I'd pick for a hike..."

"For real," Davis grunted, rubbing at his exposed knees. "Next time Izzy tells us we're going to a glacier, I'm runnin' home and gettin' a jacket first."

The path took the kids through around and under some spectacular ice formations. "It's a very beautiful place, though, for a hollowed-out mountain..." Hawkmon said. "Why do you suppose it's like this?"

Kari looked back at the chilly lake and scratched her head. "Maybe this is a reversed volcano," she suggested. "You know... it keeps ice water instead of magma."

"But volcanoes are volcanoes because they erupt from the pressure inside them," Cody pointed out. "I don't think this place has enough..."

"Yeah, but it still could be," Yolei argued. "We wouldn't know if it had erupted because whatever it spat up would melt out there, right?"

"Aww, who cares what it is?" Davis grunted, pulling his jacket up over his neck. "It's frickin' cold."

"Yeah," Gatomon agreed. "If you try to make sense of the Digital World, your head will explode."

"That might be fun to see," Armadillomon chuckled. "C'mon, Cody, give it a try!"

Cody gave his partner an irritated look. "I need this head," he muttered.

Still following Matt's tracks, TK rounded a big stalagmite and suddenly collided with something white and fluffy. He jumped back to look up at a shaggy creature with massive hands and feet, bright yellow eyes, and a bushy beard with a thick black lip sporting sharp teeth. TK had seen one of these before: it was a Mojyamon. "Oh!" he said. "Excuse me."

"Whuh-oh!" Veemon gulped. "It's a bumble snow monster!"

Kari bit her lip; would this Digimon get nasty, like the ones in Spaghetti Junction?

To their relief, though, the Mojyamon grinned at them. "Hey! Long time no see, you guys!" he thundered, clapping TK on both shoulders and nearly flattening him.

"I... wha?" Yolei asked.

The Mojyamon laughed. "Oh, you probably don't remember!" he said. "You guys took a Dark Ring off me a long time ago! Good to see you're still around!"

Veemon's eyes lit up; this must have been the Mojyamon he fought on the day Yolei and Cody had found their partners. "Oh, yeah!" he laughed. "Howzit going?"

"Pretty good!" Mojyamon said, thumping his chest. "I settled down, found a big cave... nice neighborhood, plenty of food..."

"Uh, not to interrupt," Patamon broke in, "but did you see an older boy come this way?"

Mojyamon scratched at his fuzz. "Yeah, I did," he replied, jerking his thumb backwards. The frosty path went up an incline and the ascended back and forth on the cave's wall like a fire escape. "He headed for the summit." Mojyamon thought for a second, then grinned at them toothily. "Hey, is that why you're all here?" he asked. "You gonna be in the snowboarding contest?"

"Well, we're... Snowboarding?" Davis asked, puzzled.

"How'd that come into this?" Yolei asked.

"Oh, it's loads of fun!" Mojyamon laughed. "See, they do a lot of digging up on the mountaintop, and whenever they find a cool rock, we have a snowboarding race to see who gets it! Digimon come from all over to try!"

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little silly?" she asked. "A whole crazy race just to get a rock?"

Cody shrugged. "It sounds more civil than fighting over it," he reasoned.

"Quite so," Hawkmon agreed, "but isn't it dangerous? All those Digimon sliding around, knocking each other over, possibly causing avalanches?"

"Well, yeah, but that's what makes it fun," Mojyamon said. "Besides, if there are avalanches, there're plenty of fire-type Digimon here to help."

"Really?" Veemon asked excitedly. "Ooh, that's awesome! Can we try it, Davith? Huh? Can we?"

Davis looked pretty gung-ho himself. "Yeah, it sounds like a blast!" he laughed.

"Um... have you ever rode a snowboard before, Davis?" Kari asked.

"Nahh, but I could get the hang of it!" he cackled, grinning at her. "I'll bet I can hang ten! Maybe even twelve!"

"Baker's dozen!" Veemon laughed, jumping up and down.

The others looked at each other, wondering about it... but Yolei folded her arms and scowled. "We're not here to play stupid games!" she objected.

"I thought you liked stupid games, Yolei," Hawkmon said. "That's what you play at home, right?"

Yolei glared at him. "That's NOT what they are!" she snapped. "That's just what my sisters call them!"

"It does sound out of the way..." Cody thought out loud, "but maybe not."

Yolei and the others looked at him. "Whaddya mean?" Armadillomon asked.

"The Crest piece is on this mountain," Cody said, "and the race course is part of the mountain. Therefore, it could be on the course..."

"Or it could even be the prize!" Kari exclaimed. "Mojyamon, do you know what the thing they're all racing for is?"

Mojyamon scratched its beard for a minute, then shrugged. "Nope," he said. "I didn't hear what the prize was... I just greet folks and show 'em the way up."

TK saw the shoe prints headed towards the icy staircase; Matt definitely went up there. Whichever reason the Digidestined followed, they would be going the same way. "Let's go," he said, and started walking. "Thanks, Mojyamon."

"Wahoo!" Veemon yelled, pumping his fists. "Race time!... What's a race, Davith?"

Davis looked at the mammoth climb ahead and groaned. It looked like he would have plenty of time to explain it.

* * *

Along a straight row of control spires, the yellow jeep sped through the expanse... though it was going slower than usual, and swerved often. "Watch where you're driving!" Arukenimon snapped, grabbing the wheel and steadying the vehicle.

Mummymon didn't look very calm; his eyes were wide and wandering, and despite his lousy steering his fists were clamped around the wheel like vices. "Oh... why did I let you talk me into this?..." he muttered.

"Because between our eight legs, you're the one with only two," she huffed. "Have you ever heard of a snowboarding spider?"

"But I've never snowboarded at all; I'll be just as bad!" he complained. "I wasn't made for snowy climates... if you catch my 'drift.'" Despite his mood, he grinned and chuckled. "Do you get it, my dear?"

She shook her head at the awful joke... but she saw his point. "Well, then..." she said, pulling out several hairs and raising her arm, "perhaps we need a sure thing."

* * *

Buttoning up his uniform for more warmth, Matt trudged up the frozen path, glancing over the edge every now and then to see just how high he had climbed. His Crest was here somewhere, and he was going to find it.

His eyes narrowed as he thought of the younger kids, probably just now reaching this skyscraper of a footpath. He couldn't let them find it. They had bungled enough things already. Making peace with the Digimon Emperor... not destroying Arukenimon when they had the chance... and letting her create something like Blackwargreymon... Well, no more. It was clear that the only person he could trust with this job was himself. Why couldn't Tai and Izzy see that?

He noticed an opening up ahead, and as he walked though it he had to throw his hand over his eyes from the brightness. He stood at the top of a wide, snowy hill, the blue sky and wispy clouds floating so close, he thought he might be able to touch them. Hundreds of energetic Digimon walked around, chatting and practicing their balance on a rainbow of snowboards. He scratched his head. This certainly wasn't what he was expecting; what was going on?

He walked a distance from the cave entrance, then turned around and saw a huge orange banner plastered over the rocks. It read:

SHRED PEAK SNOWBOARD CONTEST!

TOP PRIZES FOR SPEED AND SPILLAGE

He stared at it for a full two minutes. Well, that explained what all these Digimon were doing up here... but what was "spillage?" Maybe he should ask someone...

"Matt! Hey, Matt!"

Matt's eyes widened. He spun around to see none other than his partner, Gabumon! "Gabumon?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

Gabumon looked surprised. "I, um, I came for the race," he said. "I did it the last time... I didn't win, but it was lots of fun! Is that why you came, too?"

Matt looked around warily, then pulled Gabumon over towards the rocky wall. "A piece of my Crest is here," he said in a low voice. "I need to find it."

Gabumon hesitated for a minute, then snapped his claw-like fingers. "Aha! I _knew_ that looked familiar!" he exclaimed.

Matt blinked. "...What did?" he asked.

"Someone already found it," Gabumon said. "They turned it into a badge they're calling the 'Eye of the Ice Queen.' It's the top speed prize!"

Matt's teeth clenched. How typical that these trips got more and more complicated. "That does it," he growled, starting to walk. "Where do I sign up?"

"Woah, Matt, wait!" Gabumon tried, grabbing his partner's hand. "This is a _Digimon_ race!"

"What?" Matt asked, annoyed. "They don't want humans?"

"No, it's not that..." Gabumon said, "but Digimon use their special moves and tricks to knock each other around... and you don't have anything like that! What if you got hurt?"

Matt scowled at the ground. No matter what Gabumon said, he had to get in that race... but having no protection was an unfortunate fact. What could he do? Perhaps he could bargain with the Digimon who won the race, but considering all the sore winners he'd met on previous trips...

Gabumon cleared his throat, getting Matt's attention. "There is another way..." he spoke up. "We could do it together."

Matt blinked. "What?" he asked.

"They have snowboards for teams, big enough for two," Gabumon explained. "If we both rode one, I could protect you."

Matt looked at him thoughtfully. With a Digimon along, he had a better chance... and really, that Crest was just as much Gabumon's as it was his. He gave his little partner a rare smile. "All right," he agreed. "Let's do that."

Gabumon smiled back. "OK, let's go to the registration booth" he said. "Ha ha... This'll be even better than last time!"

Matt couldn't stay icy around Gabumon's cheery disposition, but it didn't change his goal: he had to win that Crest, no matter what.

* * *

Another spire shuddered for a few moments, then disappeared from the skyline of Twin Time Jungle. Ken pulled back his grenade launcher and blew the smoke away from the barrel. That made fifteen, the entirety of spires in the daytime side. It was time to find a path to the nighttime.

He looked around, then remembered that he had seen a hole near the sixth spire. He turned and began to walk when his knee gave out and he fell to the ground. He gasped in both surprise and pain; the "gifts" from Arukenimon, Mummymon and Blackwargreymon were still with him. He knelt there for a few moments, then pushed himself back onto his feet. He couldn't let a few scratches stop him. The spires had to fall. The three fiends had to be dealt with. Sam and Wormmon were depending on him.

Another few steps and his knee gave out again. He reconsidered his pace; perhaps it was time for a rest. He made his way to a large rock and sat down, raising his mini-gun arm and pressing a small button. A latch opened and revealed a digital clock that read 4:45 PM. He sighed and let his limb drop. If dinner was at six, then he had time to take out a few more spires before going home... provided his legs complied.

His aching legs brought Blackwargreymon back to mind, and his brow furrowed. What could he, the lowly Digimon Emperor, do about such a killing machine? Did it have any weaknesses? Or would he have to _make_ some? That was it: he had to upgrade his gear to handle Blackwargreymon. At the very least, he had to keep himself alive.

He grabbed a stick off the ground and started drawing in the dirt at his feet, thinking of ways to make his weaponry more effective, more powerful... but not much came to mind. The harder he tried to think, the less ideas he had. He bit his lip as he angrily scratched out one plan; why couldn't he think as quickly as he used to?

* * *

"Ohhh..." Armadillomon groaned as he fell behind the others even further. Climbing the icy paths took a lot out of him. "Cody! Help!" he pleaded. "Can ya carry me for a spell?"

"I'm sorry, Armadillomon," Cody repeated, "but your shell is too heavy for me."

"Yeah?" Armadillomon wheezed. "Well, you should try wearin' it!"

"Don't worry, Armadillomon," Kari said, looking up ahead, "We're almost there. I see a light."

"If I have to walk much more," Yolei gasped, dragging her heels, "I'm gonna see a light, too..."

At the front of the pack, TK could see the cave opening clearly... and also Matt's footprints leading out. He still didn't understand why his brother had run off; didn't he know there was safety in numbers? Then again, with Blackwargreymon on the loose, it was all relative...

"You think he's worried 'bout what Gennai said?" Patamon asked from his perch.

That was something TK hadn't thought of. Sora and Matt had both been concerned about their places in the Digital World now that there were new Digidestined... but instead of being reassuring, Gennai had dodged the issue, and TK knew that when his brother didn't know something but had a bad feeling about it, he got reckless and impulsive. Wherever Matt was, he just hoped he was safe.

One by one, the kids stepped out of the cave and into the throng of excited Digimon racers. "Woah..." Gatomon exclaimed. "I didn't expect this many..."

"Do you suppose they're all here for the race?" Hawkmon asked.

"Whoo!" Davis laughed, not looking at all fatigued by the climb. "This many racers? This'll be awesome!"

"Don't get too excited, Davis," Cody warned him. "Remember, our first objective is to find the Crest, and—"

A Gorillamon backed into him and almost knocked him over. It turned around, surprised. "Whoops! Sorry," it said, then looked them all over. "Hey... are you all here to race, too?" it asked.

Most of the kids hesitated to answer, but Davis balled his fists and grinned. "You know it!" he laughed.

"Yeah!" Veemon chirped, jumping up and down. "We're gonna hang some numbers!"

"Ha ha ha! Awesome!" the Gorillamon laughed, getting even more excited. "Boy, I wanna win that Eye of the Ice Queen badge!"

Gatomon's eyes widened. "The what?" she asked.

"Have you guys registered yet?" the Gorillamon asked, then waved them to follow him. "Here, lemme show ya!"

It led the kids towards a big booth with "REGISTER" splashed on a banner over it. On their way, though, they passed another booth with a glass display. The Gorillamon pointed at what was in the case: under a sign marked "spillage" was a star-shaped chunk of what looked like pale green jade; and under a sign marked "speed" was a small, blue badge that looked like a circle with blades jutting out of the top and bottom.

Veemon did a double take. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "That's what's on Raidramon's DigiEgg, Davith!"

From the looks on their faces, the others were thinking the same thing: that badge was actually a piece of Matt's Crest of Friendship! TK looked up at the Gorillamon. "How do we win that?" he asked.

The Gorillamon grinned. "Easy!" it said. "Just be first across the finish line! That's why it's the prize for speed! 'Spillage' is for the most awesome wipeout."

Davis balled his fists and cackled through his teeth. "Well, you know what we're gonna do now!" he announced. "Snowy slopes, here I come!"

"Great..." Yolei groaned, sagging. The cold was bad enough, but now she had to deal with one of her mortal enemies: a sport.

Kari looked at the Gorillamon. "Does it matter that we're humans?" she asked.

The others braced for a bad reaction, but Gorillamon smiled. "Man or mon, doesn't matter; you just hafta stay on the board," he said, then frowned. "You guys might have trouble, though... Digimon get pushy and knock each other over with their moves; that's why some racers go as 2-mon teams on a bigger board instead."

"Two-mon teams, eh...?" Patamon asked, then smiled down at TK. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

TK nodded. "That's made for us," he agreed.

The Gorillamon took the kids to the registration booth, where a Bakemon floated with a clipboard and pencil. "Hey, there," TK said. "Can we register five teams, please?"

The Bakemon looked at him, and then at Patamon, then shrugged. "If you want," it said, "but you're gonna need a different partner; it's bipedal Digimon only."

"What?" Patamon huffed.

"Hey, what's that all about?" Armadillomon grunted. "You got a problem with us four-leggers?"

"No," the Bakemon replied, "but four-legged Digimon have a hard time staying on the boards, and they can't steer very well. You wouldn't last long."

"Hey, I've got great balance!" Patamon protested. "I can balance my meals perfectly!"

"Take it easy, Patamon," Kari said, then looked at the others. "If that's the case, then we should all pick our best bipedal Digimon," she said. "One of us has to win this."

"Right," Cody said, taking out his D3. "Of course, since I only have one..."

"Ditto," Yolei sighed. "DigiArmor Energize!"

They raised their Digivices and Armadillomon and Hawkmon became Digmon and Shurimon. "Boy..." Digmon said, looking down at his drill-tipped feet, "hope I don't spike ya, Cody."

"So, who's it gonna be, Davith?" Veemon asked, getting excited. "Exveemon, right? Gotta be!"

Davis thought about that for a second, but then had another idea. Exveemon was powerful, but he was also bulky, and he might not fit on a board very well... He also didn't have the best projectiles, which he might need for taking out other boarders... and if there was an avalanche... He made his decision and pulled out his D3. "Not this time, buddy," he said. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Veemon shimmered and turned into Flamedramon. Almost instantly the snow around his feet started steaming. He looked down at his old form and beamed. "This oughta be fun," he said.

Patamon looked at TK. "Well, there's only one choice for us," he said.

TK nodded. "Just don't overpower anybody," he said, and held up his D3. Patamon transformed into the divine Angemon.

Gatomon's ears sagged; she didn't have a higher form with only two legs... at least, she couldn't reach it now. "I guess I'm the odd mon out," she admitted.

Kari smiled and patted her on the head. "Don't worry," she said. "I hear it's easier to steer lighter boards."

TK looked at the Bakemon registrar. "OK, that's five teams," he repeated.

Both the Bakemon and the Gorillamon had limp jaws. "Woah..." the Gorillamon gaped. "Who ARE you guys?"

"The ones who're gonna ace this race, that's who," Davis cackled. "So, can we get those boards now, pal?"

The Bakemon didn't waste any time handing them five long snowboards with numbers painted on the tops. "The, uh, the starting line's over there," it said, pointing off to the right.

"Thanks," Kari said. "OK, everyone, let's..."

"Excuse me," a painfully familiar voice spoke, "I trust registration is still open?"

The kids whirled around and shouted. Behind them stood Arukenimon, Mummymon, and a third creature. Oddly, Arukenimon was in her robed human form, but Mummymon was out in his bandages with Obelisk at the ready. The third Digimon looked to be made of blue fire, with its eyes icy and its mouth stitched shut. It was eerily silent.

"Hey!" Davis snarled as Flamedramon struck a fighting stance. "What're YOU doin' here?"

Arukenimon smiled wickedly. "My, my... hostility so quickly, children?" she mocked. "There's no need to cause a fuss in front of all these people... We're just here for a little friendly competition."

"Yeah, right!" Yolei huffed. "What's your scheme now?"

Ignoring the girl, Arukenimon turned to the other two. "Mummymon, Bluemeramon, go ahead and register."

"All right..." Mummymon said. "Would you like to partner up, Bluemeramon?"

The one called Bluemeramon brushed Mummymon aside, walked to the desk, took the clipboard and signed itself in. The Bakemon handed it a single-size snowboard and it walked off.

"...Oh, well," Mummymon sighed. "I guess I'll take a single board, too."

He signed his name and got a board. Arukenimon shot a nasty smile at the kids. "Count yourselves lucky," she said. "This time, I'll just be watching... and waiting."

They walked off and Cody frowned. "They're up to something," he grunted.

"That was painfully obvious," Angemon rumbled, "but I can't say what... Keep on your toes."

Just then, the air filled with electronic crackling. Over at the prize booth, two large speakers rose up, and a Frigimon wearing a golden badge stepped out with a microphone, a Deputymon behind it. "Uh, ahem... testing!" the Frigimon spoke. "Hello to all our contestants, and welcome to Shred Peak! What a beautiful day for a race! I'm Frigimon, today's 'Monster of Ceremonies,' aha ha. If you'll all head for the starting line, then we'll get this proverbial show on the road!"

"Whew," Yolei said, wincing. "He gives speeches as lame as the principal's."

"You heard him, though," Shurimon said. "We'd best be going."

The Digidestined joined the rest of the racers at the starting line, which was amazingly long enough for them all. The kids all lined up next to each other, while Mummymon and Bluemeramon went to the far sides.

This was the first time Davis actually saw what he was about to do; the hill started off steady, but looked like it dropped away just beyond his view. This ride was going to be fast, wild, and incredibly painful if they hit anything. For a moment, he felt like turning around and telling Flamedramon he wanted out... but then he glanced over and looked at Kari, who was setting her board between TK and him, and his inner flame roared back to life. It would be so freaking awesome not only to cross the finish first, but also to beat TK and wow Kari. That settled it; he was ready...

...Or so he thought. A board dropped in the snow on his left, and he suddenly recognized the shoe going into its harness. He looked up into Matt's frosty eyes. "Huh!" he grunted, getting onto his board. "Well, now we know where you ran off to."

Gabumon gave a shy wave, but Matt glared. "I'll get my own Crest," he repeated.

While the rest of him was numb from the cold, Davis's face burned. TK and Kari vanished from his mind. "You want a race?" he snapped. "You're gonna get one!"

Matt glared at the smart-mouthed boy. He had too much of Tai in him.

Some of the other racers were doing warm-up exercises, like jumping jacks or stretches. Yolei panicked when Shurimon got off the board and started doing leg squats in the snow. "What are you doing?" she squeaked. "Get back on here! I don't wanna go down alone!"

"There's always time to steel oneself for a challenge," Shurimon said, continuing his squats. "You should prepare, too."

As she looked down the steep, frigid hill, Yolei knew what she should have done to prepare for this: written a will and put on a diaper.

Mummymon triple-checked his leg braces to be sure they were firmly secured to the board. He might not be a good racer, but nothing was going to knock him over.

Bluemeramon just stood on its board, ready. Cody frowned at it; that just had to be a Spire-Born. "Watch him, Digmon," he muttered. "It's one more obstacle for us."

The chaos settled down, and the mountain grew tensely quiet. "Uh, um, yes," the Frigimon MC spoke. "Well, then... At the sound of the gun, you may all—"

The gunshot from Deputymon covered up the word "go," but everybody got the gist. Every board shot down the hill, spraying snow every which way...

...Every board, that is, but Yolei's. Shurimon was still doing squats. "Ninety-eight... ninety-nine..." he counted as he went.

"Shurimon!" Yolei yelled, flailing her arms. "Come on! We're going to be left—"

She suddenly realized that she was moving. She turned around just in time to see her board tip over the edge. "SHURIMON!" she screamed.

Shurimon stopped in mid-squat and scrambled to grab onto the board, but he missed by centimeters and landed face-first in the snow. The snowboard tore every which way down the snowy hill with only one flailing, screaming passenger.

Davis cursed under his breath. Flamedramon and he had stayed at the front of the pack, but so had Matt and Gabumon. He had hoped to leave that smarmy sax player eating his snow spatter, but to his horror, the older boy was actually a little ahead... and worse, he was zipping back and forth on the slope, just like a professional on TV! "Son of a bitch!" he cursed. "Flamedramon! Let's do what they're doing!"

"You got it, Davis," Flamedramon said, and leaned left along with him. Sliding left and right along the path, they quickly caught up with Matt and Gabumon and the rest of the throng soon fell away, its members colliding and taking each other out.

Cody and Digmon were near the back of the mess and could see it was turning into a pile-up. "Digmon, go left!" Cody instructed.

"What'd you say? " Digmon asked. "Left?"

"Right," Cody replied. Suddenly, he realized what he had said. "No, I mean, yes! No, I mean _correct_! I—" he spluttered, but Digmon steered the board to the right and they smashed into a Gazemon. All three went down in a heap.

Kari and Gatomon didn't have the speed that the heavier contenders did, but they steered very well and stayed in the middle of the pack. "We need more speed!" Kari yelled as two nearby boarders collided.

"You got it!" Gatomon growled, and dropped to her knees, slamming her claws into the snow and paddling. They got fast enough to make it out of the gauntlet, but then they hit a snag... literally. Out of nowhere Yolei came whizzing past on her out-of-control board, and Gatomon's claw caught it. Yolei went into a bumpy 360-degree spin and kept going, but Kari and Gatomon lurched wildly to the left and buried themselves in a snowdrift under a tree.

Kari pulled herself out and shook off the snow. "Gatomon!" she called, looking around. "Where are you?'

A familiar tail jutted out of the snow. Kari pulled it and out came her partner, wearing a new white beard. "I don't care if it is only Wednesday..." she grumbled. "When we get home, I am hitting the catnip."

TK and Angemon were boarding well enough, but Davis and Matt were still far in the distance. "Come on!" TK growled. "We need to go faster!"

"All right... hold on," Angemon said, and folded his wings. The board took off like a rocket, going twice as fast. TK could almost see his brother and Davis up ahead.

"Fancy meeting you here!" Mummymon's raspy laugh came from the left. "How about a going-away present?"

TK and Angemon looked up to see the bandage-swathed brute aiming Obelisk at them. They tried to move away, but the mysterious Bluemeramon came up on their right, boxing them in. "Oh, no..." TK groaned.

Bluemeramon hurled a slew of ice balls at them, not losing any of its own speed. Mummymon followed by shooting Obelisk at their board's rear, sending them into a tailspin that Angemon couldn't stop. "Hey! Leave us alone!" TK shouted.

"Does that ever work?" Mummymon laughed, snaring the nose of their board with bandages. "See you next... FALL!"

He yanked hard on the bandages and sent the board whizzing left, clean off the mountain. TK saw almost the whole dusty plain yawning beneath them... and then he stopped in mid-air. The board kept going and vanished into the void.

"Are you all right?" Angemon asked as he flew back towards the mountain.

"Yeah..." TK said, then balled his fists. "Ugh! I can't believe those cheaters!"

"That's how Digimon races can be," Angemon replied.

TK sighed. "Doesn't make it any less mean..." he muttered.

At the front of the remaining racers, Davis and Flamedramon fought to catch up with Matt and Gabumon, but they just weren't getting any chances to slip ahead. Every time they tried to get in front, Matt would almost steer his board right into them and stay on the inside of turns to vault ahead. Once he almost hit a tree, but amazingly bounced off of its side, the momentum putting Gabumon and him even further in front.

Davis was shocked at the reckless, crazy stunts Matt was performing... and more than a little annoyed that they gave him ground. "Dammit!" he swore. "This blows!"

"Should we try something like that, too?" Flamedramon asked.

Davis thought about it, then crossly shook his head. After their encounter with Blackwargreymon, he didn't want to give Flamedramon any injuries he didn't need. No sooner had the decided this, though, than Matt's board almost slammed into his. He cursed loudly, his face red from more than the wind. He always abided by Coach Tai's rules, he prided himself on playing fair... so why wasn't he winning? That jerk of a jazzman had to be put in his place!

The story on Matt's board was quite a different one. Gabumon saw his life flash before his eyes for a third time as they almost hit a pine tree. "Matt!" he yelped. "Are you _sure_ you know what you're doing?"

Matt appeared as cool-headed as ever, but in reality, this was the first time he had ever been on a snowboard, and he was petrified from the waist down; the board was doing most of its own steering. Still, he refused to cave in to the panic. He would get his own Crest, and in the process show the inept rookies a thing or two... especially Davis; that foul-mouthed Tai wannabe had to be put in his place.

"Stupid Matt!" Davis growled. "We've gotta slow him down somehow!"

Flamedramon grinned and fire flickered in his claw. "I have an idea," he said.

Davis grinned at him, recalling this was a _Digimon_ race. "Go for it," he cackled.

They sped up and tried to get in front. Once again Matt and Gabumon swerved in to ram them, but this time Flamedramon blasted at the snow ahead of them, sending them lurching backwards. Davis pumped his fist as his board took the lead.

Matt's face burned red with anger. "Did Tai teach you to do that?" he shouted as his board came up behind.

Davis gave him a nasty smile. "Just playin' by the rules!" he answered.

"Rules, huh?" Matt huffed. "Then THIS is fair, too! Gabumon!"

"But Matt—" Gabumon objected.

"DO IT," Matt snapped.

Flamedramon yelped as Gabumon's blast torched his ear, and Davis's snowboard spun around awkwardly. "Hey!" Davis yelled. "At least I didn't hit YOU!"

"Then learn to aim," Matt snarled, and crouched to get more speed out of his ride.

Davis and Flamedramon fumed and did the same, staying neck and neck with the other board. He had half a mind to make Flamedramon lob another fireball right into Matt's fancy-pants blonde hair. That would show him.

A fireball tore through the air and almost hit Matt's board... but it was blue instead of red. "What the?" Davis asked, looking up. That eerie Bluemeramon was closing in fast, its hands clutching balls of burning blue.

"Well, here we are at the front, finally!" Mummymon cackled as he slid in beside Matt, his bandages flapping in the frosty air. His entrance would have been more intimidating, though, if he hadn't been holding onto Obelisk for dear life.

Matt glared at him. "Back off," he threatened.

Mummymon wasn't listening. "Did you know they've found frozen mummies way up in mountains?" he taunted, raising his gun. "Wanna see how they got that way?"

Obelisk spat its spastic lightning blast. Matt and Gabumon lurched right and almost careened into Davis and Flamedramon. "Hey, watch it!" Davis yelled.

Now it was Bluemeramon's turn. It slid behind the two boarders and hurled its payload, catching both Digimon in the back. The boards went into tailspins as the riders doubled over in pain.

"Hey! That HURT, slush-for-brains!" Flamedramon shouted, throwing some fireballs of his own... but Bluemeramon spat at the projectiles and they fizzled out instantly.

"Shit!" Davis huffed.

Flamedramon bared his teeth; they were in trouble.

"Matt, you have to let me Digivolve!" Gabumon said. "We don't stand a chance against him this way!"

"You wouldn't stand a chance as a Champion, either," Matt growled, "and we need to finish this race."

"Forget that!" Davis argued. "These guys're too strong!"

"Obviously," Matt grunted.

"What does THAT mean?" Davis roared.

"Uh, excuse me," Mummymon broke in, "but I am trying to do away with you both, so I'd appreciate it if you'd pay attention!"

He shot Obelisk again and its beam struck Matt's board, sending it into a wild spin backwards, but not dislodging the riders. For a moment, Davis thought about punching it for the finish line, but saw these two clowns would blow him clear off the mountain before he got anywhere near it... and besides, taking advantage of this wouldn't prove he was better than Matt. "Flamedramon!" he said, "slow it down!"

"But they'll shoot at us again!" Flamedramon pointed out.

"That's what your fireballs're for," Davis replied. "Keep us goin' until Matt catches up!"

The board slowed down considerably, and Bluemeramon and Mummymon whizzed past. "Hey! What are you doing, silly boy?" Mummymon called. "I thought you wanted to win this race?... Ah, well! I guess we'll just have to take that Crest for ourselves!" They sped off down the mountainside.

Matt and Gabumon soon caught up, but Matt didn't look at all grateful that Davis and Flamedramon had waited. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded. "Now _they're_ going to get the Crest!"

"Like we had a chance against them!" Davis huffed, getting mad again. "That's two Ultimates, man! Our Digimon can't match that!..."

As soon as he'd said that, though, his brain sparked with an idea. "...Or _can_ they?..." he thought out loud. "Matt, you wanna get this race goin' again, right? I've got an idea."

Matt shook his head. "I'm not going to—" he began.

"Wait, Matt," Gabumon objected, "let's hear it. What've we got to lose?"

"I bet it'll be a great plan," Flamedramon said. "This'd be a time when he shines."

Matt scowled at the Digimon, but saw he was outnumbered. "Fine," he grumbled. "Let's hear it."

* * *

Rounding another sharp corner, Mummymon laughed with delight; all that remained of this crazy race was a long, long straightaway with only a few trees. "Oh, goodie!" he said. "This could be the first time I actually win something!"

"Don't bet on it, TP breath!" Davis's voice came. Bluemeramon and Mummymon whirled around to see the two snowboarders they thought they'd bested tearing towards them at high speed. The humans and their Digimon looked equally furious.

"Ohh, you don't know when to quit, do you?" Mummymon huffed, raising Obelisk. "Bluemeramon! Help me!"

Bluemeramon turned around and started slinging ice balls while Mummymon fired his gun, but the two boards swerved and separated, zooming around them on either side and cutting in front.

"You little pests!" Mummymon huffed, then almost fell over. With a surprised yelp, he caught himself and wobbled back to safety.

"See what I mean?" Davis laughed, pointing at Mummymon. "My sister's checkbook balances better than he does!"

"You should have stayed on the bunny hill!" Gabumon taunted.

"Nahh, I think even the bunnies are better than he is," Flamedramon quipped.

Steam could have blown out of Mummymon's ears. "Maybe, but HE doesn't have trouble!" he snarled, pointing at Bluemeramon. "Get them!"

Bluemeramon hurled ice balls like a hailstorm. The two boards split away again, avoiding the salvo. "You have to make some mindless slave do your work for you? Unbelievable." Matt scolded. "I thought you were a threat."

Mummymon's gray face glowed orange. "You tone-deaf weasel!" he shouted, pulling Obelisk up.

"Now?" Flamedramon asked.

Matt and Davis looked at each other with wry smiles. "Now!" they shouted.

Flamedramon and Gabumon slammed the backs of the boards into the snow, slowing them down and putting them right between Bluemeramon and Mummymon. Mummymon's yellowed teeth shone in fiendish glee, and he moved Obelisk to fire. Bluemeramon produced another volley of ice balls.

"And once more!" Gabumon huffed, stomping on the board.

The boys' boards slowed again and Bluemeramon's and Mummymon's kept going... their attacks aimed right at each other. Mummymon saw it too late. "N-no! WAIT!" he shouted, holding up a hand.

Bluemeramon threw his projectiles and sent Mummymon into a wild spin, which made him fire Obelisk. The recoil of the blast threw him into Bluemeramon and the two of them fell over, rolling into a gigantic comical snowball. It rumbled down the hill and exploded against a pine tree, landing Mummymon face down in the snow. Bluemeramon's snowboard skidded a few yards away, its owner nowhere in sight.

"Ha-HAH!" Davis laughed. "Now THAT was radical!"

Matt said nothing; he crouched his snowboard sped off towards the finish line.

"Err, Davis," Flamedramon said, pointing, "I think the truce is over."

"Why that...!" Davis yelled, then crouched and made his own board shred down the snow. He caught up with Matt's board and the two raced towards the green poles that marked the finish, neither able to keep a lead. Davis looked insane. Matt looked murderous. They were fifteen yards away... ten yards away... five yards away!

Davis crouched a little more and stuck his neck out; he was going to win this!... but suddenly, something blurry and screaming flew past on his right, reaching the finish before either of them! The crowd erupted in wild cheering.

"And there you have it, folks!" the MC announced excitedly, looking down at his clipboard. "In a crazy turn of events, our first-place winner is number 141: Shurimon and Yolei... uh... '1337Master' Inoue!"

Davis, Matt and their partners hit the brakes, stupefied. A dazed Yolei's half-empty snowboard slowed to a halt, and she just stood there, shuddering in the cold.

"Yolei!" Kari's voice came as the others (with Shurimon) and she ran from their place in the crowd. "That was awesome!"

Yolei didn't respond. Puzzled, Kari got closer. "...Yolei?" she asked, touching her shoulder.

"Grglbagh," uttered Yolei, and then she fell flat on her face in the snow.

TK and Cody helped her back on her feet, but she didn't want to stay on them; she almost fell over twice more. "Hey, take it easy!" Cody huffed.

"I can't apologize enough, Yolei," Shurimon said, bowing in shame. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah..." Yolei gurgled, "as soon as you all stop spinning... Stop spinning!"

Gabumon and Flamedramon laughed heartily at the funny turn of events, but their partners weren't pleased at all. Matt turned away and kicked at the snow angrily. Davis folded his arms and sulked, his feelings mixed; he liked seeing Matt get what was coming to him, but HE wanted to be the one who did it!

They weren't the only ones who lost their tempers; Arukenimon laid into the slush-covered Mummymon nearby. "Why do you always have to ruin everything?" she demanded, her voice back to full shriek. "We were about to win, and then you threw it away to go sledding! You're a disgrace! A shambles! A worthless, no-good..."

"Winner!" the MC broke in. He was standing next to them and holding the jade star. "Didn't you hear your number being called, Mummymon? That snowball crash was the top spill in this race! Congratulations!"

Mummymon took the pretty rock and stared at it, then at Arukenimon. He managed a sheepish grin. Arukenimon turned away and snorted.

The Frigimon then walked over to Yolei, who was being propped up by Shurimon and still looking as green as the jade. "And here you are, young lady," he said, placing the Eye of the Ice Queen in her hand. "Congratulations!"

The fans cheered again. Yolei looked down at the Crest piece and smiled sickly. "Well, uh... thanks," she wheezed.

"Nice work, Yolei," TK said. "You sure earned that!"

"But boy, what a surprise!" Patamon laughed. "I didn't know if it was gonna be Davis or Matt, and then ZOOM! Down you come! I thought—"

Just then, there was a terrible crash and a plume of snow shot up near one of the speakers. The spectators all started screaming and running every which way as the audio system crashed down. "What the?" Armadillomon asked. "What's goin' on?"

Blackwargreymon emerged from the haze, looking just as terrifying now as he had the first time. The kids all recoiled, the cold not responsible for their sudden shivers.

"Who... who's that?" Gabumon asked, running in front of Matt. "Is that Agumon?"

Sweat beaded on Matt's frozen face. "No..." he growled. "Something much worse."

Arukenimon laughed triumphantly. "Amazing!" she roared. "He really can sense them!"

"Does this mean we can stop hunting for him?..." Mummymon asked hopefully.

As the field emptied out, Blackwargreymon's head swerved back and forth, looking for something... and Yolei's heart stopped when the yellow eyes locked onto her. He started to walk, his armor clunking eerily. "You," he boomed, pointing at her and opening his claw. "Give me the Crest."

Yolei just gurgled, and Shurimon could feel her struggling in his arms. "I think we'd best put Izzy's plan into action," he suggested. "Run!"

"Run?" Gatomon asked, looking around wildly. "Where? We're on top of this mountain!"

"And the warp's back at the bottom..." TK said, feeling ill as he heard himself.

Blackwargreymon moved slowly—he didn't seem to be in any hurry—but each step he took made the Digidestined more frightened. Yolei squeaked and tried to run, but she locked up, her body shuddering as it recalled the horrendous blast of negative energy from yesterday and becoming as limber as hard clay. She wanted to run, but she was still too dizzy, cold and sick from the ride. The most she could do was nudge away the snow with her feet.

"Yolei!" Shurimon yelped, shaking her. "Please, come to your senses!"

Matt's eyes narrowed. Even if he hadn't gotten his own Crest, the Digidestined still couldn't lose it to their enemies. "You know what to do," he growled, pulling out his Digivice.

Gabumon nodded, scowling. "Right!" he huffed.

In a flash Gabumon became Garurumon. Matt leaped on his back and they raced towards the approaching fiend. Davis couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Are you nuts?" he yelled. "You can't beat him!"

Fighting, though, was not Garurumon's intention. He fired his blue energy beam at the snow to send up a disorienting haze, then halted in front of Shurimon. "Quick!" he barked. "Get her up here!"

Shurimon lifted the shell-shocked Yolei up and Matt made her hold onto him. As Blackwargreymon stepped out of the fog, Garurumon tore off for the sheer edge of the mountainside.

"What the heck is he doing?" Angemon yelled.

"He must be taking the fast way down," TK reasoned.

"Yeah," Gatomon growled, "but Blackwargreymon's just gonna follow Yolei! Now WE have to keep him busy!"

"...Why don't we get him a crossword puzzle instead?" Flamedramon gulped.

"Follow Matt, but watch your backs!" Shurimon commanded, leaping in front of Blackwargreymon in hopes of causing a distraction.

Angemon grabbed TK, Cody and Armadillomon and hoisted them into the air. Kari raised her D3 and Gatomon became Nefertimon. "Davis! Flamedramon! Come on!" she cried.

The boys didn't need to be told twice. They leaped onto the sphinx and she soared up and off the mountain, looking for any sign of Garurumon. Davis saw the white hound far below, leaping between any icy outcroppings he could find and making his way downward. He was amazed; Matt was a jerk, but with his partner, he sure had guts.

He didn't have too long to marvel, though. With all the speed of a runaway freight train, Blackwargreymon was on top of the flying Digimon and hurling his terrible claws at them. Nefertimon shrieked as the needle-sharp claws dug into her hind leg, and Angemon gasped as the others thrust into his back. The force of both impacts even affected Flamedramon, knocking him down to Veemon. The flyers shuddered, then shrank back to their lesser forms, and everyone tumbled into the clouds.

"OHH, CRAP!" Davis yelled as the ground came up shockingly quickly.

"I'm sorry, TK..." Patamon gurgled.

Cody thought fast and pulled out his D3. "We're not done yet," he growled. "Armadillomon, sorry about this!"

"Sorry about wha—" Armadillomon started, but then he transformed into the massive Ankylomon and flipped upside-down as he fell, revealing his soft underbelly. "Hey!" he shouted.

"Grab on and stay inside!" Cody yelled, flailing through the air and grabbing Ankylomon's front right foot, swinging himself so he was over his partner's chest.

Nobody really knew what he had in mind, but they trusted him enough to try it... and there wasn't time to do much else. They clamped onto Ankylomon's limbs, and almost as soon as they had, his hard shell slammed into the dusty earth. All of his passengers squashed against his gut, shaken but safe.

"Oogh..." TK groaned, sliding off. "That was close!"

Davis rolled off onto the ground, rubbing at his overstretched arms. "Turned me off bungee jumpin', for sure," he grumbled.

Cody walked around to Ankylomon's face, which sported bug-eyes and a loose tongue. "Sorry; it was all I could think of," he apologized. "Are you OK?"

Ankylomon coughed. "Ah di'n't know mah tongue could 'tick dat fah out," he managed, then shrank back to Armadillomon.

Patamon noticed the TV warp nearby and landed on it. "Lucky landing!" he exclaimed. "Hurry, TK! Open it!"

Kari looked around worriedly. "Where're Matt and Garurumon?" she asked.

"Where's Shurimon?" Gatomon asked. "Didn't he come with us?"

"Looks like we beat 'em down!" Veemon said, pointing back at the mountainside. High above, Garurumon leaped downwards... but a black shape was descending faster.

TK yanked out his D3 and the TV screen lit up. "Hurry, Matt!" he yelled.

Matt grunted as Garurumon dug into the mountainside. "You heard them," he said. "Step it up!"

"I'll try," Garurumon growled, "but jumping on ice isn't easy!"

Yolei was coming back to her senses, but as soon as she saw Blackwargreymon coming towards them, they disappeared again. She pointed up at him and screamed.

Matt looked up and swore. "The ground!" he shouted at Garurumon. "Now!"

Garurumon made ready to leap, but Blackwargreymon flew right in the way, his claws out. "Now," he said, "give me the—"

Something fell and grabbed onto him. "Did you forget about me?" a battered Shurimon growled, wrapping his leafy limbs around the monster. "I'm not finished yet!"

"Shurimon!" Yolei cried.

Matt saw his opportunity. "GO!" he shouted, slapping Garurumon's back.

Garurumon leaped past the struggling pair and fell towards the earth... but the fall was too high and he crashed down, shrinking back to Gabumon and sending Matt and Yolei flying.

Yolei looked up just in time to see Blackwargreymon spin like a drill and hurl Shurimon off of him. The ninja flopped to the ground looking like a broken child's stretchy toy and reverted to Hawkmon. Half buried in the dust, she could only manage a shuddering gasp; she wished it were all just a bad dream, and her mother would tell her to wake up for breakfast. She suddenly felt awful for getting mad at Sora earlier, and wondered if she'd get a chance to apologize.

Matt scrambled up and tried to get to the fallen Gabumon, but Blackwargreymon landed in his path, his claws ready to cleave the musician down the middle.

"Matt! Look out!" TK shouted.

Matt struck a defensive stance, gripping his Digivice out of habit. As Blackwargreymon came at him, though, the little gizmo's screen flashed brilliantly, and the fiend staggered back, startled. "Cursed child!" he snarled. "You were supposed to have been dealt with!"

Matt didn't know what Blackwargreymon was talking about, but at the moment, he didn't care. He grabbed Gabumon and ran for the warp.

"Matt!" TK shouted.

"Hurry! Run!" Cody hollered.

Blackwargreymon wasn't stunned for very long; he practically teleported in front of Matt and angrily brought down his claw, knocking him down and sending Gabumon rolling across the dirt.

"Get away!" Matt snarled, holding up his Digivice again. Blackwargreymon snarled and leaped back; this had gone far enough.

"Yolei!" Kari yelled, helping her friend up. "Come on! Can you walk?"

"I... I think so..." Yolei coughed, and struggled towards the television.

Matt scrambled to grab his partner again... but things took a horrible turn. Blackwargreymon stood absolutely still. The wind blew around him, and small fires flared up all over his body.

"Oh, shit!" Davis swore; he knew what was about to happen.

"Everybody outta here!" Kari shouted, holding up her D3 and vanishing into the warp with Gatomon. Davis quickly did the same with Veemon, and Cody and Armadillomon followed.

Yolei started to go, too, but she didn't; something felt wrong. TK and Patamon were still there, too, yelling for Matt to come... but he was moving _away_ from the warp! Even her frazzled brain knew that wasn't the right thing to do.

"Gabumon!" Matt called as he struggled towards his friend, but dust waves dove into his eyes, and even the sunlight was disappearing. What was going on? He hadn't felt this kind of power since he had faced somebody like Myotismon... or maybe even Apocalymon! He had to get Gabumon away from here... but the little lizard dog was still so far away...

The wind totally in his face, Matt struggled another few steps towards his partner... but then someone's arm grabbed his middle. "Come on!..." Yolei huffed, pulling him back towards the warp. "Have to... get away!"

"Let go!" Matt yelled, struggling violently. "LET GO!"

Yolei looked at Blackwargreymon and swallowed hard as he melted into the darkness; _it_ was almost here. "TK! I've got him!" she yelled, pulling out her own D3 and pointing it at the warp.

"NO!" Matt yelled. "GABUMON!"

The light of the TV screen enveloped them. Matt cast one last terrified look at his partner, struggling to get up against the screaming winds... and then it all vanished.

* * *

Ken silently sucked on a chicken bone, his mind still deep in upgrading his weapons... though his parents' faces were a major distraction. He had come home for dinner on time, but the meal had an awkward feel; his parents had been sitting there watching him for nearly fifteen minutes without saying a word. He pulled the bone out of his mouth and sipped at his tea with slight annoyance; what did they have to say, and why wouldn't they say it?

After another few moments, his father cleared his throat. "Ken," he said, "your mom and I... well, we've noticed some things... You disappear into your room a lot... your teacher called and said your grades are dropping... and now you're getting all these bruises and scratches out of nowhere." He solemnly peered at his son. "What's going on?" he asked.

Ken looked at his plate, then shook his head. "Nothing," he repeated. "Nothing's going on."

"Ken, we can't believe that!" his mother wailed, banging her hands on the table and making him flinch. "We don't know what you're doing any more!... _I_ don't know what you're doing any more... and it's scaring me!"

"The way you're acting, maybe it's past what we can do," his dad said. "Maybe you need a therapist."

Ken's head jerked up in alarm. A therapist? That would be a major problem. A therapist might say that the wounds were self-inflicted, and then he might be sent to a rehabilitation home... and then how would he get to the Digital World? This had to be stopped right now. "I don't need a therapist!" he stated.

His father wouldn't back down. "Then tell us what's happening!" he demanded.

"We don't want to lose you again!..." his mother blubbered.

Ken bit his lip, looking at his parents. His father's face was scared and livid, and his mother sobbed quietly into a napkin. This was the first time they had ever had this kind of argument with him, and he didn't like that they weren't backing down... but to suggest therapy, they _really_ had to be worried. His mind scrambled for something to say. He couldn't tell them the truth; if he started going on about a world inside computers at this stage, they would definitely send him to a therapist... but if he didn't give any reasons, he'd be sent to a therapist anyway. On top of that, their faces tore at his heart; in trying not to upset them any more, he had done just the opposite. He owed them some sort of peace.

He thought for a few more moments, then looked at them; he couldn't tell them the truth, but maybe he could stretch it a little. "I've just been spending a lot of time online," he said. "I've got some friends... and I guess I've been doing it so much, it's hurting my schoolwork. I'm sorry; I'll do better from now on."

His mom looked at him, her eyes red. "...Is that what it is?" she asked. "Really?"

"I promise," Ken said, managing a smile. "That's all."

"But what about your injuries?" his dad pressed.

Ken thought fast. "I, uh... Those were from soccer practice," he managed. "Ever since I got back to it, I've been a little clumsy... Honest!"

He waited, hoping they would buy that story. His mother stopped crying and dried her eyes; she looked reassured. His father, though, still eyed him suspiciously. "Why didn't you tell us this before?" he asked.

Ken winced; that was one answer he didn't have. "Uh... well..." he said, wishing his brain would react as fast as it used to. "I... didn't know what you would think... a 'genius' like me spending my time playing... I didn't want to upset you." He sighed. That last bit was the truth, at least.

Mr. Ichijouji eyed Ken for a moment more, then relaxed. "...All right," he said. "Just don't fall behind any more, and come to dinner more often."

His mom actually managed a smile. "Are these the same friends as before?" she asked. "You should have them over some time so we can meet them!"

Ken chuckled awkwardly, imagining the other Digidestined coming to his house. "Err... maybe I will..." he mumbled.

* * *

Yolei was terrified of Blackwargreymon, but at the moment she almost wished she were dealing with him instead of Matt. "You stupid little shit!" he roared, making her recoil on each syllable. "Gabumon didn't get out! Why the hell did you do that?"

"I... I was..." Yolei stammered, but the boy's half-demonic face killed any other words before they could form. She could only fumble with the Crest piece in her fingers and stare at the floor. Poromon looked at her helplessly, too hurt and tired to come to her defense.

The other kids and their partners shared forlorn looks, as did Izzy, Joe and Tai, who had stayed to wait for their return. Only Demiveemon could come up with anything to say. "Um, maybe he's OK..." he suggested.

Davis sighed and shook his head. "I don't think so, buddy," he muttered. "You saw what happened to those mountains last time..."

Joe looked at Izzy. "Can you pick anything up?" he asked.

Izzy slowly typed at his computer. The window on the gate the kids had come from showed nothing but static. "I... can't tell yet," he replied quietly.

Matt punted Izzy's metal trashcan, raising a clatter that hurt everyone's ears. "That's it!" he declared, his temper now completely lost. "These... these _twerps_ strut in here, they try to one-up the rest of us," he paused to take in a sharp breath, "and now they've killed Gabumon!"

Cody, Davis and their Digimon flinched just like Yolei had. Those weren't completely accurate statements, but they stung nonetheless. Kari was starting to feel afraid of Matt; the last time he had become this angry, well...

"Matt, c'mon..." TK tried, getting up, "that's not fair."

"They're trying their best," Joe added. "They just haven't figured out how to deal with Blackwargreymon yet..."

Matt turned on his friends with equal venom. "And whose fault is it Blackwargreymon's around?" he demanded, then stabbed his finger at the new kids. "THEIRS! They couldn't beat Arukenimon, and now she's set that thing loose!"

Cody bit his lip. Was Matt saying they should have _killed_ Arukenimon? She was a living creature, just like they were!

Yolei couldn't stop trembling, and her contacts blurred with frightened tears. "I... I'm sorry..." she whimpered, Matt's fiery rhetoric rendering her incapable of anything else.

"…Oh! You're _sorry!_" Matt snarled at her, furious that she would even think an apology would make this better. "You bet you're sorry! You're the sorriest bunch of kids I've ever seen!"

Water beginning to spring from his feral eyes, he grabbed his backpack and saxophone and made for the door. "I hope Blackwargreymon takes YOUR partners, too!" he snapped, and slammed it behind him.

The room hung in shameful silence for a good few minutes. Finally, a weary sigh escaped Kari. "We really blew it this time, didn't we?..." she asked.

"Damn..." was all Davis could say.

Yolei looked at the blue Crest fragment in her hand. Whatever joy she got from winning it had melted away now, leaving it to seemingly burn in her hand. Without another word, she dropped it lifelessly on the desk.

Izzy forlornly took it over to the old lunchbox. "I wonder just how costly this fight is going to be..." he muttered.

Cody glumly looked at the computer screen, and the static-spitting gate on it... and the map behind it depicting Grave Glacier. He stared for a few moments before he realized something. "Izzy," he spoke up, "how often does this map update itself?"

Izzy turned and looked at him. "Fairly often," he replied. "Why?"

"Last time Blackwargreymon attacked us, he turned mountains into craters," Cody recalled, "but this time..." He motioned to the screen.

Everybody crowded around the computer. Grave Glacier and the area around it had not changed at all. "What...?" TK asked.

"D'ya think that crazy kaboom didn't do anything?" Demiveemon asked.

Izzy hit some buttons and the map reloaded, but again nothing changed. "That's strange..." he admitted. "What do you suppose that—"

"Matt!" a familiar voice burst from the computer, making them all jump. "Matt! Can you hear me?"

"Gabumon?" Patamon yelped.

Izzy quickly brought up the Digital Gate program, and surely enough, Gabumon's furry face stared out at them. "Izzy?" he asked. "Where'd Matt go?"

"Woah!" Tai exclaimed. "You're OK?"

"Where are you?" Joe demanded.

"I'm fine," Gabumon said. "I'm where that creepy motel was. I got a lift from Gorillamon."

Everybody heaved sighs of relief. Yolei had to sit down; she thought her legs would give out again.

"So what happened?" asked Upamon. "We thought..."

"It was the weirdest thing," Gabumon said, stepping back and scratching at his head. "I thought something big was going to happen, with all the wind and stuff, but then it all died down. I looked up and saw that you were all gone, and Blackwargreymon was just standing there."

Davis scratched his head. Just standing there? After the nuke he set off last time?

"He stared at the TV for a few minutes, and then put his foot through it," Gabumon went on. "Then he just flew away."

Everybody looked at each other, stunned. "...Huh?" Gatomon asked, summarizing the group's thoughts.

"Blackwargreymon... only attacks us?" Kari thought out loud.

Cody scratched his chin. "Maybe..." he said, "but I wouldn't assume that just yet."

"At least nobody else got hurt," Poromon piped up.

"Yeah, that's a great thing," TK agreed. "Boy, are we glad to see you, Gabumon!"

"Yeah, I'm glad, too," Gabumon replied with a smile. "I'm going to find a way back to File Island now. Tell Matt I'm OK, OK?"

With that, the gate switched back to its neutral red color. "Yeah, we'd better find him!" Patamon said.

"Sure hope he'll listen to us..." TK said, starting for the door. "We'll see you all later."

TK and Patamon left, and the others soon ambled that way, too. "I hope Mom and Dad won't be too mad..." Yolei sighed, gathering up Poromon.

"Don't think I'll be sleepin' well tonight..." Davis muttered, throwing his backpack over his shoulder.

Izzy was soon alone. He leaned back in his chair, pondering the day's events. Blackwargreymon only attacked Digidestined?... No, that couldn't be it; he left Gabumon alone. What else could it be? And furthermore, why was he acting like that? Spire-born were supposed to destroy everything... weren't they?

* * *

"I think he was going southwest," Mummymon said, putting his foot down on the jeep's accelerator. "What's down that way?"

Arukenimon didn't answer; she was too busy scowling at the jade star on the dashboard. "Did you really have to bring that?" she muttered.

Mummymon chuckled, his cheeks turning grayish-red. "Well... it's the first time I ever won something," he admitted.

Arukenimon shook her head. "Just keep driving," she grumbled.


	35. Glittering Eyes

**CHAPTER 35**

**GLITTERING EYES**

Getting from Thursday morning to Thursday afternoon took a whole week for Yolei. The fatigue from the last few Digital World excursions had finally caught up and landed on her with all the subtlety of a sumo wrestler falling off a trampoline. In addition to that, her mind reeked of the tongue-lashing Matt had given her the night before. All of these things had bubbled together and formed terrible nightmares involving Matt, Sora and Blackwargreymon. She had barely slept.

Desperate to escape the hallway's crush, she ducked into a girls' bathroom and sagged against a wall, reaching up to clean off her blurry glasses and then remembering she now wore contacts. She noticed her reflection in a mirror and groaned aloud; she looked as empty-eyed and sickly as the zombies she blew away in video games. Being a Digidestined was not doing her looks any favors. She groaned again at thinking that word, remembering where she was headed again this afternoon. Wasn't there any way to get away from it for a little while?

"Hey!" a familiar voice chirped, and Yolei almost jumped out of her skin when a hand landed on her shoulder. She whirled around to see Mimi, looking as pink as ever, and equally displeased. "What are you doing in here?" she asked. "This is the cheerleaders' favorite bathroom!"

"What?..." Yolei grumbled, feebly pushing herself off the wall and starting to leave. "Man…"

Mimi noticed just how worn out Yolei was and her expression changed. "Hey, wait," she urged, pulling the girl back. "It's fine for now."

Yolei sighed and slumped against the cerulean tiles again. "It's a frickin' public bathroom," she grouched. "They don't own everything…"

Mimi snorted. "Try saying that to all of us at once," she huffed.

"I'll get Davis to say it," Yolei replied, cheering up a bit. "He'd love to see a whole flock of girls coming at him."

Mimi actually laughed, and Yolei was able to find a smile. "So, your class is going to Kyoto next week, right?" Mimi asked. "That'll be fun!"

Yolei nodded, looking relieved. In spite of the grounding, her parents had decided to grant her a little spending money for the trip; not much, but enough for meals and a few cheap souvenirs… The big turn-on, though, was getting away from the blasted Digital World for a few days. Between Blackwargreymon, Matt, and the constant stress, she needed some time to herself. It wasn't her top choice for a break—she would have preferred twelve-hour naps every day and undisturbed access to Ken Ichijouji—but it was a break nonetheless.

"Actually, then," Mimi broke into her thoughts, "we need to get the last lesson in."

Yolei looked at her. "Really? Why?" she asked.

"Think about it!" Mimi beamed. "Kyoto would be a great place for you to try your newfound charms on boys who've never met you before. A clean slate, you know?"

Yolei wasn't very sure about that—Ken was all she wanted, and lots of him—but maybe Mimi had a point; it might help to get some actual practice in. Besides, it was one more way to put off the Digital World. "…All right," she agreed.

"Great!" Mimi exclaimed as they walked out of the bathroom. "How about tomorrow, after school?"

"I'll have to check with my parents, but I'll try…" Yolei replied, hoping she'd be able to sweet-talk them into yet another grounding reprieve.

"Fab," Mimi replied. "Hey, why don't we walk home together? We can go past the—"

"Hey! Yolei!" another voice broke in.

Yolei turned around and her smile fell off. Davis was coming towards her, flanked by Kari and TK. She looked back and Mimi had vanished like a ghost. "…Oh, hey, guys," she muttered, turning to the others. "What is it?"

"We just wanted to make sure…" TK started, then looked at her again with concern. "Are you feeling OK?" he asked.

"Better than I look, I guess," she muttered, folding her arms.

"Think you're up for going to the Digital World today?" Kari asked.

"Sure," Yolei answered crossly, "but I've gotta do it from home. I'm grounded, remember?"

Davis couldn't help but cackle at that; even his parents hadn't grounded him, and they would ground him for dropping his shoes in the wrong place. "Is that what you were doin', there?" he asked. "Sharin' your sob story with Mimi?"

Yolei's jaw clenched.

"You seem to be hanging around her a lot," TK pointed out. "Is she getting any friendlier?"

"Yeah, what're you talking about?" Kari asked.

Yolei glared at the three of them. "It's none of your business who I'm talking with, or about what!" she snapped.

TK and Kari shrank back and stayed quiet, but Davis returned the outburst like a sack of moldy bread. "Pheh! Those contacts musta slipped up into your brain," he grunted.

"Keep it up and they'll be in YOURS!" she spat. "I'm going home."

She brushed past her friends and disappeared down the hall. "Whew!" TK gulped, taking his hat off. "We must've struck a nerve."

"I hope she'll come today anyway…" Kari sighed. "There're lots of spires where we're going… C'mon, let's get to the lab."

Davis looked after Yolei for a few moments, then scowled and shook his head.

* * *

The shrill wail of the wind burned Blackwargreymon's ears, the only sound to come out of the tall canyon before him. As waves of sand and dirt flecked against his feet, he peered up at the grayish-gold cliffs, then down at his feet. The only sign of life was a small patch of grass, in which there was but one tiny purple flower, its petals twitching in the breeze.

He turned and glanced back the way he came. Between the frozen mountain and this place, there lay only a dusty no-man's land. What sort of world was this place he had come to? Some parts of it were overflowing with nature and life, but just as many were devoid of anything but earth and stones… and then there were places like this, where a single flower rose up in the barren landscape. Thinking about it, he felt a great disgust for this Digital World; it was incomplete… uncertain… chaotic. It would greatly benefit from what he would usher in. Still, looking at the flower, the tiniest seed of intrigue took root in his mind. Why would life struggle here, in all its ruin? Why did it not simply submit to the desolation around it? What possible reason—

A harsh spray of ice erupted near the flower, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up to see twenty hulking Mammothmon emerging from the canyon… and atop the left-hand cliff, the two fools sat in their vehicle, looking undeservedly satisfied.

"Well, we finally caught up with you!" Mummymon wheezed.

"Enough of your wandering!" Arukenimon snapped. "You're coming with us and following our orders! Understand?"

"It took two hundred control spires to make these," Mummymon went on, tapping his cane impatiently. "Now come along quietly, or else!"

Blackwargreymon scowled at the Mammothmon herd, then up at the two in the jeep. "I shall never serve fools weaker than myself," he replied with bothersome calm, "especially when they must _create_ their soldiers."

Arukenimon bared her teeth; she had heard enough. "GET HIM!" she yelled to the Mammothmon, and the beasts trumpeted loudly and charged the dark-armored creature.

However, that was as long as the battle went in Arukenimon's favor. Blackwargreymon flew through the stampede, and as he came to a stop behind it, the four Mammothmon in the middle shed their skins and collapsed into blackened heaps, gaping holes bored right through their middles. Blackwargreymon turned to the remaining horde and waited.

The Mammothmon turned around and charged at him again, trumpeting in the exact same way as before. Blackwargreymon leaped into the air and sailed onto the neared one, piercing its facemask with his claws and sending it to the ground as spire dust. He jumped away as two more came at him and let them collide and tangle their tusks, and then he grabbed a charging third and hurled it into them, destroying all three. He landed and stared the rest down, daring them to come.

The twelve other Mammothmon just kept rushing him. Despite the frenzied conflict, Blackwargreymon let out an irritated sigh. This was a glory-less, depressing battle. The Mammothmon just kept attacking him like automatons, without any rage for their comrades or hatred for him, the one who had taken their lives. They just kept on attacking, their trumpeting as monotone as a workday freight train. He put his foot right through the ninth creature without any effort, glaring up at the cliff as he shook the spire crumbs away. If this world was full of buffoons like that woman, then it deserved exactly what he would usher in.

As three more Mammothmon burst into obsidian chunks, Arukenimon screeched and angrily kicked on the jeep's dashboard. How dare Blackwargreymon destroy her creations so easily! They were perfect! This was unthinkable! "You wretch!" she shouted. "You vile, despicable wretch!"

"Now, now," Mummymon tried to calm her, "don't forget—"

"I'll MAKE him listen!" she hissed. "I'll use a hundred spires next time… or a thousand! THEN I'll have a monster that—"

"STOP, Arukenimon!" Mummymon shouted, putting both hands on her shoulders and shaking her. "Remember what we're doing!"

Arukenimon was on the verge of foaming, but as four more Mammothmon bit the dust, she managed to breathe again… and then she realized where Mummymon's hands were and kicked him in the chest. She hated to admit it, but he was right; this wasn't _meant_ to subdue Blackwargreymon.

Blackwargreymon frowned at the final Mammothmon, which pawed the ground as it prepared to charge him. "Surrender," he spoke coldly. "You're defeated."

As he expected, the Mammothmon simply trumpted and raced at him. He readied himself to meet it, but suddenly something caught his eye: that tiny purple flower and its patch of grass were right between the charging puppet and himself, sure to be smashed into oblivion.

Arukenimon and Mummymon sat up in shock as the black-armored warrior threw himself on top of the grass patch, leaving the Mammothmon to stomp on his back repeatedly. "What?..." Arukenimon murmured.

Tired of being stepped on, Blackwargreymon lurched and knocked Mammothmon over, then grabbed its trunk and swung it around so hard, the creature snapped in two. He turned and looked down at the dirt. The flower was undamaged. As he looked at it, a strange feeling crept over him. He could have let it be stamped out, thus allowing the whole of the landscape conform to desolation… but he did not. Seeing it continue to live, continue to defy its surroundings, gave him a sense of satisfaction that he could not understand.

"Isn't he supposed to be a killing machine?" Mummymon asked.

Arukenimon was at a loss for words. What was going on in this psychotic being's head, destroying her handcrafted terrors while protecting something as pathetic as a few weeds? Devimon had given them a rotten deal; she would get even with him if it was the last thing she—

Just then, Blackwargreymon stiffened and his eyes darted southward. Without another word, he shot into the air and flew off. "Oh!" Mummymon exclaimed. "Where do you suppose he's going?"

Arukenimon thought for a moment, then her mouth curled back into its usual smirk; now she remembered what Blackwargreymon was useful for. "Follow him," she ordered. "Wherever he's going, there's a Crest piece waiting."

Mummymon fired up the jeep and sped off across the mesa. "And if there's a Crest, there'll be Digidestined," he remarked.

"That's fine by me," she replied, retaining her coolness for a change. "We need to fulfill our part of the deal, anyway. We've been cutting it close lately; let's try to get it right this time."

Mummymon's eyes flashed. "That won't be a problem," he mused. "I've got just the thing!..."

* * *

"All right, we should be reaching the end," Izzy said as Tai and he walked into his room, where he put down his backpack and pulled out a notebook. "This presentation is sure to give us optimal grades."

Tai simply nodded and put his backpack in the corner. Izzy scratched his head. Usually the closer his wild-haired buddy got to the end of a tough project, the more energetic he was; today, though, it was like he was back on week one. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Huh? Nothing," Tai replied, shaken out of whatever he was thinking.

Izzy decided to change the subject. "Were you able to talk with Matt yet?" he asked.

Tai looked out the window. "Nobody's been able to reach him, not even TK," he grumbled. "Boy, when he wants to nurse his grudges, he knows how to disappear."

Izzy sighed. He was all too familiar with how Matt reacted to problems. "How about Sora, then?" he tried.

Tai flinched, then shook his head. "…No," he sighed. "She hasn't been returning my calls."

Izzy blinked. "Really?" he asked. "But she's usually very quick to respond…"

"Err… She, uh… must be busy… on her own project," Tai replied haltingly. "You know, she's gotta do twice the work!... Yeah…"

Izzy eyed him suspiciously, but Tai didn't look like he wanted to discuss it any more. "All right, then," he said, opening the notebook. "If I dictate, will you type this into a text file? The teacher'll want papers he can actually read."

Tai plopped down in the swivel chair and tapped the keyboard. "OK, but I don't have lightning fingers," he tried to joke, "so don't go too—"

Angry, loud beeps knocked him right out of his seat. As Izzy rushed over and started typing, he scrambled back upright. "Good grief!" he exclaimed. "I'd hate to see how you'd train a dog!"

"Sorry," Izzy said. "That's the new DigiWorld alert. I had to make it loud in case I was asleep."

"Digi…?" Tai asked, leaning in to look at the map on the screen. "What's going on?"

Izzy's eyes widened at the screen. Flashing in the midst of a patch of dark green was a small, purple dot. "It's my Crest!" he yelped. "I mean, a piece of it!"

"Awesome!" Tai exclaimed, suddenly enthralled. "Get the others on the horn, pronto! Where is it, and where are they?"

"It's an uncharted jungle," Izzy replied, then hit some keys and the map scrolled northward, where the familiar dots of the Digidestined flickered. "And what luck; they're already just north of it. I'll send an e-mail right away."

Tai pumped his fists and managed to smile. Even if he wasn't directly involved, hunting for a Crest fragment beat writing a physics presentation any day!

* * *

Digmon plunged his whirring nose into a control spire's base, then shoved it over with a bit of effort. He paused to catch his breath, looking at the dozens of other black obelisks still standing in the dusty fields. "Whew!" he panted. "Arukenimon and Mummymon sure get around, don't they?"

"It's pretty amazing, to be sure," Shurimon agreed, yanking his blades from another spire and watching it crash. "How they get around so quickly with just that little jeep is beyond me."

The kids were sitting nearby, listening to their partners talk. "Yeah, an' spires are popping up on File Island again, and even in the ocean!" Davis added, getting up to greet Flamedramon as the lizard returned from melting a few spires in the distance. "How're they doing that?"

Flamedramon scratched his head. "Maybe there's an evil Digimon boat rental service?" he suggested.

"That's just stupid," Yolei grumbled, still in her bad mood.

"Well, a little," TK remarked, "but considering what else we've seen here, we can't just dismiss it…"

Cody noticed that Kari was staring off into space again. He didn't know why she did that, but it happened enough to get on his nerves. "Kari, what do you think?" he asked, trying to engage her in the discussion.

Kari blinked a few times, then looked at Cody thoughtfully. "Well, how they're doing it is confusing," she said, "but I was wondering _why_ they're doing it."

The other kids and the Digimon stopped and thought about that. Kari had hit upon something big. The Digimon Emperor had erected hundreds of spires to be power sources for the Dark Rings he used to enslave creatures. However, Arukenimon and Mummymon didn't do that. "Yeah, why _do_ they need these eyesores?" Nefertimon asked.

"So they can turn 'em into monsters to come after us!" Yolei huffed. "Duh!"

"But so many of them?" Pegasusmon asked. "Those two only need one or ten spires to make Digimon… and yet twice that many seem to pop up every day."

"Maybe they're just stockin' up on ammo," Davis tried.

"But doesn't Mummymon use _broken_ spires for his monsters?" Shurimon asked. "That makes it even less likely they'd need to build so many…"

"Yeah…" Digmon said. "Somethin' tells me we ain't got all the pieces to the jigsaw puzzle. Maybe we oughta—"

Just then, TK's D-Terminal beeped. "Oh! Hold that thought, Digmon," he said, pulling it out. Quickly looking over the message, he jumped up. "There's a Crest piece in the jungle south of here!" he said. "Let's get going!"

"Oh, no…" Yolei groaned, her mind jumping right to the inevitable appearance of Blackwargreymon. "Do we have to?"

"Yolei…" Shurimon started.

Kari looked at her friend, surprised at the response. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Yolei bit her lip, then folded her arms and snorted. "I… I got it last time," she muttered.

That excuse went over like a fart in church. "What the hell, Yolei?" Davis snapped at her.

"That's incredibly selfish," Cody scolded, "even for you."

"Come on, Yolei," TK pressed, "we need everybody in on this, especially now that—"

"OK, OK!" Yolei shouted him down. "Fine! Whatever! Let's go!"

Shurimon shrank down to Hawkmon, then became Halsemon. Yolei hopped on his back and took off without another word.

The others watched her go, again stunned by her behavior. "What's gotten into her, anyway?" Davis grunted. "Actin' all… yucch!"

"Maybe the stress is starting to get to her," Cody suggested, remembering what had happened with Blackwargreymon at the glacier. "She's become high-strung."

"Strung?" Digmon asked. "Like those violins in your music class, Cody?"

Cody blinked, at a loss for words. "Um…" he tried.

"I know people make music, but I thought they used instruments," Flamedramon admitted. "But then, listening to Davis's sister singing in the shower—"

"Yo! Zip it!" Davis snapped. "We gotta move!"

The others agreed with that; they switched their Digimon to their travel-worthy forms and chased after Yolei and Halsemon. The field was left only partially cleared, with only half the control spires demolished.

This, of course, wasn't a problem for the yellow jeep that pulled up a few minutes after the Digidestined had left. "Ugh, look at this," Arukenimon fumed. "The one time we _want_ them to break spires, they leave the job half done! AND they've gotten ahead of us again!"

Mummymon grinned wickedly. "Let them be ahead," he scoffed, leaning on the door as he got out. "They've given us what we need…"

* * *

"That must be it," Raidramon growled as a large patch of exotic green took shape in the distance.

"Certainly looks like it," Cody agreed from his perch on Ankylomon's head. "What's the name of this jungle?"

"Doesn't have one, I don't think," Ankylomon rumbled.

Flying low enough to hear his friends on the ground, TK shot Ankylomon a puzzled look. "What? But all the other places in the Digital World have names," he said. "Why doesn't this jungle?"

"Maybe nobody's explored it enough to give a name," Pegasusmon suggested.

"Yeah! Maybe we'll get to name it!" Davis laughed, pumping his fist. "Motomiya Jungle! Sounds frikkin' awesome!"

"Only to you…" Cody muttered, shaking his head.

Kari peered ahead with confusion; there was something happening close to the jungle's entrance; it looked like a massive gathering of Digimon, swarming around a makeshift stage with speakers and a screen. "What's going on?" she asked.

Nefertimon spotted Halsemon on the ground some distance away from the crowd. Yolei was nearby, seemingly waving at them. "Maybe they know," she said, nodding towards the pair.

The other Digimon came to a stop near their friends. "What's going on?" TK asked as he dismounted Pegasusmon.

"Yeah, is there a Digimon concert or something?" Davis asked. "Ugh, I hope they ain't into what my sister likes."

Yolei didn't even scowl at Davis's stupid joke. "No," she whispered harshly, "it's the Resistance!"

"What?" Kari gasped.

"What're they doin' all the way out here?" Ankylomon asked.

Cody frowned. Whatever Gargomon and his followers were doing here, it wouldn't be at all helpful to the Digidestined. "We'd better find out," he said. "Ankylomon, de-Digivolve and we'll get closer, see if we can hear anything."

"Actually, that's a pretty good idea," TK agreed. "Let's all do it… only spread out so there's less chance we'll be seen."

Yolei groaned out loud. "This just gets better and better, doesn't it?..." she whined.

"Aww, shut it, Yolei," Davis grunted as Raidramon shrank back to Veemon. "This's part of the job!"

Nefertimon became Gatomon, Pegasusmon became Patamon and Halsemon became Hawkmon, and with their partners they slowly crept towards the assembled throng. They were amazed at how big the Resistance's troupe had become. Now there were far more than just run-of-the-mill critters like Gazimon or Gotsumon; there were mostly Champion-level monsters, such as Kuwagamon and Monochromon, and even a few Ultimate-level ones, like the metallic, blue-burning Skullmeramon. Kari shuddered as she realized the number of powerful creatures in the movement now; the kids' own Digimon would be seriously overwhelmed if things came to blows.

A Geckomon walked onto the stage and took the microphone in its webbed hands. "Thankth to you all for comin' all th' way out here," it lisped. "Now, without further ado, here'th the leader of thith Rethithtance and the Digital World'th one true hero: Gargomon!"

The Digimon erupted with loud cheers and whistles as the gun-handed bunny lumbered up to the mic, waving and smiling at them. It reminded Cody of the World War II propaganda film reels he had seen in school.

"Thank you," Gargomon acknowledged, then took a breath and began. "My Resistance! My Digimon! My friends! I'm proud of all of you. Here we stand. It hasn't been very long since we were cowering in fear of the Digimon Emperor and his thugs… but now, here we stand. In spite of the what's happened to our cities and our friends, _here we stand!_"

He paused as the crowd cheered again. Despite their previous run-ins with Gargomon, TK couldn't help but feel some respect for him. He certainly knew how to rally Digimon to his cause.

"But this isn't over," Gargomon went on, his proud grin contorting into a hateful scowl. "The humans still walk around like they own the Digital World, and since the fall of their Emperor, the violence has only increased! I'm sure I don't have to remind you of all the incidents…"

He moved to the side and the screen lit up, displaying a picture of Davis and Veemon fleeing from the enraged Tortomon, leaving a trail of wreckage in its wake. "Incidents such as getting innocent Digimon to destroy buildings and docks!"

Boos shot up from the crowd. Veemon scratched at the dirt angrily, and Davis bit his lip to keep from swearing. That had just been an accident, AND they had fixed the damages afterwards!

The screen changed to a picture of the Arumbaya Marshlands, with the whole party fleeing the temple as a slew of Incamon threw fire-tipped spears. "Murdering the swamp dwellers and defiling the Incamon's temple!" Gargomon bellowed.

More boos and hisses came from the crowd. Cody frowned darkly. A Spire-born Hippogryphomon had done both those things, not them.

The image switched to the aftermath of their night at the carnival. "Turning Pinball Carnival into an absolute mess!" Gargomon snapped.

The crowd rumbled with angry snarls and more yelling. Kari felt sick to her stomach. Arukenimon and Mummymon were the ones who had messed up the carnival, and the Digimon had been the ones who helped fix it!

"And most recently," Gargomon went on, pointing ferociously at the new image of the destroyed Asp Mountain Range, "destroying the mines of Spaghetti Junction rather than let the Digimon have their gold!"

The crowd erupted in shrieks and roars, with hundreds of fists punching at the air. The screen went blank and Gargomon waited for the crowd to calm down. "From all of this, it's obvious that there will be no reasoning with the humans," he thundered. "That's why I'm imposing a new charge on this Resistance: any humans seen in the Digital World must be caught and killed on sight!"

The crowd went wild with cheers and yelling. Yolei winced at the loud shouts of "get 'em!" and "burn 'em!" and "kill 'em all!"

"That isn't all," Gargomon continued. "Here's something scary: I've heard that some Digimon _tolerate_ the humans… and some even _help_ them! There won't be any of those in _this_ group! We have to stand together against our enemies!"

As the crowd cheered again, Gatomon's ears pulled back. Gargomon couldn't stop at attacking humans; he was attacking her friends and her? Now it was personal.

In spite of all the cheering and yelling, though, one small voice spoke up in the throng. "Excuse me!" it chirped. "Excuse me! Mister Gargomon!"

Everybody went silent and turned towards this voice that addressed their leader directly. A nervous-looking Elecmon suddenly found itself the center of attention.

Gargomon eyed the speaker suspiciously. "Yeah?" he asked.

The Elecmon began to sweat. "Um, w-well," it stammered, "I heard th-that the humans we-were the ones who b-beat the Emperor…"

"WHAT?" someone else screamed. "Who said that?"

"Liar!" another voice shouted. "The Digimon on his craft brought it down at the cost of their own lives!"

"Traitor!" another yelled. "Get him!"

The crowd started to turn ugly, but Gargomon stepped in, firing one of his machine gun arms into the air. Satisfied with the crowd's silence, he scowled at the Elecmon. "Do you have a reason for saying this?" he asked.

The Elecmon was shaking all over and looked ready to faint. "I-it's just…" it barely managed, "i-if it's t-true... h-how can… can we f-f-fight such p-power?"

The crowd murmured with confusion; that was something very few of them had thought of. From his hiding spot, Davis had to grin. "Yeah, what's your answer for that, bullet-ass?" he snickered.

"From the look on his face," Veemon sighed, "I think he's got one."

Gargomon's scowl faded away and he nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, they are strong," he admitted, "and now we know why: they're grabbing the legendary Crests."

Gasps flowed through the audience like a wave hitting the shore. "You all know what I'm talking about," Gargomon said. "They're looking for the powers that we Digimon used to free ourselves from the Dark Masters… and I'm sad to say they've found a few already! Our most powerful weapons are being used against us!"

As the crowd tittered with sounds of both anger and panic, TK and Kari shot each other frustrated looks. "The Digimon freed _themselves_ from the Dark Masters?" TK fumed. "Then what did we almost get killed doing?"

"Gargomon needs to re-read his history book," Kari muttered.

"Hey! Yeah, they have some of 'em," Gargomon interrupted his fretting crowd, "but they don't have them all; there are still Crests out there! And it gets better for us: humans can't use 'em! If _we_ had 'em, the Crests would be more than enough to send 'em packing!"

The crowd having calmed down a bit, Gargomon pointed towards the greenery behind the stage. "That's why I've asked you to come here, to this jungle," he went on. "My scouts heard rumors of something inside that's a lot like the Eye of the Ice Queen, which the humans took from Grave Glacier. It could be a Crest!"

The hordes of Digimon murmured and talked among themselves. Gargomon smiled; he definitely had their attention now. "We've started a dig inside already, but we need more volunteers! Strong, tough bodies to help look, and just as many to drive off any humans! This is our chance to really put the hurt on those monsters! Can I count on you all to help?"

The crowd roared in the affirmative and started churning towards the trees. "That's right!" Gargomon shouted as he dismounted the stage and walked alongside his new recruits. "Everybody lend a hand! Let's all work together for a better future for Digimon!"

The Digidestined and their partners waited for the last stragglers to disappear into the foliage before getting back on their feet. "Shit," Davis swore as he brushed himself off. "These guys are workin' my _last_ nerve!"

"Like we didn't have enough on our plates already," Armadillomon sighed.

Yolei kicked at the dust with a snarl. "They make me so mad!" she snapped. "Bunch of… of… jerks!"

"A good effort on censoring yourself, Yolei," Cody complimented her. "Still, their anger isn't without grounds; the Digital World is still very much ruined, and we are a chief cause of it."

"Well, they didn't have to lie about all those things," Yolei grumbled, folding her arms. "We weren't trying to be mean! Those were accidents! OR Arukenimon! A DIGIMON, can I point out?"

"You're preaching to the choir, Yolei," Kari sighed.

"So what do we do?" Gatomon asked.

TK looked at the opening in the bushes and shook his head. "We'll just have to avoid the Resistance like all the other obstacles," he concluded. "Either way, they've got a head start on finding that Crest; let's hurry!"

The kids and the Digimon raced towards the jungle's dark entrance.

* * *

Ken's fingers leaped around the keyboard like ten pale acrobats as wire-frame images of his weaponry spun on the screen. With one last dynamic motion, he tapped the "Cntrl" and "S" buttons, saving the work.

He sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling; all of the repairs and upgrades were complete, and he could use them right away. The prospect of being able to get back to the Digital World so quickly brought a certain rush to his chest… but he couldn't help but feel a little scared of how much he had been able to do in one day. Working with such dedication, he almost felt like his old self… but he had to take care never to feel _too_ much like that.

Just then, the computer beeped, and the Digital World map opened. Another Crest fragment had appeared, and the other Digidestined were already en route. With Arukenimon and Mummymon sure to appear, this was as good a time to test his upgrades as any. Without another word, he pointed his Digivice at the monitor.

* * *

TK grunted angrily as he slapped the soggy hair away from his eyes for a third time. The Digidestined couldn't have been walking through that jungle for more than fifteen minutes, and already they were soaked head to toe in their own sweat. Though the canopy of leaves above hid most of the sun's light, it made itself known through the searing heat and humidity. "This is like walking through a sponge," TK muttered.

"Hard to believe it's November back in the real world," Kari remarked. "I might not want to wear my jacket going home."

"That wouldn't be a good idea," Cody pointed out. "Going through extreme temperature changes without the proper protections can—"

"Aww, shut up, Cody," Davis grumbled as he pulled his goggles off and waved them towards his face. "Your breath's makin' it even steamier."

Cody frowned, puzzled. "What?" he asked. "How could it? I'm nowhere near you."

Davis threw the boy a sarcastic smile. "'Cuz you're fulla hot air," he replied.

Cody blinked a few times, then looked away. He wasn't used to getting zinged.

Veemon's eyes lit up in surprise. "Wow, Cody!" he exclaimed. "You've got hot air? Can ya roast marshmallows without a fire?"

"Don't say 'roast…'" Yolei moaned as she sagged against a tree. It was a good thing the Digital World gave her different clothes; Mimi would have been furious if she put her new designer labels through this atmosphere.

Patamon was floating a little ways off the ground, peering into the bushes. "Boy, with how many Resistance Digimon we saw, where'd they all go?" he asked. "It's like they disappeared!"

"Yeah, I thought they'd be marchin' all over, lookin' for us," Armadillomon agreed.

"I bet they all took off," Davis cackled. "Gargomon talks big, but c'mon! You think they'd really wanna mix it up with Paildramon?"

Hawkmon flew up to a high branch for a rest, but it wasn't a long one; one look downward sent him shooting back to the safety of his friends. "Everyone shush!" he hissed, pointing.

The group inched towards the bushes and peered over them. Lying just feet away from the thick foliage, torn through the jungle like a gash, was a long, deep trench. Hundreds of Resistance Digimon plunged shovels, picks, and their own claws into the moist soil, hurling it to either side. They picked up any upturned stones and looked them over like they were inspecting fine antiques, then tossed them back and kept digging.

"Looks like we found 'em, Davith," Veemon whispered.

"They've dug up a lot already," TK observed. "We'd better start hunting, too!"

They turned and snuck back to their hidden path, but Yolei lingered behind the rest, mopping her brow. The Resistance Digimon looked just as sweaty as the kids, but seemed to have energy to spare in their work. Just watching them dig made Yolei even hotter, and that slowed her down even more.

"Yolei? What's wrong?" Gatomon asked, noticing the lag.

Yolei looked towards the dig site, then back at her friends. "How can they work like this?" she groaned. "They're not even getting paid!"

Cody shook his head. "I suppose feeling they're making a better Digital World is all the reward they need," he theorized.

"Damn Gargomon," Davis grunted. "Makin' 'em do all that shit and not even shellin' out… an' where's HE? Didn't see HIM down there!"

Almost in response, the bushes shuddered and five Meramon jumped out ahead the Digidestined, their burning bodies making the leaves on the ground curl and smoke. "We'll take you right to him!" they snarled, balling their fists. "Get your hands up!"

Not one of the kids or their partners had any intention of throwing in the proverbial towel that easily. Armadillomon, the only one able to make contact with the fiery creatures, bounced at the one in the center like a pinball, knocking it to the ground and making an opening. As they scampered past, the soldiers yelled for backup, and a troupe of Flymon buzzed down on them around the next bend in the path.

"Frack!" Davis shouted as he lurched away from a charging stinger.

Gatomon leaped up, broke off a tree branch and swatted the bugs away, forcing them into the confusing mess of trees off the road.

Free of the bees, the Digidestined ran onward… right into a pack of stinking Numemon. Yolei screamed and tried to cover her face as they hurled a salvo of pink crap her way, but Hawkmon intercepted it, hurling his feather and slicing the wads out of the air. The Numemon were so surprised, they couldn't keep the kids from jumping right over them.

"There're… too many of 'em!" Kari panted as they ran.

"Maybe we oughta split up!" Veemon suggested.

Running fairly ahead of the rest, TK looked back at his friends. "No way!" he shouted. "Then they'll pick us off one by—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Without a warning, a control spire jutted up from the ground right in the middle of the path. TK yelled and leaped to the left with Patamon, but everyone else's instinctive jump took them to the right, and down a steep hill, crashing through the underbrush until they landed in a heap in a dug out clearing.

"Urrgh…" Cody groaned as he slid off the pile and got back on his feet. "Is everyone all right?"

"Sure," Davis groaned, "except for my whole damn body."

"Good thing I've got a shell," Armadillomon remarked as he wobbled around upside-down. "I can take a few tumbles."

"Lucky you…" Gatomon snarled as she tried to pull herself out from under him.

Yolei smelled something vile, then looked down at Hawkmon and the goopy feather in his bandanna. "You'd better wash that!" she gurgled as she scrambled off of him.

As the kids untangled, Kari realized that somebody was missing. "…Where's TK?" she asked, suddenly very upset.

In a repeat performance, a gang of eight Meramon leaped out of the bushes all around the Digidestined, cutting off any escape… and with them was the Skullmeramon Kari had seen in the crowd, seething with sapphire flames under his chain mail. "Now we've got you," it laughed in a hollow, unearthly voice. "Forget Gargomon; we'll just melt you right now!"

"Yeah, just try it!" Davis snarled, leaping in front of Kari and raising his Digivice. "I'll put yer fire out like—"

"Davis, no!" Kari shouted, grabbing his shoulder. "That one's an Ultimate!"

The flames on the Meramon's arms burned wildly, and Skullmeramon opened its mouth to reveal a dancing blue inferno. "Err…" Armadillomon gulped, "anyone else feel like just rollin' over on this one?"

Just then, something flew into a nearby tree and exploded, startling everybody. Davis thought the Meramon had started attacking, but then Ken leaped onto the scene, his arm weapons raised. Skullmeramon snarled and signaled to attack, but Ken was ready. He leaped above the fireball barrage and sprayed his assailants with dozens of tiny missiles from one hand, and spinning double grenades from the other. The Meramon screamed and fell away, fleeing into the jungle. The kids couldn't believe it; Ken had actually made stronger weapons!

Skullmeramon wasn't going to be scared off so easily, and it belched a wild blue flame right at the boy genius. Ken's shoulder laser clicked and fired a powerful red beam, matching the flames' force and snuffing them out. "I… You!" Skullmeramon snarled. "You… you're the Emperor!"

Ken said nothing. He just pointed his missile arm at Skullmeramon and fired. The Ultimate Digimon howled as its side exploded, and it crashed to its knees. As Ken's weapons clicked and whirred, it scrambled up and scampered away after its cohorts.

Ken started to follow, but Davis grabbed his shoulder. "Woah, Ken! Easy!" he urged.

"Those weren't Spire-born, you know!" Hawkmon pointed out.

Ken hesitated, then lowered his guns and relaxed. "Is everyone all right?" he asked.

"Y-yeah…" Kari managed, looking around at the clearing, now burned and blackened from Ken's assault.

Cody scowled at the boy. "What's the matter with you?" he demanded. "Enslaving Digimon is too much work? You'd rather just kill them now?"

Ken's eyes narrowed. "I was saving you," he retorted. "Or would you rather have been burned alive?"

"I don't believe you!" Cody snapped. "How can I when you've just made stronger weapons?"

"Uh… 'Cuz of Blackwargreymon?" Veemon ventured.

Cody shook his head sharply. Even if Arukenimon, Mummymon and Blackwargreymon were a separate threat, it just wasn't possible that the Digimon Emperor had thrown in the towel just yet.

"Knock it off!" Yolei snarled, furious at her little friend's stubbornness. "Ken's changed! You're the only one that doesn't see it!"

"Yeah, Cody!" Davis huffed. "He just saved yer sorry ass!"

"While all too ready to kill those Meramon," Cody rebuked. "How can you two ignore that?"

"Diplomacy wasn't going to work," Ken said coldly.

"As if you knew how to try that!" Cody retorted.

"Shut the hell up, Cody!" Yolei yelled. "I'm sick of you doing this!"

As she tiredly listened to Yolei ranting, Gatomon suddenly became aware of a faint rustling in the nearby bushes. Worried it might be another batch of Resistance Digimon, she rushed over and peered in… and her tail shot straight up in alarm. "Kari!" she hissed. "There's—"

Kari turned just in time to see a massive, serpentine tail lunge out of the underbrush and snare her partner, dragging her in. "Gatomon!" she cried.

She looked toward the others for help, but Davis and Yolei were still verbally sparring with Cody, and Ken had his back turned, quietly fuming. Even their partners were getting in on the argument, trying to get their respective partners to calm down. There was no time; she had to save Gatomon!

She raced into the bushes, swatting away branches and looking every which way for some sign of her partner, but there was none. "Gatomon!" she called as she pushed her way through a thick hedge. "Where—"

She stopped dead in her tracks. Hovering in front of her was a pair of huge, glowing rubies. They were so beautiful and dazzling, she couldn't help but admire them. In fact, she couldn't bring herself to look away; staring at those wonderful stones made her feel warm and good all over, like she was wrapped in a relaxing blanket of happiness.

The rest of the world dropped away around the rubies; nothing else mattered. Even the jungle sounds faded from Kari's ears, like the screech of her name as something went flying through the branches above. It wasn't important. She just wanted to look at these gorgeous rubies forever.

She could feel that warm blanket around her even more so now, soft and secure and lifting her off the ground, just like her mother held her as a baby. She smiled at the lovely feeling and, as she floated away with the rubies, drifted into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

"WHAT?" Gargomon shouted at Skullmeramon, making it flinch. "You RAN AWAY from them?"

"We had to, Gargomon!" a Meramon spoke up. "The Digimon Emperor showed up, and he's got new—"

"_Emperor?_" Gargomon snarled, almost foaming at the mouth. "That does it!" he barked. "Take as many Digimon as you can and find them! And don't even _think_ about taking prisoners!"

Gargomon watched Skullmeramon and the Meramon scamper back into the jungle, too angry to feel satisfaction at having just made an Ultimate-level Digimon follow his orders. So, the Emperor _was_ alive, and working with the rest of the humans! He knew those kids had been lying! Well, now they would pay for it. This unknown, uncharted jungle was the perfect place to make these so-called 'Digidestined' disappear.

Just then, he heard frantic footsteps coming up behind him. "Gargomon! Gargomon!" a worn-out Gazimon wheezed as it staggered up to him, clutching something tightly in its claws. "We… we found…" it panted.

"Woah! Take it easy, and breathe!" Gargomon advised his soldier. "What'd you find?"

"Near the jungle center…" the Gazimon rasped, "under the biggest tree…"

Unable to get any more words out, it simply opened its claw and revealed a small, square-shaped piece of purple plastic with what looked like an emblem of several rings engraved on it. Gargomon's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "That's it!" he exclaimed, snatching it away. "This is it! We've found it!"

He leaped onto the highest dirt mound he could see and raised the tiny object over his head. "Look, everybody!" he shouted wildly. "Your hard work's paid off! _We have a Crest!_"

The workers dropped their tools and the whole jungle seemed to rock with their cheering and yelling. Gargomon smiled at the zeal of his army. "Now we've got the power we need!" he announced. "It's time to get rid of the humans!"

As the crowd wildly shouted his name, Gargomon heard the Gazimon cough. "But Gargomon…" it interjected, "how does it work?"

Gargomon hesitated, then smiled at his cohort. "Leave that to me, friend," he laughed. "You just get yourself ready for the victory parades!"

The Gazimon smiled and joined in the cheering. Gargomon nodded in approval, but then quietly retired to a tent, looking over the Crest anxiously. How _did_ this thing work?

* * *

"I can't believe you!" Yolei yelled at Cody. "After all Ken's done!"

Several minutes after Ken had driven off the Meramon, the Davis and Yolei were still locked in a fiery argument about him with Cody. Ken himself had no part in it; he stood brooding on the edge of the clearing, taking in every venomous syllable.

"You worked fine together at the roach motel," Davis grunted. "It didn't kill you then!"

"C'mon, Cody," Armadillomon tried to coax. "You're makin' everybody mad."

"It's not my fault if they're _blind_," Cody retorted, scowling at Yolei and Davis. "Wake up! This is all a ruse! As soon as he's got the chance, we'll have knives in our backs!"

"He's NOT frickin' LIKE that!" Davis yelled.

"Tell that to Wormmon!" Cody snapped.

Ken whirled around. Everybody else went silent as he strode up, glaring icily into the little boy. "Leave Wormmon out of this," he hissed. "You have _no right_ to talk about him."

Cody gritted his teeth and glared back, feeling his spine heat up. It seemed the Emperor had nerves to be struck, and he was suddenly aware of the possible results. Those missiles and lasers could probably hurt more than Digimon.

For a tense few moments, the two locked eyes. Cody was about to say something more when a scream split the canopy. Everyone looked up in surprise as a white cat flew out of the bushes and smacked into a tree like a cartoon character. "Gatomon?" Veemon cried.

Gatomon sank to the ground and flopped onto her back, stunned. "Holy crap!" Davis exclaimed, scooping her up. "Are you OK?"

"It's certainly an innovative way to stop an argument," Hawkmon muttered, "but a bit too painful for me to adopt."

Gatomon groaned as her eyes tried to focus. "What in the world happened?" Yolei asked.

Gatomon's ears shot up and she leaped out of Davis's grip. "Kari!" she cried. "It's got Kari!"

"What?" Cody demanded.

The unpleasantness with Ken vanished as everybody looked around in alarm and discovered that Kari had vanished. "She got nabbed?" Armadillomon asked.

"Yes!" Gatomon replied. "Something in the bushes!"

"How come she didn't yell?" Veemon asked.

"I don't know!" Gatomon huffed, running to the patch of greenery where it had begun, "but it was right back here!"

The Digidestined crashed through the bush and looked around, but there was still no sign of Kari. There was only a long line of flattened foliage leading into thicker trees, like there had been a runaway steamroller, or… "Aww, shit," Davis groaned as he looked at the trail. "Another damn giant snake!"

Ken scowled. "Arukenimon," he stated sharply.

"OR a Resistance Digimon," Cody snapped, eager to derail the Emperor.

"Why'd it grab Kari instead of attacking us?" Armadillomon asked.

Veemon swallowed hard. "Maybe it was… just hungry," he ventured.

Davis shook him like a Christmas present. "Do NOT go there!" he shouted angrily. "C'mon, you guys! Let's get after it! NOW!" He hopped onto the fresh path and disappeared into the underbrush with Veemon and Gatomon right behind him.

Ken stopped for a moment to re-check his weapons and make sure the upgrades were operating properly. Yolei saw her chance. "Hey, um… Ken," she spoke up, moving closer to him, "I, uh, I got contacts… Err, you know, to help me see better… What do you think?"

Ken glanced at her, then motioned to his shoulder laser. "Would you move that, please?" he asked.

Yolei was almost paralyzed by his actually answering, but somehow she found the strength to reach up and give the blaster a little push. After a moment, it snapped back to its original position automatically. Ken nodded at her, then started after Davis.

Yolei quivered all over. Ken actually spoke to her! And asked for her help! And then nodded! She felt like melting.

"Yolei, hurry!" Hawkmon urged, nudging her in the side. "We don't want Kari being eaten on our watch!"

"Coming…" she replied dreamily, following the bird into the jungle.

Cody started to follow everyone, then stopped and looked back, his eyes wide with an awful realization. "Armadillomon, where's TK?" he demanded.

"Wha?..." Armadillomon asked looking around. "He ain't here?"

Cody called for his friend, but no answer came. Suddenly, he remembered Kari asking where TK was before the Meramon ambushed the group; TK must have disappeared before that. He gritted his teeth as he stared around at the menacing, thick jungle. Where did he go?

* * *

His trotters clamped painfully over his mouth, Patamon watched the five Gotsumon wander down the path, clutching rocks and looking every which way. "C'mon! They couldn'ta just disappeared!" one of them said.

"It'd be easier if those stupid spires didn't keep poppin' up," another grunted. "Damn humans!"

Patamon's nose twitched; a cover-blowing sneeze was coming up the pipes, and both of his trotters were busy keeping his breathing quiet! Those Gotsumon would definitely hear it, and then… and then…!

TK's fingers pinched down on his partner's snout and held fast. "Ugh… Forget it; they're too fast for us," he heard a Gotsumon growl. "Let the Frigimon up ahead deal with 'em."

"Yeah…" the first one agreed. "Let's go try to get a look at the Crest!"

The group headed back down the jungle trail. TK waited a few moments more, then released Patamon's nose. "That was close," he panted.

Patamon let his mouth go and sneezed himself right off of his perch. "Whew!" he yelped. "Any longer and it woulda come out my ears!"

TK didn't feel any relief. "If what those Gotsumon were saying was true, then the Resistance already found the Crest piece!" he muttered. "That's bad news…"

"But what can they do with it?" Patamon pointed out. "It's not gonna work for Gargomon; he's not a Digidestined!"

TK's spine burned as that made him think of his friends. Where were they in this crazy jungle? Or what if Gargomon already caught them? After what went down in Somber Harbor, he didn't even want to think of it! "C'mon, Patamon, we've gotta find 'em!" he urged, untangling himself from the branches.

"OK, TK!" Patamon chirped, floating down and perching on his partner's shoulder. "So, which way do we go?"

TK was about to suggest they keep going forward when six trees up ahead went airborne, making him lunge for the dirt. As half a dozen crashes rocked the jungle, the two friends looked up and saw what had made the trees fly. An imposing Digimon now stood on the footpath, its cold eyes staring down at them under its black helmet.

Patamon's fur stood on end. TK went white. It was Blackwargreymon.

* * *

The fluffy top of Davis's bomber jacket was as soggy as a sauna towel, but he didn't care; he shoved his way through the foliage looking for any sign of Kari or her captor.

"Davith, wait!" Veemon panted, trying to keep up with his partner but stumbling every few feet.

"Slow down!" Ken warned. "You might set off a trap!"

Davis slowed down just enough for the others to catch up. "Remember, the Resistance is still about," Hawkmon reminded him. "We can't crash through the underbrush willy-nilly."

"And TK's not with us, either," Cody said. "We're short on power."

Davis fumed. TK's absence could only work in his favor; that meant nobody else could get in the way of his saving Kari. Besides, who needed TK when Ken had brand new popguns?

"Let's just hurry up!" Yolei huffed. "I want to get out of this jungle!"

Staying in a tighter group, the kids raced through the bushes until they tumbled out into a freshly razed clearing. Arukenimon and Mummymon stood there waiting, confirming Ken's suspicions. While Mummymon was breathing heavily and teetering on his cane, Arukenimon looked as collected and smug as ever. "My, we are sluggish today," she smirked. "Is the jungle getting to your frail young bodies? Maybe you'd like a lawn chair and a cool glass of lemonade…"

"Can it, spider lady!" Veemon huffed. "We got plenty of fight in us yet!"

"Lemonade doesn't sound half bad," Mummymon coughed. "Perhaps later we could—"

Arukenimon silenced him with a bash to his head.

"Quit screwin' around!" Davis yelled, shaking his fist. "Where's Kari?"

"If you've hurt her in any way…" Cody warned.

"Such presumptuous little vermin," Arukenimon purred, twirling her hair around her finger. "You always think the worst of us… but it will please you to know your friend is safe and sound."

"Yeah?" Gatomon hissed. "Prove it!"

Looking extremely bored, Arukenimon glanced at Mummymon. He feebly raised his free arm and snapped his fingers. All of the trees surrounding the clearing groaned and swished, and slithering down in a lazy descent came a gigantic snake with piercing red eyes and emerald green skin. They all shuddered as its head took point beside Mummymon; that thing had to be twice as big as Rattlermon had been! "I knew it!" Davis yelled. "I freaking knew it!"

Ken raised his weapons, but the snake ignored him, still revealing its whole body. Sliding out of a nearby tree branch, wrapped tightly in the creature's coils, was an unconscious Kari. Seeing the peaceful smile on her face made Davis feel sick. "What'd you do to her?" he demanded.

"Ah, that's my dear little Pythmon's specialty," Mummymon cackled, leering at the distraught boy. "With its ruby gaze, it mesmerizes and lulls you to sleep, making you as easy to capture as, well, a sleeping chi—HAUGH! CACGH!" He broke into a spastic coughing fit and turned away.

"…And which of you would attack a Digimon with a human shield?" Arukenimon finished, grinning from ear to ear.

"You!..." Gatomon snarled, her teeth bared and her tail whipping the dirt.

Cody scowled at the pair. What decent person would condone tactics like this?

Davis clenched and unclenched his fists, but Arukenimon was right. If there was a risk that Veemon would hit Kari instead of Pythmon, he didn't dare order his friend to attack.

"Of course, if you DON'T act, then Pythmon may very well squeeze the life out of her…" Arukenimon went on, enjoying herself immensely, "or it might just swallow her whole. Whatever it feels like. There's simply no telling with giant snakes."

"Ugggh!" Hawkmon wretched. "You fiends!"

Yolei shuddered all over. She had seen a situation like this in a doujin. Given how things turned out, it hadn't been one she'd bought.

"You pieces of shit," Davis growled. "You get more gutless every damn time!"

Arukenimon frowned at the insult. "I beg your pardon," she huffed. "It so happens that we have no intention of harming the silly darling. After all… we need _her_."

Ken's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?" he demanded.

"Doesn't matter what it means!" Veemon yelped, balling his fists. "We're not gonna let 'em take Kari, are we, Davith?"

"Like hell we are!" Davis roared, whipping out his D3. Yolei and Cody did the same, and Ken trained his laser on Arukenimon.

"Ho ho ho…" Mummymon wheezed. "You just bit off far more than you can chew! Pythmon! Get rid of them!"

The trees in the clearing snapped and collapsed as Pythmon revealed every square inch of itself, encircling the Digidestined in a reptilian ring. It raised its head above them and hissed, its tongue flicking in and out. It lifted up Kari's coils and held her in front of it.

"You…!" Gatomon shouted, and leaped at the bindings with her claws. Pythmon responded by ramming her with its captive, knocking her to the ground, defeated.

"Oh, dear," Hawkmon muttered, flapping closer to Yolei.

"Use your smaller forms!" Cody grunted, pulling out his D-Terminal; this fight wasn't going to have much breathing room. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Armadillomon transformed into Digmon, Hawkmon became Shurimon and Veemon grew into Exveemon. "Now get Kari away from them!" Davis urged.

"She's as good as rescued!" Exveemon declared, and leaped at Pythmon's face with a powerful kick... but the Spire-born menace jerked back and held up its hostage, forcing Exveemon to break away.

Digmon dove underground and came up behind its head, but its tail was waiting for him. "D'ohhh!" he yelled as it lashed into him with the strength of a semi truck. "Which end am I s'posed to fight?"

Shurimon took to the air and launched his shuriken into Pythmon's skin, but they didn't seem to hurt the monster; it just lurched upwards and slapped him out of the sky with its tongue.

"No good!" Yolei gulped as she watched her ninja hit the dirt. "It's gotta be an Ultimate! Davis, get Paildramon out here!"

"Not 'til we get Kari!" Davis huffed. "Exveemon! Forget fighting; just pull her out!"

Exveemon leaped at Kari's coils and pulled as hard as he could, but they held fast around her. Pythmon didn't care for his trying to free its victim, so it snared Digmon with its tail and hurled him at the annoyance. Exveemon and Digmon smashed down next to Shurimon and struggled to get back up. "Whew!..." Exveemon coughed. "Sure is fast for a guy who's sittin' still!"

"Don't just lie there!" Davis yelled. "Get up!"

Arukenimon stifled a yawn. "This is getting tiresome," she muttered. "Why don't we wrap this up?"

Mummymon cackled. "I love it when you make puns," he sneered. "Pythmon! Take the fight out of our friends."

The four Digimon got back on their feet and prepared to charge Pythmon again, but it leaned forward and met their gazes with its own, its eyes glowing like a car's brake lights. Exveemon, Gatomon, Shurimon and Digmon all slowed down, then stopped and seemed to sag, like they were asleep on their feet.

"Hey!" Yolei panicked. "What're you guys doing?"

Cody scowled. "It hypnotized Kari," he stated, "and now it's got them!"

"Dammit!" Davis swore, then looked at Ken. "Ken! You've gotta get in there and help!"

Ken hadn't attacked out of fear for Kari's safety, and he was still hesitant to do so; he couldn't possibly risk taking _another_ life! But with the Digimon mesmerized and TK nowhere in sight, he was the only one who could act… and he had to.

He raced ahead of the Digimon and pointed his weapons at Pythmon, ready to fire… but the giant snake seemed to read his mind, and held Kari up in front of its face. Ken froze, then backed down. "I can't," he shouted. "Not while it's got Kari!"

"My, my…" Arukenimon crooned. "Quite heavy, that guilty conscience of yours…"

"I bet it would take first prize at the county fair!" Mummymon rasped.

Ken instead turned his weapons on his tormentors, but Pythmon dropped Kari in his path yet again. He snarled with frustration, then dropped his weapons.

Yolei suddenly had a great idea: if she could distract Pythmon, maybe its spell over Shurimon would break… and Ken could get a hit in _and_ see how brave she was! She raced over to the far left and kicked at the snake's body. "Hey! Ugly!" she shouted. "Over here!"

Pythmon's eyes instantly locked onto the newcomer. "What the hell?" Davis yelled. "Yolei!"

"Get back here!" Cody demanded.

"Yeah, c'mon, stupid!" Yolei huffed, kicking at the giant coils. "That's right, I'm kickin' ya! Come on, Ken! Now you can—"

She turned to yell to him, but she didn't see him… only two shining, ruby-red eyes. Ken and the boys looked on in horror as Yolei teetered for a moment, then collapsed onto Pythmon's waiting tail, entranced and snoring.

Arukenimon couldn't help laughing. "How naive!" she purred. "How did she not anticipate that?"

"You…!" Ken growled, but seeing not one, but two girls in Pythmon's coils, he didn't have the stomach to finish the threat.

"Well, this was fun," Arukenimon said, brushing herself off, "but we really must be going now. Mummymon!"

She strode off into the jungle. Mummymon rapped his cane on the ground and Pythmon slithered after her, its two captives in tow. "I think you'd better go home," he cackled at the boys, "before any more of you become snake snacks!" He hobbled off, cackling.

Ken dropped to his knees. Cody fumed in silence. Davis stared after the fiends, his whole body shaking. They were lost in a forest crawling with Resistance troops, TK had disappeared, and now both Kari and Yolei were ensnared… What in the world could he possibly do?


	36. Black Enigma

**CHAPTER 36**

**BLACK ENIGMA**

TK shook all over as Blackwargreymon looked down at him. This Digimon terrified him more than any of Arukenimon's previous creations. Maybe it was just his knowing it was a Mega-level creature, but this one seemed to have an evil _aura_. He could feel wickedness emanating from the creature like the scalding heat from a bag of microwave popcorn. Even the noises of the jungle had stopped with its appearance. He hadn't felt something like that since his fight with Apocalymon five years ago.

Patamon was shaking as hard as TK—he must have felt the same thing—but he wasn't going to let his friend get hurt. He scampered in front of TK and put on his most determined face. "G-go away!" he squeaked, barely audible. "I'll… I'll fight you! I will!"

"No!" TK hissed, flashing back to Angemon's and Devimon's mutual demise. "Patamon!"

Like a horrible statue, Blackwargreymon stared into the pair for what seemed an eternity. Finally, he looked up and past them. "Don't be a fool," he rasped. "Stay out of my way."

TK's mind locked up. Blackwargreymon, a Spire-born, wasn't going to attack them?... And as he thought about it, this made even less sense; since when did Spire-born talk?

* * *

"Dammit! Shit! GOD FRICKIN' DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!" Davis roared, kicking the nearest bush as hard as he could. "Mother effin' giant snake!"

Neither Ken nor Cody was in any better of a mood. Cody paced back and forth, fuming over the dastardly tactics of Arukenimon and Mummymon, but at a loss for ideas on retaliating. Ken leaned against a tree, seemingly brooding.

The four Digimon remained where they had been standing since Pythmon turned its hypnotic gaze on them, locked in deep trance. Davis quickly turned his rage on them. "Snap out of it, you guys!" he yelled, running in front of them. "Exveemon! Wake up! Dammit, WAKE UP!"

Neither Exveemon nor the others responded, no matter how much noise he made. Finally, out of breath, he sagged to the ground. "Frack…" he gurgled, his voice shaking. "Damn Pythmon… If it didn't have those hypno-eyes, we'd have saved Kari!…"

"Well, it _does_," Cody snapped, tired of Davis's tantrum. "And until we figure out a way to counter it, we're not going to make any headway."

"We can't even do that!" Davis huffed, thrusting his arms at the comatose monsters. "Look at our Digimon!"

Cody looked them over, then walked into the underbrush and looked around for a moment, then came back with a big stick. This was something his kendo training could rectify. "Stand back," he ordered Davis.

Davis quickly obliged as Cody smashed it across Digmon's forehead. "OWWW!" Digmon yelled, and fell backwards. "What'd ya do that for, Cody?"

Cody repeated the technique on Shurimon, Gatomon and Exveemon, eliciting the same response. "Hey, knock it off!" Exveemon muttered. "I was havin' a nice dream!"

"That was the problem," Cody growled. "You all let Pythmon hypnotize you, and now Arukenimon has Kari AND Yolei."

"What?" Shurimon cried, looking around frantically. Yolei was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, no… I've failed her!" he moaned.

The party stood in unpleasant silence. "…No, it wasn't our fault," Exveemon finally grumbled. "It was that Pythmon and its crazy eyes!"

"Yeah, we couldn't do much about that unless we were hypno-proof," Digmon agreed, "or blind."

Gatomon's tail swished. "Or if IT was blind," she suggested. "Next time we fight, I'll claw 'em right out!"

"How?" Davis huffed. "It'll just stick the girls in your way! Not to mention you could get mozzarella-rized again!"

"Mesmerized," Cody pointed out, scowling at the dirt.

"For all that mouth," Ken grumbled at Davis, "you give up quickly."

Davis bared his teeth. "I'm not giving up!" he snapped. "This is just… a lot harder than before!"

"Even the worst problems have solutions," Ken stated, "if you can bring yourself to carry them out."

Davis blinked. "…Huh?" was all he could manage.

"There's gotta be a way to beat Pythmon and save Kari and Yolei," Exveemon urged. "We just hafta think it up!"

Shurimon slouched. "A pity we can't simply get Pythmon to look at something else," he muttered.

"No dice," Davis grunted. "That's what got Miss Crabby Contacts snatched."

"The execution, yes," Cody said, "but distracting Pythmon could work. We just need a better method…"

Ken was quiet for a moment, then sat down and pulled off his weaponry. The others curiously watched him as he took his shoulder laser apart, retrieving two discs that reflected the afternoon sunlight. "Davis, give me your goggles," he said.

Davis blinked a few times, then pulled the cracked plastic out of his hair. "Uh, OK…" he said, "but why?"

"I have an idea," Ken replied, then looked at Cody without expression. "I'm going to need your help," he said matter-of-factly.

Cody scowled at him. "What makes you think I'll give it?" he replied icily.

"Not this again…" Gatomon groaned.

"Cody…" Digmon sighed.

"Will you at least listen to what I have in mind?" Ken asked. Upon seeing that Cody remained rigid, he shook his head. "Wasting time distrusting me could kill your friends," he said.

Cody felt the gazes of Gatomon and Shurimon on the back of his head, and his resolve buckled. Even if it meant giving in to the Emperor, he didn't want Yolei and Kari dead because of his being stubborn. "…Fine," he grunted. "Let's hear it."

* * *

"OK, so…" Tai said slowly as he peered over Izzy's shoulder at the computer screen, "care to explain what's going on here?"

Izzy just shook his head. "I'm not sure I can," he replied. Neither of the boys was sure what the map showed them. The pink and red signals denoting Kari and Yolei were moving swiftly east, away from the blue, yellow and black signals of Davis, Cody and Ken. TK's green dot flickered all by itself a fair distance north of the rest, unmoving. Not one of the dots was headed towards the purple flash in the southeast corner. "That has to be the Crest fragment," Izzy grumbled, "but why aren't they headed towards it?... What's going on in there?"

"Did they run into Arukenimon or Mummymon, or one of their Spire-born?" Tai asked.

Izzy shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "Once the spires transform, my program can't pick them up any more."

"What?" Tai asked. "Why not?"

"I'd love to answer that," Izzy grumbled, "but as it is, my software can't detect them. I've had to take TK's word about there even _being_ Spire-born so far; they might as well be fighting ghosts."

"Ugh!" Tai grunted, clawing at the desk. "If we could just get in there and help!"

Izzy shared his friend's desire, but until something was done about the Digital Gate, all they could do was watch. Just then, his brain sparked. At least he could choose exactly what he could look at; maybe he could pick up the Spire-born some other way. "I'll run other scans," he said as he typed quickly.

The computer beeped as it ran one program, but the screen didn't change. It ran a second one, still with no effect. On the third scan, though, something popped up that froze the boys' blood: next to TK's signature there appeared a large, black circle. "Woah! What the heck is THAT?" Tai demanded.

Izzy bit his lip, a single name crossing his mind.

* * *

TK had managed to get back on his feet, but he was having trouble with his voice. "You…" he gulped, "you can talk? Why?"

Blackwargreymon scowled at him. "I repeat …" he said, "stay out of my way."

"TK, Spire-born don't talk, do they?" Patamon asked. "Then what's he?"

TK wasn't sure himself. They had all seen a hundred control spires disappear, and Blackwargreymon emerge in their place… but Arukenimon wasn't one to give her supercharged slaves minds of their own. There was more to Blackwargreymon than he had thought… and that made things all the more dangerous.

"Then… tell me something," TK ventured, frowning at the monster. "Why do you want to destroy the Crests like Arukenimon? She created you, didn't she?"

Blackwargreymon's eyes narrowed.

"Um, TK," Patamon stammered, "is this really time to be a private eye?"

"And what about Devimon?" TK pressed. "Why's he in on this? Tell me!"

Blackwargreymon stiffened and raised his claws, sufficiently angered. "I refuse to indulge your ignorance," he stated. "Now move!"

TK scowled right back. "No," he growled, though his body trembled. "I want answers."

"You'll receive only death!" Blackwargreymon snapped, and lunged at the boy.

TK's legs were frozen to the ground by his fear; he couldn't move away! Just as Blackwargreymon's claws came within centimeters of his face, he felt his Digivice shudder and shake. Something long and golden smashed down on the assailant's arm, and Blackwargreymon snarled and drew back. TK looked up to see Angemon standing before him.

"If you're looking for a fight," the angel boomed, "then try me!"

Blackwargreymon looked absolutely furious, but was not going to back down so easily. "Very well," he growled, raising his claws again. "You'll learn what happens to those who defy me!"

"Angemon, no!" TK yelled.

"I won't let him hurt you," Angemon replied. "Stand back!"

TK swallowed hard as the fiend and his partner squared off. Was there even a chance of Angemon walking away from this?

* * *

Humming a little tune as she went, Arukenimon haughtily strode towards the edge of the jungle. Mummymon tapped along behind her, and Pythmon slithered along at the rear, both girls still subdued and secured in its coils. "I have to admit, you actually came up with a winner," she clucked to her assistant.

Mummymon cackled. "Everyone gets a bit of luck some time," he replied.

As they walked, the foliage thinned. Beyond one last fence of trees, their old jeep stood right where they left it. "Excellent. Now…" Arukenimon said, turning to their Spire-born's cargo, "put our mesmerized maiden in the back seat and set Pythmon to guard her. We have to go back for the Crest, after all."

Mummymon glanced at the sleeping Kari, then remembered that they had a second captive. "What about the purple-haired one?" he asked, jabbing his cane at snoring Yolei.

Arukenimon thought for a moment, then smiled even more wickedly. "I think it's time to see if a Spire-born is capable of digestion," she purred.

Mummymon cackled with delight. "Well, you heard the lady," he instructed his creation. "Enjoy your first meal!"

Mechanically, Pythmon opened its mouth wide. Arukenimon and Mummymon watched gleefully as it lifted Yolei up, dangled her over its maw and began to unravel her…

Suddenly, a long stick flew spinning in and caught Pythmon in the back of the throat, making it reel back in loud, hissy gags. Arukenimon looked back where the projectile had come from and gnashed her teeth. The remaining Digidestined had caught up to them, as had their partners. The youngest brat stood ahead of the moron and the Emperor, the moron's goggles sitting loosely on his head for some unexplained reason. "You…!" she whispered sharply.

"Game over, spider bitch!" Davis yelled.

"There won't be any meals today," Cody growled, stomping forward and brandishing another stick.

"Oh, no, of course not…" Mummymon crooned, unimpressed. "At least, not without an appetizer first! Pythmon!"

Cody cast a skeptical look at Ken, but the midnight-haired boy remained silent, simply watching him. Cody turned and bit his lip. This had to be the worst plan he had ever heard… but neither Davis nor he had thought of anything else. If this stunt were Ken's way of getting rid of him, though, he would pay him back double in his next life.

He raised his stick and charged at Arukenimon, but almost immediately Pythmon's ruby-red gaze intercepted him. He started to feel warm and peaceful, like the world was at ease and he didn't have to fight any longer.

"Cody!" Digmon shouted. "Hang in there!"

"Do it!" Ken barked. "Now!"

Cody's eyes grew heavy and his vision darkened… but he knew he couldn't drop off just yet; there was one last thing for him to do. Using every ounce of strength he still had, he lifted his stick and tapped himself on the head. That was enough to make Davis's goggles drop down over his eyes.

"YEAH!" Davis cheered, smacking his palm. "Now we got 'em!"

"What sort of nonsense are you spouting now?" Arukenimon fumed. "Pythmon, smash the rest of them with your tail!"

Pythmon, however, did not respond. It still stared into Cody's goggled eyes… and the brilliant ruby gaze that emanated from them. "Hey! We gave you an order!" Mummymon shouted. "What're you doing?"

"Fat chance trying to make it listen now," Gatomon sneered.

"What? What did you…" Arukenimon began, but then realized what had happened. "_No!_..." she hissed.

Cody backed away from the creature and pulled the goggles off, the sunlight flashing off the mirrors behind their lenses. "Now release our friends!" he demanded.

Arukenimon's whole body shook with rage, and traces of foam bubbled around her clenched teeth. These little brats had stopped her cold _again_! "That's it! No more games!" she screeched, bursting into her spidery true form. "I'm gonna suck you all dry!"

"No, wait!" Mummymon yelled. "Remember our job, Arukenimon!"

"Shit!" Davis gulped. "Floor it, Cody!"

Cody tried to retreat to safety behind his Digimon friends, but Arukenimon launched her sticky tentacles and snared his legs, tripping him up. He rolled over and threw his stick, but she caught it and snapped it over her front leg. He couldn't breathe as she dove at him, her snarling maw coming straight for his chest.

Just before fang met flesh, though, Gatomon leaped over Cody and set her claws in Arukenimon's face, slashing away like a caffeinated sushi chef. Arukenimon flailed around screaming and Digmon charged in, kicking her square in the abdomen and driving her backwards, letting Cody squirm free.

Mummymon fumed; nobody assailed his partner like that! In a flash, he became his bandaged alter ego and leaped towards the fracas, firing Obelisk at Digmon.

"Our turn!" Exveemon yelled as he barreled into Mummymon in mid-air and sent him spinning.

Shurimon charged in below and separated the gunner from his gun with a well-placed shuriken. "That's for Yolei!" he growled.

"Quick!" Gatomon shouted as she dug into her enemy's hair even harder. "Save Kari!"

Davis charged at the mesmerized Pythmon, grinning from ear to ear as his heart raced. Kari needed help, he had a clear run, and TK was nowhere in sight! This was his shining moment!...

…And it certainly was, until Ken raced ahead of him and got there first, grabbing at the coils and yanking them loose. He wanted to cry as Ken gathered limp little Kari up in his metal-coated arms, then shouted to him: "get the other one!"

He stomped over to Yolei and jerked her from Pythmon's tail with small care. He got even angrier when he tried to hoist her back on her feet and her unconscious form slumped against him, her lips smearing a trail of drool across his shoulder. "Aww, YUCK!" he yelled, shaking her violently. "WAKE UP, you idiot!"

Yolei snorted and gurgled, then her eyes popped open and she smacked him in the forehead. "HEY!" she shouted as she pushed him away. "What the hell, Davis?"

Davis could have knocked her right back out. "Just shut up and help your partner!" he snapped, then ran off to support Exveemon. Yolei stuck out her tongue, but got out her D3 and ran after him.

Kari had a more gentle wake-up call. She moaned as Ken gently shook her, then her eyes fluttered open to see him. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I…" Kari began, then remembered where she was and what was going on. "Gatomon!" she cried. "There's a giant snake, and—"

Ken helped her to her feet and pointed out Pythmon, and also the pitched battle going on around it. As Mummymon snared Shurimon with bandages and reclaimed Obelisk, Arukenimon finally pried Gatomon off of her face and hurled her into the air. Mummymon pointed his gun right at her and fired.

"Hang on, Gatomon!" Kari called, whipping out her D3. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Gatomon felt the warmth of Digivolution rippling over her, and she grinned back at her partner. "Now that's more like it!" she laughed, and changed into Nefertimon. Quick as a wink, she shot away from Mummymon's blast and peppered him with a salvo of Nile Jewelry.

"Enough!" Arukenimon shouted, whipping Digmon out of the way with her tentacles and scuttling towards Cody with murder in her eyes. "This ends NOW!"

Exveemon's foot flew in and knocked her to the ground. "Forget it," he huffed. "The only thing ending around here is you!"

"You got that right!" Davis yelled as he raised his D3. "Make these jerks a bad memory, Exveemon!"

The D3 sparked and sputtered, and Exveemon shuddered and transformed into Paildramon. He whipped out his Desperado Blasters, locked onto Pythmon and fired. The serpent broke from its hypnosis long enough to see its tail and midsection crumble into dust, and then it was no more. "Paildramon: two, snakes: zip," Paildramon said, then trained his guns on Arukenimon.

Arukenimon got back on her feet and snarled wildly. "No… not yet!" she hissed.

"I warned you about that temper!" Mummymon huffed, leaping in front of her and firing Obelisk.

The gunfire from the two weapons met in midair, destroying each other with thunderous explosions, but Paildramon was the faster shot and his bullets soon hit their mark. Arukenimon and Mummymon flew screaming back into the jungle, taking down several trees as they went.

"YEAH!" Davis cheered. "Way to show 'em, Paildramon!"

"I'm glad I got the chance at all," Paildramon replied, looking at the others. "Ken's idea of hypnotizing Pythmon worked great!"

"Really?" Yolei beamed at the boy. "That's so awesome! You're a genius!"

Shurimon sighed and shook his head. "Yolei, Cody was equally helpful," he pointed out. "He carried the plan out."

"Really?" Kari asked, smiling at the boy. "Thanks, Cody!"

Cody shook the mirrors out of the goggles and tossed the eyewear back to Davis. He then walked over to Ken and held out the mirrors. "It was… effective," was all he said.

Ken smiled coldly. "High praise from one who can't stand me," he remarked.

Kari looked around again, her smile fading. "So… TK hasn't shown up yet?" she asked.

Davis folded his arms, cringing angrily. Even when absent, TK horned in on his Kari time. "No," he grunted.

"We haven't seen him since that spire popped up," Shurimon admitted. "He must be elsewhere in the jungle."

"No luck on the Crest, neither?" Digmon asked.

Cody and Yolei pulled out their D3s and looked at their displays, but there were no signals from anything besides the party. "No," Cody muttered. "But we've hardly had time to check…"

"This place doesn't look any nicer from this end," Paildramon said, peering into the underbrush; despite the numerous destroyed trees, the jungle remained thick and impenetrable. "We're gonna need some help!"

Ken nodded quietly. "You've had help finding Crests before, right?" he asked. "You should—"

"That's right, Ken!" Yolei chirped, whipping out her D-Terminal. "I'll e-mail Izzy right now!"

"I'll see if I can get hold of TK," Kari said, taking her own D-Terminal out.

"Uh, that's OK, Kari," Davis tried, running over and clamping his hand on the device. "Let me do it! I mean, you almost got squished by a snake, and I bet ya need to sit down or something…"

Kari shook her head. "Thanks, Davis, but I'm fine," she assured him, then went back to typing.

Davis wandered off a distance and sighed. He had just worked to blow a giant snake to smithereens and still she wanted to find TK first! What did it take to get Kari's attention?

Ken took only a moment to reload his weaponry, then started off between a broken set of trees. "Hey, Ken, where're you going?" Nefertimon asked.

"After them," Ken replied, motioning towards the debris. "They won't stay down for long."

"Ugh, ya got that right," Digmon grunted. "Maybe we'd all better get after 'em."

Cody nodded, though his scowl returned. One by one, the others followed Ken into the bushes.

"What? Hey!" Yolei asked, looking up and suddenly realizing she was alone. "What about the—"

"I know you can type and walk at the same time, Yolei," Shurimon said, and started off after the party.

Yolei groaned and chased after him, tripping on several stray branches. Sure, she could type and walk… on _sidewalks_.

* * *

With another stiff branch to the rear end, Arukenimon splattered onto her back in the dirt with Mummymon breaking her fall. "Damn them!" she shrieked as she flailed around. "_Damn them!_"

"Where's Blackwargreymon when we actually want him?" Mummymon wheezed, pulling himself out from under her abdomen.

"You idiot!" she shouted, rolling over and smacking him in the head. "This is your fault! Why did you make such a useless Spire-born?"

Mummymon was too exhausted and hurt to reply, but that didn't stop her from smacking him again. "Now those Digidestined rats are going to find another Crest piece!" she huffed.

"Here, now!" a gruff voice broke in. "What's this about Digidestined?"

The duo suddenly realized that they weren't alone; they had landed right at the edge of a campsite, and several dozen Digimon surrounded them. The one who had spoken, a green rabbit with machine guns for hands, frowned at them. "You're not part of the Resistance," he growled. "What're you doing here?"

"Maybe they live here, Gargomon," a Meramon suggested.

"Looks like they got beat up by the humans!" a Gazimon huffed.

Arukenimon's eyes flashed with genius; Spire-born or real Digimon, cannon fodder was cannon fodder. "Ohh, Gargomon!" she howled, grabbing at her arm and slumping to one side. "Yes! The humans just beat us up for telling them to leave our home, and now they're coming this way!"

Mummymon struggled to say something, but fatigue and Arukenimon's beating had taken his voice. "I'm not too bad, but look what they did to _him_!" Arukenimon wailed, holding him up by the neck. "Please! You have to protect us!"

"Right!" Gargomon shouted, then pointed at his associates. "All right, everyone! Prepare yourselves for battle! Ultimates and Champions take the front!"

The camp came to life with Digimon scrambling to form infantry lines along the tree border. Gargomon smiled sympathetically at Arukenimon. "Don't worry; we're a lot stronger now," he said, "and we have a Crest, too!"

Arukenimon blinked in surprise, unsure of what she'd just heard. "You found a Crest?" she asked.

"Yes, we did!" Gargomon boasted, holding up the tiny purple shard. "Those humans are history!"

Mummymon gurgled something. Arukenimon's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Ah… but do you know how to use it?" she asked.

Gargomon recoiled, suddenly uncomfortable. "Of… of _course_ I do!" he snapped.

"Really?" Arukenimon pressed. "After all, that could easily win this war for you… but if you really don't know how to work it, your soldiers might start thinking you're not competent… They could all desert you, and where would you be then?"

Gargomon looked back at his Digimon followers, all lined up and ready, then back down at the Crest fragment. "…All right, so I don't know… _yet,_" he grunted.

"Then how fortunate we've run into each other!" Arukenimon cackled. "You see, we're quite knowledgeable about this sort of thing… We can help you tap into its power."

Gargomon clenched the fragment in his gun arm and locked eyes with her. "Tell me everything!" he demanded.

Mummymon coughed a few times, then finally took a deep breath. "Arukenimon," he rasped, "what do you have in mind?..."

"Didn't you hear me?" she asked, flashing him an evil grin. "We're giving him that power he wants."

* * *

The clash of Angemon's rod against Blackwargreymon's claw armor was deafening, but neither contender reacted with anything but more force. Angemon leaped back and thrust again, catching another impact with the thick, black shields. His opponent hissed and smoke drifted from the spot, something Angemon had never seen happen with a Spire-born. "You're a strange one," he commented as he pulled back and thrust again.

Blackwargreymon grabbed the rod and used its momentum to throw Angemon over his shoulder and into a tree trunk. Ignoring the smoke pouring from his hands, he bent the weapon into an L shape. "As are you," he snarled, hurling it into the bushes. "I've never seen a creature race so willingly to his death."

Angemon bared his teeth and flew into the air, hurling one of his deadly Hand of Fate punches at Blackwargreymon. The obsidian fiend screamed as the blast burst in his chest—it sounded like it really hurt him—but within moments he was up in the air, showering Angemon with rapid slashes. Angemon cried out just as loudly as the claws dug into him, feathers flitting from his wings like snowflakes.

TK stood rooted to the ground, his whole body shuddering and sweaty as he watched the savage beating. In his mind's eye, he kept flying back five years, to the temple on File Island where Angemon had made the ultimate sacrifice to stop Devimon. His innards clenched up like pretzels as the memories assaulted him, Angemon's cries from the present conflict burning in his stuffy ears. If the same thing happened now, he didn't know what he would do; there was no time to wait for Patamon to hatch from a DigiEgg again! How could a Spire-born be this vicious?

Blackwargreymon ceased his slashing and instead punted Angemon in the head, sending him crashing to earth. "And now you are a _fallen_ angel," he said icily, descending and seizing Angemon's throat. "I'll send you where you belong!"

As Blackwargreymon squeezed and pulled at Angemon's head like he was uncorking a stubborn bottle, TK's heart prepared to burst. Blackwargreymon was a creature far beyond Arukenimon's usual Spire-born; he was intentionally cruel and malicious! His eyes took on an almost feral light as the realization shot through his mind: Blackwargreymon _couldn't_ be a Spire-born! He was something far worse… and _purely evil!_

"Agh… T… K…!" Angemon rasped as Blackwargreymon yanked even harder. TK reacted the only way he could: he yanked out his D3 and held it in the air, his lungs exploding in a madman's scream.

* * *

"What does it say?" Tai asked, trying hard to read Yolei's e-mail over Izzy's shoulder. "Do they know what the black dot is?"

"No! Now back off!" Izzy huffed, elbowing his friend away. "She's just asking where the Crest piece is."

Tai sat back on the bed and sighed. "I just can't shake this feeling," he said. "I think that dot is Blackwargreymon!"

"I certainly hope not," Izzy replied, though he was thinking the same thought. "If it is, then TK could be—"

A clatter from the corner nearly made both boys jump out of their skins. The lunch box had tumbled from its shelf and lay shuddering on the floor. "What the?" Tai cried, snatching it up and popping it open.

Both Izzy and he gasped. The piece of the Crest of Hope was twitching violently and flickering, like an old incandescent bulb trying to light up. "What's going on?" Tai asked.

Izzy bit his lip, then gravely looked back at the black dot on the computer screen.

* * *

Bored of trying to unscrew his prey's head and deaf to TK's screaming, Blackwargreymon lifted the defeated Angemon up by the neck. "Don't be upset by your failure," he said. "These events were preordained."

Angemon couldn't breathe enough to respond. Blackwargreymon raised his free claw for the disemboweling…

Suddenly, the jungle around them was brighter and its colors more vivid. Blackwargreymon looked around and then leaped away in shock as a golden beam of right shot down from the sky, engulfing Angemon.

TK was struck dumb as his partner's shape changed. Four more wings burst from Angemon's back and massive silver boots clamped around his legs. Ribbons of golden parchment fluttered around his body. A massive purple arm shield strapped itself to his left arm, and a purple beam saber shot out of a golden, winged bracelet on his right arm. His silver helmet dropped away, replaced with a purple miter with golden trim that continued to hide his eyes. TK dropped his D3 in shock. Angemon had taken on his Ultimate form, Magnaangemon.

Blackwargreymon leered at TK. "So, you're one of _them_," he snarled thoughtfully. "Another detail conveniently overlooked."

The light faded, and Magnaangemon turned his hidden gaze on the nemesis. "You should not exist in the Digital World," he boomed, floating in front of his partner and raising his shining blade, "and so you must be removed!"

Blackwargreymon put his hands together and a sphere of dark energy formed between them. "…You interfere with my mission," he growled, "and so YOU must be removed!"

Blackwargreymon hurled the energy ball, but Magnaangemon flew over it, then swooped down on Blackwargreymon and caught him in the arm with his beam sword. Again the brute howled and reeled back, smoke pouring from the wound. Magnaangemon charged again, the advantage now his as he drove Blackwargreymon back against some trees.

TK clenched his fists as his partner lay into Blackwargreymon, a strange vigor burning inside of him, a desire to see Magnaangemon put his sword through the fiend's throat. His compassion and pity vanished. It didn't matter what Blackwargreymon was, or why he reacted to Magnaangemon's heavenly power; he simply had to be destroyed, no matter the cost.

* * *

"Do hurry up, Yolei," Shurimon urged his partner as he sliced down another branch. "We're already the farthest behind!"

Yolei fumed at her partner. "Hey, you wanted me to send an e-mail," she objected, "so now I've gotta watch my gizmo for when Izzy writes back!"

As they made a sharp right turn to avoid a thick tree, she cursed her luck. After all the money and time she'd spent with Mimi, she still couldn't keep Ken's attention! What else did she have to do? That last lesson had better reveal some awesome secret to snare boys, or she was going to strap Mimi down and draw it out of her with—

The D-Terminal beeped and she looked down. "Hey, guys!" she called as she pushed through some thick bushes. "Izzy says the Crest is—"

She ran into Shurimon's back and she looked up in shock. All of her friends had stumbled into a wide clearing, and Gargomon was waiting for them with his guns out… and at least fifty Resistance Digimon flanking him. Arukenimon and Mummymon stood nearby, looking sickeningly pleased with the turn of events. "Well!" Gargomon growled. "Stomping around in our jungles, huh?"

"Oh! Gargomon, those are the humans who beat us up!" Mummymon rasped, waving Obelisk at the kids.

"Yeah, 'cuz you nabbed our friends with a giant snake!" Davis huffed, fuming.

"Don't try to twist things," Nefertimon scolded. "Truth always comes in the end."

"Fah! See?" Arukenimon hissed to Gargomon. "They've brainwashed those Digimon, just like the Digimon Emperor… and that's because they work alongside him!"

Gargomon's eyes narrowed into hateful slits. "Which one?" he growled.

"That one!" Mummymon said, pointing at Ken. Davis bit his lip.

With a furious yell, Gargomon pointed his guns and unleashed all of his artillery. "NO!" Yolei screamed.

Ken braced himself for the onslaught, but it didn't come. He opened his eyes to see Paildramon standing before him, his armor embedded with smoking bullets. "That's not gonna happen on my watch," Paildramon growled at Gargomon.

The shocked Resistance soldiers erupted with boos and insults. "You!..." Gargomon snapped. "How can you live with yourself? If you had ANY pride as a Digimon, you'd turn around and rip him to shreds!"

Paildramon shook his head. "It's a long, complicated story," he said. "If you'd stop and listen, you'd understand."

"Don't!" Arukenimon prodded. "They'll only trick you, like they tricked that one!"

Gargomon pointed his guns at the other kids, but Digmon, Nefertimon and Shurimon leaped in front of them, forming a shield. The Resistance's booing got even louder. "Disgusting!" a Gazimon shouted.

"Mow 'em all down, Gargomon!" a Gotsumon urged.

Gargomon's guns clicked, but Arukenimon laid a hand on his shoulder. "Wait," she said, "I'll show you how to use the Crest right now. You can _really_ punish them, then!"

Cody's eyes jerked wide with shock. Gargomon had the Crest piece?

Kari was more worried about what would happen to Gargomon. "No, Gargomon!" she urged. "Don't ask them for help!"

"Arukenimon and Mummymon are the fiends," Ken stated. "Working with them will only get you killed."

Gargomon sneered at him. "Why would I listen to _you_?" he snapped. "You attacked our world and now you're tryin' to blame it on Digimon!" He turned to Arukenimon. "Show me," he ordered, placing the Crest fragment in her palm.

"No!..." Cody hissed.

"This isn't going to end well," Shurimon muttered.

"Dammit!" Davis huffed. "You just F'd up big time, guy!"

"SHUT UP!" Gargomon yelled, shooting into the dirt at the kids' feet and forcing them to jump away. He looked at his followers and waved them into battle with a bloodthirsty "GET THEM!"

The Resistance Digimon charged the Digidestined, hurling rocks, fireballs and anything else they had on them. Paildramon and the others blocked what they could, but the army's full force was upon them in seconds. "Back off!" Digmon shouted, kicking a Gotsumon away. "Ain'cha know 'bout personal space?"

"Be gone!" Shurimon huffed, swatting Geckomon away with the flat side of his shuriken. Just as he was about to advance, though, a control spire shot up in front of his face, blocking off his route. Mummymon lowered his hand and cackled, evidently being the cause of its appearing.

"What the hell?" Yolei ejaculated. What was Mummymon thinking? A battlefield was no place to spit up spires!

"Don't hurt them! They're not Spire-born!" Cody ordered, glaring directly at Ken.

"Sure, we'll just LET them run us over," Paildramon sighed as he shoved a Meramon away while keeping a volley of rocks from hitting Davis.

Ken had no intention of firing on these Digimon; he knew it was just a distraction. "Kari," he said, "Nefertimon can get us over this. We need to get that Crest!"

Kari looked at her friends worriedly, but Ken's plan made sense. "Nefertimon!" she said, hopping onto her partner's back with Ken in tow, "head right for Arukenimon!"

"Just get ready for a bumpy ride," Nefertimon muttered, rearing back and flapping her wings, blowing some Gazimon assailants backwards.

She took to the air and flew at the spider woman and Gargomon, but two control spires shot up in front of them, forcing her to veer sharply to the right. "What's going on?" Kari asked.

Ken's eyes narrowed. "Trouble," he growled.

Gargomon was surprised by the spires' appearances too, but it only made him angrier. "Damn Emperor!" he yelled, firing at Nefertimon. "Get yer spires out of our jungle!"

"Oh, don't curse the spires," Arukenimon said, grinning wickedly as she clutched the Crest tightly. "They're the secret to your success."

Gargomon ceased fire and looked at her. "What?" he demanded.

"Why, yes…" Arukenimon snickered as Mummymon stepped in front of her, "you might say they'll grow on you."

Gargomon's eyes nearly popped out of his head as she transformed back into her human shape (much of it obscured by Mummymon) and plucked ten silver hairs from her scalp. "You're one of them, too?" he shouted.

"No…" she purred as she raised the stiffening hairs to the wind, "I'm something better."

Kari bit her lip. "No, not another one!" she yelped.

With a flick of her wrist, Arukenimon sent the hairs flying into the woods, and the ground shuddered as the pierced spires rose into the air. The Resistance Digimon stopped attacking and stared open-mouthed as ten black towers moved towards their leader, knocking down every tree in their paths.

As Arukenimon changed back into her spider form, Mummymon grabbed Gargomon by the throat and shoved him against a spire. "AGH! Wha…" the rabbit choked, "what're you doing?..."

Arukenimon scuttled over and pressed the Crest fragment against his forehead, and the spires started spinning fervently. Nefertimon pulled back and the others looked on in horror as the spires assumed a purple glow and descended _into_ Gargomon, melting and forming a shell over his screaming shape. Arukenimon broke into wild laughter. "It's working!" she declared. "It's working!"

"Wh-what's happenin'?" Digmon gulped.

"Gargomon!" Davis yelled. "Paildramon, get him outta there!"

Paildramon flew over the panicking Resistance and dove at Arukenimon, but suddenly the writing black form exploded, blowing everyone to the ground. Arukenimon leaped back on her feet and cackled even louder.

Paildramon scrambled up and looked. Where Gargomon had been stood a tall, freakish creature that looked more machine than Digimon. It had a ball-shaped black metal abdomen with muscular legs, but a deathly thin midsection connecting it with a black chest plate with back attachments resembling Gargomon's machine guns and the Crest fragment glowing eerily in its center. Its arms were long, black metal tubes with holes in their centers, both surrounded by three red claws. Long, black metal wing-like ears sprouted from its tiny head, which also sported a black metal helmet with a sharp horn. The eyes inside the helmet were bright red and feral. Paildramon swallowed hard. Whatever this creature was, it wasn't friendly.

"Behold!" Arukenimon laughed, pointing proudly at her newest creation. "The marriage of Crest and spire: Blackrapidmon!"

Kari almost threw up. It was bad enough that Arukenimon had gotten the Crest piece before the Digidestined had, but to see them use it in such a perverse way made her instantly sick.

Blackrapidmon stood there, shuddering and twitching, purple lightning arcing around his limbs. The Resistance Digimon slowly approached their commander, uncertain of how they should react. "Uh… Gargomon?" a Gazimon asked.

Blackrapidmon shot into the air with an ear-puncturing scream, his eyes locking wildly onto his followers. "Run!" Cody barked at them. "He's going to—"

Cody's warning came too late. From Blackrapidmon's tube arms came a barrage of missiles that blew up in the crowd like kernels bursting into popcorn, destroying at least a dozen Digimon and throwing the rest into an insane, fervent panic. The once-orderly Resistance soldiers trampled one another trying to flee, their screams hanging in the sticky jungle air like flies in a web.

Ken responded immediately, leaping off of Nefertimon and targeting Blackrapidmon. Even if there was a real Digimon inside, this thing was one of Arukenimon's minions and had to be subdued.

"Stop!" Cody yelled, but Ken ignored him and fired.

The missile salvo caught the newly Digivolved creature by surprise, but they weren't enough to bring him down. Infuriated, Blackrapidmon thrust his arms and legs out in a T formation and a triangular green energy blast tore into the throng. Digmon, Paildramon and Shurimon grabbed their partners and Ken leaped to safety, but the remaining Resistance Digimon weren't so lucky. The ray left only a trail of upturned earth, devoid of life.

Ken gnashed his teeth. "No!..." he choked.

"They're… _gone_!" Yolei gasped, voicing everyone's shock. "All of them!"

"Are you insane?" Shurimon yelled. "Those were your own soldiers!"

"Dammit!" Davis cursed, glaring daggers at the creature. "Your _own goons_, you jackass!"

Blackrapidmon shuddered and shrieked, jerking around like he was being electrocuted. Kari wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a little liquid drip from one of his eyes. Was he… crying?

Mummymon laughed at the carnage, stopping only when another fit of coughs seized him. Arukenimon laughed, too, absolutely delighted. "Forget Blackwargreymon! THIS is our best weapon!" she cackled.

"You!..." Paildramon growled.

"Now! Blackrapidmon!" Arukenimon roared, pointing at the Digidestined. "Kill them all!"

Blackrapidmon screeched and twitched, then raised his missile-launching arms. The kids stiffened and the Digimon braced themselves; would they fare any better than the Resistance?

* * *

The tall, thick tree didn't have a chance when Blackwargreymon slammed into it; it dropped like a toothpick. Black smoke curled up from the obsidian warrior's armor, as if the body underneath was ablaze. Despite the thrashing that Magnaangemon gave him, though, he still managed to get back on his feet, his eyes unwavering. "Fool," he snarled.

Sweat ran from under Magnaangemon's helmet, dripping on his chin. Even though the fight had been going his way for the last few minutes, Blackwargreymon was nowhere close to throwing in the towel. He worried just how long he could keep fighting; he wasn't supposed to be able to reach his Ultimate form in the first place. How much longer could he protect TK?

TK was sweating as hard as Magnaangemon, thinking the same thing. They had to destroy this monster before time ran out… and as he remembered, there was only one surefire method. "Magnaangemon!" he yelled, racing to a nearby tree and clutching a branch tightly. "Open the Gate!"

Magnaangemon hesitated. The Gate of Destiny was the most devastating spell he had: whatever and whoever was pulled into the divine oblivion it produced would be gone forever. He had only used its frightening power once before, and hoped he would never have to again… but the unearthly strength of this fiend and the need to keep TK safe forced his hand. He solemnly nodded at his partner's request.

Blackwargreymon was unimpressed. "Nothing in your arsenal can vanquish me," he growled, baring his claws for another strike.

Magnaangemon raised his sword and swung it in a circle, leaving a purple outline in the air. A golden plate adorned with ancient writing formed inside of it, its middle splitting apart to reveal an opening. Through it shone a torrent of brilliant ethereal light, which petrified all who saw it with both blissful reverent awe and horrible primal terror. "This is your path from this world, Blackwargreymon," Magnaangemon boomed. "Look upon it and prepare yourself!"

"Not yet," Blackwargreymon snarled, and charged Magnaangemon again with renewed vigor. He slashed at his opponent with all his might, but Magnaangemon met him blow for blow, pushing him down with his sword.

The blessed gate hummed eerily, and an unearthly wind started blowing into it. Dead leaves, loose dirt and broken branches flew in and vanished, each new object going faster than the last. Only Magnaangemon stood unaffected by the vacuum. "TK!" he shouted, looking away from the battle for a split second. "Get to safety!"

"But…" TK wavered.

"The Gate can't tell friend from foe!" Magnaangemon huffed as the holy device slowly moved through the air, taking its place behind Blackwargreymon. "Run! Now!"

Blackwargreymon felt his footing start to fade. That wretched gate was about to claim him… but it would not. He knew how to preserve himself.

Magnaangemon thrust his blade into Blackwargreymon's chest, carving out a fresh plume of smoke. "Now, into oblivion with you!" he declared, slashing with all his might.

Blackwargreymon flew into the air, spinning right for the Gate of Destiny. "And your friend comes with me!" he yelled, locking eyes with TK and forming a giant ball of black energy. TK couldn't even cry out as the monster hurled it right at him.

Magnaangemon shouted and reacted naturally; he shot in front of his partner and took the blast dead center. Shockwaves rocked the jungle as the brilliant angel screamed and faded away to a little orange pig creature. "PATAMON!" TK screamed.

Blackwargreymon's claws smashed into the rim of the gate and held on fast. Howling with strain, he pulled himself back out and tumbled to the ground. Its master gone, the divine gate banged shut and dissolved into nothingness.

"Patamon!" TK cried, grabbing the unconscious Digimon and shaking him wildly. "Patamon!..."

A shadow fell over him, and his blurry eyes looked up to see Blackwargreymon, breathing heavily but still among the living. The fiend glared down at him and raised his claws. "You won't cause any more problems," he growled, preparing to strike. Out of options, TK squeezed his eyes shut and just waited.

Suddenly, Blackwargreymon whirled around in alarm, as if he had heard something. "Those buffoons!" he snarled with annoyance, and tore away into the foliage. The jungle path fell silent.

TK slowly realized that he was safe. His legs shaking wildly, he got back up and looked around. His mind replayed the terrible moments in which another villain, Piedmon, had been sucked into the Gate of Destiny. Piedmon had been a Mega-level creature and the gate had taken him with ease. Blackwargreymon had pulled himself free of it. As his mind crawled through the comparison, his legs shook even more.

Patamon stirred and coughed. "Ugh… TK…" he groaned, rolling and looking at his friend with one eye. "Are we… all right?..."

TK sighed with relief and squeezed him. "Yeah, we're just fine," he agreed.

Patamon's eye looked around. "Where's Blackwargreymon?" he asked. "Did we get him?"

TK's smile faded. "No," he said. "He heard something and just took off… I don't know—"

His mind leaped like it had been zapped with a cattle prod. "Come on!" he huffed, forcing himself to run through the trampled greenery. He didn't _know_ why Blackwargreymon had run off, but he could guess.

* * *

Shurimon had only grabbed his shuriken when Blackrapidmon slammed into him and knocked him down. Nefertimon and Digmon came at the shuddering rabbit from different sides, but his missiles sent them flying. Davis almost bit his tongue; their partners were dropping like flies. "Paildramon! Blast him!" he shouted.

Paildramon had his Desperado Blasters out, but every time he got a fix on Blackrapidmon, the monster zipped somewhere else. "I can't!" he grunted. "He's too—" but before he could finish, Blackrapidmon raced up and kicked him square in the jaw with both legs.

Cody glared at Arukenimon and Mummymon. "Tricking him into becoming your slave?" he growled. "That's a new low!"

Arukenimon just laughed. "You speak as if he were a friend!" she cackled. " It was child's play to convert that zealot; he wants you dead as much as I do!"

Despite the fact that Blackrapidmon was beating the tar out of her friends, Kari felt terrible for him. Between their flashes of vorpal red, she could see that his eyes were stricken with shock, terror and sorrow. He was not in control of his actions. "Gargomon!" she shouted at him as she scooped up Gatomon, "please, stop! You don't have to fight!"

Blackrapidmon's response was an ear-splitting shriek and a deadly triangular energy ray that tore into Paildramon, reducing him to a little blue sock. "CHIBUMON!" Davis yelled, running in and throwing himself over his partner.

Yolei looked to Ken; he was their last chance again. "Do something, Ken!" she urged.

Ken's shoulder laser swiveled and locked onto Blackrapidmon, following his every movement. "If I destroy the Crest, it could undo the evolution," he concluded.

Cody reacted immediately and shoved him. "What're you doing?" he yelled. "We NEED that Crest! You can't just blow it up!"

Ken looked at him furiously. "We're right back at square one, hmm?..." he muttered.

"Cody!" Yolei objected.

Ken and Cody glared into each other's eyes, but before either of them could make another move, the air seemed to tense up, and the jungle sounds gave way to a terrible crash. Blackwargreymon burst out of the trees, his eyes fixed on Blackrapidmon with murderous rage.

"Well! Look who finally showed up!" Mummymon huffed.

"What are you doing, you wretches?" Blackwargreymon shouted, thrusting a claw at Blackrapidmon. "You're not to keep them for yourselves!"

Kari felt a hand grab her shoulder and she whirled around to see an exhausted TK. "Oh!" she cried. "What happened?"

TK shook his head; this was no time to talk. "Where's the Crest?" he demanded.

Kari pointed at Blackrapidmon. TK's red face went white. Things were about to get ugly.

"How _dare_ you chastise _me_!" Arukenimon fumed at Blackwargreymon. "We're trying to get rid of the children, but since _you_ won't listen to us, we had a better plan!"

"Yeah! So in a way, this is your own fault!" Mummymon added.

"Enough!" Blackwargreymon snapped, then turned to the sputtering Blackrapidmon. "My mission is to destroy the Crests… and that is what I shall do."

Blackrapidmon sensed the threat and screeched, then zipped higher into the air and lay down a blanket of missiles. Blackwargreymon swatted them away and shot up after him. The missiles exploded against the trees, setting what remained of them ablaze. Blackwargreymon charged a black sphere and hurled it, but Blackrapidmon zipped away and it flew into another grove of trees and ignited it. Furious, Blackwargreymon tore after him across the sky.

"We have to get out of here," TK urged the others, picking Armadillomon off the ground and shoving him at Cody. "Now!"

"What?" Yolei objected. "But what about the Crest?"

"Can you honestly see us gettin' it now?" Davis grunted as he raced past with Chibumon. "FLOOR IT!"

The Digidestined raced away from the forest fire. Ken cast one last angry look at Arukenimon and Mummymon, then chased after them. Their ends would have to be delayed yet again.

Blackwargreymon snarled as he looked around the sky. Blackrapidmon may have been an evolutionary level beneath him, but the phony was quick enough to stay out of his way. No matter how many times he slashed or hurled an energy ball, Blackrapidmon always dodged it… and that was wearing on his temper.

"Ah ha ha ha!" Arukenimon laughed at him. "What's the matter? Can't even catch a bunny rabbit?"

"We should have asked Devimon for a faster Digimon!" Mummymon jeered. "A giant fox, perhaps!"

Blackwargreymon stiffened, through listening to their insults. The wind picked up around him and the sky darkened as small fires shot up on his body. Arukenimon's smile dropped off. The time for taunting had ended. "Damn…" she hissed. "Blackrapidmon!"

As shadow overtook sunlight, Blackrapidmon screeched and shot downward, grabbing Arukenimon in one arm and Mummymon in the other and zooming off into the sky.

Blackwargreymon dispelled his horrible attack with a frustrated snarl, and looked down on the blazing jungle. What disgusting creatures those two were, to always rely on treachery and enslavement to gather followers. Those who were not true leaders ought to be put to death.

He watched the trees burn a while longer, then glared in the direction Blackrapidmon had flown. With a Crest in their possession, he would pursue them to the ends of the Digital World. It was a pity, though, that he wouldn't be able to act upon his personal beliefs as well.

* * *

"Woah! What happened to you guys?" Tai exclaimed as the Digidestined pulled themselves off of Izzy's floor, their faces red and sweaty and their chests heaving. "Did they run you over with an eighteen-wheeler?"

"No…" Davis coughed, trying to hack the flavor of burning leaves from his lungs.

"We had to run when they set the jungle on fire," Chibumon explained.

Izzy gawked at the little critter. "What?" he asked.

"It was close, too," Upamon interjected. "Another few seconds and we'd all be in a bucket marked 'extra crispy!'"

"Just what went on down there?" Tai demanded.

As each regained his or her breath, the kids slowly filled their mentors in on the misadventure of the day. "…So between Pythmon, the Resistance and then Blackrapidmon, we couldn't get the Crest piece," Kari admitted sadly, "and now it's embedded in Gargomon."

"Who Arukenimon has workin' for her now," Davis grunted. "Like we need any more goons to deal with!"

Izzy and Tai exchanged bewildered looks. "Fusing spires with a Crest?" Tai asked. "How does that even work?"

Izzy sighed and shook his head. "Arukenimon and Mummymon have more tricks up their sleeves than the proverbial magician," he said. "How did they learn to do things like that?"

"Well, at least we're all OK," Poromon said.

"Yeah, Ken really helped us out," Upamon chuckled, but then winced as Cody's grip on him tightened.

Gatomon looked at TK and Patamon, her tail swishing. "I'm glad you two are safe," she said, then raised an eyebrow. "Why would Blackwargreymon act like that, though?"

TK scowled at the rug, remembering his encounter with the black-armored monster. "I don't think he's a Spire-born," he stated.

Everyone looked at him. "Whaddya mean?" Davis huffed. "Sure he is! We saw Arukenimon use spires to make 'im!"

TK shook his head. "I guess… but he's different from the others," he went on. "He had a weakness to Angemon's attacks… He spoke… and giving us the chance to get out of his way… it's almost like he has a code of ethics." He looked at his older friends grimly. "I'd almost say he's more like Devimon or Myotismon than a Spire-born."

"He's mean enough to be a Dark Master," Patamon wheezed.

The younger kids looked skeptical, but Izzy folded his arms and nodded slowly. "You may be on to something," he agreed. "When I ran other scans, I got a strange signal at the same time you met him… and I've never been able to detect Spire-born before."

"What do you think it means?" Gatomon asked.

Izzy shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "Let me look into it for a bit… I'll let you know."

"In the meantime, you guys should get home," Tai said, getting back on his feet. "It's almost dinner time."

Davis sighed. "We blew it again, coach," he mumbled.

"No, you didn't," Tai said, clapping him on the shoulder. "It'll just take a little longer to get this Crest, that's all."

"But those poor Digimon…" Kari muttered. "Even if they didn't like us, to be wiped out like that…"

"Somehow I doubt that was all the Resistance members in the Digital World," Cody said. "It'll keep going."

"Great," Davis grumbled.

Davis, Cody and TK filed out with their partners in tow. Tai was about to follow Kari out when Izzy grabbed him. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"Home," Tai replied. "I mean, we're done for today, right?"

"_They_ are," Izzy said, smirking, "but _we_ still have a presentation to write. Now sit down and start dictating!"

Tai sagged in the swivel chair as Izzy started reading his notes out loud. Though it was far from the truth, he felt that Davis and the others were the lucky ones right now.

* * *

Night claimed Tamachi, but it did not move Ken from his desk. He sat quietly, staring at the blank computer screen, contemplating the day's events. It seemed his upgraded artillery was going to do the trick… or at least, the mirrors would. He sighed and leaned back, looking at his ceiling. Maybe tomorrow he would get a chance to use it on more Spire-born and less real Digimon. Far be it from him to destroy more living creatures and fuel the fires of the Resistance.

His eyes grew sad as his thoughts turned to Gargomon, Arukenimon's newest victim... or rather, _his_ newest victim. It was true that the great green brute had tried to put a dozen bullets in him, but he couldn't stand to see one more Digimon destroyed by his legacy of spires. It was one more regret he had to ease. A long sigh escaped his lips. More of them appeared each day. How many of them could he actually put to rest?...

Despite the late hour, he flipped on his desk lamp, opened his notebook and started writing. There were things that needed to be put in order.

* * *

"Three hundred seventy two," Yolei mumbled from her bed.

"Gha?..." Poromon mumbled as he stirred. He couldn't tell time, but the clock on Yolei's table had completely different symbols than when he had fallen asleep. "What're you still doing up?..."

"Three hundred and seventy two dots," she went on. "That's how many dots are on the ceiling overhead… and that's just in the panel over my bed."

"Yolei, go to sleep," Poromon muttered, drifting away himself. "You've got school tomorrow…"

Yolei groaned and sagged beneath the sheets, but it was no use. Even though the last few days had worn her ragged and she desperately wanted to drift off, that hypnosis-induced nap that Pythmon had put her through had thrown off her sleep cycle. It might as well have been high noon for how awake she was.

She shifted her weight and flipped her pillow, but it was no good; sleep just would not come. She was going to be a wreck at school tomorrow… and also at whatever Mimi was going to put her through.

Mimi? She groaned out loud and pulled the covers over her head. The trip to Kyoto couldn't come quickly enough.


	37. Concealment

**CHAPTER 37**

**CONCEALMENT**

Despite it being a Friday afternoon with very little homework assigned, the computer lab's air was cold and tinged with gloom and frustration. The kids had just filled Izzy in on what had transpired in the jungle, and it certainly had not put him in a good mood. He leaned back in the swivel chair, his arms folded and his brow knotted, unpleasantly silent.

The others watched him, not really sure what to say. Tai watched Izzy intently. Davis chewed a stray fingernail as he watched Kari clutch Gatomon uncomfortably. TK gazed out the window at the leafless treetops. Cody has his head bowed and his eyes closed, seemingly in meditation. Yolei, oddly, was awake and alert, and fidgeting with Poromon's fur as she sat there (much to Poromon's annoyance). The other Digimon mulled on the floor, waiting for anyone to say anything.

Finally, Tai took a deep breath and spoke. "I just don't get it," he said. "How did Arukenimon actually turn a Crest evil?"

"'Cuz she's a wicked old witch, that's why!" Upamon huffed.

"No, Upamon," Cody said. "He means how did she actually do it?"

"A better question is how do we fix it?" Patamon asked. "Gargomon's a jerk, but nobody deserves that!"

"Couldn't we fight it out of him?" asked Yolei. "We got rid of Dark Spirals like that."

"But this's inside of him, Yolei," Poromon objected beneath her tugging fingers. "We can't get at it like that!... Ow! Stop it!"

TK sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "There's no good way to deal with this," he admitted crossly.

"What? Sure there is!" Davis huffed, pushing himself off the wall. "We've put up with worse crap than this! We saved Agumon, an' we can save Gargomon!"

Kari sighed. "But even if we did save him, would it help?" she asked.

"Maybe," Gatomon shrugged. "He'd be eating some serious Crowmon if we were the ones who rescued him."

"It won't," Cody stated bluntly, not even looking up. "He hates humans because of the Emperor. Our saving him won't make him change his mind."

"Boy, you're real helpful, aren't you?" Davis grunted.

"That's enough," Izzy said, standing up and instantly grabbing everyone's attention. "Let's stay away from the politics for the time being."

Gatomon's tail twitched angrily and Cody resumed his meditation. Izzy looked at TK and Kari. "I want to speak to Gennai about this," he said. "Can one of you escort me there?"

"Why don't we all go?" Poromon asked. "I still don't know who he is!"

"Yeah, what if you run into Blackrapidmon?" Davis asks. "Or even worse, Blackwargreymon?"

Izzy noticed Yolei squirm in her chair. "No, you should rest for a while," he said. "You've been fighting hard for the past week, and you need to take a break… Besides, you have to get ready for your Kyoto trip, right, Yolei?"

Yolei's cheeks burned as everyone looked at her. Sleeping through lunch had cured her fatigue, but now her nerves were frantically tense; Izzy saying she had to get ready for Kyoto made her think they all knew her afternoon plans. "Err, uh, yeah," was all she managed.

"I can do it!" Demiveemon chirped, hopping up and down. "I don't hafta rest! I can save Gargomon and kick Arukenimon's butt easy!"

"Heh, that's it!" Davis laughed, mashing his partner's head in a friendly noogie. "We'll show 'em how we roll!"

Kari had to smile. "That's good spirit, Demiveemon," she said, "but Izzy's right: you need to take a break once in a while. If you're all worn out, fighting will be a lot harder."

"Violence again…" Cody sighed as he got up. "Why do you always assume we have to fight?"

"Uh, 'cuz the 8-legged lady wants us for din-dins, kid," Davis grunted. "How many times you gotta see that?"

"I'm simply saying there must be another way," Cody retorted, scowling at the older boy. "Violence should be our _last_ move, not the first."

TK sighed and shook his head. He appreciated Cody's beliefs, but he also knew more about the Digital World… and in his experience, some conflicts could only end with one party remaining.

Cody noticed the gesture and looked at him strangely. "…TK?" he asked.

TK sighed and pulled out his D3; he didn't want to start an argument now. "I'm all set, Izzy," he said. "Did you want to go now?"

"Yes, I think that would be best," Izzy agreed. "Kari, are you ready, too?"

"Um, OK," Kari said, producing her Digivice and looking at Tai. "I'll see you at home later."

Kari and TK pointed their D3s at the computer, and a bright flash later, both of them, as well as Izzy, Gatomon and Patamon, were gone.

"Say what you want about going in; it looks way cooler on this end," Tai chuckled as he picked up Kari's backpack and his own. "C'mon, guys, I'll walk you home."

"Aww, you don't need to, coach," Davis remarked. "We're not preschoolers."

"Yeah…" Tai said, grinning impishly, "but the longer I can put off finishing our science presentation, the better."

Cody looked surprised. "I would think it's fine, what with Izzy helping you," he remarked.

Tai coughed and looked sheepish. "Well, that's just it: it looks like Izzy did ALL of it," he admitted. "I've gotta add my own touches or the teacher won't think I helped."

"Heh heh, I hear ya, coach," Davis cackled, scooping Demiveemon up. "Let's swing by the I-mart and—"

He nearly jumped out of his skin as the lab door slammed shut. Tai, Cody and Upamon looked just as surprised. Yolei was gone, and Poromon with her.

"That was… new," Cody managed.

"Damn!" Davis cussed. "Where's she goin' like a horse on fire?"

* * *

The setting sunlight stung Blackwargreymon's eyes. There was far too much light in this world for his liking. It was time to rest; he would resume his search once night fell.

He landed next to a lake he had never seen before, where a rusty old trolley car lay lopsided on the shore. He looked around at the trees and rocks, but none of them looked burned or ravaged. He growled and clenched his fists; Blackrapidmon hadn't come this way. He could track the Crest easily before that woman had coated it with her wretched control spires, but now… He forced himself to relax. Though he had never known frustration like this before, venting it was not becoming of a soldier.

He strode down to the water and knelt, lowering his hand into the coolness. As he leaned down to drink, though, a footstep to his right made him leap up, claws at the ready. A small orange dinosaur-like creature smiled up at him. "Hi!" it said with a wave of its paw. "You look kinda familiar… Are you lost?"

Blackwargreymon's muscles stiffened, and his stance did not waver. In his experience, foes either leaped in to attack or ran away screaming. Never had he been… greeted. "If you desire a fight, I warn you: it shall be quick, and you shall lose," he stated.

"What? No, I'm just being friendly," the dinosaur said. "My name's Agumon. I protect this lake."

Blackwargreymon watched his foe, but the little dinosaur didn't look very threatening. He lowered his claws ever so slightly. "Why do you address me?" he asked coldly. "Stronger creatures flee when I approach."

Agumon chuckled. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "But when I Digivolve, I turn into Wargreymon, too! That's why I'm not scared!"

Blackwargreymon regarded Agumon for a few moments more, then lowered his claws and turned away. "Speaking to me without desiring to fight..." he grumbled. "You're either very trusting or very stupid… not that those aren't the same."

Agumon cocked his head to one side. "Huh?" he asked. "I never heard they were... What do you mean?"

Blackwargreymon hesitated, then turned back towards Agumon. How very intriguing: while other Digimon ran away yelping in terror, this one spoke to him without a second thought… and then dared to ask a question. The denizens of this world were a strange lot. "Perhaps you can help me," he said. "I have questions that need answers as well."

Agumon scratched his head. "Um… I didn't know there'd be a quiz…" he admitted.

* * *

Yolei dropped her backpack next to her door and sat down on the side of her bed, still panting hard from her school-to-home sprint. "Yolei! What… ack!… what was that all about?" Poromon demanded as he squeezed himself out of the bag.

"I had to hurry back," she replied, looking at herself in the mirror and trying to straighten her hair. "Mimi's coming over for another lesson."

"Another one?..." Poromon asked, looking upset. He never said anything, but he didn't like Mimi's lessons. Every time Yolei had one, she seemed to change a little more: first her clothes and how she smelled, and then her whole room and his comfy nest. In between that, she seemed to have become crabbier and even nasty toward their friends. What would happen this time?

The doorbell rang. Yolei rushed out and came back chattering with Mimi, who clutched the same jingling, jangling bag that she had before. "So, here we are," Yolei finished, taking the bag and putting it on her bed. "What's on the agenda today?"

Mimi looked around the room and smiled wryly at her pupil. "Wow, it still looks good," she remarked.

The room certainly was cleaner: clothes were still in the closet or the dresser; the books and games were still neatly shelved; and the air smelled the same as the rest of the apartment. The biggest change was a fluffy red donut-shaped cat bed on the floor near the closet. "Oh, you got him a bed?" Mimi asked. "That's adorable!"

Yolei grinned widely. Even if it was an old bed that just she pulled out of the neighbors' garbage and cleaned up, Mimi's praise warmed her insides.

Poromon ruffled his feathers and pouted. "It's not very nice," he complained. "It's not like my nest at all!"

Yolei chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, he's still getting used to it," she explained, getting between her guest and him. "He tries to flutter up and sleep with me most nights… but that's sure not happening!"

"Really?" Mimi asked, looking at Poromon with surprise. "But he looks perfect for sleeping with! All fuzzy and round… like another pillow!"

Yolei blinked. Poromon scowled. "I'm not a pillow!" he protested. "Just because I can be squished like I'm full of beans doesn't mean—"

He was cut short when Yolei scooped him up, squeezing a little too hard. "Oh, that? I was just kidding!" she laughed. "Sure he's welcome up there!"

Poromon gave a little "urp" and she dropped him. Mimi unzipped her bag and rummaged around in it. "OK, this is going to be important," she said. "Everything I teach you today, you're going to make a daily routine. Set aside an extra hour every morning."

Yolei's smile fell; she liked to spend all but the last twenty minutes before school blissfully unconscious. "An hour?" she groaned.

Mimi glared at her. "Do you want to land this guy, or not?" she asked bluntly.

Yolei's shoulder sagged. "What do I have to do?..." she surrendered.

Mimi pulled the chair away from Yolei's desk. "Sit down," she ordered. "Now where's the nearest electric outlet?"

"Well…" Yolei started, pointing at the one just beneath the desk. About twelve cords were jammed into its sockets, most of them leading towards the TV. Without a second thought, Mimi reached down and pulled the whole mess loose. "Hey!" Yolei huffed.

"Your parents will thank you when the bill comes," Mimi said, pushing Yolei back into the seat. "Sit still."

Mimi turned back to her bag. Yolei wondered just what was in store for her now… but if there was anything she had learned from being around Mimi, it was that the girl was confident in her own skills. If she taught Yolei exactly what she did, then she would have Ken eating out of her hands in no time… and hopefully more than that. This was going to be worth it.

Mimi stooped under the desk and plugged something in, and Yolei heard something behind her start to hiss. She spun around and saw Mimi approaching with a mirror in one hand and a steaming clamp-like device in the other. "OK!" she beamed. "Let's burn some life into that rat wig!"

All color fled Yolei's cheeks. It had _better_ be worth it.

* * *

_Despite his brother's warning, the boy took the device in hand, inspecting every part of it. Suddenly, the computer screen lit up eerily and a great wind pulled him towards it… and the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back surrounded by fresh grass, with a green wormlike creature watching over him._

Ken sighed as he finished reading the passage a sixth time. He had been trying to write his story since he got home from school, but once this had spilled out onto the screen, he had hit a wall. For the last twenty minutes he had stared at the words, trying to find a way to keep typing… but nothing had come. As soon as he wrote about Wormmon, all the inspiration flew from his mind like smoke from factory pipes.

He scowled at the screen; how could a genius like he be stymied by a few lines of text? He forced himself to type out: "the worm," but no other words came after them. His hands trembled over the keyboard, aching to keep dancing on it, but he just could not supply them with anything to type out. Thinking of how to write about Wormmon yielded nothing but stifling mental silence. He tried to look back at the rest of the passage, but found he couldn't; his eyes were stuck on "the worm" and would go nowhere else.

He read it three times, four times, and again a fifth time. Suddenly, his hands balled into fists and he shoved the keyboard to the side with a huffy snarl. How could he even dare to say anything about Wormmon? What right did he have to mention him after he…?

He jumped out of his chair and closed the file. He couldn't look at it any longer. He had wasted enough time; there was work to be done destroying control spires. He pulled his D3 out of the drawer and held it up to the screen.

* * *

Yolei's teeth crunched on each other as the hissing tool floated over her left ear again. How good could it be to have something that hot tearing through your hair? She could imagine her whole scalp withering and then crusting up like an overdone hot dog.

The burning aura passed down her neck again and she shuddered, all while Mimi hummed to herself. She couldn't take it any more. What in the world was Mimi doing? Her mind raced with all sorts of nicknames Davis and the others could drop on her: "fry face," "nuke nose," and "lava zit" all sounded like fair game. If she could move fast enough, maybe she could grab the mirror and club Mimi out, then flee to the nearest pharmacist to—

"OK!" Mimi broke into her thoughts. "All done!"

Yolei looked up in surprise. The hissing had stopped, and her skin was cool again. Mimi smirked and handed her the mirror. "Take a look, fraidy cat," she said. "I could be an artist!"

Yolei stared into the looking glass, unable to register who she saw. It was her face, all right, but her droopy, pasta-like purple hair was gone, replaced by a shiny, lively lavender waterfall. Her cheeks tinged pink. "I…" was all she could get out, but her face said everything: never in her life had she thought she could look so… pretty.

"See? It doesn't take much," Mimi said, beaming. She fished a folded piece of paper from her bag and put both the iron and it on Yolei's desk. "I wrote down exactly what I did. You'll need to do the same thing every morning. Think you can handle that?"

Yolei looked at herself in the mirror again. A whole hour of sleep would be gone… but if it kept that amazing hair on her head, it would be worth it. "Yeah," she replied.

"OK, then, on to part two," Mimi said, digging in her bag and pulling out a dozen colorful bottles, several shiny tubes, a few brushes and some plastic canisters. "Foundation, blush, mascara, powder for reducing shine, nail polish, lipstick and perfume," she said as she placed them on the desk. "Whoever you're trying to attract, these will seal the deal."

Yolei's eyes bugged as she looked at all the stuff. "This is more stuff than I use for my model kits," was the first thing she said.

Mimi gave a weak, annoyed chuckle. "Yeah, don't mention those," she muttered. "Now, the first thing to put on is foundation. That clears up blemishes and helps the rest stay on."

Yolei picked up a bottle and read the ingredients label, but she didn't recognize any of the chemical names. "I have to put ALL of this on?" she asked.

"What? No way!" Mimi replied. "But you gotta have choices, right? We're gonna find colors that look good on you, and then a nice perfume to top it all off."

Curious, Yolei picked up a clear bottle, opened it and sniffed at it. It was a strange but alluring odor. "This might be nice," she said. "What's it called?"

Mimi's smile fell. "That's nail polish remover," she replied. "Let me pick something for you."

Yolei's pink cheeks flushed red. "Err, yeah," she mumbled.

Mimi dabbed a little puffy thing into the foundation and started rubbing it on Yolei's face. Instantly Yolei started to snicker. "Hey, stop it," Mimi scolded.

"It tickles," Yolei answered, still giggling a little.

Mimi gave her a sour look, but couldn't keep it for long. "…Yeah, I know, but try to hold still," she said, going back to rubbing. "And whatever you do, don't sneeze; you'll ruin it."

"Speaking from experience?" Yolei asked.

Mimi chuckled. "Yeah," she admitted. "Oh, that was so embarrassing. I was getting ready to go out with the running club captain last year, but right in the middle of putting on mascara, I sneezed all over the place! The pen jerked up and…"

As the girls talked and laughed, Poromon watched quietly from the bed, unsure of where this was going, but liking it less and less.

* * *

An obsidian giant groaned, then hit the dirt and broke in two. One less spire dominated the Rail Town skyline. Ken looked at it with disgust. Seeing them pop up in places he had already cleared weighed on his already sunken spirit. Unless he did away with Arukenimon and Mummymon, he would never be free of these black curses.

He wandered through the abandoned city, the wind the only sound in his ears. Unlike Suadi Arugula, no Digimon had returned to this town and it still lay in ruin. He bit his lip as he walked past the town square, where the train Metalgreymon destroyed still lay among the skeletons of sheds and offices. Why hadn't the Resistance swooped down on this place like Spaghetti Junction? Maybe even they thought it wasn't worth fixing…

He turned a corner and came to the railroad junction, now just a sad mess of old rails half buried in the dirt. One lonely locomotive engine stood on the tracks, several empty cars sagging behind it. The scene reminded Ken of grainy postwar photos from history books. Despair welled up inside him and his whole body shuddered; after doing something like this, he didn't have any right to write about Wormmon! With a feral snarl, he kicked a wave of dirt at the engine.

Something shiny and red flew up in the plume, and then there was a quiet clattering against the locomotive. A low hum made Ken look up, and then the engine's wheels shook, trails of steam puffing out between them. The smokestack belched a black cloud and a low, eerie whistle, and the whole train started to move along the track towards the end of the line.

As he stumbled back, the train sped up and smashed through the barriers, but instead of crashing into a heap, it arced upward and soared into the sky. It circled around the town three times, and then with another eerie whistle it flew up and into the clouds.

Ken stared after it, unable to pull his jaw off the ground. What in the world just happened?

* * *

"I don't understand why you would speak to me without desiring to fight," Blackwargreymon rumbled, looking down at Agumon with curious eyes. "Do you not realize that I could reduce you to ash in seconds?"

"I don't think you would," Agumon replied with a shake of his head. "I know what it's like to be Wargreymon, too. I bet you've got a good heart down in there!"

Behind his stoic face, Blackwargreymon's mind hit a stumbling block. He had a good… what? "What is this 'heart' you speak of?" he demanded.

Now it was Agumon's turn to be confused; after all, who didn't know what a heart was? "Um… well, it's, uh, something that helps you feel stuff," he tried. "When you care about others, that comes from the heart… Oh! And when you care more about someone else than yourself, that's called 'love,' and it's the best thing a heart can feel!"

Agumon smiled, but Blackwargreymon was not impressed. "Hmmph… To favor others over oneself is foolish," he scoffed, looking away. "This 'heart' does you more harm than good."

"What? No way!" Agumon retorted. "See, when a whole bunch of people care about each other, they can all work together and do stuff that just one person couldn't do! That's what makes a heart strong: it connects you to others!" Seeing Blackwargreymon was still unmoved, he stopped and scratched his head. "Isn't there anyone you feel connected to?" he asked.

Blackwargreymon stared at the lake silently, taking in the little dinosaur's question. Yes, he was connected to someone. That was the reason for his mission, and why he was in this Digital World in the first place. It didn't have the feeling that the creature was talking about, however… Indeed, it had no feeling at all. Why should it?

He looked down at Agumon, who watched him curiously. This weak little creature might be helped from 'feeling,' but he could see no benefit for himself. "What a confusing idea, your 'heart,'" he said. "Why would one choose to place his well being in the hands of others when one clearly fights better alone?"

Agumon blinked a few times. This guy sure was a weird one. How could anybody fight alone? "Uh… Maybe you need an example," he tried, deciding to take an Izzy-like approach to the situation. "See, a long time ago, Tai and I got split up from the rest of our friends, and when we were looking for them we came across this theme park…"

* * *

Gatomon stared intently at the oversized tuna floating past the window of Gennai's sitting room. Her tail swished and her mouth uttered little chattering sounds as her eyes followed its every move.

Kari sighed. "Gatomon, stop trying to charm the fish," she said. "Come over here."

Gatomon sighed and slunk back to the table. "This place is torture," she grumbled. "I hoped my tail ring would be fixed by now, but it isn't… and there's a buffet right outside and I didn't bring a snorkel."

Gennai offered a sympathetic smile as he poured a saucer of tea for her. "I'm sorry, Gatomon," he apologized. "It's a very delicate piece of equipment. I promise it'll be ready soon."

"In the meantime, I could borrow TK's dad's fishing pole for you," Patamon suggested.

"Yeah, it's not like he uses it much," TK remarked, smiling. "Not since that time I tried to practice my 'cat's cradle' on the string."

"TK, Patamon, please," Izzy shushed them. "You derailed my explanation!"

From his spot by the projector screen, Gennai chuckled. "Ah, the follies of youth," he murmured. "Izzy, the last thing you said was that they found a piece of your Crest in a jungle. So you have seven pieces now, correct?"

The others' faces fell. Izzy swallowed. "Um… actually, that's not accurate," he admitted. "While Davis and the others did _find_ the Crest, things became… complicated."

"Yeah, that big bully Gargomon got it first," Patamon huffed, "and then Arukenimon used it to turn him into Blackrapidmon!"

Gennai's usually smiling mouth thrust down somberly, and his bushy eyebrows knotted into a frown; he was almost frightening. "…She used a Crest?" he asked, his voice stony.

"That's why we're here," Kari said. "Do you know how to save him?"

Gennai turned away, his arms folded behind his back. "Those Crests were meant only to work with their corresponding Digivices," he muttered.

"Maybe the control spires she utilized helped her bypass the Order's security programming," Izzy suggested. "Having used ten spires, perhaps it's possible..."

"Whew…" Patamon sighed. "I bet the Order never saw this coming!"

They looked to Gennai for a response, but he gave none; he kept his back to them, staring at his bookshelf and thoughtfully massaging his wrists.

TK coughed to break the silence. "Could we break the spires?" he asked. "That would free the Crest…"

"How?" Gatomon asked. "Blackrapidmon's not a spire. He's an Ultimate, and he moves! Fast!"

"Are the spires part of his armor?" Izzy asked. "If they are, perhaps we can damage them enough..."

"No, they went inside him," Patamon broke in. "It was like she turned him into a Spire-born!"

"But surely he may have a weak point somewhere on his armor?" Izzy tried.

"Why?" Gatomon retorted. "This isn't a video game, Izzy! Not every Digimon has a big, fat bull's eye somewhere!"

As Gatomon, TK, Patamon and Izzy argued, Kari found herself thinking back to the start of their new adventure, when Andromon attacked her in Metal City. When Tai had come to rescue her, his Digivice lit up and the Dark Ring around Andromon's neck fell apart. Since the spires gave power to those rings, would they react the same way? "Hey…" she began, "what if we—"

Suddenly, everyone jumped as the water outside shuddered and rippled, and all the fish took off in a panic. An eerie wailing drifted in from above them. "What the?" Patamon yelped.

TK bit his lip. If Blackrapidmon or Blackwargreymon had found them, he didn't want Gennai dragged into the fight. "We'd better get out there!" he yelled.

The kids and their partners raced out of Gennai's house and up the stairs. They arrived at the surface just in time to see a rickety old locomotive train chug across the treetops, whistling amid its smoky belches. "Woah!" Patamon gasped.

"Prodigious!" Izzy declared.

As they gaped, the train circled the lake, dove down and clipped the marsh grass, then lurched up into the air and vanished to the south with another wheesh.

The kids were so flabbergasted, none of them heard Gennai come up the steps behind them. "My, this is getting serious," he remarked as if he were saying he thought it would rain.

"Gennai, how is that possible?" Izzy asked, turning around. "I mean, I know we rode a flying trolley once, but…?"

"Yes, it's not often a train jumps the rails quite like that," Gennai replied, smiling. "There must be something amiss with the engine."

Kari watched Gennai suspiciously, unsure what to make of him. Hadn't the old man just been acting dead serious?

"…OK, as weird as that was, can we get back to the problem?" Gatomon asked. "How do we deal with Blackrapidmon?"

"Or Blackwargreymon…" TK added.

"Or ANY of this?" Patamon finished. "It's gone crazy since we shut Ken down!"

Gennai hesitated, looking as if he were about to say something… but then he changed his mind and shook his head. "If you kids'll excuse me, all that excitement wore me out," he said, turning and starting back down the steps. "I need a rest. Have a good weekend."

"What? But Gennai!" Gatomon objected, but the stairs and the old man vanished, showing only the murky surface of the lake.

Patamon puffed himself up angrily. TK stamped his foot in the grass.

Izzy folded his arms and scowled at his reflection. "That was certainly informative," he muttered.

"What're you talking about, Izzy?" Patamon objected. "That was a whole lot of nothing!"

"If he knows anything, he can't tell us," TK sighed, "or he _won't_ tell us."

"Quite a quandary, for sure," Izzy said. "We don't have enough information to go up against our enemies, and with Yolei going to Kyoto between Monday and Thursday, we'll have less manpower… I'm afraid there's not much we can do for a while."

"So just when things are getting rough, we get stuck?" Gatomon huffed. "No way!"

"Maybe you just need more big brains," Patamon suggested. "Izzy, why don't you and Ken work on it together?"

"Ken…?" Izzy murmured. His grudge against the Digimon Emperor was minimal, but he certainly didn't feel like making a social call.

"I guess this next week we just stick to wrecking spires," TK sighed, "and running from whoever wants to chase us…"

While Izzy ruminated and the others fumed, Kari pulled out her D3 and looked it over thoughtfully.

* * *

Mimi's tongue darted from one side of her mouth to the other as Yolei felt the pen rub across her eyebrow. "Mmm… just a little more… Ah!" she exclaimed, and made one last stroke. "Done! Oh, and don't lick your lips for a few minutes."

Yolei wrinkled her nose and grimaced; it felt like Mimi had really laid the cosmetics on thick, like a few dozen layers. "Do I have to laugh a lot and make balloon animals?" she asked.

"You'll get used to it," Mimi said, strangely unfazed by the quip. "I'm sure you'll agree it's worth it, though. Look at yourself!"

Yolei took the mirror she offered and once again marveled at what she saw in it. Complementing her flowing purple hair was a lively, gorgeous face. Her eyebrows were full and bright, and light purple eyeliner complemented her hair color and made her gaze more exotic. Her usually pale cheeks were healthfully pink, and her lips glistened with a lavender tinge. For the second time that afternoon, she could hardly recognize herself… but she did recognize that she looked hot enough to melt cheese. "That's… that's really me?" she asked, a warm joy creeping over her. "I-I'm…"

Mimi grinned. "That's the power of cosmetics: a girl's real best friend!" she giggled. "I've gotta say, once you're all made up, you've got a lot going for you!"

Yolei looked back at the mirror, then up at Mimi. Both girls wore genuine smiles. "Thanks, Mimi," she said. "I—"

"Oh, we're not done yet," Mimi said, reaching for her purse. "Get on some good clothes. I'm taking you to the mall for the second half of the lesson: attitude."

Yolei blinked, puzzled. "The same mall?" she asked. "Won't you be, you know, embarrassed?"

Mimi smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "That's not going to be a problem this time, I'm sure of it," she said. "Now let's see you pick a good outfit."

Bursting with the pride of being trusted to dress, Yolei threw off her school getup and jumped into the closet. She emerged with several shirts and skirts and held them over her body, looking at the little mirror Mimi held for her. "Boy, maybe I should get a long mirror," she muttered as she tossed a blue shirt back into the closet.

"It wouldn't hurt," Mimi agreed, "but this is fine for now."

Poromon bounced into the air as a skirt flopped onto the bed. "Yolei! Watch where you're throwing stuff!" he yelped. "Besides, what's wrong with what you had on?"

"Oh, please," Mimi sniffed at him. "Don't you have any fashion sense?"

Poromon glared at her. Even though she was a Digidestined, this girl really got on his nerves. She was turning his partner into somebody else!

After several more projectile clothing volleys, Yolei emerged with a triumphant "OK!" She wore a brilliant new outfit: purple stockings; a red skirt, a lavender camisole; a crimson jacket; and a thin purple choker around her neck.

"Awww! That's so cute!" Mimi cooed, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. "I taught you so well! Let's go show you off!"

"All right!" Yolei agreed, grabbing her purse off of her nightstand. "Poromon, we'll be back in an hour or two, OK?"

Poromon looked shocked. "…Yolei, you know you're not allowed to go out!" he objected. "You're grounded, remember?"

"Big deal," Mimi huffed. "Her parents aren't home now, and they won't be back before we are! They'll never know you're gone!"

Yolei hesitated at the thought of defying her parents, but she was too enticed to stop now. "You'll be fine on your own, right?" she asked him.

Poromon sagged on the bed, furious but defeated. "…Yes," he muttered. "I'll be fine."

"OK!" she laughed, obviously not picking up on his ire. "Off we go!"

Laughing and complimenting each other on their outfits, the girls left Yolei's room and walked past the older Inoue siblings, who were watching TV in the living room. All three of them did double takes as the apartment door closed. "Was that… Miyako?" Momoe asked.

"I think so," Chizuru replied. "Huh! Who knew she could get her glam on?"

Mantarou stared at the door for a few moments, then shrugged and turned back to the show.

* * *

The sun slowly oozed below the skyline. Cody pulled his jacket up a little bit; night came on quicker these days, and so did its chill. His mother would certainly have words with him for being out alone after dark, but he was willing to take the scolding. He needed information.

"I don't get it, Cody," Upamon said, glancing up at his partner. "Why're we gonna do this?"

"Because he knows TK better than anyone," Cody replied. "He'll tell us what's going on."

"I don't know…" Upamon sighed. "He's really mad at us."

Cody swallowed as he approached the high school's auditorium, where he heard faint jazz music drifting from its windows. Upamon was right about that; Matt could spew hatred as harshly as the Digimon Emperor. He hoped his small peace offering would quench the flames.

He walked inside to see the jazz band going through their practice. Matt certainly knew how to get the most out of his saxophone; Cody could hear sadness and frustration pouring out of the brass instrument. The older boy was incredibly grouchy, but he blew as soulfully as the recordings Cody had heard in furniture stores.

The song tapered out, finished. Appropriately, Cody set Upamon down on a seat and clapped. The band members looked up and grinned. "Well, how 'bout that!" the pianist laughed. "We've got ourselves a little fan club!"

"You're very good," Cody agreed. "I'll come to your next concert."

The singer cackled and bowed lightheartedly. The bass player grinned and gave a nod of his sunglasses. Matt, however, scowled at him like he was intruding.

Cody took a deep breath and walked over to him. "Ishida-sempai," he said with a respectful bow, "may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Whoo! Kid's all polite and stuff," the pianist chuckled. "Maybe he wants yer autograph, Squeals."

"No, he doesn't," Matt muttered. "Excuse me, guys; I'll be right back."

He hopped off the stage and signaled for Cody to follow. Cody picked Upamon up and followed him to the door to the hallway. Matt glared at him so intensely, Cody half expected lasers to shoot from his eyes. "What do you want?" he growled.

"I wanted to ask you about something," Cody tried. "About TK. Ever since Blackwargreymon showed up, he's been acting… different."

"Mind your own business," Matt scoffed. "You wouldn't understand what he's been through. Even if you could, there's no way I'm helping you after…" He trailed off, the rage in his eyes clouded by a touch of grief.

Cody saw his opportunity. "Yamato… Matt," he said, "Gabumon is alive."

Matt turned wild eyes on him. "Alive?" he asked, grabbing Cody's shoulders. "You're serious?"

"I am," Cody said. "Apparently, Blackwargreymon stopped his attack after we fled."

"He's just fine!" Upamon added. "He told us himself!"

Matt released Cody, his hands shaking. For a moment, the younger boy thought he saw a relieved smile cross his face. Matt straightened up, then pushed open the door. "C'mon, I'll get you a soda from the machine," he said. "We can talk there."

Cody smiled, too, his worries gone. Just as he hoped, Matt wasn't going to stay angry now that he knew his partner was all right.

"Soda?" Upamon asked. "You mean pop, right?"

"Oh, shush," Cody muttered. "Thank you, Matt."

They walked down the quiet, empty hall to the vending machine, where Matt dug into his pocket. "Good thing the music teacher likes my band, or we wouldn't be able to do this at night," he said. "What flavor?"

Cody looked at Upamon; he'd be the one drinking most of it, anyway. "Peach chocolate mango with extra fizz!" Upamon chirped.

"How about orange?" Matt grumbled, pushing the can at Cody.

Upamon blushed with embarrassment. "…That's good too," he said quietly.

Matt snapped open his lemon-lime soda and leaned against the wall. "Now, what you were asking…" he said, looking up at the ceiling. "You remember what we told you in September. TK's thing about evil Digimon started when we went up against Devimon on File Island. Patamon had to become Angemon to get rid of him."

As Upamon sucked on the can, Cody scratched his head. "Is that why?" he asked. "Patamon becomes a holy creature, so TK thinks it's his job to go after evil ones? It's about duty?"

Matt sighed and took another swig. "No, it's about fear," he replied. "Angemon had to use his own life force to kill Devimon. He knew that he would change back into a DigiEgg and grow again… but _we_ sure didn't." He took another gulp. "None of us knew much about Digivolution then, so we thought that was the end of Patamon."

"Oh…" Cody murmured, seeming to sense where the story was headed.

"Even if it was just a few moments, that sudden shock of loss scarred him," Matt went on. "I'd say his anger towards Blackwargreymon and the rest is because he's afraid he'll lose Patamon again... for good." With a loud crunch, he smashed the can in his hand and pitched it into a recycling bin across the way. "I can relate all too well," he finished, sounding bitter again.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?" Upamon asked, losing interest in the soda for a moment. "We just told ya Gabumon's OK…"

"None of your business," Matt muttered, his cold demeanor returning in full force.

Cody hesitated, then decided to ask anyway. "Is there another way to deal with evil Digimon besides…?" he tried.

As if their friendly rapport had never happened, Matt looked down at him with nothing short of disgust. "What? You think you can make friends with them?" he scoffed. "That you just have to say one thing and it'll be like snapping off a Dark Ring?"

"That's not what I meant," Cody huffed, irritated at being patronized. "We can't call ourselves heroes if we just destroy our enemies without trying to reason with them."

"Is there a Digimon jail we could put them in?" Upamon tried.

Matt just shook his head. "I thought you were the smart one," he grunted, pushing off the wall. "I have to get back to practice. You can see yourself out."

Cody watched Matt stomp back into the auditorium, his stomach churning. He felt more bothered now than he did before the meeting.

Upamon burped. "Whoops, musta drank too fast," he reasoned. "Cheer up, Cody! We could try building a Digimon jail ourselves!"

Cody looked down at his friend, then up at the ceiling. Though he hadn't taken his jacket off, he shivered. Was he fated to bloody his hands?

* * *

"I don't know about this, Mimi," Yolei said, becoming apprehensive as the mall's escalator loomed in front of her. "It's already dark out… What are we going to do?"

"Relax," Mimi replied. "The cool kids don't go home just because the sun went down. They come to the food court to hang out and eat what they want."

Yolei felt a small rush of joy. It cost a little money, but if she ate away from home, she wouldn't have to fight anybody for the last slice of pepperoni pizza. "Wow…" she murmured.

"It's also a place to meet boys without a lot of pressure," Mimi went on as they got off on the next floor. "Maybe try taking your mystery guy here when you get back from Kyoto."

Yolei's cheeks flushed at the thought of sucking down ramen noodles across from Ken. Wouldn't it be great if he liked the same flavor she did? And maybe there would be an extra long noodle draped across both bowls, and when they both started slurping it…

A low whistle came from somewhere near, snapping her out of her fantasy. "There we are!" Mimi chuckled, patting her on the shoulder. "It's working already!"

Yolei looked around the food court and noticed a lot of people looking at her. She was used to being stared at, of course, but this felt different… almost welcome. Girls were looking her over with mixtures of surprise, adoration and envy. More to her liking, though, boys were ogling her, including several good-looking ones, like the one who had whistled. Her heart raced as she took it all in, happy but also a little confused. Was this all just because she changed her looks?

"Feels great, doesn't it?" Mimi giggled. "C'mon, let's eat at my fave place."

Mimi led Yolei to a set of tables at a French-style café on the edge of the food court. Yolei was surprised to see that patrons were getting their food brought out to them by employees. "Waiters in a food court?" Yolei asked. "Is that… legal?"

"It's high-class," Mimi replied. "Everyone who's anyone comes here!"

Yolei wasn't sure one could classify a bunch of cheerleaders and jocks as 'everyone who's anyone,' but Mimi had her in a chair before she could speak up. A waiter approached them with a notepad and pen, seeming to bristle when he noticed Mimi. "What would you two like today?" he asked.

Mimi motioned for Yolei to order first. Yolei didn't know what they served, but she did know she was next door to broke. "Um, just some water, please," she said.

"I'll have an avocado salad with lite raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and a glass of sparkling water with lemon," Mimi recited easily. The waiter started to leave, but Mimi said "oh!" and he regretfully turned back around. "…And only a light sprinkling of that dressing, not like last time," she finished.

The waiter made a sharp jab on his notepad and went away. Yolei looked at her teacher, who didn't seem to have noticed. "What was that about?" she asked.

"It was kind of soggy last time," Mimi said, turning back to her. "Now, for the last part of the lesson: attitude. To complete the effect you're going for, you need to change yours."

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked.

"I'm going to be totally honest," Mimi said, leaning in closely. "The way you act right now isn't feminine. You're like a mix of a shameless otaku and a sugared-up, loudmouth grade school boy. And most boys I've come across, well, they want to date _girls_."

Yolei's teeth gnashed instantly. "Hey!" she snapped, clamping the table with her hands. "I am TOO a girl!"

"Calm down; your makeup's going to run," Mimi said, shushing her with her hands. "I mean a boy wants someone who isn't going to be like his guy friends; someone different than what he's used to... You know, special."

"Why didn't you just say that?" Yolei grumbled.

"If you want to get out of the 'just friends' zone," Mimi went on, "you have to ditch the quirks and be more like other girls: elegant but inviting; sassy but sweet; promising what they dream about, but also standing out from the pack… like me!"

Yolei went from angry to confused. "Doesn't having quirks make you stand out?" she asked.

"Yours are all the wrong ones," Mimi sniffed. "For example, you keep calling yourself 'Yolei,' but I know that's not your real name. Why do you call yourself that?"

"That's the name of my avatar on the Net," Yolei replied. "What's wrong with that?"

"The Net? Ugh! What's right with it?" Mimi retorted, rolling her eyes. "Using that says you spend too much time on computers! Besides, it sounds weird anyway… like an overcooked Chinese noodle dish. What's your real name?"

Yolei trembled with rage from Mimi's assault on a core aspect of her being, but she forced herself to remember the older girl was trying to help. "It's Miyako," she muttered.

To her surprise, Mimi smiled. "Really? Miyako?" she asked. "That's a pretty name! Why don't you go by that?"

Yolei sighed. "Miyako" meant "beautiful fragrance," but she caught too much flack from her siblings for not living up to it; that was why she went by "Yolei" everywhere outside of home. "Well," she began, "I—"

Suddenly there was a thud and a yelp, and then water splattered across the table, making the girls jump. The waiter had stumbled and spilled Mimi's drink. "Oh, no!" he spluttered, setting the tray down and using the napkins to wipe it up. "I must have tripped!"

"Err, that's OK…" Yolei started. "It was just water—"

Mimi's shriek cut her off. "My skirt!" she yelled, leaping up to reveal the wet garment. "Look what you did to my skirt!"

The waiter stiffened. "I'm sorry!" he spluttered.

"What is WRONG with you?" Mimi assailed him. "First you get my salad all yucky and then you spill water all over me? Do you know how much this dress cost? Where'd you learn how to be a waiter?"

Other mall-goers were starting to turn and look at the scene. Color drained from the college-age boy's face. "W-wait!" he stammered. "It was an accident! Please!"

"You shouldn't even _be_ a waiter, you dumb klutz!" Mimi went on ranting. "Where's a manager? I want to talk to a manager about you!"

"AGH! No!" the waiter hissed. "Look, both your meals are on me, OK? Just please stop!"

Mimi slowed to a pant, then relaxed. "That's better," she said. "Now clean this up and get me a fresh drink… and bring dessert, too!"

The waiter scampered away like she had set fire to his pants. Mimi sat back down in a dry chair. Yolei was absolutely shocked. "Mimi," she said, "that was… _awful_!"

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked, pulling out her makeup mirror and looking herself over. "He almost made us take a bath and I'm supposed to tell him it's OK?"

"But…" Yolei trailed off, walking over and looking down at the floor where the waiter had tripped. There was a small indent in the tile that could catch someone. "What if it really was an accident?" she asked.

"It was still his fault," Mimi sniffed, resuming her usual demeanor. "If you're just going to chalk everything up to accidents, you're never going to get anywhere."

"Get anywhere?..." Yolei asked.

"See? That's another lesson!" Mimi said, suddenly realizing her genius. "If someone messes up, you can use it to get something free or make yourself look better!"

Yolei wasn't sure what she thought of that idea. She often heard her parents grumbling about jerky customers in the I-Mart who tried complaining as a way to get something for nothing, and she herself hated giving in to someone making a scene, like throwing an Arukenimon-grade temper tantrum… but still, the waiter HAD made a mistake… "I don't know…" she thought out loud.

The defeated waiter returned with a fresh salad and drinks. "And… what did you want for dessert?..." he muttered.

"Well, um…" Yolei stammered, not sure if she should actually take advantage of the poor man's bad luck.

"The desserts here are really yummy," Mimi said, already ruminating on other things. "You should get the crème brulee! Oh, and then after this, why don't we use the money we saved to play at the arcade?"

Yolei blinked. Mimi was openly saying she liked the arcade? And she _wanted_ to play with her? Her ethical worries were shoved out of her head in an instant. "Really?" she beamed. "OK! I should show you 'Alley Brawler;' that one's really fun!" She looked at the waiter and nodded. "I'll have a slice of crème brulee," she said.

* * *

"…So thanks to Sora, we didn't eat the mushrooms and kept our brains," Agumon finished. "See? A heart helps everybody!"

Blackwargreymon folded his arms. "A curious story," he remarked thoughtfully, and it certainly had been: poison that destroyed memory; creatures that existed only to deceive; and still others who worked to improve conditions… Much like the land itself, this world's inhabitants were a disjointed mess of contradiction and chaos... yet he couldn't help but be intrigued.

"Um… OK…" Agumon tried, not sure if he'd gotten his message across. Tai had told him this creature was made from control spires, but he wasn't so sure any more; Blackwargreymon had a complex way of thinking… not to mention strange. "So, uh, do you understand about hearts now?"

Blackwargreymon's aura turned solemn again. "As insightful as it was, your story hasn't convinced me," he growled, turning to face the sunset, "and I've been delayed far too long. This 'heart' may give you strength, but I have no use for it."

"Oh, don't say that!" Agumon pleaded. "Everyone uses his heart sometime!"

Blackwargreymon started to leave, but then his mind took him back to the small flower he protected from the witch's Mammothmon. He stopped and stared at the trees nearby. If he truly shunned the 'heart' that Agumon championed, would he have done such a thing?

"Maybe it's a lot for you to understand right now," Agumon said, walking up beside the warrior. "How about we start small. Let's be friends!"

Blackwargreymon regarded him. "Friends?..." he asked.

"Yeah!" Agumon replied. "If I care about you and you care about me, then we're friends! That's proof you use your heart!" He offered his claw. "What do you say?"

Blackwargreymon hesitated. While other creatures fled or died before him, this one was willing to approach him, speak with him, and even trust him like one of his own kind. A strange, warm new feeling crept over him, one that both made his heart race with anticipation, and his joints shudder with terror.

For a moment, his hand relaxed and started to reach for Agumon's… but then it clenched again, and the creature turned away; this was no path for a soldier to take, especially when so much was still at stake. "No," he growled. "I cannot abandon my mission."

Agumon's smile faded. "Oh…" he murmured.

Blackwargreymon started walking away, planning his next flight path. He had to find that Crest fragment… and destroy the disgraceful creature it resided in. Then he had to track down the humans who held the other fragments and do away with them as well. Then…

"Wait!" Agumon's voice intruded, making him turn back. The little dinosaur came a few footsteps after him and looked at him hopefully. "Will we see each other again, at least?" he asked.

Blackwargreymon was silent. Again, this little creature's bravery surprised him. "…Perhaps," he rumbled, then launched into the night sky.

* * *

"Whoo!" Mimi panted, wiping her brow as Yolei and she left the arcade. "I never thought I could get so sweaty standing still!"

"That's an arcade for you," Yolei chuckled. "Everyone's trying hard not to get their ass kicked."

"I sure got lots of that…" Mimi sighed. "At least you took it easy on me later on."

"No, you just got better," Yolei assured her. "If you keep up that practicing, you might win... if I sneeze during a fight, anyway!"

The two girls laughed happily as they strode towards the exit. This was the most fun Yolei had ever had with someone besides Cody or Davis in… well, ever. Despite her revulsion at the start of these lessons, she really liked hanging with Mimi now.

"I didn't think video games were all that cool, but that one gave me a rush like a clearance sale," Mimi went on. "I wonder if—OH!"

Mimi stopped dead in her tracks, her elbow catching Yolei in the chest. "EOW!" Yolei huffed. "What—"

"Oh! Hey! Mimi!" a familiar voice made her forget the injury. Joe had just walked into the mall and noticed the girls, and now he was coming towards them. She went pale, suddenly remembering how she looked now; what would he say?

Mimi clenched her fists. "Joe…" she snarled through clenched teeth.

"I thought you might be here," Joe said. "I just heard from Tai that… Oh?" He stopped and looked at Yolei, who bit her lip and withdrew a step. Joe blinked a few times, then turned back to Mimi. "Sorry, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" he asked.

Yolei's mouth almost hung limp. With her new hair, clothes and makeup, Joe didn't recognize who she was!

"I don't want to talk to you, Joe," Mimi rebuked, looking away. "I don't care!"

Joe frowned and pushed his glasses up, trying to look sterner. "Mimi, stop this nonsense," he said. "Things are really getting serious, and we need your help!"

"I told you before, Joe!" Mimi snapped. "Leave me alone!"

Joe hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "No, Mimi," he said. "I'm not going to let you keep running. I know you don't like it, but you're still a part of this—"

"No I'm NOT!" Mimi screeched, making both Joe and Yolei wince. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm NOT going back! I'm NOT going to go through it again! And you CAN'T MAKE ME!"

"I… Stop being so selfish!" Joe stammered, her outburst routing his brief moment of toughness. "I mean, how are you going to feel if things get even worse, and you weren't there to save—"

"Shut UP!" Mimi yelled, stamping her foot. Yolei could see tears forming in her furious eyes. "Go away!"

"But Mimi…" Joe tried again.

Yolei put her hands on Mimi's shoulders and scowled at Joe; his not knowing who she was gave her a surge of confidence. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded. "Whatever you're talking about, she obviously doesn't want to be in on it! Can't you see?"

Joe started to sweat. So did Yolei, now that she noticed their yelling had arrested the attention of several shoppers, including a security guard. She swallowed hard and decided to finish the salvo. "Get lost, already!" she barked at him.

Joe's clenched fists trembled, and his face was pale. With a frustrated scoff, he turned and walked out of the mall.

The tense moment passed and the shoppers went back to their business. Yolei patted Mimi's still trembling shoulder. "Hey, it's OK…" she said. "It's over now."

Mimi looked at her for a moment, then breathed deeply. "Y… yeah," she managed.

Yolei was glad to see Mimi was all right, but she felt really horrible for telling off a nice guy like Joe. "That was kind of mean…" she admitted.

Mimi folded her arms and looked pouty. "It's not like I WANT to be mean," she grumbled, "but when people like him don't get the message, so you have to get louder!"

Yolei sighed. She hated to admit it, but maybe Mimi was right. But more important to why she stuck up for Mimi, maybe the older girl really had a good reason not to want to be with the other Digidestined, and Joe just wouldn't let it go. That was harassment, after all; the way Davis messed with her, she could almost relate to it. If Joe was following her around like that, then maybe he deserved the tongue-lashing.

"But hey…" Mimi broke into her thoughts with a sad smile. "What you did there… Thanks."

Yolei quietly smiled back. "No problem," she replied.

"You've learned pretty well," Mimi said. "I think you're ready to be the new you all by yourself."

Yolei looked up, her heart swelling with pride. "R-really?" she asked.

"Totally," Mimi said. "You've got the looks, the moves… Whoever this guy is will be in for a big surprise!"

Yolei beamed and, before she knew what she was doing, grabbed Mimi in a big bear hug. "Yes! THANK you!" she squealed with joy.

"OK, OK! Mimi can't breathe!" Mimi rasped, and Yolei sheepishly released her. "Now, just remember what I taught you and try it in Kyoto," she said.

"Yeah, cool," Yolei chuckled, then thought of something important. "Hey, could you help me pick out a few good outfits before you go home?" she asked.

"Sure!" Mimi laughed, "but if you end up getting kissed because of them, I want full credit!"

The girls zipped up their jackets and headed out of the mall. "Hey, we should do this again when you get back," Mimi said. "They might have all of the winter fashion line set up then!"

Yolei beamed. "Really?" she asked, delighted at the invitation. "Sure! Then I can show you 'Tales of Smashing' in the arcade! That's a great one…"

Laughing and carrying on like two sisters, the girls headed off into the city night.

* * *

With several unearthly shrieks, Blackrapidmon again flailed and strained, desperate to break free of the thick webbing that plastered him to the canyon wall. He kicked his feet in the dirt and twisted his head this way and that, but to no avail.

"Ho ho ho… I told you before, silly rabbit!" Mummymon cackled, not even looking up from sewing Arukenimon's hat, "as long as that stuff's got you, you're not going anywhere! Ah… done!"

He bit the thread and offered the garment to Arukenimon, who placed it back on her head, a smug smile on her violet lips. "Things are finally going right again," she purred.

"Oh, yes," Mummymon agreed, leering at Blackrapidmon. "With this powerhouse on our side, getting the last Crest will be like taking candy from six overgrown babies!"

"And once we have that…" Arukenimon growled, then stopped and thought for a minute. "Ugh, but we need to find it first."

"Yes, the old girl's not the speediest thing in the Digital World," Mummymon agreed, glancing at his beaten-up old jeep. "Say! Why don't we have Blackrapidmon fly around and—"

Arukenimon had her fist in his eye before he could finish. "Is your brain as shriveled as the rest of you?" she hissed.

"What?" Mummymon asked, rubbing the injury. "If you want to search quickly, he's got plenty of juice in him!"

"You saw what he did in the jungle!" Arukenimon huffed. "We can't just make him run errands! He would leave so much destruction, those brats would come right after us!..." She paused and scratched her chin, her rotten smile returning. "Then again…"

"Now don't start that again," Mummymon warned, growing serious. "You know we can't kill them yet!"

"And why not?" Arukenimon fumed. "If they get the Crests, it won't matter how many spires I create!"

"We're going at it the best way right now," Mummymon reassured her. "You have to trust the plan, my dear."

Arukenimon glared at her partner through her sunglasses. "We can't use Blackrapidmon. Not for this," she said bluntly. "If Blackwargreymon crossed paths with him, they could sink File Island in their exchange. We'll save him for the children, and nothing else."

Mummymon leaned heavily on his cane, biting his lip in thought. "What should we do to find the last Crest, then?" he asked. "The children always seem to know where they are…"

Arukenimon fumed. "It's because…" she began.

Just then, the jeep radio crackled to life. "…And that's the Santa Geria weather report on the sevens," the announcer said. "Breaking news, Digimon: throughout the Digital World there have been at least a dozen claims of a train flying through the air. Though no official sources have confirmed this, all of the claims say the train is similar to one of the old locomotives from the Rail Town. In the absence of their leader Gargomon, a Resistance spokesmon says they have dispatched a team to the abandoned city to investigate."

The radio fizzled and went silent. Arukenimon glowered at Mummymon. "You know where we're headed," she said.

"…To get the radio replaced?" Mummymon joked.

He jerked away as she swung at him.

* * *

Davis's jaw locked as he tried to get his arm to stop shaking. The tiny stabilizer wing clamped between his tiny tweezers had to be put in just the right spot on the Foke-Wulf Fw190 A-8/R-2, or it wouldn't line up with the one on the other side of the tail fin. He had managed to get just enough glue on it, so now he just had to stick it at just the right spot. He closed one eye and stuck out his tongue, then slowly moved in to place it…

A screech like an elephant being crushed by a monster truck made him spasm forward, knocking the tweezers out of his hand. The tiny wing plopped down, glued to the desk. At least fifteen different cuss words tried to escape his mouth at the same time, and he leaped out of his chair and almost tore the knob off his door. He knew who just ruined his new model.

He stomped next door and burst into Jun's room. His older sister's CD player was blasting the screechy noise. Jun lay on her bed, tossing Demiveemon up into the air like a rag doll. "Dammit, Jun!" Davis yelled, running up and snatching him away. "I don't take your crap without askin'!"

Jun rolled her eyes and sat up. "Gee, sor-RY, Daisuke, I was just looking at it," she laughed. "Hey, what do you think of my new Jazz music?"

Davis looked at the CD player, which sounded like it was choking on its own vomit to him. "That's music?" he asked.

Jun held up the CD case, which showed an old black-and-white photograph of a man blowing on a saxophone. "It's John Coltrane," she said. "I bought it 'cuz I heard he's one of Matt's favorite musicians!"

Davis scowled at the case, then stiffly turned off the player. "Matt's a jackass," he snapped. "Find some other guy to drool over."

Jun's mouth dropped open for a minute, then she returned the glare. "Wha… what?" she asked, getting off the bed and towering over her kid brother. "Shut your filthy mouth! What do you know?"

"More than you know 'bout jazz," Davis grunted. "Like you're actually into this stuff!"

Jun's face looked like a burnt strawberry. "At least I'm GETTING somewhere!" she snarled. "Not like you with your coach's sister!"

Davis just rolled his eyes and left. As soon as he shut the door, the obnoxious music started up again. He plodded back to his room and looked over Demiveemon. "Hey, are you OK?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Davis! I was havin' fun!" Demiveemon replied, then cocked his head to one side. "Do you really think Matt's mean?"

"Sure he is!" Davis huffed, putting Demiveemon down next to the model and grabbing his tweezers. "You heard what he said; jerk wants us all to drop dead."

He pried the little wing off of the desk and reached for the glue. Demiveemon was quiet for a minute, then scratched his head. "But maybe he was just upset," he suggested. "You know, like on my first day in your room, when I broke one of your planes…"

Davis hesitated, then put the tweezers down. Demiveemon had a point. He had been furious at the little guy for smashing the model… but once he realized it was an accident and saw how sorry Demiveemon was, he had calmed down. Maybe Matt was the same way. And since Gabumon was still alive, he didn't have reason to be so angry. Besides, Matt was a Digidestined, and Tai seemed to trust him like a brother; he couldn't stay sore at someone his coach liked. "Huh… You're right," he admitted. "Y'know, little buddy, we should go talk to 'im."

Demiveemon's ears perked up. "Really?" he asked.

"Well, we'll let 'im cool off a few days, then go see what's up," Davis said. "Heh… It's not like we've got anyone else to hassle while Yolei's gone."

"Yay!" Demiveemon chirped, jumping up and down. "We're gonna be Matt's friends again!"

"Whaddya mean 'again?'" Davis cackled wryly. "This'll be the first time."

The phone in the living room rang, and a few moments later, Davis's door knocked. "Daisuke," his mother called, "it's for you; someone named Koushiro?..."

Davis blinked in surprise. Why would Izzy be calling him? He walked outside and took the phone. "What's up, Izzy?" he asked.

"Hello, Davis," Izzy's voice came. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor, considering you're the one that Ken seems most comfortable around…"

Davis wasn't sure what this was leading towards, but if Izzy was calling him, it had to be important. "I'm listenin'," he said, taking the phone into his room and shutting the door.


	38. New Horizons

**CHAPTER 38**

**NEW HORIZONS**

"So he didn't tell you anything?" Cody asked, frowning with confusion.

Izzy rummaged in his backpack, then fished out his science notebook. "I was hoping Gennai would be more helpful," he admitted. "Then again, he never was one to give timely explanations… Tai, do you have the rest of our notes?"

Tai opened his backpack and pulled out a messy heap of papers. "Here you go," he said, offering them to Izzy.

Izzy took them with an annoyed look. "You need a filing system," he grumbled.

"Sorry," Tai apologized, scratching his head. "I was listening to Kari tell me about your meeting and forgot the paper clips."

"Yeah, that was real helpful," Davis grunted, pushing off with his swivel chair. "The old guy doesn't say nothin', and then we get a flying choo-choo to worry about, too. Perfect time for Yolei to bail on us."

Poromon slouched on the desk. "Sorry…" he apologized.

"It's OK, Poromon," Tai told him. "Even if she's a Digidestined, she's still a growing kid. This trip's going to be fun for you."

"Yeah, but what about the rest of us?" Davis grunted.

"It's only a week, Davis," TK said.

"Yeah, we can handle just knocking down spires for that long," Patamon agreed.

"But what if Blackwargreymon decides to go crazy?" Demiveemon asked.

"Given his behavior, it's not likely," Izzy muttered as he sorted through the rumpled sheets of writing. "He hasn't attacked anything besides Blackrapidmon and us. I doubt he'd just ravage places for fun."

"But what if he runs into Blackrapidmon?" Upamon asked.

"We just have to hope he doesn't," Tai replied. "There isn't anything you can do, so if that happens, just beat it."

TK sighed. If Blackwargreymon and Blackrapidmon got into another fight, they could destroy a lot of terrain and innocents in the process... but one might also kill the other. He was about to say that might not be a bad thing, but thought better of it.

Kari was quiet, too, pensively running her fingers over her D3.

"Now, Patamon is on the right track," Izzy summarized, turning back to his computer. "In Yolei's absence, you guys should focus on neutralizing Control Spires rather than combat."

"Um… Oh! But Mummymon can make broken spires into Digimon," Upamon pointed out.

"True, but when they're down, they can't be powered up," Izzy went on. "Even if Mummymon uses a few, it's more productive in the long run to destroy them."

"Yeah, and I know Agumon and the others want to Digivolve more often," Tai added. "You're doing them a favor, too."

"Right!" Demiveemon chirped. "We'll be awesome, just like always!"

"Easy, Demiveemon," Cody warned the little critter. "Pride comes before a fall."

"So does kicking the Spire, Cody," Upamon laughed. "Let's work real hard!"

Gatomon's tail twitched as looked around, slightly irate. "…So where's Yolei?" she asked. "She's supposed to hear this, too!"

"She's coming," Poromon said, "but…"

Izzy was about to ask Poromon what he meant by "but" when the computer lab door slid open. In walked a girl with long, silky lavender hair, wearing a rippling yellow skirt, knee-high tan boots, and a scarlet, tight-fitting t-shirt with "made in heaven" spelled out in glitter. The Digidestined froze in shock; they had been discovered!

The girl blinked, then smiled at them with pink lips. "Hey, guys," Yolei said. "Did I miss anything?"

Davis's jaw hit the floor. "Ooh!" Demiveemon yelped, bouncing on the desk. "Hi, new friend!"

Izzy swallowed hard. "…Yolei? Is that you?" he asked.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, forcing him to notice her lavender eye shadow and longer eyelashes. "Sure it is!" she said. "What're you freaking out about?"

"I, uh…" Cody tried, still having trouble believing this was his friend. "That's quite a new look…"

"Yeah," Yolei replied, beaming and spinning in place to show it all off. "I figured I'd try it for the trip."

"Wow!" Kari exclaimed, clasping her hands. "You look really good, Yolei!"

TK blinked half a dozen times before he could say anything. "It's sure… different," he managed, his cheeks burning. "Very… uh… pretty!"

"TK, why're you getting all red?" Patamon asked. "Are you hot?"

"He'll tell you later, Patamon," Tai replied, his own face a little rosier, too.

"Err… I'm actually finished; Cody can fill you in later," Izzy said, closing his laptop and getting up. "If you'll excuse us, Tai and I have a project to put together for Monday. The teacher enjoys making the second half of the alphabet go first."

"Yeah, great…" Tai sighed, slumping a bit. He was worried about their project, but he also wondered how Sora was doing with hers, now without a partner.

Izzy and Tai grabbed their things and left. "This could really mess up the Digital World," TK sighed. "We need to get rid of Blackwargreymon as fast as we can."

"Relax, TK," Yolei said, picking Poromon off the counter. "We'll get to it. Just take it easy while I'm gone, OK?"

"You even sound kind of different, Yolei," Gatomon admitted. "Why the big change?"

Yolei shrugged. "Oh… I just thought it was time to grow up a little," she said. "Why? Don't you like it?"

Gatomon scratched her head. "Well…" she began.

Davis had been silent since she walked in, but now he erupted. "What the hell?" he shouted, getting everyone's attention. "What'd you do to yer face?"

Yolei's beaming face contorted into a sour scowl. "Who asked you?" she snapped, clenching Poromon hard enough to make him wheeze.

"Uh, YOU did!" he retorted. "Hell, ya look worse than normal!"

"Davis!" Patamon scolded. "Come on!"

"Yeah, be nice!" Gatomon huffed.

Davis and Yolei glared at each other for a few moments more, then Yolei turned away with her nose in the air. "Well, I'd better get home," she said, opening the lab door. "SOME of us have to pack!"

With a slam, she was gone. "Razzle-fraggin' stupid…" Davis snarled, and continued under his breath as he stuffed his junk in his backpack. "I'm goin' home, too!" he grunted, and also slammed the door on his way out.

Awkward silence filled the room. "Good grief!" Gatomon exclaimed. "I knew Davis could be a jerk, but…!"

"That was kind of weird," Kari admitted. "Why'd he get so angry?"

"Yeah, usually he throws a few play insults before getting really nasty," TK said.

Cody sighed. "He's upset," he replied. "He didn't like her new outfit."

They looked at him strangely. "You mean the colors?" Patamon asked.

"No, he didn't like seeing her in it," Cody said.

TK and Kari exchanged looks. Cody had known both Davis and Yolei longer than they had; maybe he knew some things they didn't. "Have they been friends long?" Kari asked.

"As long as I can remember. Maybe even before I was born," Cody said, gathering his things and collecting Upamon. "They've always been getting into fights, but..."

"But…?" Patamon asked.

Cody sighed and shook his head. "This must be a bigger change for him than the rest of us," he concluded.

* * *

"Sora?" Toshiko Takenouchi asked as she opened her daughter's door. "Could you run to the—"

"Not a good time!" Sora snapped, not looking away from her computer screen. One hand stabbed one finger into the keys while the other flipped the pages of her notebook like poker cards. Suddenly, she realized at whom she was yelling, and she slowed down and looked up. "…Sorry, Mom," she apologized. "It's just I'm one of the first to go on Monday, and I've gotta do twice the work everyone else is doing on this science project."

"Oh… I see," Toshiko replied. "What happened with Tai? Weren't you working with—"

"Don't even get me started!" Sora snapped. "It's HIS fault I got stuck alone! Then Yolei bailed on me, too… so I really need to work on this!" She turned back to the screen and jabbed at the keyboard like an inept nurse looking for a vein.

"Well, all right…" Toshiko said, "but if you could run down to the store, I would appreciate it. We can't stir fry chicken without chicken, after all."

Sora glared at the screen a little longer, then pushed her chair back. "OK, I'll go," she muttered.

She jammed her feet into her shoes, threw on her jacket and left the apartment, fuming as she went down the stairs. Tai had gotten her into plenty of messes before, but this one really took the cake. Throwing up in her hat, fine; giving her a lousy hairpin for her birthday, that was excusable; but this could gum up her whole academic future! Plus, if she didn't keep her grades up, they might not let her coach the girls' soccer team any more! He knew that! Heck, maybe that was why he ditched her for Izzy in the first place!

As she turned a corner, though, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. Tai and she might have been rivals on the field, but he wouldn't try to get her fired; he respected her too much. That forced her to slow down and take stock of what was getting her so mad. He had apologized plenty of times for barfing in her hat. He also apologized about the hairpin, and then she realized she actually liked it. She bit her lip as she waited for a stoplight to change; what exactly had they said again?

She replayed the argument in her head a few times, and the anger in her stomach cooled as much as the wind. It hadn't been his fault, really; sure, they were butting heads about the new Digidestined, but she was the one who had broken off the partnership. She paused and sulkily looked up at the orange sky. She had dropped herself in this one.

A passing car's beep startled her out of her thoughts and she walked a little faster. Once this stupid project was finished, she would make it up to him somehow.

* * *

For most of the junior high students, Sunday passed as boringly as it often did. For Yolei, though, it was a whirlwind of activity preparing for her trip. After spending the morning pleading and wheedling souvenir money out of her parents, she had the whole afternoon to plan what to take along. "All right, it's a five-day trip, so…" she muttered as she opened the large roller suitcase Momoe had loaned her and dropped in her toothbrush, glasses case and deodorant. "Five days' worth of clothes, plus the train ride tomorrow… Hmm…"

She went to her closet and pulled out several of the shirts, skirts and pants Mimi had selected for her. She lined them up on the bed and looked them over for a while, no inspiration striking. "Ugh, fashion needs a manual," she grumbled, turning to her partner. "What do you think?"

Poromon squirmed in his cheesy bed; it wasn't built for a spherical creature and he had to keep shifting his weight. "I don't think you need to worry so much," he said. "You look fine normally!"

Yolei rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the clothes. "Mimi said this is a great chance to try attracting boys," she recalled. "I want to have something to really grab their attention!"

Poromon still didn't understand what Yolei meant about boys, but he did know that ever since Mimi had shown up, his friend had changed a lot… and that bothered him. "How did you get your mom and dad to give you even more money?" he asked, looking to change the subject. "And weren't they still mad that you went out the other day?"

"Err… I was able to sweet-talk them," she replied as she folded all the clothes and piled them into the suitcase. "I just have to work a few more hours at the store." She could have mentioned that it was a whole week of four-hour after-school shifts with no breaks, but that would have reminded her.

"Um… You said it's a two-hour train ride," he mentioned, trying to change the subject. "What games are you going to bring?"

"Games? Oh, yeah!" Yolei exclaimed, scrambling for the nearest handheld. "Yeah, I got this new RPG last month! I can—" She stopped and looked down at her suitcase, which was stuffed full of clothes and essentials. There was no room for any video games. "Oh…" she said, then slowly put the game back on her desk.

Poromon did a double take. Less than a month ago, Yolei couldn't even do her homework without a controller nearby.

"Well, I probably won't have time to play it, anyway…" Yolei reasoned out loud. "I'll spend the ride talking with my friends… Hmm, I should probably bring some homework, too; gotta catch up on the classes I slept through." She grabbed a few notebooks and pens and crammed them on top, then set about trying to zip the pack up.

"And what about me?" he tried. "You can't expect me to be a stuffed toy for the whole trip! What about snacks and bathroom breaks?"

She sighed. "I've got chocolate-covered gummy chews and a few other things; I'll sneak 'em to you," she said. "As far as bathrooms, you'll have to go when I go, OK?"

"But what if you don't, but I do?" he objected.

"Well, hold it," she grunted, getting annoyed with the stupid questions.

"For how long?" he complained, then had a wicked thought. "After all, if I were to have an accident in your suitcase… all over your clothes—"

"OK, OK!" she huffed. "Just give me a signal or something, then! Sheesh! At least babysitters get paid for this stuff…"

"You need to think about these things, Yolei," Poromon huffed, insulted at the comment. "I'm not just some toy you can jam in your bag!"

Yolei thought for a moment. "I could always leave you behind," she joked.

"WHAT?" he screeched, flapping his way up until they were face to face. "Out of the question! I'm your partner!"

"It's not like you'd get anything from it; you don't know squat about history or culture," she went on, folding her arms. "Besides, if my classmates grab you, you'll be getting pulled and pinched all the way there and back…"

"Nonsense!" he objected. "I'm coming, and that's final!"

There was a knock on the door. "Miyako?" Chizuru's voice came. "Is someone in there?"

Yolei panicked and shoved Poromon down onto her suitcase's hard, plastic top. "Just practicing my, uh, stupid gamer voices!" she thought fast. "What is it?"

"Uh… Right," Chizuru said, opening the door and peering in. "Anyway, Mom wants to talk to you again. Something about after your trip."

Yolei's mouth flattened into an irritated straight line. "All right, I'm coming…" she muttered.

* * *

The blue car tore past the green one and took the lead, but it couldn't slow down in time for the next turn and flew off the road, smashing into a concrete barrier and blowing to smithereens. The words "YOU LOSE" flashed in red over the gory scene.

Even with a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth, Davis got an audible curse out. He was usually great at the racing game, but that was the sixth time he had blown up in the last hour. He forced the whole cookie into his mouth, chomped three times and swallowed, then jammed another in and restarted the game. As much as he fought it, though, his mind kept wandering back to Yolei and her stupid new "look." He didn't know why, but just remembering it gave him an unwelcome new feeling, something that made his stomach churn, his teeth clench and the back of his neck heat up.

A purple car rammed his car and knocked it off a bridge and into a river, ending the race yet again. He growled and stuffed another cookie into his maw. What the hell was she doing, anyway? What could possibly make that stinky nerd want to—

"You don't know how lucky you are, Daisuke," a voice came, almost making him choke. He looked over to see Jun, clad in nothing but bath towels around her body and hair, Demiveemon in her soggy clutches. "Eat, sleep, play video games… That's all you have to think about, isn't it?"

"Hey!" he objected, scrambling up and grabbing Demiveemon away. "What the hell, Jun? You coulda dropped him in the water!"

"YOU take him into your baths all the time," she huffed.

Davis rolled his eyes as he opened his door and gently tossed Demiveemon onto his bed. That was different; he knew he wouldn't freak out if the little guy started swimming around and splashing. "Well, life ain't all guns and roses fer me either! I've got plenty of crap to think about!" he grumbled, sitting back down with the controller. "But when I think too hard, my brain hurts, so I've gotta chillax with some game time."

"Yeah, sure you do…" Jun sighed, "but it's not like that's anything _important_."

"Oh, yeah?" he snarled. "Like you've got anything big to think about?"

"Well, I guess you wouldn't care, but…" she started, then loomed over her brother and pointed to a red spot just under her lower lip. "I've got a PIMPLE! Right in the worst place!"

Davis blinked a few times. "THAT'S why you're drippin' on the rug?" he grumbled.

Jun wasn't listening. "Ohhh, what if Matt sees me like this?" she lamented to space. "He's so cute and I'm so hideous with this second head on my chin! When he sees it he'll get all grossed out and break up with me!"

"Oh, for God's sake…" he muttered, and turned back to his game. Nothing Jun did- or grew- could repulse Matt any more than he was already, but he didn't feel that was worth mentioning.

"So do you think Miyako's store has any creams that—HEY!" she snapped. "Are you listening to me?" She marched over and pulled the game machine's plug, and the TV screen went black.

"HEY!" he snapped, leaping up. "What was THAT for?"

"I was asking you a question! I want your undivided attention!" she huffed.

Davis grinned rottenly. "Who's talkin'?" he mused. "You or the zit?"

His answer was a sharp slap in the face that knocked him against the couch. "Forget it!" she snarled. "I'll go look myself!"

Jun stormed back into the bathroom. Davis picked himself up off the floor and rubbed at his jaw. "Boy! For a zit, that thing hits hard!" he said loudly, then retreated to his room in case she came back for an encore.

Demiveemon was sitting on Davis's bed, looking at the screen on the D-Terminal. "Hey, Davis!" he chirped. "Did you tell your sister how to be invisible?"

"Wha…?" Davis asked, still massaging his sore cheek.

"She was goin' on about 'vanishing cream,'" Demiveemon went on. "She thought you'd know if Yolei's store had it."

Davis couldn't stay angry for long. "Heh, I wish," he replied. "If I knew where to get cream like that, I'd spray more than just her zit… Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Oh, Kari sent you an e-mail," Demiveemon said. "She says—"

"GIMME THAT!" Davis huffed, snatching the D-Terminal away and reading it for himself:

_Hi, Davis,_

_Can we meet in the Digital World some time this week? I need your help with something._

_Kari_

All the problems of the day melted away from his mind. Kari wanted to meet up with him! In the Digital World! And she needed his help! Maybe she knew some secret hideaway where they could have a little date… Even swollen, his cheek couldn't contain the spreading goofy grin.

"Uh, Davis, are you OK?" Demiveemon asked. "You're gettin' all red."

Hardly hearing his partner, Davis mentally flipped through his schedule, then banged out a reply:

_Hey Kari,_

_I got soccer tomorrow, but I can do it Tuesday or Wensday._

_Davis_

He pressed the "send" button and sighed dreamily. Things were finally turning around.

* * *

Yolei had never spent a morning getting knocked around in a crowded train station—least of all a Monday—but now she was resolved never to do it again. Lugging her rolling suitcase behind her, she made her way towards the platform looking for her misplaced classmates. "Fine time for a bathroom break," she grumbled to her backpack. "Now I've lost 'em!"

"I'm was nervous!" Poromon huffed through the unzipped hole. "I've never been anywhere in your world besides your school and your room, and it's putting me on edge!"

"It's not like we're leaving the country," she grumbled, narrowly dodging a businessman yakking on his phone. "But we won't be going anywhere if we miss the train!"

Through the hole, Poromon could see flashing signs and arrows of all sizes pointing every which way, spattered with writing like someone had sneezed Japanese characters on them. He had learned to read a little bit from Yolei's manga collection, but he couldn't make heads or tails of this mess. "Where do we even need to go?" he asked.

Yolei's head jerked around worriedly. "The teacher said it's the westbound Tokaido Shinkansen," she muttered, "and it leaves at 9:30 sharp! Dammit, I don't know where that is!"

Poromon reeled through Yolei's series of jerky movements; he wasn't on the train yet and already he felt sick. Suddenly, for a split second his eye caught sight of the letters "TOKA" on a sign. "A sign!" he yelped before being thrown against the back of the pack.

Yolei spun around a hundred and eighty degrees. Up a flight of steps, hanging over a hall on her left-hand side, was a big sign reading: TOKAIDO-W. "Thank God!" she rasped, and took off. She was going to make it!

She skittered through the crowd and finally came out at the platform, where the long, shining white bullet train waited. She saw her teacher standing near the door with a clipboard, double-checking the roster. "Wait! Wait!" she yelled, waving at him frantically. "I'm here! Sorry!"

"It's about time, Miyako," he said, shaking his head. "If you needed to use the restroom, you should have told me! Oh, well, get on; everyone else is there already."

Yolei stepped into the train's interior and saw her whole class goofing off in the closest car. The only empty seat was the one assigned to her, a window seat in line with the three girls with whom she would share a hotel room. She knew them only by their names—Yukari, Fuuka and Mitsuru—and they never paid much attention to her, but today they smiled and waved to her vigorously. "Miyako! Over here! Come sit down!" they called.

She made her way through the crowd of jabbering kids to her row. "This is gonna be great!" Yukari laughed, getting up to help Yolei stuff her suitcase into the overhead compartment. "We're really lucky!"

"What?" Yolei asked. "Why's that?"

"You!" Fuuka piped up. "We get to share a room with you!"

"Everyone's amazed at how cool you are now," Mitsuru added. "Will you tell us how you did it?"

Yolei blinked, speechless. These girls wanted to be her friends now that she looked better? Her insides warmed at the realization; prettying herself up had other perks besides attracting boys. "Well, I guess I could give you a few pointers…" she replied, leaning back in her seat. It was going to be an interesting ride.

* * *

The morning may have been looking up for Yolei, but for others it had been a waking nightmare. Her stomach complaining loudly, Sora slid her mop across the science room floor. Her demonstration of measuring volume through water displacement had been a disaster… and that's why she was spending her lunchtime cleaning up after it. It had been going just fine for the first few moments, but after she accidentally sprayed the teacher's desk, the floor and the first row of students with the faucet, smudged the measurement markings on her glass pan, then slipped and broke the pan while trying to rewrite them, she could see why her grade wasn't going to be very high.

She raised the mop and took it to the bucket to wring out, but she had to wait her turn; Tai was finishing draining his. "There we go…" he muttered, flicking the strands back into place. He gave Sora a sideways glance. "How're you doing over there?" he asked.

"Err… fine," she said, looking away. At least she wasn't alone in this punishment; after her big fiasco, Tai and Izzy had tried to give their demonstration on centrifugal force, but Tai had lost his grip on the bucket he was swinging and sent it all the way across the room, drenching the kids who thought they were safe in the back row.

Neither one of them went back to cleaning yet. Sora swallowed. "…Quite a show, huh?" she asked.

Tai nodded. "Even had an encore," he said with a weak chuckle, "though it wasn't as good."

"Yeah…" she murmured, then bit her lip and turned to him; now was as good a time as any. "Hey, Tai? I'm, uh… I'm sorry I yelled at you… and ditched you," she managed.

Tai blinked a few times, then smiled. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry your project bombed," he said.

"What?" she asked, confused. "But this was my fault!"

"Yeah, but it feels weird if I don't apologize," he chuckled. "Old habits, huh?"

"Yeah…" Sora sighed, a little smile finally managing to break on her face. That was what made Tai such a good friend: no matter what nastiness she spouted at him, he was always ready to forgive. "Thanks."

"Well, I'm glad that's resolved," Izzy grumbled, slamming another pile of soggy books on a desk. "Now can we continue with being punished?" Being Tai's partner, he had been made to stay and clean up too, and he wasn't happy about it.

"OK, OK…" Tai chuckled, rolling his eyes and slapping his mop in a puddle. "Take it easy!"

"They'll be hounding our parents for the money to replace these…" Izzy grumbled, going back to see what else he could salvage. Tai went back to his mopping.

Sora started to clean again, then hesitated. "So…" she said towards Tai, "after practice, you wanna kick the ball around?"

Tai blinked. "Uh… OK," he answered, now smiling too. "I'd say we could go get sodas after, but if Izzy's right, and you know he is…"

"Yeah, yeah," Sora chuckled. "After practice, then."

They silently continued mopping. Even though they were in trouble, though, both of them had a renewed sense of peace. Things were right with the world again.

* * *

"...So if you spend a few extra minutes in the morning," Yolei recited what Mimi had told her, "it'll really pay off; you'll have nice-looking hair all day long."

"Wow, that is awesome!" Yukari giggled, squirming in her bus seat. Even though they had changed from the train to a shuttle bus at the station, the three girls were still crowded around their new friend, hanging on her every word.

"And you got all that at just one mall?" Fuuka gaped. "You must have superhuman fashion sense!"

"I bet you could get all the boys in our class," Mitsuru complimented.

Yolei blinked, then blushed. "Oh, you guys!" she laughed, trying to wave it away. However, the compliment excited her; even if she only had Ken in mind, hearing someone say she might have real boy-grabbing appeal made her insides warm and bubbly.

The bus slowed, pulled off the road and stopped. "All right, class, we're here!" the teacher said, getting out of his seat and brandishing his clipboard. "Get your things and line up in an orderly fashion outside the hotel!"

"Is he gonna take roll again?..." Fuuka groaned.

"He did that when we got ON the bus!" Yolei objected. "What, does he think someone jumped out the window?"

Yukari and Mitsuru couldn't hold the giggles back. "That's hilarious!" Yukari snorted. "Not just pretty, but funny!"

"It's going to be fun sharing a room with you," Mitsuru said.

Yolei grinned as she pulled her suitcase out from under her seat. This trip was going to be better than she expected: new friends, no homework, no pesky Davis, and most of all, no Digimon craziness!

She felt her backpack squirm and she quickly grabbed it and peered inside. All right, so not a complete absence of the Digimon craziness. "How're you doing?" she whispered to Poromon.

"I've gotta go!" the puffy bird squeaked back. "And I mean now!"

Yolei winced and bit her lip. Whatever the teacher was having them line up for, it had better be brief.

* * *

"OK, everyone, good practice!" Tai called to his team as they scrambled for their duffel bags. "Go home, warm up and get some rest!"

Davis was glad to hear it tonight. As much as he loved soccer, with the sun setting earlier and the air getting colder he preferred to be inside with a model airplane. As he reached his bag, he looked around to make sure nobody was watching, then unzipped it. "OK, we're done!" he announced.

Demiveemon gasped for air as he popped out, shaking a sock off of his ear. "Brr! It's a lot warmer in the bag, Davis!" he chirped. "You oughta come in here!"

Davis grinned at his partner. Even after the shock of Yolei's new looks, he was riding high on life this week. He had dominated practice, and tomorrow afternoon he'd finally have his time to shine with Kari. His cheeks burned in the cold as he imagined what awaited him: maybe a high hill with a great view and nobody for miles around, or secret grotto behind a waterfall where his pre-teen fantasies could finally surge forth, or…

"Davis!" Demiveemon chirped. "Move, Davis!"

He was daydreaming so intensely, he didn't hear the yelling, and then a soccer ball smacked him right in the worst place. He fell into the grass with an agonized scream, grabbing at the sore spot. "D'AAAAHHH! WHAAAA-GHAAAAA!" he howled.

Sora quickly appeared and picked up the ball. "Sorry, Davis!" she apologized. "Are you OK?"

"Wow!" Demiveemon yelped, bouncing over to his friend's head. "That's an awesome face, Davis!"

Davis couldn't hear anything but the ringing in his ears. He managed to drag himself into a sitting position, but couldn't do much more. All that escaped his mouth was a high-pitched wheeze.

"Woah! What happened?" Tai called, racing over and helping Davis back on his feet. "Can you stand up?"

"I got him with the ball," Sora said. "Davis, didn't you hear me shout?"

"My nuts!" Davis managed in a higher pitch than usual, unable to open his eyes. "You broke my nuts!"

"Should we call the nurse?" Sora asked. "Oh, wait… She went home already."

In spite of the pain his player was in, Tai couldn't keep from smiling. "Relax; I think he'll be fine," he said, steadying Davis on his own feet. "Davis, get an ice pack from the locker room and go home. Slowly."

Davis wobbled, but stayed upright, so Tai let go of him. "OK," he said to Sora, "you wanna get going?"

"Coach!" Davis objected, finally forcing his tear-bleared eyes open. "Ain't you gonna say anything? She got me right in the nards!"

Sora looked a little guilty, but Tai smiled and shook his head. "Shouldn't have taken off your cup so quickly, Davis," he chuckled. "See you tomorrow."

"WHAT?" Davis roared, then almost fell over again. "But we don't WEAR cups!"

Tai and Sora walked off tossing the ball between them. Davis wobbled back and forth, the pain making his legs feel like jelly. At least the coach and Sora were speaking again… but did it have to be so rough on him?

"Hey, Davis!" Demiveemon piped up. "Sora broke your nuts? Do you have any more? Are they salted? Can I have some?"

* * *

Yolei emitted another relaxed sigh as she slipped on a fluffy cream-yellow bathrobe. The hotel's hot spring was open to women that night, so like most of the girls in her class, she had spent the evening soaking. Now, one of the last to leave, she headed back for her room on the third floor.

As she climbed the stairs, she found herself remembering Arukenimon's crazy motel, and its bath. It certainly wasn't as nice as this one, but she'd been able to get a show while she was in it… but that was no consolation for what went down after- she shook her head with an angry grunt. She was away from all that for a whole week; she was going to relax and forget about it!

As she opened her door, though, she saw fate had other plans… or rather, she saw Fuuka, Yukari and Mitsuru skittering around the room and laughing, bouncing something pink and fluffy around like a beach ball. "Hey, Miyako!" Yukari giggled. "This's awesome!"

Yolei screamed in terror, raced under the ball and performed the most amazing standing vertical jump any of the girls had ever seen. "What the hell, you guys?" she yelled at them, clutching Poromon tightly. "Why'd you go through my stuff?"

Mitsuru looked surprised. "But we didn't," she said. "It was sitting next to the bathroom door."

Yolei's face flushed. "Oh, it was?..." she asked, glaring at her partner. "Gee, sorry… It must have rolled out of my bag…"

"It's adorable!" Fuuka said, poking Poromon's cheek. "I want one!"

"Where'd you get it?" Yukari asked.

Yolei bit her lip and racked her brain; hadn't she heard of a tight spot like this before? "Uh… Dad was thinking of selling them at the store… in springtime!" she said. "This, uh, this's a prototype. Only one right now!"

"Really? Wow!" Fuuka beamed. "I can't wait!"

"You're really lucky, owning a store," Yukari said. "I bet you get first dibs on all the new stuff."

"Do they come in other colors?" Mitsuru asked. "Maybe yellow, or a nice sky blue?"

Yolei grinned with relief, though she felt like pinching Poromon hard enough to make him scream. Another fine mess he'd almost gotten her into.

* * *

Ken thought his Tuesday would pass with little incident, and until he was cleaning the dinner dishes, it had… but a knock on the door changed all of that. Mrs. Ichijouji went to get it, but was back at his side before he knew it. "Ken! There's an older boy here to talk to you," she chirped gleefully. "Are you even making friends above your grade now? Here, I'll finish those!"

Ken had no clue what she meant, but he dried his hands and went to see who it was. As he reached the door, though, he stiffened in alarm. It was the red-haired boy who had the Tentomon. "Ken?" he asked. "I'm Koushiro Izumi. We talked over the phone once?"

Ken scowled, but his free hand visibly shuddered. Why had one of his victims shown up on his doorstop? "…Yes?" Ken ventured. "What do you want?"

Izzy noticed the shaking and tried his best to look friendly. "I just wanted to talk with you; I've got some questions," he said. "Um, if that's agreeable."

Ken hesitated and looked him over, but the red-haired boy didn't show any outward malice. "Oh… All right," he agreed quietly, and backed up so Izzy could come inside.

Izzy removed his shoes, and then Ken led him to his room and closed the door. "Now," he said, "what did you want to ask the Digimon Emperor?"

"For a start, I'd ask that you drop that line of thinking," Izzy muttered, pulling a notebook out of his backpack. "You're not that person any more. I've accepted it, and most of the others have, too."

Ken did not look convinced. Izzy paused to pull the cap off a pen. "All right… Now, I'm sure you know this, but many of us became Digidestined five years ago, and we had our own adventure… but a lot of things have changed since then, and I want to know why," he explained. "I've been trying to piece together what brought on the changes, and I was hoping you would be able to help me."

Ken avoided Izzy's gaze. "Changes?" he asked.

Izzy tapped his pen on the notebook as he thought. "Well, there's why the Digital World's layout changed, for one," he said. "Both File Island and the Server Continent have lost some old areas and gained new ones, and they've all shifted around. There's also the matter of the new kids' clothes changing when they enter the Digital Gate… and that's a question on its own; that gate wasn't there before…"

"And how am I supposed to help?" Ken replied coldly. "I can tell you right now, I don't know anything about any of those."

Izzy paused and looked at him. "Well, I want to ask about your old equipment," he said.

Ken's eyes were blank. "My equipment?" he asked.

"Your D3, for one," Izzy said, looking at the broken device sitting on the desk. "You're the first we know of to get a new model. How did you come across it?"

"It… came out of Sa—" Ken began, but he quickly stopped himself; this kid never needed to know about his brother… or what had happened to him. "The computer. It came out of the computer," he finished.

Izzy looked at the computer for a moment, scratched at his head, then wrote it down. "Huh… just like Davis's and the other's," he muttered. "Curious that the new receiving method is different…"

Ken raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The original Digivices didn't come from a computer; they fell from the sky," Izzy said, more to himself than to Ken.

"Fell from the…?" he repeated, his own voice not making it sound any more believable. "How did that work?"

Izzy didn't hear him; he was back in his own thoughts. Did the Order decide sending Digivices through computers was more accurate? Why had they changed their methods? And were they behind the clothing the new kids received, too? What purpose did those serve? Certainly not functionality, considering Cody's droopy sleeves…

Ken sensed he was being ignored and coughed sharply. Izzy jumped up in surprise. "Oh, sorry!" he apologized. "When I start thinking hard, everything else kind of drops away."

Ken had been annoyed with the older boy's rambling, but that statement softened his scowl; that was a lot like he used to be. "…What else did you want to ask me?" he prompted.

"OK, uh…" Izzy muttered, looking at his notes again. "So, after you got your Digivice, what made you decide to design the spires and the Dark Rings?"

Ken folded his arms and was silent for a while, his face pained. This much he could come clean about to the newcomer. "…I didn't," he answered. "All of it was already there."

Izzy looked up in surprise. Ken shook his head and continued. "Schematics for the base, Dark Rings, and control spires… It was all there when I arrived," he said, Wormmon's image blurring before his eyes, "even the costume I wore." He stopped and glared at the older boy. "All that time, the Digimon Emperor you feared and hated was just a stupid pawn," he finished coldly.

Izzy's eyes reflected his shock, but he focused on scribbling down his notes. "Do you have any idea who set it up, then?" he asked.

Ken glared at the floor. There was that mysterious e-mail he received after Sam's death, but he couldn't tell Izzy about that; the whole macabre affair would spill out. "…Arukenimon," he partly lied. "It had to be her… and Mummymon."

"You think they designed the spires?" Izzy asked, raising an eyebrow. Arukenimon and Mummymon were powerful foes, but somehow they didn't look the type to be able to manifest in the real world, like Myotismon had done.

Ken shook his head, the scowl returning. "It doesn't matter," he growled. "All I have to do is kill them. Whatever they're up to will die with them."

Izzy sighed. Simply defeating an enemy usually wasn't the solution to a problem, but he decided to keep his opinions to himself; this was an information gathering session and not an argument. "All right… Now, please think carefully," he pressed. "Is there anything else you can tell me about your Digivice, or how you got it? Anything at all? It could be important."

Ken shuddered as his mind shot through that loathsome day when the Digivice came to their house, all of his senses flaring up. The torturous humidity, the eerie hum of the glowing computer… his furious brother towering over him, the soft flesh of his chest as Ken shoved… and the smells of burnt tires and blood… He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to push the images out of his mind. "I don't know," he hissed.

"Are you all right?" Izzy asked, putting the notebook down. "You look sick."

"It's nothing," Ken huffed, baring his teeth. "Nothing!"

Izzy thought there was more to it than Ken was letting on, but he didn't want to risk agitating him. "OK, uh, we can stop talking about it," he said, starting to gather his things. "Is it all right if we arrange another meeting sometime?"

Ken relaxed a little, but thinking of Izzy showing up again bothered him. "I don't know why you came to see me," he said, pushing off the wall. "I'm not a genius any more, and you probably know more about the Digital World than I do. Why ask me anything?"

Izzy smiled at him. "Because I'm curious," he replied. "When I first went to the Digital World five years prior, I was overwhelmed by the prospects of an entire world existing beyond ours. I came up with my own theories about what it is and why it's there, but I still didn't have all the information…" He took out his Digivice and laid it next to Ken's. "Now that these new events have occurred, I can't help but wonder if we're on the verge of a shift in worldview."

Ken blinked. "Worldview?" he asked.

"At the end of our adventure, our whole Earth was exposed to the Digital World," Izzy recounted. "At the time I was more focused on our battle with Apocalymon, but now that there are four more kids with Digivices, perhaps the after-effect of that fight is becoming apparent. It would explain why time no longer shifts between worlds: they've become more intertwined."

Ken scratched his head, astounded. He had never thought of his situation in that way. "You think we're supposed to be… helping connect the worlds?" he asked.

"You could be," Izzy said. "This could be the start of something very important for both worlds."

Ken suddenly had a great deal of respect for this boy. He wasn't here to condemn him for anything; he was simply trying to understand the changing world around him. "Could you… tell me about your adventures?" he ventured, forgetting his own troubles for a moment. "I can make some tea."

Izzy blinked, then smiled at Ken's change in attitude. "Of course," he agreed. "Do you have any green?"

* * *

"Hey, c'mon, Davith, wait up!" Veemon panted as he tried to keep up with his partner. "Why're ya hurryin' so fast?"

Scarcely hearing the little lizard, Davis was walking as fast as he could towards the coordinates Kari had given him, his mind awash with all manner of thirteen-year-old daydreams involving the opposite sex. He was sure of one thing: whatever was waiting for him beyond this beach and its telephone booths was going to blow his mind… and maybe some other things!

He reached the forest's edge and tramped inside, and his heart leaped up. There was Kari, waiting for him in a quaint clearing with Gatomon at her side; maybe the two Digimon would keep each other busy while she and he got around to other affairs. "I'm here!" he managed breathlessly.

She looked over and smiled. "Hi, Davis!" she said. "Glad you could make it."

"M… me too!" he panted, his face flushed.

Kari blinked and looked him over. "Are you OK?" she asked. "You sound like you're out of breath, and your face is red."

"It oughta be," Veemon muttered. "We ran all the way here, almost!"

"Can it, buddy," Davis huffed, then tried his best to give Kari a cool smile, though he could feel his heart pounding in every limb. "So… what did you wanna see me about?" he asked smoothly.

"Well, I wanted to try something—" Kari began, but suddenly the bushes rustled behind her.

Davis bounded in front of Kari instinctively; no wild animals were going to mess this up for him! "HEY! Stay back!" he yelled at the underbrush. "Come any closer an' you're gettin' a boot up yer ass!"

The bushes shuddered again, and then Tai's head emerged. "Sheesh," he grunted, "is that any way to talk to your coach?"

Davis's spine snapped into a straight line. "A-jiggama-WHUH?" was all he could manage.

Tai stepped out of the foliage, followed by Agumon, then Sora and Biyomon. "Hey, Davis is here!" Biyomon chirped. "Great! Now we can start!"

"Feeling better?" Sora asked. "I hope that soccer ball didn't sting too badly…"

Davis looked at the older kids, then at Kari, his eyes not knowing whether to squeeze shut or pop out and roll around in the dirt. "WHAT is goin' ON here?" he demanded.

"Oh, well, since we're all here, I guess I'll tell you," Kari said, not losing her smile. "I wanted to try an experiment with some control spires."

Davis's knees sank as low as his heart had. A stupid experiment? That's all she called him out here for?

The older kids and their partners hesitated, then looked at her strangely. "Like, put them in water and see if they float?" Agumon asked.

Sora winced and rubbed at her face. "Ugh, I hope not…" she groaned. "I've had enough of that for one semester."

"No, it's not that," Kari said. "I was thinking of how we could save Gargomon, and I remembered what happened with Andromon in Metal City."

"Oh, yeah…" Tai recalled, scratching at his chin. "He grabbed you, then somehow his Dark Ring broke on its own."

"I think I know why," she said, showing her D3. "It fell out of my hand right before the ring broke. I think it's actually what broke it."

"You mean it fell on the ring?" Veemon asked. "Boy, I didn't think Ken made 'em that brittle."

Biyomon jumped a bit. "Oh, I get it!" she exclaimed. "You think it's like with the Black Gears!"

"The what now?" Veemon asked.

"The gears Devimon used to control others on File Island," Tai explained. "It turned out our Digivices could destroy them."

"I want to see if our D3s will do to the control spires what mine did to Andromon's ring," Kari finished.

Sora blinked, visibly impressed. "Wow, I never thought of that," she remarked. "If it's true, we could save a load of time."

"How about that!" Agumon laughed. "Izzy's been rubbing off on you, Kari!"

Kari giggled, then looked at Davis. "I wrote TK and Cody, too, but TK said he was busy with homework…" she explained, "and I never got an answer from Cody… so I guess it's just you and me."

Davis felt as low as an earthworm in a caved-in tunnel. Not only was this NOT the special meeting he had hoped for, she had planned to get Cody and _TK_ in on it, too? When was he going to catch a break?

"There're still a few spires in a clearing just ahead," Agumon reported, pointing into the underbrush. "Just follow the signs!... Actually, don't… Um… I mean… you know what I mean, right!"

"Yeah, we get it," Gatomon said, looking at Tai and Sora quizzically. "What are you guys going to do?"

"Somehow I don't think we can do very much," Sora sighed. "I just came because I needed a breather."

"That's OK, Sora," Biyomon said, leaning against her partner's leg. "It's nice to see you even when we don't have to fight something."

"We'll stick around, probably just chill," Tai said.

"Oh, OK," Kari said. "We'll try to be done by 5. C'mon, you guys, let's get started!"

The party pushed through the underbrush, and just past a "Deer Xing" sign they came into a clearing occupied by three looming control spires. Unlike the lush green jungle around it, the grass here was a sickly yellowish-gray, and the earth felt loose and mushy under their feet.

"Ugh, it's like wet sponges," Sora grunted as she stuck her finger into the soil. "Maybe the spires kill the plant life…"

"Naww, that can't be right," Veemon piped up. "There's a tree growin' in Pyro Pit Prairie where a spire used ta be, right, Davith?"

"…Let's just get to it," Davis grumbled, not in any mood for small talk. He walked over to the closest spire and pulled out his D3. "So what do we do again?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure…" Kari admitted, going over to the farthest spire and producing her own Digivice. "Just see if you can get your D3 to react to the spire, or something like that."

"Let's see how far we can get without knocking 'em down by force!" Gatomon urged.

"Just see if I can… Oh, for God's sake…" Davis muttered, turning to the towering black obelisk in front of him. He pointed his D3 at it, but nothing happened. He pushed the buttons a few times and pointed it at the spire again, but still nothing happened. He pressed the device against the spire, and just as he suspected, nothing happened. He looked up at the spire's top and sighed dejectedly. This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

Yolei chuckled as she plucked a packet of calligraphy paper from the store shelf; it would make a great present for Cody. It was nice that her teacher had given them a few hours to explore Kyoto on their own. The class had been visiting historic sites and temples all day long, and several times she thought she felt her spinal cord about to throttle her brain just to relieve the boredom. If she had brought Poromon along, she could have excused herself for bathroom breaks more often... but with his stuffy attitude, he probably would have enjoyed the lessons and chided her into paying attention. Now, though, she was free to grab some souvenirs for her friends back home instead of having to feign interest at rusty old bells and pots.

She paused and looked over the stuff in her little plastic shopping basket, mentally checking off who got what: some Nama-Yatsuhashi for Upamon, being the snack buff he was; some Kyoto-themed notepads for her parents; and the calligraphy paper for Cody. She paused and wondered if she should get something for TK or Kari, but she had no idea what either of them would like; even after all their time adventuring, those two were enigmas to her. She wouldn't have a problem with Davis or Demiveemon, though, because she wasn't getting them anything; she could get Demiveemon a chocolate bar at her own store when she got home (he wouldn't be able to tell the difference), and Davis wouldn't appreciate anything anyway.

"Hey, Miyako!" Yukari chirped as she raced up, the other girls behind her. "Are you almost done? Mitsuru wants your help picking out a purse."

Mitsuru had a brown leather purse slung around one shoulder and a creamy ivory-colored purse on the other. "I'm not sure whether to match it to my eyes or my usual shirt color," she admitted.

A surge of warmth churned in Yolei's stomach. Her roommates had actually wanted to partner up with her when they got the chance, and now they wanted her advice on accessories! She was finally making new friends! "Just about," she said. "I need one more thing."

Her eyes flittered around, looking for something she could give to Ken. I couldn't be just any touristy schlock; it had to be something that both recognized his genius and laid the grounds for her future plans with him. Nothing in the arts and crafts aisle seemed to scream at her, so she scooted over to the next one, which was stocked with a lot of less useful Kyoto-themed things like soaps, refrigerator magnets and picture frames… or at least one small picture frame sitting alone on the shelf.

She blinked, then looked again at the picture frame and her eyes lit up. That was it! She could get a picture of herself with Ken, then put it in the frame and give it to him! Sure, it wasn't very genius-y, but almost all the intellectuals she saw in her mangas had pictures of loved ones on their desks. It could very well cement her place in his prospects! "Perfecto!" she announced, snatching up the smooth wooden frame.

"'Perfecto?'" Fuuka asked. "What's up, Miyako?"

Yolei gulped and turned red, embarrassed that her thoughts didn't stay in her head. "Oh, uh…" she stammered, "well, it's for a… friend."

"Oh?" Yukari asked, beaming craftily. "A _boy_friend?"

"What? No!" Yolei huffed instinctively, but then stopped herself; maybe these girls could help her with this. "Uh, that is… maybe," she managed. "What do you guys think? Is this a good way to start things?"

Yukari and Mitsuru blinked awkwardly. "I didn't think you'd need presents," Fuuka remarked. "I bet you could get a boy's attention on your own."

"What?" Yolei asked, her blush deepening. "Me?..."

"Sure!" Yukari agreed. "I mean, look at you! All you'd have to do is start talking to a guy and he'd be begging for your digits!"

"Just start talking?" Yolei asked, scratching her head. "Is there something special you need to say? How do you guys do it?"

The other girls hemmed, hawed, looked away and played with their fingers; either the trick to snaring a boyfriend was a secret lost art, or none of them had any more experience than Yolei did. "Uh… Well, it can't be _that_ hard," Mitsuru said, recovering first. "You just have to… let your body speak for itself."

Yolei blinked. "You mean 'body language?'" she asked.

"Yes, that's it!" Mitsuru said. "Once you've got their attention with that, you just need to start talking and they're bound to fall for you."

"It's really that easy?" Yolei said, glancing back at the photo frame. Whether it was because it was shallow or it sounded too simple, she was skeptical of the advice.

"It has to be!" Yukari chirped. "C'mon, let's go; this's no place for girl talk."

The girls paid for their purchases and left the store, headed back for their hotel. "We ought to be back in time for dinner," Mitsuru said, glancing at her cell phone's clock.

As they were about to cross a street, though, Fuuka stopped. "Hey, look!" she said, pointing to the right. There was a video game store on the corner, and in front of it was a group of four boys about their age. They were gathered in a circle on the sidewalk, their attentions absorbed by handheld game devices and their muttered conversations.

"Here we go!" Fuuka said, looking at Yolei. "Here! Let's try it with them!"

Yolei blinked. "Try… what?" she stammered.

"You know, what we were talking about!" Mitsuru said. "Go over there, get their attention and see if you can get some numbers!"

"What?" Yolei gawked, going pale. They wanted her to try flirting right now? But she wasn't ready! And there were four of them!

"Yeah, I know they're nerds, but it's not like we're gonna find much else on the way back," Yukari sighed, shaking her head. "It's just practice!"

Yolei swallowed, but the thick lump in her throat wouldn't go away. "But why can't we try this with… well… not strangers?" she muttered.

"Are you kidding? If we tried this with the boys from class…" Fuuka asked, her own cheeks going pink, "well… it'd be awkward."

"Go on, Miyako," Mitsuru said, giving her a nudge. "We'll hold your bags."

Yolei felt sweat sprouting up all over her skin, and it was that special pre-teen kind of sweat that mysteriously made her itchy in addition to wet. "…Do I have to?..." she tried once more.

"C'mon, you're a shoe-in!" Yukari laughed. "Show us how it's done!"

Expecting her legs to collapse into flan at any moment, Yolei slowly made her was across the street. On one hand, this was the first time she had ever given in to peer pressure and none of these greasy-looking guys held a candle to Ken… but on the other hand, at least she could say she was the only one of the lot brave enough to try.

She was fifteen feet from the boys, then ten, and then five. A familiar scent reached her nostrils, telling her that few of them had decent bathing habits. She looked back across the road and saw the three girls flailing their arms and urging her on. Mitsuru was swatting at her own hair, seeming to signal her to do the same. Yolei bit her lip, then took a deep breath. "_Ahem_," she sighed at the boys, swishing her hand through her hair and letting it fall to the side.

One of the boys looked up, saw her and went even paler. "Umm… I gotta get goin' home, you guys," he stammered.

"Whaddya mean? We're just about to battle an' I—" another said, but then he looked where his friend was looking. Yolei had never seen a double take in real life before. "Uh… Yeah, boy, it sure is late!" he gulped. "See you guys tomorrow, OK?"

"Yeah, uh, I, uh, gotta, uh, go, uh, do somethin'," the third one squeaked as his complexion skipped red and went right to violet.

Moving like they had fire ants in their socks, three of the boys took off. The one remaining was a lanky fellow a scruffy school uniform, his long, stringy black hair drooped over his shoulders and across the lenses of his thick, greasy glasses. He was bent over his handheld, unfazed. Yolei blinked, puzzled; was this one totally absorbed in what he was playing?

"_Ahem_," she tried again, and moved a bit closer, but the boy didn't even look up; his fingers just kept tapping the plastic buttons. She bit her lip and crossed her legs awkwardly, afraid to look back at the other girls. What would they say if she couldn't manage to get one guy's attention?... but this guy didn't even know she was there! What video game could possibly be so intriguing that it proved more alluring than the opposite sex?

She crept closer until she was right next to him and looked down at the handheld. Instantly her heart leapt into her throat; he was playing 'Chronicles of the Void,' the newest title in her favorite role-playing series! She had completely forgotten it had come out this week! "WOW!" she exclaimed, sending the boy five feet into the air. "Is that the new 'Chronicles?'"

The boy staggered for a minute, then realized his friends were gone and he was alone with her. "Uh… errr… um… y-yeah?" he managed between gasps.

"Holy crap, I've been waiting for that one!" she chirped, dancing in place. "Hey, how's the battle system? Did they change anything since 'Symphonics?' What about the music? Is it good?"

"Err, uh, it's, uh, I didn't play that one…" he stammered, his face shining red. "The music, uh… Um…"

"Ooh! How much did you pay for it?" Yolei went on, looking at the store. "Did they give you a good deal? Is it part of a chain? Think there's one in Tokyo?"

"Err, uh… OHHH!" the nerd gasped as he doubled over, breathing hard. When he looked back up, his glasses were coated with steam. "I, I, I gotta go!" he yelped, and he tore off down the street, clutching the front of his pants with his free hand.

"Hey, wait! What about the controls?" Yolei called after him, but he was gone. She stamped her foot angrily; now she would have to wait until she had her own copy.

She turned around and got a shock of her own; the girls were right behind her, all looking very surprised. "Wow. That… was interesting," Fuuka remarked.

Yolei's face burned, and she stared at the ground. She had been so interested in the game, she had geeked out and lost sight of her goal. Now they would think she was weird and ditch her, and that would be the end of their friendship. "…Sorry…" she muttered.

"Whaddya mean?" Yukari asked, beaming. "That was awesome! You totally got his attention!"

"I never would have thought of doing that," Mitsuru admitted.

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "Doing what?" she asked.

"Oh, don't be so modest!" Yukari laughed, grabbing her hands and shaking them happily. "Pretending to be interested in that game to get him to notice you? Genius!"

"You didn't get a phone number, but he was just a nerd," Mitsuru said. "Seeing him do that was way more fun."

"Yeah, you're gonna have to tell us a little about video games," Fuuka said. "I want to try that, too!"

Slowly, a smile spread over Yolei's face as she realized she wasn't going to be ostracized. The girls thought her love of games was just a ruse to get nerds' attention? Well, she didn't see any reason to disenchant them. "Err, yeah! Sure," she said. "I can give you all the basics over dinner."

"OK!" Yukari said. "Let's hit the hotel restaurant!"

"I hope Mr. Fubiyashi doesn't put a price cap on our meals," Mitsuru said. "I'm pretty hungry now."

Chatting happily, Yolei and her friends headed up the street.

* * *

Tai had to stifle his laughter as he watched Davis fume. Fed up with just pushing the buttons on his D3, the youth had spent the last half hour trying wilder methods of testing Kari's theory: he had pressed his D3 against the spire in every direction he could think of, and at every part of he spire he could reach; he had given Veemon the D3 and made him do the same thing; then he had picked up Veemon and pressed him against the spire along with the D3. Now he just stood there glaring at the obsidian spire that taunted him, seemingly racking his brain for some other trick. "Oh, boy…" Tai chuckled, pulling off his goggles and cleaning the lenses with his shirt, "I know why he chose the soccer team over the mathletics team."

Sora sighed as she watched Davis pout. Watching the kid to whom Tai offered his beloved goggles making faces like a grumpy toddler's did not inspire confidence. "Do you really think these new guys are up to this?" she asked.

"Oh, don't say that," Tai said, giving her a pretend sad look. "We just got to be friends again."

Sora tried to rebuke, but she found herself smiling at how silly he looked. "Fine," she surrendered.

"Oh, did you guys have a fight?" Agumon asked, looking concerned.

"Sora must've won," Biyomon concluded, looking her partner over. "When Tai fought Matt, he gave him bruises all over, and she doesn't have any."

"What?" Agumon cried to Tai in dismay. "But you _never_ lose, Tai!"

Tai grinned at his partner. "Oh, I'd never hit a girl," he said. "It was a different kind of fight."

Both Agumon and Biyomon looked confused. "Not hitting just because they're girls?" Agumon asked.

"Humans have some weird ideas…" Biyomon sighed. "Hey, Sora, do you feel OK?"

Sora's cheeks had gained a pinkish hue from the conversation, but she shook her head and turned her attention back to the present. "Still, he's not making any headway with Kari's theory," she pointed out.

"Hmm… It might not be Davis's fault," Tai said, turning towards his little sister. "She's not having any luck, either."

Sora could see that much was true. Kari had tried everything Davis had, and more. Now, with a face that looked just as frustrated as Davis's, she watched Gatomon climbing the spire as best she could while clutching her D3, seeing if it would react higher up.

"Anything yet?" Kari asked.

"It's just as dead here as it was down there," Gatomon shouted down. "Can I come down now? If I go too high, I'll get stuck."

Kari sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, come on," she said. "There's no Digi fire department here, after all."

Veemon was trying desperately to get Davis in a better mood. "Ooh! Ooh! I know!" he exclaimed. "OK, so I turn into Flamedramon and then I shoot the D3 at the spire in one of my fireballs! How 'bout that, Davith?"

"You'd melt the damn thing," Davis grunted, glaring at his Digivice, then pulling his arm back. "Course, as far as THROWIN' it!..."

Finishing with a snarl, Davis hurled his D3 at the spire. Instead of smashing to pieces, though, it simply bounced back with a sharp clatter, ricocheting off the bridge of his nose and knocking him to the ground.

"Oh, no! Davis!" Kari gasped, running over and helping him sit up.

"Are you OK?" asked Gatomon.

"Wow!" Veemon exclaimed. "I didn't know plastic could punch!"

A stream of blood dribbled from Davis's left nostril. He clamped his hands over it and sounded off with every dirty word he could remember, and in each language he knew it. The only socially acceptable thing Kari could make out was "piece of."

"Is he OK?" Biyomon asked as Tai, Sora, Agumon and she made their way over.

Sora picked Davis's D3 up and looked it over; there wasn't a scratch on it. "They sure build these to last," she remarked, rapping it on the spire.

Davis took his hands off his nose and rubbed it on his sleeve, only to find he'd smeared blood all over both his gloves and his shirt. He swore and covered his nose back up.

"Boy, that's a lot," Agumon said. "How much of that stuff do humans have?"

"Aww, shut up!" Davis grunted.

"Relax, Davis; it's not that bad," Tai chuckled, putting his back against the spire and folding his arms. "You've been hit worse than that during practice."

"And you won't be wearing those clothes when you get home anyway," Sora pointed out. "No harm done, right?"

Davis looked away and clenched his teeth, wishing that he could sink into the ground and disappear. Getting clocked by his own Digivice in front of Kari and Tai was embarrassing, but to dribble his fluids all over and then have the others try to cheer him up about it was even worse.

Kari sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Davis," she apologized.

He looked up in surprise. So did everyone else, for that matter. "Whaddya mean?" Veemon asked.

"Yeah, you didn't throw the D3 at him," Sora said.

"No, but this was my idea," Kari said, "and it wasn't working anyway; I should've told you to stop."

Davis's anger melted away. He just couldn't stay mad when Kari looked down. "Aww, don't get like that, Kari," he said in a funny nasally voice. "It was a good idea, an' I was just tryin' to make it work. No biggie."

"Yeah, maybe the D3s just don't work on things like this," Tai said, slapping his palm against the spire he leaned against. "I mean, on little stuff like rings, maybe, but on something this big…"

Davis could have sworn he saw the spire move a little when Tai slapped it, but nobody else said anything; they were busy consoling Kari. He looked higher up and his heart skipped a beat. Slowly but visibly, the top of the spire was starting to lean forward.

"That's science, after all; you keep experimenting until you find something that works," Sora said. "Hardly anyone ever gets it on the first try."

"Yeah, and we can still break these things the old way," Gatomon said. "It's not like we lost anything, here."

Davis wished it was a trick of the afternoon light, but that spire really was leaning further and further, and now he could hear it starting to groan. Starting to panic, he noticed that Tai hadn't moved from his spot; he would get crushed! "C-coach!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet. "Move!"

"What?" Tai asked, looking at him with confusion. "What're you talking—"

"MOVE!" Davis screamed, grabbing Tai by the arm and yanking him out from under the spire's shadow as the groan grew louder. The others now saw the dark tower moving and scampered away as it plummeted and smashed into the mushy ground, the whole forest shuddering from the impact.

Veemon groaned and sat up; like most of the others, the impact had knocked him flat on his back. "Woah…" he managed.

Agumon got up and looked at the fallen giant. "They're not supposed to do that, right?..." he asked.

Gatomon clawed her way onto the top and looked it over. "It just… fell over!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think we know that much…" Sora sighed, loosening her grip on Biyomon. "Is everybody all right?"

"I… think so…" Kari said, then peered over the spire at the boys. "Tai! Davis! Veemon! Are you OK?"

Tai got up and dusted himself off, then winced at the ache in his shoulder. "Boy, Davis, I thought you were trying to pull my arm off," he remarked, "but seeing this… Thanks a lot."

Davis grinned. "Can't coach me if you're a pancake," he reasoned, then grew serious. "Why the hell did it start movin' all of a sudden?"

"Did you see what happened, Davith?" Veemon asked.

"Yeah," Davis replied. "Coach slapped the thing, then it kinda shook, and then it started fallin' down."

Sora blinked. "You mean Tai knocked it down just by hitting it?" she asked.

"That doesn't sound very likely…" Gatomon muttered.

"Hey, that's what I saw!" Davis snapped. "You think I'm makin' shit up?"

Kari and Agumon walked the length of the spire and came to the base. Kari did a double take and called to the others. "Come and look at this!" she cried, waving.

Everyone raced to where she stood. The spire had not fallen down entirely; its foundation still stood, rising about three feet up. "Looks like something sliced it through,"

"How about that! I thought lumberjacks cut down trees, not spires," Veemon remarked.

Biyomon peered at the rubble on the top of the foundation. It was mostly rough, crumbled fragments, but along the left side the spire was relatively smooth. She reached out to touch it, but jerked back at the last second. "It's really hot!" she announced.

"What?..." Tai asked, then ran into the trees and came back with a stick. He poked at the smooth part and the stick sank in a few inches. "It's molten," he murmured.

"So it wasn't _cut_ down…" Kari thought out loud, "but melted?"

"Weird," Davis grunted. "How'd that happen?"

"Too bad Izzy's not here," Agumon said. "I bet he'd know."

Sora's eyes lit up. "Hey! Kari! Take some pictures with your camera," she suggested. "We can show them to him tomorrow."

Kari picked up her digital camera and turned it on. "I almost forgot it was there," she remarked, hitting some buttons. She took several shots each of the spire, the foundation and the strange molten section. "I hope he knows as much about building materials as he does about computers," she finished.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've had enough excitement for one day," Tai said. "Let's go before the other spires try to get the drop on us, too."

"Yeah…" Gatomon agreed. "I'm gonna need some warm milk to calm down after this."

The group picked their way over the downed spire and started out of the woods. Davis lingered in the back, watching the ground as he walked. He felt downtrodden. This trip hadn't turned out at all like he had hoped; it had been a big misunderstanding, and Kari remained oblivious to how he felt.

When they reached the television, Agumon and Biyomon said goodbye and disappeared back into the forest, presumably to guard their areas again. Davis watched the ocean sulkily as Kari opened the warp. "Hey, Davith, what gives?" Veemon asked him. "You like jumpin' in first, don'tcha?"

"Meh, not today," he muttered. "The others can go first."

"Well, see you guys tomorrow," Tai said, then looked off at Davis. "Hey, Davis! Thanks for saving me today!"

Davis turned around long enough to wave goodbye, and then turned back. A small twinge of warmth came to his chest. Even if the day hadn't been what he wanted, he knew he had saved his coach from getting squashed. That was something.

He heard Tai and Sora disappear back into reality, but he didn't hear a third warping noise. "Hey, Davis?" Kari's voice came.

He whirled around, surprised. Kari and Gatomon stood a few feet away from the warp. "Uh… yeah?" he tried.

Kari smiled at him. "About today…" she started. "I… it was great you saw what was going on. If you hadn't noticed the spire falling, well…"

Davis blinked, then looked away, his cheeks starting to turn pink. "Oh… it was nothin'," he muttered.

"It was a pretty big nothing," Gatomon complimented him. "I mean, I've got super hearing and I didn't pick it up; I was busy listening to the others talk."

"We really need to be more careful now," Kari agreed. "So, thanks for saving Tai... and probably the rest of us, too."

Just like when she was sad, Davis couldn't stay down when Kari looked so happy. "Heh heh… No problem!" he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Any time I see something fallin', I'll scream like a yeti with a hammer-oid!"

Kari and Gatomon looked at each other, then giggled. "Thanks," Kari said again.

"See you guys tomorrow," Gatomon finished, and the girls disappeared into the warp.

Davis watched the screen for a moment, then leaped five feet into the air with a joyous war whoop. "HELL YEAH!" he cheered, and did a crazy victory dance in the sand. That was the first tender moment they'd shared together! If little steps were going to be how he could win Kari's affections, then he'd shuffle all the way into her heart!

Veemon watched his partner's crazy performance, happy but unsure what to make of it. Davis could be down one minute and dancing like a wild man the next? He still had a lot to learn about humans.


	39. Chasing Shadows

**CHAPTER 39**

**CHASING SHADOWS**

Wednesday morning came with a chilly breeze; November certainly was on its way out. "Brr!" TK rumbled as he visibly shook. "Maybe I should start wearing a thicker jacket…"

Cody waited for a comical response, then realized that Yolei wasn't there. "It's quiet when she's gone," he muttered. "Maybe a little too much."

TK grinned at him. "She'll be back on Friday, Cody," he said. "We can put up with it until then."

They walked down the sidewalk in silence for a moment. "What did Kari want?" Cody asked.

"Huh? You didn't go either?" TK asked, looking surprised.

"I had kendo practice on Sunday and never checked my D-Terminal," Cody admitted. "I only noticed last night. What's your excuse?"

"Oh… Mom dragged me to the mall," TK chuckled, patting his hat. "She's got this idea that I'd look better without the hat, and wanted some new clothes to prove it."

Cody just shook his head. "Hopefully she'll fill us in," he concluded.

After parting ways with Cody inside the school, TK reached the top of the stairs and turned towards his classroom. Standing outside the door were Kari, Davis, and oddly, Izzy. It looked like Kari was giving Izzy her digital camera. "Hey! Guys!" he called, waving and hurrying over.

"Hi, TK!" Kari said. "Where'd you go yesterday?"

"Hah, you sure missed an awesome show," Davis chuckled. "But no biggie; we got along fine without ya!"

"What happened?" TK asked.

"That's what I intend to find out," Izzy said, sliding the camera into his book bag. "I'll have this back to you tomorrow, Kari… See you all later."

Izzy dashed down the hall towards the high school entrance. TK looked back at his friends with a questioning expression. "I guess I missed something big, huh?" he asked.

"We'll tell you all about it at lunch," Kari said, opening the classroom door. "Come on, the history quiz starts any minute!"

Davis's cocky grin fell off. He _knew_ he had forgotten about something!

* * *

His eyes narrowing, Blackwargreymon spun his body northward and increased speed. At this height, no creature should have been able to hear the lonely whistle of a machine. Something was amiss in the sky, and he had a feeling that whatever made that noise held what he sought.

He had only flown a few hundred meters, though, when he suddenly stopped dead. A strange series of clouds formed in the sky ahead, darkening to ebony and taking on a tornado-like shape, slipping in and out of solidity. He hesitated for a minute, then turned and faced it, Blackrapidmon and the mysterious whistle fading from his mind. He had a different mission first.

He sank down to the earth, strained his muscles and let out a hollow, soul-freezing cry. Several yards of land around him seemed to lose color. Up from the ground oozed half a dozen shadows, rising at least six feet each. They stood around him as quietly as death, their glowing red eyes simply watching.

Blackwargreymon loosened; that would be enough for this reconnaissance. His summoned beings trailing close behind like wicked balloons, he shot up into the disturbance.

* * *

"Stop that!" Arukenimon hissed, slapping at Mummymon's hand and scrunching further to the right in her seat. "That's the fourth time you've tried it!"

"And the fourth time I'm apologizing," Mummymon muttered as he put the hand on the jeep's stick shift and parked the vehicle, though he smiled craftily as he spoke. "These are tight quarters, you know… and these old hands don't always obey their master…"

"If they're nimble enough to sew, they're sturdy enough to reach for the right thing," she sniffed. "Do it again and I'll tear right through your bandages!"

"Oh ho ho…" Mummymon cackled as he opened the door, thrust his cane onto the concrete and painfully pulled himself out of the jeep. "Keep that fire in you, and we'll be sure to defeat the children next time."

He hobbled over and opened Arukenimon's door, and she got out and swatted at her hair. "Just be quiet," she sniffed, "and let's get a move on! No telling how long we can afford to stay…"

Mummymon's eyes flashed. That was why they had come to Rail Town, after all: they had heard a strange radio report about a flying train, and that Resistance members had come to investigate. Even in the Digital World, trains didn't fly off by themselves, and so the duo also came to snoop around.

"Whatever Resistance thugs are here won't be much trouble," Arukenimon scoffed as they crossed an unused road and reached the train depot. "After all, we've got their leader all tied up."

"Still, we shouldn't fight them if we don't have to," Mummymon objected. "Mustn't take their attention away from the children."

Arukenimon just snorted. She hated it when he had a valid point.

They rounded a corner and stopped, then drew back into the shadows. At a junction in the tracks up ahead was a gang of low-level Digimon. Some of them were poking around in the dirt, but most were listening to a Gotsumon who was hopping up and down on the tracks. "See this?" he shouted. "I've lived here all my life, and this is where a big train used to sit! That has to be what they're flying around now!"

"But what would they want with a rusty thing like that?" a Gazimon asked.

"The humans are better at working trains," a Meramon growled. "I bet there are secrets in them that we don't know about."

"They'll use that train to attack us from the sky!" the Gotsumon ranted. "We have to protect our villages somehow!"

"I wish Gargomon were here," an Otamamon sighed. "He'd know what to do."

"What happened, anyway?" the Gazimon asked. "I heard he was leading a dig at a jungle on the continent, but then they all vanished and the jungle burned down!"

"You know the humans did it," Meramon huffed, then sighed sadly. "…What'll we do without Gargomon?..."

There was an unpleasant silence. Finally, the Gotsumon smacked his palms together. "Come on, he's gotta be somewhere!" he declared. "A little fire isn't gonna get rid of him!"

"Yeah, he's right," the Otamamon agreed. "I bet he'll come back soon, better and stronger than ever!"

Arukenimon smirked at that. If only these stupid peons knew.

"But until he does, we've gotta handle this ourselves," the Gotsumon huffed. "We need to beef up village defenses! Meramon, you get the others to stockpile fireballs! Geckomon and Gazimon, start building catapults! The Monochromon can reinforce he walls with earth, and… Hey! Pay attention!"

Much to the Gostumon's annoyance, everyone was staring up at the sky. The afternoon clouds had darkened, and as the Digimon watched they twisted into a spindly spiral, growing fuzzy like an image in a puddle.

"They've started already!" an Otamamon shrieked.

"Run!" the Geckomon yelled.

The Resistance Digimon panicked and fled for shelter like chickens with their heads sliced off. Even Arukenimon felt unsettled by the strange clouds and was about to suggest that they get back to the jeep when Mummymon grabbed her shoulder and pointed at the sky with his cane. "Look," he whispered.

She squinted against the darkness and saw the bulky figure of Blackwargreymon flying up into the clouds with an entourage of shadowy blobs. As he met the strange shape, his body fizzled, and then disappeared like a soap bubble popping. She bit her lip as she glared at the clouds again; what did this portend?

* * *

"'…And so Toji was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO ten years ago, and to this day it remains the tallest wooden tower in Japan,'" Fuuka read from a plaque in front of the old five-tiered tower. "Boy, it's sure been here a long time…"

Yolei barely stifled a bored yawn. Another bus ride, another cultural fire hazard. She knew that today was when the class was going to see some of Kyoto's old temples and shrines, but she didn't think they were going to see _all_ of them; this had to be the tenth one, and it was only noon!

"How do you think they planned this one out?" Mitsuru asked, cocking her head to one side. "Five tiers on a tower can't be easy to design…"

"They had to do it somehow," Fuuka admitted, "and without all our modern-day tools."

"Ugh, I wouldn't have wanted to be around then," Yukari sighed. "I mean, if someone took my cell phone away, I'd just die."

"I'm about to just die, too," a grumpy voice muttered under Yolei's chin. "Shouldn't we stop for lunch now?"

Yolei smiled. The only good thing about today was that she had Poromon with her, and so there was always the possibility she could excuse herself for a bathroom break. Of course, right now he had a valid point, and any reprieve from history was welcome. "Why don't we break for lunch?" she said to the girls. "I mean, it is noon…"

"Really?" Fuuka asked, looking at her cell phone's clock. "Wow, it's just flying by!"

"Speak for yourself…" Yukari muttered, "but do we have time to eat?"

"Mr. Fubiyashi did say we weren't moving on until 1:30," Mitsuru pointed out. "I think lunch is a great idea."

The girls sat down at a nearby bench and got out the box lunches they had been given. It wasn't cuisine, but it was enough to satisfy them. As Yukari, Mitsuru and Fuuka chatted amongst themselves, Yolei quietly passed some orange slices to Poromon. "Here, get those down," she muttered.

Poromon took it, but he still looked sulky. "Why won't you tell me where you went yesterday?" he asked. "I had to sit in that creepy hotel room all by myself, and I can't tell time!"

"'Cuz it's none of your business, that's why," Yolei muttered as she opened a can of soda pop.

Poromon ruffled his feathers. "I'm your partner!" he argued. "Everything about you is my 'business!'"

"Not this," she retorted, sucking the fresh fizz off the top of the can. "Besides, you wouldn't understand even if I was gonna tell you. It's a 'humans only' thing."

Poromon glared at her, then turned and chewed his orange. If it was another 'human only' thing, it wasn't any easier to understand than why Yolei was changing so much.

Yolei leaned back on the bench and sipped her drink, reflecting on yesterday's achievements. After listening to her new friends cluck about it through the evening, she realized just how attractive she really must be. She had flustered a group of geeks, one of them scampering home faster than the others. Up until now, she had thought only girls like Mimi could do that with their looks… and now she was one of them. She sighed happily, a little smile coming to her mouth. This Digital World-free vacation was just what she needed, and when she got home, she'd go over to Ken the first chance she got and…

"Um, Miyako?" Fuuka's soft voice made her look up. The shorthaired girl stood in front of her, clutching a digital camera. "Would you take a few pictures of me in front of the temple? The others are still eating lunch, so…"

Yolei was a little annoyed to be jarred from her daydream, but she got up and took the camera; she always enjoyed running her fingers over new gadgets. "OK, go find a good spot," she said. "You want the whole temple in the shot, or should I focus more on you?"

"Try to do both, please!" Fuuka chuckled, running back towards it.

Yolei turned the camera on and started to follow when Poromon tugged at her pant leg. "Yolei!" he whispered sharply. "I feel something!"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Can you hold it for three minutes?" she asked. "I'll be right back."

"No, it's not that!" he protested. "Something's wrong!"

"Well, it can wait until I'm done," she growled, and she took off to catch up with Fuuka.

Fuuka was waiting on the plaza surrounding the temple. "Sorry," Yolei apologized, then turned the camera on. "Let's see a good pose!"

Fuuka got on tiptoe and tried to imitate the temple's shape with her body. Yolei tilted the camera for a vertical shot, but suddenly its screen flickered, the image's colors fading for a few moments. Puzzled, she lowered it and looked it over; nothing looked wrong with it. She cleaned the lens with her sleeve and raised the device again, but just as she was about to take the picture the screen flickered again and the shot turned grayscale. "…Fuuka, is the battery charged?" she asked, lowering it again.

"Huh?... It should be," Fuuka replied, falling out of her pose. "I charged it up before we left, and I didn't turn it on until this morning."

Yolei held up the camera again, and again the screen flickered and lost its color. Curious, she waved it around to see if that would jerk it back to normal… and then she saw something that almost made her drop the device. Hanging in the sky over the temple was a swirling dark cloud shaped like a tornado, fizzing in and out of existence like a hot road mirage. Her good mood melted like a Popsicle in August. Something digital was starting.

She must have worn her worry on her face, because Fuuka ran over. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Uh, um, nothing," Yolei said, trying to smile. "Hey, lemme go ask Mr. Fubiyashi if he knows what's wrong with this thing, OK?"

She raced back to Poromon and scooped him up. "Yolei, listen!" the pink bird chirped. "There's—"

"Can it!" she grunted. "Something's happening in the sky!"

"That's what I was trying to tell you!" Poromon huffed. "Everything lost color for a second, and—"

Yolei blinked, then shook him. "You can _see_ it happening?" she snapped. "Why didn't you say so?"

Poromon glared and ruffled his feathers again, but something caught his attention before he could tell his partner off. "Something's coming down!" he announced.

Puzzled, Yolei held Fuuka's camera up to the sky, and what she saw on its screen made the blood reverse in her veins. Seemingly covered in a filmy shroud of shadow, Blackwargreymon descended from the sky, followed by several rippling blobs of darkness with glowing red eyes. She lost her grip on the camera and almost dropped it. "Oh no oh no oh no!" she panted, her limbs shaking violently.

Poromon looked around, shocked that none of the other tourists had noticed. "Why isn't anyone else looking?" he demanded.

"Because they can't see 'em!" Yolei gulped. "Ohh, this is bad!"

As silent as corpses, the creatures touched down on the path and slowly came towards her, Blackwargreymon marching and the others lurching along behind like vertical slugs. Yolei could feel her soul wanting to burst out of her body and run screaming out of the park. Blackwargreymon was coming for her when she didn't have any backup! How did he know where she was? And why her?

Poromon hopped out of her arms and braced himself. Even if he was in one of his weakest forms, he wasn't going to let these things hurt Yolei. "Get out of the way, Yolei," he growled, hopping towards the procession.

"What? You're crazy!" Yolei snapped. She ran to grab him, but Blackwargreymon was already right on top of them. Ready to barf up her own heart, she squeezed Poromon and waited.

She waited for five seconds, then ten, then fifteen. Aside from a faint odor of rotting fish drifting around her nostrils, nothing happened. She looked around, puzzled. She held up the camera and was surprised to see the shadows continuing silently down the path, having seemingly passed right through her. "…OK, what just happened?" she asked.

"It's like we weren't even here," Poromon said. "Or… is it that _they're_ not even here? We've got to follow them, Yolei!"

Yolei grunted and bit her lip. Her every thought told her to refuse to go—she was supposed to be on a field trip, for crying out loud!—but as a Digidestined, she was obligated to investigate. "…Oh, fine," she grumbled, and started after them with Fuuka's camera pressed to her eyes.

Like an eerie funeral, the shadows slowly marched along the park's paths, with Yolei and Poromon following close behind. She was a little embarrassed at how many people stopped and stared at her, this strange girl who was walking along with a stuffed toy in one hand and a camera pressed to her face. "I always wanted a Glass of Truth like in 'Chronicle of Fitzgerald'," she muttered, "but they never tell you how stupid you look using it…"

"Yolei, please focus!" Poromon reminded her. "I don't know why these things are here, but it can't be good for us!"

Yolei glanced at the other tourists along the path. Some were staring or just going about their business, but others were talking on cell phones. Strangely, as the shadowy troupe passed them, the phones suddenly malfunctioned: some just shut off, others vibrated uncontrollably, and one started screaming like a car alarm. It wasn't just cameras that Blackwargreymon and his cronies affected, Yolei reasoned: it was other digital gizmos, too. Then if they left the park and went out into the city, where there were all sorts of electronics like traffic lights and train crossings… "We can't let 'em leave the park!" she announced to Poromon.

"But what can we do?" Poromon asked. "They went right through us… I don't think we'll get their attention…"

Yolei swallowed. The park exit was just a few dozen meters away, past a pair of men with a movie camera, and Blackwargreymon didn't look interested in turning his minions around. Why couldn't he have shown up back home, Yolei lamented silently, where TK or Kari would know how to deal with him?

The shadowy forms lurched closer to the gates. She clenched her fists and ran after them. Like it or not, she was the only one who could do something about this. No longer caring what spectators thought, she sucked in air and then erupted with a shrill yell of "STOP, you crazy Digimon!"

The last shadow in the procession stopped. It turned and turned its blood-red eyes on her, freezing her in her tracks. "Um… please?" she whimpered.

The shadow jiggled and shook, and then peeled away to reveal a lanky apelike creature with feral green eyes and wild, yellow fur. It produced a long, thick bone, brandishing it like a club and snarling angrily at Yolei.

The other tourists in the area dropped their things and ran the other way screaming; apparently the creature was invisible no longer. Poromon squirmed in Yolei's grip. "That's an Apemon!" he yelped. "Champion, at least!"

Yolei could feel her hair go limp with sweat. How were they supposed to take on a Digimon like that by themselves?

Apemon took a step towards them, but then stopped. It whirled around and zeroed in on the men with the camera. Before Yolei could blink, it leaped into the trees and scrambled towards them.

"Crap!" was all Yolei could manage. Protecting herself was one thing, but Apemon was going after civilians! Despite Poromon's protests that she was squeezing too hard, she raced after the psychotic simian.

* * *

"…Which she then reported passed through a lamppost before disappearing completely," the older man spoke into the camera, then looked past it at the cameraman. "…Did the sound come through, Shu?"

"Yes, I think so, Prof—" the younger man began, but suddenly froze as he looked at the video feedback screen. Several shadowy figures were marching along the path next to where they were filming. "YEAAGH!" he yelped, recoiling. "What the hell are those?"

At the same time, the older man realized how many people were screaming behind him. As he turned around to look, though, a frenzied yellow creature burst out of the trees and smashed down onto the tripod. The cameraman panicked and tried to run, but the ape's giant bone club rammed into his shoulder and knocked him to the ground. It then spun around and looked the professor over with a sadistic cackle, then charged at him. In shock, the professor could only hold up his arms…

And then the monster fell back, suddenly defending itself from the talons of an oversized bird with a bandanna. "You've caused enough trouble!" Hawkmon huffed as he kicked at Apemon's face.

"Hawkmon!" Yolei yelled as she raced onto the scene, amazed that her partner had Digivolved so quickly. "Be careful! I don't think he's a Spire-born!"

Apemon snarled and swung its club like a baseball player, but Hawkmon shot upwards and out of the way. Hawkmon pulled off the feather in his bandanna and pitched it like a ninja star, but cringed as it simply flopped against the ape's fur; he wouldn't be able to do much besides agitate Apemon even more. "We need a new plan," he growled.

Yolei dug her D3 out of her pocket. Even though she had tried to avoid anything digital, she couldn't bring herself to leave it at home. She just hoped that it contained what she wanted. "DigiArmor Energize!" she yelled, holding it up.

Hawkmon was enveloped in light, and the stalwart, star-tossing Shurimon emerged in his place. Apemon screeched at the newcomer and hurled its club like a boomerang. Shurimon stretched upwards and bounded over it, then buried his oversized shuriken in the dirt on either side of the ape. Hopefully the monster would get the message that Shurimon meant business and stop its rampage.

Apemon wasn't impressed. It grabbed one of Shurimon's spindly limbs, pulled the shuriken out of the ground and threw it back at him. Shurimon ducked under it, but then the flying bone club clocked him in the side. The momentum sent him down at an angle, pinning him to the ground with his own stuck blades. Apemon cackled and leaped at him, but Shurimon kicked him away with his bladed feet and then pulled himself free.

Yolei looked around worriedly. If Apemon was a real Digimon, they needed to send him back to the Digital World… but how? There weren't any computers in this park, and none of them had the Digital Gate program on them, and—

Her thoughts changed to panic as Shurimon crashed down next to her. Apemon held his bone club overhead in triumph, then charged at them with a feral shriek. Out of options, Shurimon raised one arm and hurled it at the assailant.

Apemon's scream ended as abruptly as if someone had switched him off. He dropped his club and slowly looked down at the blade buried almost entirely in his torso. Yolei's face turned ghostly white as she realized what her partner had done. "Shurimon!..." she gasped.

Shurimon lowered his head, glad that he had protected Yolei but ashamed he had to kill a fellow Digimon to do so. "Yolei… I…" he began.

Suddenly, though, both of them went silent. Apemon's yellow color darkened, its whole body turning pitch black. Shurimon's embedded limb fell to the ground as the monster dissolved into smoke and drifted away on the wind, leaving behind only a burnt smell.

"Wha…" Yolei gasped, the first to regain her voice, "what was that?"

Shurimon wavered, then shrank back to Hawkmon. "It took a lot out of me, that's for certain," he muttered, rubbing at his wings, "but was it a real Digimon?… It certainly wasn't a Spire-born."

"Do you think Blackwargreymon can make his own goons now?" Yolei asked, but before Hawkmon could answer her eyes widened in horror. "Blackwargreymon!" she yelled, leaping up, pressing the camera to her eyes and looking around frantically.

Hawkmon looked too, but there was no sign of their shadowy nemesis or his minions. "Oh, dear… They seem to have left the grounds," Hawkmon admitted. "Now what do we do?"

Yolei twisted one foot back and forth, mashing the grass beneath it. If she ran off, her new friends would wonder where she'd gone—not to mention Mr. Fubiyashi would be furious—but after seeing what Apemon could do, she couldn't let them run free in the city… and just imagining how the other Digidestined would react if they heard she didn't investigate something like this sent sick waves up her spine. "We'd better get moving," she sighed.

Hawkmon saw how frustrated Yolei looked, but said nothing. He simply nodded.

The two of them started for the exit when a voice behind her almost made her trip and fall. "Hey, wait!" the cameraman called after her.

"Yes, please," the older man said. "Young lady, did you call that creature a 'Digimon?'"

Yolei and Hawkmon slowly turned around. The older man wore a forest green jacket and had grayish brown hair and pitch-black eyes; he looked oddly familiar to Yolei. The younger man was tall with short, dark-turquoise-looking hair and thick glasses, almost like an older Joe. "U-um… yes?" she stammered.

The older man scratched his chin and smiled. "I see… and would your friend there also happen to be a Digimon?" he asked.

Yolei hesitated, then put on her bravest face and balled her fists. She couldn't remember where she had seen the man before, and that made her even more frustrated. "What's it to you?" she snapped.

Hawkmon gawked at Yolei's outburst and quickly hopped in front of her. "Erm, excuse us, gentlemen," he said, "but seeing as how we don't know either of you, we aren't exactly privy to sharing information."

The older man hesitated, then laughed. "Oh, yes, how incredibly rude of me!" he chuckled. "I am sorry. I'm Professor Haruhiko Takenouchi, from the University of Tokyo."

Yolei blinked for a minute, and then her jaw dropped. Now she remembered: this was the man in the photograph on Sora's table… _her father_!

Professor Takenouchi looked amused at Yolei's reaction. "You seem to be looking for something," he remarked. "If you need a lift around town, we can take my car."

"Excuse me?" Hawkmon asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm afraid we must decline your offer, since—"

"No, no, it's fine!" Yolei interrupted, pulling Hawkmon back a bit. "Yeah, we ARE looking for something!"

"Yolei, these men are strangers!" Hawkmon huffed. "Getting into a car with strangers is the first thing you should never do!"

"It's fine, Hawkmon," Yolei replied. "Don't you recognize him? That's Sora's dad!"

The professor chuckled. "Shu, bring the van around, and quickly," he instructed. "The police will be around soon to figure out what frightened so many people…"

The cameraman looked uncertain, but took off out of the park. Professor Takenouchi smiled at Yolei and Hawkmon again. "You know, I had a feeling Sora would come into this," he admitted. "Now, where do you need to go?"

"Well, uh…" Yolei stammered, wondering how to explain that they were chasing a gang of shadows that could be anywhere and couldn't be seen except by Hawkmon or a camera. "Maybe, uh, if you just drive us around, we can find it," she tried. "I'm… not really sure where it is."

Professor Takenouchi blinked, then resumed smiling as a black sports utility vehicle pulled up at the curb. "All right," he said. "Just let me know when we've found it. Let's not keep Shin waiting, now."

They walked over and got in the vehicle, Hawkmon never taking his eyes off Professor Takenouchi, just in case. The cameraman started into the light midday traffic and the park disappeared from view. "So what are we looking for, exactly?" he asked.

"Um…" Yolei tried, thinking hard, "see if there's any place where the traffic lights are acting weird or something."

Professor Takenouchi folded his arms and looked his passengers over. "So, correct me if I'm wrong," he said, "but you would be Miyako Inoue from 8th grade, wouldn't you?"

Yolei bit her lip. Sora had told her dad about her? What had she said? "Uh… Yes," she admitted.

Professor Takenouchi nodded. "I thought so," he said, "though you look a bit different from what I imagined…"

"Hey, really? Miyako?" Shin asked, glancing at her in the mirror. "My kid brother's told me about you, too! You know Joe, right?"

"Joe?... Ah, yes, Joe Kido," Hawkmon recalled. "I wasn't aware he had siblings."

"Yeah, I'm the oldest and I don't go home much," Shin admitted. "Shuu's the middle kid, and Joe's the youngest."

"Youngest?..." Yolei asked. Considering how much older than the rest of the Digidestined he was, she had never imagined he was the baby of his own family.

"That's amusing," Hawkmon said, relaxing a bit. "Yolei is the youngest of her family as well."

"Tell the whole world, why don't you…" she growled, pinching at his tail feathers.

"Yeah, Joe's got his heart set on being a doctor," Shin chuckled. "Me, I was studying it… but then I took one of Professor Takenouchi's classes in college and ended up switching over to humanities. Now I'm a grad student under him." The car stopped for a red light, and he looked back at her with a crafty smile. "Joe said he was having some girl trouble," he chuckled. "That wasn't you, was it?"

"W-what? No!" she objected, but she wasn't fast enough to stop her cheeks from reddening. Looking for any way to change the subject, she turned to the professor. "So you said you're from Tokyo U?" she asked. "What're you doing all the way here?"

Professor Takenouchi's smile faded a little. "Being one of the higher-ups in the department has its drawbacks," he said. "They're always sending me to other parts of the country, or sometimes even abroad, to research folklore. I enjoy the work—I wouldn't have gotten into it if I didn't—but I can't spend as much time at home as I'd like…" He leaned back and looked pensive. "I try to keep up on things with my wife and Sora, but it's hard… I know it's especially hard on Sora. For the longest time, Toshiko and she were fighting about almost everything…"

"Oh…" Yolei murmured, suddenly remembering Mimi's 'problem child' quip about Sora, and then Sora's reaction to her own assumption that she had divorced parents.

"But then, something suddenly changed five years ago," Professor Takenouchi went on. "Over the summer, the fighting stopped and Sora and Toshiko became as close as a mother and daughter can be. At first I thought maybe she had gotten her first boyfriend and it put her in a better frame of mind…" He paused and looked at Hawkmon. "…But when I asked her what had happened, she said she owed it all to Digimon and her adventure with them."

Yolei blinked. "Digimon helped her?..." she asked.

"That's what she said," he went on. "Whatever happened with the Digimon that summer, it made her decide to mature and see things from different perspectives, especially her mother's. Ah, but you should see them now, working together in Toshiko's flower shop and going to the malls every other Saturday... Don't tell Sora, but my credit card is nearly maxed out... but if they're enjoying each other's company, that's just fine." He looked at Hawkmon and smiled again, this time a twinge of sadness behind it. "So whatever you Digimon did for her… thank you. You've helped keep my family together."

Hawkmon scratched his head. "Well, I can't claim that I had a hand in it myself… but you're welcome, I suppose," he said.

Yolei wasn't sure what to think. Tai and the others had filled them in on the basics of their adventure, but she hadn't heard anyone's personal reflections on it. She had no idea Sora, that strong-willed girl with the kindest of hearts, had such a problem lurking in her past… and now just knowing it made her stomach churn. Why hadn't she mentioned it before?

"Sure wish I could tell a story as cool as that," Shin commented as he turned the car down a side street. "I've heard Joe and Shuu talk about Digimon, but I've never actually seen one… I was out of Tokyo the summer of '99."

"Both your brothers?" Yolei asked. That was also something she had never heard before. Were the older kids just forgetting to tell her things, or were they omitting them on purpose?

"I did see some of the crazy stuff, though; they say things happened all over the world," Shin went on. "It was like the sky ripped open, and suddenly this upside-down world was hanging right over us. People were freaking out, but then it vanished as quickly as it showed up." He paused and made a right turn. "Guess I should ask Joe more about it."

"Err… yeah…" Yolei said, wishing the subject would change; hearing about her older friends' adventures made her feel pretty small by comparison… not to mention annoyed that she hadn't heard some of it before.

"Very interesting, yes," Hawkmon agreed, "but if Blackwargreymon is able to enter this world, then why would he come to this city? Is it because we were alone here, and he wanted to pick us off?"

As Yolei silently thanked Hawkmon for the distraction, Professor Takenouchi scratched at his chin. "Perhaps… but I have a more plausible theory," he said. "Do you know why Kyoto was chosen to be the first capital of Japan?"

"Err… No?" Yolei replied. "History isn't really, uh… my thing." Her cheeks reddened and she realized how stupid she must appear to this history scholar.

Professor Takenouchi didn't seem to mind, though. "They chose it because they felt it had a strong connection to animal spirits, and the world they inhabit," he went on. "That's why I'm researching the folklore here, as a matter of fact."

Yolei raised an eyebrow. Animal spirits?

"You see," the professor went on, "Kyoto was the pick for the capital because the four gods were in harmony around it: Genbu the turtle in Funaoka Mountain up north; Seiryuu the dragon in the Kamo River to the east; Suzaku the phoenix in southern Lake Ogura; and Biyako the tiger in Sanindo Road, to the west."

"…Really?" Yolei asked, becoming more interested. Usually she saw history as just dates and wars, but this sounded more like the premise for a video game.

"So there really are magical creatures in your world?" Hawkmon asked.

"Well, that's just the legend…" Professor Takenouchi chuckled. "One could argue the story just explains that the city was built on advantageous ground: it was protected by mountains, and also had the conveniences of roads and waterways. Still, our ancestors erected countless monuments and temples around the city, such as the Spirit Gate and Toji, where we met. They believed that without those temples, it would be too easy for the worlds of spirits and demons to intrude upon our own."

Yolei swallowed hard. "…Demons?" she asked, suddenly envisioning the contents of all the horror movies she had ever watched spilling out onto the streets.

The professor saw how nervous his passenger was getting and smiled. "Now, that's all just legends; I'm not trying to scare you," he reassured her. "I'm simply saying that Kyoto has a history of being close to worlds other than the 'real' one… That may also mean the world of the Digimon."

"Hmm… Perhaps…" Hawkmon ruminated. "After all, Blackwargreymon showed up without coming through the Digital Gate…"

"No way!" Yolei protested, her scientific mind reasserting itself. "You guys came out of computers and pixels and junk! You're not hocus-pocus magic critters!"

"Then kindly explain why we're chasing him around this city, Yolei," Hawkmon grumbled. Yolei folded her arms and pouted.

"Perhaps Digimon began as simply data in a computer," Professor Takenouchi thought out loud, "but as your friend points out, they can exist in our world too… and they seem very much alive. It's a lot like the stories." He paused and scratched at his chin again. "I wonder if they've taken on the shapes of creatures from human mythology so it's easier to interact with us?..." he asked quietly.

Yolei thought of Angemon and Nefertimon. Like Professor Takenouchi was saying, those Digimon resembled characters from Christian and Egyptian mythology, respectively. Still, that didn't strike her as being important to the situation. "What do you mean?" she asked.

The professor began to reply, but just then Hawkmon's eyes flashed. He hopped across Yolei's lap and he pressed his face against the window. "There!" he announced.

Professor Takenouchi peered ahead and scowled. "Stop the car, Shu!" he ordered.

Shin pulled over in front of an overpass. Yolei hopped out with Hawkmon in one hand and the camera in the other. "Where are they?" she demanded.

"Straight ahead!" Hawkmon said, pointing.

Yolei held up the camera and surely enough, Blackwargreymon and his shadowy followers were slowly making their way down the road. "Hey, you!" she yelled. "Stop!"

Just like before, the procession continued, but the last blob in line turned around. It unraveled and became a blocky, human-like creature clad in armor similar to a samurai's and clutching a sword that looked sharp enough to split hairs.

Instantly the other traffic in the area began swerving and screeching to a halt. The funk of burnt tire hung in the air. "Oh, dear, that's a Musyamon, another Champion," Hawkmon swallowed. "This could get ugly!"

The professor got out of the car, too, gawking at the newcomer. "They'll even emulate historical figures?" he asked. "Amazing!"

"Yeah, if you like getting your head sliced like a melon," Yolei muttered, pulling out her D3 and looking at Hawkmon. "I bet he's the same as Apemon… so do whatever it takes!"

Hawkmon nodded and flew into the air. Yolei raised the D3 and he turned into Shurimon and dropped down before Musyamon. A spine-twisting metallic scrape pierced the air as his whirling shuriken met his foe's sword. Musyamon snarled and leaped off the overpass, landing on a car beneath and smashing the roof in. Shurimon bounded after him and they bounced along the car tops, swatting at each other every chance they got. Civilians fled their vehicles screaming and wailing.

"WOW! A ninja and a samurai, duking it out!" Shin laughed. "It's just like the movies!"

Yolei didn't like how far away her partner was getting. "Quick! After them!" Yolei yelled, jumping back in the car.

"You heard the lady: gun it!" Professor Takenouchi agreed.

Shin slowly nosed the car through the mess of broken glass and stopped vehicles and put the pedal to the metal as soon as he was clear of the wreckage. Yolei winced as she looked back at it; when they got into the real world, Digimon really could cause a lot of problems! She hoped the cops wouldn't trace it all back to her…

Shin noticed something off to the left and made a sharp turn, setting off at least three car horns. Shurimon and Musyamon had moved from jumping on cars to jumping across rooftops, sending shingles flying every which way. Yolei almost hit the roof as one banged against the front passenger window, leaving a long crack. "Shurimon! Watch what you're kicking!" she yelled.

Shurimon wished loose shingles were his only problem. Musyamon was far tougher than Apemon had been; it always sent its blade straight for Shurimon's vital points, and then blocked his own attacks just as swiftly. He had to lure the monster somewhere he could have an edge, and that certainly wasn't here. Between blocking two more stabs at his heart, he glanced right and saw a river close by. "Follow me, you ruffian," he huffed at Musyamon, and bounded off the houses and flew away, the shuriken on his back buzzing like a helicopter rotor.

Furious, Musyamon scrambled down onto the street and tore after him, smashing through trees, cars and even part of a wall. "Holy shit!" Yolei gasped, forgetting herself; Shurimon had the right idea, getting Musyamon away from the residents… but that monster just didn't know how to go around things!

"They're headed east!" Professor Takenouchi barked. "Shu, turn around!"

"I sure hope the school reimburses me for new tires…" Shin groaned as he slammed on the breaks, did an awkward u-turn and sped back the other way.

"What's east?" Yolei asked.

"That's the Kamo River," the professor said. "I wonder what Shurimon plans to do there?..."

* * *

Shurimon wondered that when he got to the river, too. There were not only too many tourists and other people milling around, but there was a lot less water in the river than he had hoped; it couldn't have been deeper than one meter. He didn't have time to rethink things, though, because Musyamon burst out of the trees only a few moments after he landed, sending the locals fleeing in terror. With a ferocious yell, Musyamon sped towards its foe, its sword gleaming in the afternoon sun.

With no time to think of anything new, Shurimon went with his original plan, leaping out over the river and hovering there. Musyamon jumped after him, but Shurimon was too high and it fell howling into the water. It emerged up to its waist, snarling and flailing its sword every which way. Shurimon sighed with relief. Even if the water wasn't deep, it was enough to slow this guy down.

Shu's car stopped on the riverbank and all three riders spilled out to watch. "What do you suppose he'll do now?" Shin asked.

"Same thing he did before," Yolei said, balling her fists. "Get 'im, Shurimon!"

Shurimon hurled his giant shuriken down at Musyamon, but the samurai monster was still fast enough to swat it away. He floated down and stuck his spinning blade feet into the water, spraying his foe in the face. Musyamon snarled and hurled its sword, catching Shurimon in the shoulder. The ninja grunted in pain and started to fall, but he wasn't finished yet; he quickly threw his giant shuriken into the spray.

Not even the rushing water could mute the horrible noise that came afterwards. As Shurimon fell into the river, everyone saw the shuriken lodged in Musyamon, splitting it perfectly down the middle. Shurimon shrank back down to Poromon and the shuriken faded, and the bisected Digimon slowly, disgustingly fell to either side. What was above the water dissolved into black smoke, and the rest oozed along downstream with the current.

Yolei raced down the riverbank and pulled Poromon out of the water. "Are you OK?" she asked.

Poromon groaned and looked up at her, "I'll be fine," he said. "Just don't squeeze me too hard for a while."

"That was quite a show!" Shin exclaimed as the professor and he came up behind them. "You were awesome, little guy!"

Professor Takenouchi looked at the remaining wisps of smoke over the river, scratching his chin. "They don't usually die like that, do they?" he asked.

Yolei looked at him oddly, but her worries quickly turned back on Poromon. "Quick! Change back into Hawkmon?" she asked. "You're no good like this if we've gotta deal with another of those blot things!"

"I don't think I can…" Poromon began, then trailed off and looked up at the sky. "Oh, no," he said. "Look!"

Yolei fished Fuuka's camera out of her pocket, turned it on and held it up to the sky. Through its screen, the blue sky was dingy gray, and hanging overhead was that spiral-shaped cloud she had seen over Toji. She almost wet herself again. Were more of those shadowy things coming?

"What? What's going on?" Shin asked, looking every which way in the sky. Professor Takenouchi stood still, looking where Yolei pointed the camera.

"Dammit…" Yolei swallowed, wishing she had her D-Terminal so she could call for help from her friends. Sure, it wouldn't do much good, but at least she could have said she tried… All she could do now was wait for whatever ebony-coated creatures were going to drop down on her.

Poromon, though, didn't look very worried. In fact, he looked relieved. "It's OK, Yolei," he said, pointing. "I think we're safe now."

"Huh?" Yolei asked, and lowered the camera to where he pointed. Floating up into the sky were Blackwargreymon and his minions. With a wave of Blackwargreymon's hands, the shadows melted away into nothing, and he alone flew into the disturbance. The clouds faded away and color returned to the camera screen. A heavy sigh escaped Yolei's lungs. "They're gone," she told the others. "The rest of them went away."

"Huh?" Shin asked, still looking in the wrong direction. "Where'd they go?"

"Most likely back to the Digital World," Professor Takenouchi theorized. "We humans may not understand how or why they came, but I'm sure there's a reason…"

Yolei kept staring at the place where the tornado-like cloud had floated. Too many questions rattled in her mind, and she didn't know if she wanted any of the answers. Why couldn't this have stayed a normal field trip?

She jerked so violently she almost dropped Poromon. "My class!" she exclaimed. "Oh, crap! I've gotta get back to 'em!"

"Oh, were you with that school group?" Shin asked.

"Yes!" she said, and then felt as if her ribcage was caving in on her innards. "Oh, man, Mr. Fubiyashi's gonna kill me!..."

"Do you know where they were headed after Toji?" Professor Takenouchi asked.

Yolei strained to think, but her mind was so full of panic she couldn't get anything. There was an itinerary in her lunch bag, but she had left that at Toji when she took off after Blackwargreymon. "No…" she groaned.

"Um, Yolei," Poromon spoke up, "I think I heard one of your friends say that after lunch, we were spending two hours at 'Sicky Zing Zing In.'"

Yolei stopped being worried long enough to be confused. "What?" she asked.

"Sicky zing… Ahh," the professor said, smiling after a moment of thought. "Perhaps you mean Sekizanzenin. That's a park in the northeast of the city. We'll have to walk a little, but…"

Yolei's eyes lit up. "You can take me there?" she asked. "Thank you!"

"We'd better hurry," Shin said, glancing at his watch and pulling out his keys. "It's almost 1:30."

They piled in and Shin got them back on the road in a flash.

* * *

With a snarl, Arukenimon shut the jeep's radio off. There were no sightings of Blackwargreymon in the news, nor was there a weather report about the strange clouds. She knew the radio only worked when it wanted to, but this silence was particularly frustrating. "First he turns on us, and then we lose him entirely," she growled. "How can this get any worse?"

"Look on the bright side," Mummymon commented as he drove. "Without Blackwargreymon around, we have lots of time to civilize Blackrapidmon."

"Mmh, I suppose," she grunted, "though that doesn't do us much good when there are no children to fight."

"Then why don't we take a breather?" he asked. "Maybe pop into a nice restaurant and have a decent meal."

Arukenimon made a face. She liked her food still squirming in her own threads, with a good dose of fear in the blood… No half-decent eatery would serve anything she wanted. "Let's get back to Blackrapidmon," she muttered, "see if we can't teach him a few tricks."

Mummymon shrugged and started to steer towards a deep canyon in the distance. Suddenly, though, he slammed on the breaks. Arukenimon shouted as she was thrown forward and snapped back. "What was that for?" she demanded, slugging him in the shoulder.

Mummymon simply pointed at the sky to their right. The strange, fizzling tornado clouds had returned. They could see the tiny figure of Blackwargreymon descending from it, having reappeared as mysteriously as he had vanished. He hovered in the air for a moment, then flew off to the south. "Seems our reprieve is over," Mummymon sighed.

She watched Blackwargreymon disappear, then calmly pushed her sunglasses up. "Hurry," she ordered. "We have to get him trained before the next Crest appears."

Mummymon put his hands back on the steering wheel and made a beeline for the canyon.

* * *

The land quickly gave way to the sea, but Blackwargreymon continued flying. His journey into that other place had been informative, but now it was done with. Now he resumed his search for signs of the Crests or the beast that held one.

Though, he thought as he flew, with its majority of unarmed, terrified denizens, the world of humans would be far easier to take than this one would.

* * *

Leaning forward to try and max out her walking speed, Yolei led the professor and his aide up the sidewalk towards the park, hoping her class hadn't left yet. She almost tripped and grumbled something unpleasant; why couldn't Sekizanzenin have had a parking lot?

"Oh, look," Professor Takenouchi panted, pointing towards the entrance gates. "Is that your class coming out now?"

Yolei took an extra gasp of air. Mr. Fubiyashi and her friends were among the gaggle of people spilling out towards a bus. "Yes! That's them!" she managed, then hurled her arm around like a struggling fish on a line. "WAIT! WAIT!"

Mr. Fubiyashi looked up in shock. "Miyako?" he asked. "Why in the world—"

"Miyako!" Yukari exclaimed, Fuuka and Mitsuru rushing over to her at the same time. "Where'd you go?"

"You were GONE?" Mr. Fubiyashi yelped, his face going red with both embarrassment and fury. "I told you to stay with the group!"

Yolei hung her head in shame and waited for the telling off, but Professor Takenouchi stepped forward. "My fault entirely, sir," he said, bowing politely. "I'm Professor Takenouchi of the University of Tokyo. Miyako is a friend of my daughter's, and we ran into each other at Toji. Once we started talking, I completely lost track of time. We came as quickly as we could once I realized how late it was." He glanced at Yolei and winked. "Isn't that right?"

"Err… Yeah, that's what happened!" Yolei agreed. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Fubiyashi…"

Mr. Fubiyashi still looked irate, but he seemed to buy the story. "…Well, all right," he grumbled. "Thank you for that, professor." He turned to the rest of the class and pointed towards the bus. "All right, everyone! Show's over! We're moving on!"

The other kids grumbled and piled into the bus; so much for watching the teacher bawl someone out. Yolei turned to the two men and beamed. "Thanks," she said. "Oh, and thanks for telling me all that stuff, too."

"Not a problem," Professor Takenouchi said. "I'm glad Sora's got a good friend like you."

Yolei grinned sheepishly, though she felt her left eye pull up in a wince. Her last encounter with Sora hadn't ended so friendly…

"Hey, if we're ever in Tokyo, come sit in on the professor's lecture," Shin said. "It might change your life, like mine!"

"You really give me too much credit…" Professor Takenouchi chuckled, then turned to go. "Goodbye, Miyako."

"Bye!" Poromon squeaked, then remembered that they were in public and promptly shut up.

Miyako waved goodbye and got on the bus, where Mr. Fubiyashi was waiting for her with an angry face. "You got lucky, Inoue," he growled. "What if you had run into someone worse?"

"Sorry, sir," she repeated.

"Now take your seat and don't cause any more trouble," he snapped.

Yolei headed towards the back of the bus with her head hung, though inside she felt more than a bit resentful. She _hadn't_ run into anyone worse, so what was the big deal? And he hadn't even noticed she was gone, and he had the balls to chew _her_ out?

"Miyako! Here!" she heard Fuuka call. She looked up and her three friends waved to her from the rear seats. She flopped down next to Mitsuru and sighed.

"We covered for you," Yukari said. "That's why Mr. Fubiyashi didn't know you were gone."

"Thanks," Yolei said.

"You're friends with a professor's kid?" Mitsuru asked, looking floored. "That's amazing… What were you talking about?"

"Huh?... Oh, uh, nothing…" Yolei tried, suddenly becoming very tired. She felt Poromon sag in her lap. "Just, you know, school, work, stuff like that…"

"Um, Miyako?" Fuuka asked. "Do you still have my camera?"

"What?... O-oh, yeah," Yolei said, forcing her hand into her pocket and pulling it out. "I couldn't fix it… Sorry."

Fuuka turned it on and looked it over. "That's OK… It looks like it's working now," she said, then pushed a button and gasped. The camera screen displayed an image from inside a car with a crazy-looking _thing_ dressed as a samurai on top of an overpass. "Wha… what's that?" she asked.

Her answer was a muted snore. Yolei was fast asleep in the seat. "Miyako? Hey, Miyako!" Mitsuru said as she shook her, but it was no good; she was out cold.

"Weird…" Yukari said, looking at the picture. "Where'd she go to see something like that?"

"Looks way cooler than what we've been seeing, that's for sure," Fuuka admitted.

"All right, children!" Mr. Fubiyashi announced as the bus slowed to a halt. "We're stopping here and walking to our next destination, Shimogamo Shrine! Line up neat and orderly!"

The girls groaned and looked at their unconscious friend, suddenly wishing they were that fatigued, too.

* * *

"…And the pirate captain's hook hooked the mutineer like a fish on a hook!" TK recited from his short story. "What do you think?"

Patamon lay sprawled on TK's bed, his ear wings sagging. "I say too many 'hooks' mess up the book," he muttered.

TK hesitated, then looked at the paper again. "Aww, geez, you're right," he grumbled, crumpling it up and tossing it back on the desk. "That sounds awful!"

"Why'd you write that part first, anyway?" Patamon asked.

"Well, I had that idea first, so I wanted to write it down first," TK replied.

"Hum…" Patamon sighed, rolling over on his back. "Do a lot of writers do things in a weird way?"

TK took out a notebook and flipped through it, then closed it again and sighed. Even though he was just killing time until Yolei came back or they located another Crest fragment, he did love to write… but he never could get any of it to sound right or stick together. He stared out at the city's twilight skyline, a twinge of depression tugging at his heart. Matt could express himself through his music; could he ever get his own feelings to come out right?

"Why don't you take a break?" Patamon suggested, grinning wryly. "You could, I dunno, make your best friend a big snack!"

TK looked at his piggy little friend and smiled. Patamon could always make him feel better. "Not right before bed," he chuckled mischievously, "but I see a belly that's screaming to be tickled."

"Wh-wha? No, wait!" Patamon yelped, but TK's fingers were already dancing around on his cream-colored underside, sending him into giddy peals of laughter.

* * *

"Boy, Miyako, whatever you did yesterday must have been crazy," Yukari commented as she jammed her feet into her shoes.

The other girls were getting ready for the last day of the Kyoto trip, but Yolei remained entombed in her cot on the floor, still looking haggard and wiped out even after sleeping through dinner, the night, and then breakfast. Having Hawkmon change into Shurimon not once, but twice had done a number on her. Poromon didn't look so good, either; he lay beside her pillow, truly looking like a dropped rag doll. "Take it easy today," Fuuka said quietly. "Mr. Fubiyashi will be here all day, so if you need anything..."

If Yolei's stomach had the energy to tie itself in knots, it would have. This was the last day of the field trip, and the only one where they didn't have to go looking at anything stupid. She had planned to spend this day checking out the game store she had buzzed the nerds at, shopping with her new friends, and gorging on the local cuisine… but now she could hardly lift a finger.

"This is too bad," Mitsuru said. "I was looking forward to this..."

"We'll bring you back some candy or something," Fuuka promised. "See you later, OK?"

Yolei managed a whispered "ugh," and the girls filed out of the room and closed the door. She could hear them chattering as they walked away. Hopefully none of it was about her.

"…Are they gone?" Poromon asked quietly.

"Yeah…" Yolei sighed. "Gonna use the bathroom?"

"…Maybe later…" Poromon muttered, and rolled over to his other side.

Yolei relaxed her arms and stared up at the ceiling. This trip hadn't turned out like she planned at all. Boring lectures on temples, scary Digimon, and now she was too wiped to have fun! Why hadn't she just stayed back at home? At least then she would have been able to go through it all with Ken nearby!

She paused in her lament. Ken… Maybe something good could come out of this trip. She had made friends with some other, prettier girls, impressed a college professor and proved she could get boys to react to her. Those traits of popularity, smarts and sexuality were what Ken had already, so her demonstrating them like this guaranteed she could capture her raven-haired prey.

Despite her fatigue, she managed to smile as she lay back and drifted off again. She was too tired to keep dreaming, but she didn't mind; she wouldn't have to pretend for much longer.


	40. Last Stop

**CHAPTER 40**

**LAST STOP**

After an especially violent shiver, TK pulled his hat down over his ears and buried his hands in Pegasusmon's mane. The wind in the northern Digital World was sharper than the coldest days he had felt back home. "How much farther should we go?" he called to Izzy and Kabuterimon, who flew nearest to him.

"As far as we can," Izzy replied, glancing at his cell phone's screen. "We need to find something to support our theory."

"And what… th-theory is that?" Cody asked from behind Izzy, trying very hard to stop his chattering teeth. Having Armadillomon curled up on his lap kept his insides warm, but it didn't do much for his face. "Is this… r-related to the Crests?"

"No, it's more about the Digital World," Izzy replied. "We found strange places in the western forest and the southern ocean … so we want to see if there are oddities in the north and east, too."

"What's odd to me is why come you guys didn't pack warmer clothes," Armadillomon muttered. "Couldn't ya bring yer jackets from school?"

"Would that have helped?" Sora called as Birdramon flew down beside Kabuterimon. "I thought you guys get new clothes when you come in!"

Nefertimon flew ahead of the rest; the cold air didn't bother a cat with fur like hers. Agumon sat behind Kari with his arms around her middle, and Tai sat behind him probing the area with his mini telescope. Kari looked each way for something besides snow and brown grass, but she couldn't see anything. "Do… do you think there's more 'north' in this world than… other directions?..." she asked, her whole body trembling with cold.

Nefertimon felt her partner's hands shaking. "Why don't you try to get a better view faster?" she asked. "Doesn't your camera have a zoom feature?"

Kari blinked, then felt silly. "O-oh, right!" she exclaimed, lifting the digital camera. Like Tai with his telescope, she pressed it to her eye and pushed the 'zoom' button as far down as it would go. The distant landscape got closer and a shock of hope shot up her spine; it looked like there was a sharp drop off ahead. Excitedly she turned and waved her friends onward. "We're almost there!" she cried.

Tai turned his telescope the way she was looking and saw it, too. "Cool!" he chuckled. "…Uh, if that's a good choice of words, here."

"Oh, good," Agumon admitted. "It's so cold, I was afraid my Pepper Breath was going to turn minty fresh."

Just as the Yagamis had seen, in a few minutes the tundra gave way to a foggy void. Looking across it, they saw an island floating in the nothingness, much like the snowy mountain and the pyramid. This one, though, was covered in thick, green plant life, and seemed to radiate a stifling amount of humidity; the kids suddenly felt sticky and uncomfortable as they approached.

"Huh… We were correct," Izzy remarked proudly.

"We still don't know what it means, though," Kabuterimon muttered. "Maybe they just show that it's the edge of the world?"

"I don't know," TK said. "If there's a tropical jungle where Santa's workshop ought to be, something's gotta be up."

"Maybe that is Santa's place," Sora joked. "Older folks do prefer warm climates…"

Cody was speechless. He knew the Digital World was strange, but he never thought he would see a floating jungle. "Let's investigate," he suggested.

Birdramon winced. "I don't think that's a good idea…" she said, remembering what had happened in the west.

"Yeah, let's not," Nefertimon agreed. "We almost got toasted last time."

Izzy thought for a moment. "But those times, you were met with extreme temperatures," he pointed out. "That's appropriate for a mountain or a desert… but a jungle? If it's the same case, perhaps there would only be an increase in this humidity..."

"Even if there's a barrier, I think we should try," Pegasusmon said, siding with Izzy. "There has to be some way to explore these places… Maybe this is where we're supposed to start?"

Sora looked towards Tai expectantly. "Well?" she asked. "What are we doing?"

Tai frowned at the jungle. Both arguments made sense to him... but in the end, his curiosity won out. "We'll do what we did last time," he said. "Let's try going in, but be ready to turn back."

"Right…" Kari murmured, wincing. She only hoped that _this_ jungle didn't have any giant snake Digimon lurking in it.

Pegasusmon, Nefertimon, Kabuterimon and Birdramon flew closer to the floating jungle. The closer they got, the stickier the air became, but the more they could see; the trees were tall and thick, and there seemed to be some rectangular stones scattered around them, almost like the ruins of a building. "Hey, you think someone lives there?" Armadillomon suggested.

"Perhaps, but—" Cody began, but suddenly a grating, hair-raising buzzing arose from the jungle and drowned his voice. An immense black cloud spilled out around the treetops and flew towards the approaching Digimon.

Tai gnashed his teeth. "Shit!" he yelped. "Retreat! RETREAT!"

Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, Birdramon and Kabuterimon turned as quickly as they could, but the massive swarm of black insects enveloped them. The bugs flew everywhere at once, buzzing in ears, bouncing off skin and scooting up noses and into mouths. The flying Digimon lost track of where they were going and almost smashed into each other. The kids forgot about holding on and flailed their arms all around, trying to make the creepy cloud dissipate.

"No! Get away!" Kari shouted, but for every bug she flicked away, two more landed on her.

"Leave us alo—ARGHBLEGH!" Agumon gagged as one flew into his throat.

"Come on, you guys! Can't we talk this over?" Kabuterimon shouted to the bugs, but they paid no attention to their larger counterpart.

TK opened one eye to see one of the nasty little things on his arm, and he slapped his hand down on it as quickly as he could. Strangely, he felt nothing smash under his palm, and when he lifted his hand there was no sign of the bug. Were they even real?...

Birdramon knew she couldn't navigate in the mess, and she'd also had enough of the bugs. "Hold on!" she warned her passenger.

Before Sora could ask what she was going to do, Birdramon stopped flapping her wings and tumbled out of the insect cloud and into the bottomless fog. After a few tense moments, she took flight again and raced upwards, lobbing her fiery Meteor Wing attack right at the swarm. The buzzing rose into a high-pitched shriek as gobs of the bug mass caught fire and disappeared. "Quickly! This way!" she called.

Nefertimon, Pegasusmon and Kabuterimon flew out of the cloud as quickly as their wings could flap. "Whew! Thanks, Birdramon!" Kabuterimon panted. "I don't know what's wrong with those guys!"

Cody looked back and his eyes widened. "I do," he said, pointing.

As the Digidestined watched, a gaggle of new bugs materialized in place of the ones that had burned away. The swarm buzzed at them angrily for a few moments, then drifted back towards the floating jungle and vanished.

"Great…" Tai sighed. "I guess it isn't just weather protecting those places."

"Strange places with strange barriers in the compass directions…" Izzy muttered, scratching his head. "What's the reason behind them?"

Cody looked at the jungle, disappointed. He had seen a lot of wacky things in the Digital World, but to find a spot they simply could not reach… "We're not meant to go there, I guess," he said.

"Aww, Cody, don't be givin' up that easy," Armadillomon said. "I bet there's some way in."

"These places are beyond the usual Digital World level of weird," Nefertimon said. "They could be very important."

Cody said nothing more about it; he turned his thoughts to topics he could actually do something about. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Huh? It's, uh… quarter past five," Tai said, looking at his cell phone's screen.

"Oh!" Kari exclaimed, realizing what Cody was asking. "We should go! Yolei's due back from Kyoto!"

"Oh, that's right!" Sora agreed. "We're gonna meet her at the station, aren't we?"

"Yeah, this is enough exploring for today," Tai said. "Let's fly back and find a warp home."

Pegasusmon, Nefertimon, Kabuterimon and Birdramon turned and started back over the gray tundra, their riders looking down for any sign of a television. However, the earth was devoid of anything, electronics or otherwise. "Do any Digimon even live up here?" TK asked.

"They might be nocturnal…" Izzy theorized. "Perhaps they spend the day hiding underground, then emerge when the sun sets."

"Heh… Kinda sounds like Yolei," Armadillomon chuckled. "Leastwise, that's what Cody says."

The others turned and looked at the boy. "Hush!" Cody snapped at his partner.

Tai blinked, then smiled. "Heh, I didn't know you had a sense of humor, Cody," he chuckled.

Cody's cheeks burned. "Err, well…" he muttered.

"Oh, Cody says some real funny stuff 'bout folks!" Armadillomon blurted out. "Like he said Davis oughta wear underpants on his head 'cuz he's always talkin'—"

"I said _be quiet_!" Cody yelled, squeezing Armadillomon so tightly the yellow critter's words changed into wheezes.

"Oh, c'mon, Cody, let's hear some more," Agumon pressed.

"Yes… I'd love to hear what he says about _me_," Pegasusmon muttered.

"You've heard quite enough already," Cody grumbled. Those grievances against his teammates were supposed to be private. Why did his Digimon have to be a blabbermouth?

Kari saw things were getting awkward, so she decided to change the subject. "So, uh, Izzy," she tried, "you met with Ken the other day, right? How did that go?"

Izzy hesitated, scratching his chin. "Well, he wasn't very keen on discussing his own experiences," he remembered, "but eventually he warmed up, and he told me many new things. We really should have a meeting about—"

"LOOK OUT!" Cody's yell cut him off. The flying train had burst out of the clouds nearby and rushed right at the group, its whistle blasting like a banshee's wail. The Digmon scrambled to get out of the way, but the train was too fast for Nefertimon; it clipped her side and sent her crashing into Birdramon, and both fliers and their partners tumbled to the frozen ground, reverting to lower forms.

"No!" TK yelled.

Pegasusmon and Kabuterimon dove down as quickly as gravity would let them, then shrank back to Rookie levels. "Is everyone all right?" Izzy asked.

Kari was picking herself off the cold ground, visibly shaken. "I… I'm OK… I think," she managed.

Biyomon, Agumon and Gatomon looked all right, if not a little scraped up. "And I thought a pet door slapping my tush was bad…" Gatomon grumbled.

Sora was splayed out on her back in the gray grass, her arms and one of her legs around Tai, who had landed on top of her and had one arm tucked around her waist. Both of them had their eyes open and were looking at each other, panting heavily. "Hey, are you guys OK?" Armadillomon ventured.

Tai and Sora noticed the others and quickly scrambled apart. "U-uh… yeah!" Sora stammered. "We're… we're just fine!"

"Y-yeah, we're fine!" Tai gulped, his cheeks crimson. "I guess we, uh… broke each other's… fall."

Kari couldn't help but smile at the scene, but the boys went right back to business. "I guess we're walking to a TV now," Patamon pointed out.

"Right before the train came, I thought I saw something on the ground to the west," Cody said, pointing off to the right. "Maybe it was a warp…"

"Sounds as good a plan as any," Tentomon said. "Izzy, can Patamon and I fly that way and look?"

"Go ahead," Izzy agreed. "We'll be following."

The bug and the winged pig flapped off. Once Tai and Sora were back on their feet, the rest of the group started after them. "I hope Yolei won't mind if we're late," Kari said.

"We'll just say we're following her example," Gatomon chuckled.

Sora looked at TK, who had grown quiet. His face looked unusually dark. "Something on your mind?" she asked.

TK shook his head crossly. "We've explored a lot of this world, but we haven't found Arukenimon and Mummymon…" he muttered, "or Blackrapidmon… or Blackwargreymon."

The others lost some of their good moods, but Izzy was quick to respond. "I wouldn't expect them to have a designated hideout, TK," he said. "As you've said, Arukenimon and Mummymon travel in a jeep, and the others fly… They're most likely constantly on the move."

TK's scowl deepened. "They're going to make us chase them down," he growled. "Just like the cowards they are."

Agumon scratched at his chin. "I dunno, TK," he said. "Blackwargreymon didn't seem very cowardly to me…"

Everybody turned in shock. Tai gawked at his partner. "You've _met_ him?" he asked. "When was that?"

"Not too long ago," Agumon said. "He came to File Island and we talked for a while." He paused and looked around at his expectant friends. "He was a little mean at first, but once I told him I didn't want to fight, he started asking weird questions, instead… like what a heart is."

"What?" Biyomon asked, cocking her head to one side. "That's silly! Everyone knows what a heart is!"

"Well, he didn't," Agumon replied. "I tried to explain it to him, but I'm no Izzy; I don't know if he got it… But I almost made friends with him! I don't think he's a Spire-Born like those others."

Izzy looked at Agumon intently, then grew pensive. "Very strange…" he thought out loud. "If he's capable of speech, thought and even reasoning, then perhaps he really isn't a Spire-Born."

"Then what is he?" Gatomon pressed.

Izzy thought for a long while, then sighed and shook his head. "…I don't know, Gatomon," he admitted.

Armadillomon swallowed hard. "Boy, never thought I'd hear those words comin' outta you," he said. "Ain't that weird, Cody?"

Cody walked on silently, equally lost in thought. Blackwargreymon asked questions and seemed curious about things… Maybe the next time they met, he could convince him to stop pursuing the Crests.

"Hey, you guys!" Patamon's voice snapped Cody out of his thoughts. Tentomon and Patamon appeared at the top of a nearby hill, waving and looking cheerful.

"Cody was right!" Tentomon reported. "There's a TV just up ahead!"

"Awesome!" Tai laughed, pumping his fists. "We won't be late after all!"

Cody shook his head and sped up his pace. He could worry about Blackwargreymon later. For now, they had a train to meet.

* * *

"WHOO! Now THAT'S how you do it!" Davis laughed as Flamedramon sent another spire tumbling into the marsh waters, leaving no wreckage at its base. "You're a pro at this now! I oughta give you a raise!"

"But we don't get paid," Flamedramon pointed out.

Davis grinned sheepishly. "OK, would ya settle for a second pork chop next time Mom makes 'em?"

Flamedramon laughed and performed a celebratory jump-kick.

The sound of an explosion and then a crash off to the right told the duo Ken had destroyed another spire, too. They raced past a grove to see him standing over a black heap of stones, smoke curling out of his grenade launcher. "Heh, cool!" Davis laughed. "I was wonderin' what that one did."

"You do this every day, don't you?" Flamedramon asked. "What's your record?"

Silently, Ken looked around the Arumbaya Marshland perimeter, searching for the next spire. A small spot of shining black appeared amid the trees to the south. He climbed over the rubble and started towards it.

Davis frowned. "Yo!" he called. "We invisible or somethin'?"

Ken blinked and turned around. "Oh… Sorry," he apologized, looking sullen. "I don't usually talk to anyone while I'm destroying spires."

"So, uh… you want us to go somewhere else?" Flamedramon ventured.

Ken shook his head. "No… It's nice to have some company, and it makes things go a bit faster," he said. "But I'm amazed you found me all the way out here."

"The others are off mappin' the Digital World, but that sounded boring as hell," Davis chuckled. "Figured you might need some help."

Ken looked at the next spire and scowled. Davis was right about that: destroying all of these spires was no easy task. Arukenimon and Mummymon had certainly taken their time in this swamp, throwing up dozens of spires in tricky places. Until he had a clear shot at those two, he would have to keep busy destroying these vile symbols of his cruelty. "I'm sure there'll be more near that one," he told them, pointing. "Let's go."

"Fine," Davis agreed, "so long as we don't have to go back in that creepy-ass temple."

Flamedramon looked out across the brown water and the plants that floated on it. The Incamon's temple stood in the middle of the swamp, and he could see the hole the Digidestined had made when they went there last time. "I wonder if the Incamon are still angry about what happened?" he thought out loud.

"Well, it ain't our fault!" Davis snapped. "That damn Spire-Born blew that hole in the roof! Besides, if Yolei had showed up on time— Aww, SHIT!" He recoiled as if he had caught his leg in a bear trap.

"What's wrong?" Ken asked.

"We're s'posed to meet Kari an' the rest at the station! Now we're gonna be late!" Davis snarled. Even when she wasn't physically there, Yolei still managed to be a pain in his ass.

"Whoops! I forgot, too!" Flamedramon yelped, then glowed and shrank back down to Veemon. "Let's hurry, Davith!"

Despite his sullen look, Ken couldn't help but smile at their antics. "There's a TV warp in the woods over there," he said, pointing off to the left. "That's where I came from."

"Really? Thank God," Davis panted, then looked at Ken. "Hey, you wanna come too?" he asked.

Ken shook his head. "No, I need to keep working here," he said.

"Awright, see ya later!" Davis said, grabbing Veemon and starting to run. "Thanks!"

Ken watched Davis vanish into the underbrush, the leaves muffling his cussing. As soon as the pair was gone, though, Ken's smile fell off of his face. With Blackwargreymon and Blackrapidmon running loose, and more spires appearing each day, this lax, cheerful progression simply couldn't last. A hard, sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he contemplated the near future.

A warm wind blew the foul odor of the marshes through his hair, and he looked up at the late afternoon sun. "Sam… Wormmon…" he spoke, "what's going to happen to this world…?"

* * *

"Now arriving on track 8: eastbound Tokaido Shinkansen," a clear but bored voice boomed from the loudspeaker embedded in the station wall.

Davis heard the whooshing and squealing of trains pulling in and out, yanked his jacket up and walked faster. The sharp howl of the artificial winds just reminded him how cold it was. The quicker he got inside the station, the better.

"Davis! Hey, Davis!" Tai's voice made him start. He turned and saw his coach coming up behind him with Sora and Izzy, as well as TK, Cody, Kari and their respective partners.

"Wha?..." he said out loud. This was a surprise; usually he was the one who showed up late. "How come you guys're behind me?" he asked.

"We hit a snag while mapping, so we were delayed," Izzy said briefly.

"Yeah, the last thing I wanna see right now is another train…" Gatomon grumbled.

Davis blinked. "Train?" he asked. "What, were you in Rail Town or somethin'?"

"We'll explain later," Sora said. "Right now, let's find Yolei. The Kyoto train should be just coming in."

"Yeah, I heard 'em call it," Davis said. "C'mon!"

Like always, the entrance was packed with people moving every which way. "Oh, boy!" Upamon exclaimed. "It's like a chicken farm, but with people!"

"Shh!" Cody scolded him. "Don't speak here!"

"I think it's OK, actually," TK said, glancing around. "There are too many people for someone to notice a talking ball."

As they weaved around and tried to avoid getting bumped, the kids looked every which way for their friend… but there were far too many adults getting in their way. "Dammit, how come grown-ups gotta be so tall?" Davis grouched.

"Hey, TK!" Patamon chirped, his eyes flashing. "Let me sit on your head!"

TK blinked, then grinned. "Yeah, maybe you can see her from up there," he reasoned, and lifted his partner onto his hat.

"Hey, that's neat!" Demiveemon exclaimed. "Davis, can I do that, too?"

Davis hated to follow TK's example, but he didn't have any ideas of his own. "Awright, little guy; just don't yank on my hair too much!" he said, perching Demiveemon above his goggles.

"Now don't scratch me," Kari warned as she placed Gatomon's feet on her shoulders.

"Telling a cat not to scratch?" Gatomon muttered. "Tell a dog not to bark while you're at it…"

"Me too, Cody?" Upamon asked.

Cody looked at his friends and how he only came up to their chests. "I don't think it would help," he admitted.

Huddled together so nobody would get separated, the kids moved towards the gate to the trains, hoping to see Yolei as soon as she emerged… but the crowd was a river of black and gray business suits, and even the Digimon couldn't pinpoint their friend. "Does people wear those suits to travel?" Demiveemon asked. "Is Yolei wearing one?"

"Nahh, that's just how dumb ol' businessmen dress," Davis grumbled.

"But remember, Yolei changed her look before she left," Kari pointed out. "Keep a close eye out, or we may never catch her."

Davis bit his lip and strained his eyes. Couldn't Yolei be on time for anything? She was probably still snoozing in her seat on the train. He snickered at the thought of her waking up after it had started moving again and winding up right back where she got on. She'd probably think the rest of her class was gone because they got abducted by aliens or something, or—

His eyes snapped back to the left. He thought he had seen a swath of purple in the crowd, but now it had gone. The only oddity now was the sound of a gaggle of girls giggling as they moved past in the crowd.

* * *

"…So I told him it was either his toys or me!" Yukari finished as the group walked out of the station and into the chilly sunset. "Seriously, boys just don't get it... Whoo! It sure gets cold now!"

Fuuka and Mitsuru joined Yukari in pulling up their jackets. Yolei glanced back at the station doors to see she wasn't being followed and sighed with relief. Thank goodness she made it past the others without being seen! It was nice that they had come to meet her, but she couldn't let her cool new friends know who her old friends were; they might drop her like Mimi would drop a pair of last season's shoes.

"Hey, this was an awesome trip," Fuuka said. "Miyako, we should hang out around here, too!"

"Sure!" Yolei replied, grinning from ear to ear. "I gave you my cell, right? We could all go shopping, or something."

"And maybe you could introduce us to Mimi, too…" Mitsuru spoke up, then pulled back and looked awkward. "…Maybe?"

"Err…" Yolei stalled, scratching her head. Would Mimi like these girls, or dismiss them as pre-teen wannabes? She didn't want to get their hopes up, but…

Yukari and Fuuka watched Yolei expectantly. Yolei glanced around for some sort of distraction, and thankfully, found it: in the crowd, she spotted her mother and father walking towards them. "Oh, my parents are here!" she exclaimed, turning and waving excitedly. "I've gotta go!"

"Awww," Yukari sighed. "Well, see you tomorrow."

Yolei waved goodbye to the girls and hauled her luggage over to her waiting parents, a knot of tension beginning to coil in her belly. "Hi," she said.

"Welcome home, dear," her mother laughed, hugging her in that embarrassing way parents hug teenagers. "How was your trip?"

"Uh… it was OK," Yolei replied stiffly. She could hardly tell them about the insanity she went through in Kyoto, could she?

"The car's in the parking lot," her father spoke, taking her suitcase for her.

"Oh… You didn't have to do that," Yolei replied, feeling her stomach tighten. "I coulda walked home…"

"With this much stuff?" her mother asked. "Don't be silly! Come on, we're having a nice tempura for dinner, and you can tell all of us about your trip."

Yolei nervously followed them to the station's parking lot, wishing they hadn't come to meet her. She hadn't forgotten what they had in store for her once she returned, and she knew they hadn't either. As she got into the vehicle and buckled her seat belt, that knot in her stomach sizzled and hissed, ready to explode like a potato in the microwave.

Yolei's father turned the key and the car pulled out, ready to navigate the downtown afternoon traffic. "Your sisters and your brother are all at home waiting," Yolei's mother carried on as she turned back and smiled at her daughter. "Not much went on here. It was too quiet…"

"Great," Yolei muttered, opening her backpack a little bit more; Poromon had enough air, but it was a distraction from the awkward rambling.

Her mother blinked and looked at her again. "Are you feeling OK, dear?" she asked. "Did the trip tire you out?"

"I'm just fine," Yolei grumbled, her chest swelling from the mixture of tension in her guts and her mother's incessant rambling.

"Good," her father said, not looking back. "You can start work tomorrow after school."

The knot snapped in two and shot up her spine. "What? DAD!" she erupted. "I just got home!"

"A good night's sleep will get you back in the swing of things," he said. "Four o'clock sharp, so don't make any plans."

Yolei sank back in her seat, sure that fumes of humiliation were curling off of her skin. Trying to lighten the mood, her mother turned on the radio.

* * *

"…So the Jamestown settlers landed at Plymouth Rock, right?" Kari asked, scratching her head and looking at the textbook again.

"No, it isn't Plymouth Rock; that was the other guys," Tai corrected her.

Kari looked at the map again. "Oh, right… That's not even in Virginia," she sighed. "Ugh, I have enough trouble with history without having to learn other countries'."

"Just keep cool," Tai reassured her.

Having waited for over an hour at the train station, the Digidestined had finally given up and disbanded. Now seven o'clock found the Yagami siblings going over Kari's world history homework, which obviously wasn't her best subject. Gatomon perched contentedly on Kari's bed, kneading the sheets with her claws. "If they taught Digital World history, you'd be great at it," she pointed out.

"Hey, I told you to stop doing that! You're gonna leave holes!" Kari huffed at her, then paused and looked down at her book. "I don't think I'd be very good at Digital World history, either… There's so much we don't know," she admitted.

"Don't sweat it," Tai said, smiling at his sister. "We had a rough day today, but we'll get to the bottom of things. We always do."

Kari sighed, remembering the events of the day. "…It's nice to see Sora and you getting along again," she pointed out, trying to change topics. "If you can make up after fights, you must really care about her."

"Sure I do!" Tai laughed, his cheeks starting to redden. "We're best friends, after all."

Kari shot him a mischievous look. "Have you ever thought of spending more time with her?" she asked. "You know… alone?"

Tai blinked, and his face grew even redder. "W-WHAT?" he asked, jumping up and scaring Gatomon into flipping over. "You… you mean me and her… _date_?"

"What?" she asked, surprised at his reaction. "I thought you liked her."

"W-well, err, I do, but I don't… uh… not… shouldn't… oh…" Tai stammered before sagging like a punctured balloon. "I wouldn't even know how to start..." he mumbled, sounding defeated.

"I don't get it," Gatomon said, hopping off the bed and landing next to Tai. "When Kari mentions dates, you get upset? What's wrong with them? You like raisins, right? They're kinda the same, but bigger…"

"Um… it's not that kind of date, Gatomon," Kari chuckled, then eyed her brother. "What's the problem?" she asked. "I think you guys would work out great."

"I… ugh…" Tai choked, his sweaty forehead resembling a glazed ham. "Can we talk about something else?" he managed.

Almost in response to Tai's plea, there was a knock at the door. "Tai?" Yuuko asked as she leaned into the room. "Your friend Izzy's on the phone for you."

"Thank God," Tai muttered, and raced out of his sister's room and grabbed the telephone. "Izzy?" he asked. "What's up?"

"I just completed my analysis of the pictures you sent me," Izzy stated, sounding strangely excited. "I have a theory about what happened to the Control Spire, but I need to ask you: in which pocket do you keep your Digivice?"

Tai's relief changed to puzzlement. "Which pocket…?" he muttered, his hand reaching back and grasping the device. "It's usually in my back right pocket. Why?"

He heard Izzy exhale sharply on the other end of the line. "All right, Tai," he spoke with authority, "we need to get everyone together for a meeting. I'll call our friends, and you and Kari get the new kids."

"Right… See you tomorrow," Tai agreed. He hung up and raced back towards Kari's room. He had wanted a distraction, and he certainly had one.

* * *

"That'll be 1600 Yen," Yolei muttered as she took the bill the customer offered her and opened the register for change. "Paper or plastic?"

"Um… plastic," the customer hesitated. "Um, how come you guys don't have the strawberry flavor of that one fizzy water any more?"

Yolei shrugged. Did this guy honestly think she could answer that? "Nobody bought it, I guess," she ventured as she jammed the snacks unceremoniously into a bag. "OK, you're set."

The customer wrinkled his nose. "Well, _I_ liked it," he snapped crossly, then took his bag and left.

"Have a nice evening," Yolei said to nobody in particular, then went back to running a dry cloth over the countertop, her teeth gnashing. This was _not_ how she wanted to spend two hours of each afternoon for the next two weeks. Had her trip to Kyoto really cost that much? She was fourteen years old, for goodness sake! That was the age where parents were supposed to shell out for kids to have a good time, right? What was she even _doing_ here?

"Miyako," her father spoke as he came out of the back room, "I need to run to the bank. I shouldn't be more than twenty minutes. Can you manage by yourself, or should I call Saionji to help you?"

Yolei looked around at the empty store and tried to keep her frown from becoming a scowl. "…I can handle it," she grumbled.

"All right," he said, stepping out from behind the counter and walking out the door. Yolei sighed angrily. First he wanted her to work, and now he wanted to get her a babysitter? Couldn't he make up his mind?

She heard something shuffle in the back room. "He's gone now," she said.

Poromon fluttered out and landed on the counter. "Can I fly around now, Yolei?" he asked.

"Go nuts," she replied, opening the register and thumbing through a pile of bills. "Just don't break anything."

Poromon flapped his wings and fluttered over to the white wire manga rack. "Hey, Yolei, do you have any of these?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" she asked, folding her arms. "I'd never buy the crap we get in here. It's for little kids."

He looked at the manga on the rack under him. The cover showed several people in brightly colored costumes making kung-fu motions at a giant spider-like creature. "But it looks like what _we_ do," he pointed out.

"Yeah, go figure," she replied with a shrug.

"Well, out here looks way more fun than that office," Poromon spoke frankly, hopping to another part of the rack. "Boy, I thought the school was boring, but there's nothing in that room but notebooks and cardboard boxes full of more notebooks!"

"Dad won't digitize his old files," Yolei grumbled. "It's a pain in the ass."

"Have you offered to help him? Maybe he—" Poromon began, but then froze in place when he heard the door jingle open.

Yolei looked up and her face fell. Davis and Cody had walked in, their partners in their arms. "What're you doing here?" she demanded.

"Damn, that's nice," Davis grunted. "What happened to customer service?"

"Kari told us there was a meeting, if you remember," Cody said. "We just came to make sure you were done at six like you said."

Yolei blinked. "Oh… yeah," she muttered, "six." Why were they checking up on her? Did nobody think she was capable of anything today? "This meeting isn't that important, is it?" she grumbled.

"Kari thinks so," Davis pointed out.

Yolei rolled her eyes. That didn't mean much; Davis would pull his own eyes out if Kari thought it was important. "Right, whatever," she sighed, looking at the clock. "Come back in half an hour. I'll be done then."

Demiveemon squirmed in Davis's arms. "Davis, c'mon, we haven't played all day!" he complained.

"Well, there ain't nobody here…" Davis remarked, glancing around the empty store. "Why don't you check out where Yolei works?"

He set Demiveemon on the floor and the little guy scampered down an aisle, his little feet tapping on the linoleum. "Hey, wait a second!" Yolei objected. "We've got health codes!"

"But Yolei, _I've_ been here all afternoon," Poromon pointed out.

Yolei gnashed her teeth, then sighed. "Fine," she grouched at Davis, "but if he breaks anything, you're paying for it."

"So, are the full-timers twice as nasty as you?" Davis cackled. She just scowled and looked away.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me too, Cody?" Upamon asked, flashing a winning smile.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Cody admitted, and let the yellow ball bounce onto the floor.

Upamon glanced around, then spied a rack of candy bars at the end of the aisle. "BANZAI!" he cried, and dove at it.

Right before his mouth closed around a fudge nut cluster bar, though, he found himself back in Cody's iron grip. "What did she just say?" Cody snapped.

"…Upamon can have whatever fills him up?" Upamon tried, grinning again.

Davis and Poromon couldn't help but laugh at the scene. "He's a little garbage disposal, ain't he?" Davis snickered.

Cody wasn't amused. "It's only rice when we get home," he scolded Upamon.

"Gotta train him better, Cody," Davis went on. "Heck, you don't see Demiveemon taking stuff that ain't—"

The opening and closing of a cooler door made everyone whirl around. Demiveemon reappeared wrestling a drink can and tugging the tab off. "I've never tried this kind before, Davis!" he exclaimed as he fell back and chugged away.

"Why you—GIMME THAT!" Davis yelled. He rushed over and snatched the can away, but it was already half gone. To make matters worse, it wasn't a soda: the red label on the aluminum read "Shogun Molukan's Spiced Beer."

Cody rolled his eyes. "You were saying?" he asked.

"Demiveemon!" Davis huffed. "Why'd you do that?"

"Oogh… I was thirsty…" Demiveemon mumbled, starting to turn green. "I don't feel so good…"

"That's it!" Yolei snapped, coming away from the counter and grabbing Davis's shoulder. "You're paying for that!"

"What? Hell no!" Davis huffed back. "He didn't break it! He just opened it!"

"Yeah, and drank half the can!" she snarled, grabbing the can and shaking it to emphasize her point. "You can't sell open half-cans of beer, Davis! If you don't pay, you're shoplifting! So cough it up!"

Upamon watched Demiveemon writhe on the floor. "I think he's about to…" he gulped.

"…Frickin'… Hell!" Davis snarled, and began to dig for his wallet.

"Excuse me, Yolei," Cody spoke up, "but if Davis pays, you'll be committing a crime yourself."

Everyone looked at him in surprise. "What?" Yolei asked. "How?"

"Think," Cody went on. "If you make Davis pay for that beer, then the store—and thus your parents—will have proof that you sold alcohol to a minor."

Yolei's face paled, and then she felt sick. She hadn't thought of that; receiving money for alcohol from someone younger than her would be a much worse crime than shoplifting. "…OK, fine!" she hissed, stamping her foot. "Just get rid of the can, OK?"

"Sweet," Davis said, a smug smile plastered over his face. It was nice to have Cody's brain on his side for once. "Just pour out the rest and I'll stick it in my duffle bag."

"Whooooa…" Demiveemon crooned as he tried to get up and fell down again, his cheeks bright pink. "Da… Daaavish! I… I feel funny… like… like a bunny! Hee hee…"

Yolei icily took the can and poured the contents down the sink behind the register. This simply was not her day.

* * *

The park's lampposts gleamed dull white in the 6:30 darkness. TK shuddered and pulled his hat down over his ears while Patamon hit between his legs. "Remind me why we're outside again?" he asked. "It's almost December!"

"Nobody has a room large enough for all of us," Izzy answered, "and with the school closed for the weekend, we can't use the computer lab."

Tai, Sora, Joe, Gatomon and Kari were busy watching the rest of the park for the others. Matt leaned against the lamppost, polishing his saxophone. "This had better be important," he muttered. "I can't afford to skip any more practices."

"Oh, yeah?" Tai asked. "Why's that?"

Matt was about to answer when Sora waved into the darkness excitedly. "Here! Over here!" she called.

Davis, Yolei and Cody rushed into the light, their partners in tow. "Hey, guys," Davis said.

"Sorry we're late," Cody apologized. "We had some trouble on the way here."

"What happened?" Gatomon asked.

Davis frowned and held up Demiveemon, who swayed back and forth in his arms. "Lesson for ya: don't let yer Digimon have booze," he grumbled. "They get nuttier than usual."

"Whoopie!~ (HIGGUP)" Demiveemon laughed, his face as red as a strawberry.

The older kids' mouths dropped open. "What the…?" Sora gasped.

"Hmm… I guess Digimon aren't capable of holding their liquor," Izzy suggested.

"How'd THAT happen?" Tai asked.

"It's a long story," Cody admitted. "It started when we—"

"It doesn't matter," Yolei cut him off. "Come on, what're we here for?"

"Yolei…" Poromon scolded, but she didn't react.

Izzy hesitated, then cleared his throat. "I wanted to update you all on my findings on the 'melting' spire," he said, walking over to the picnic bench and opening his laptop.

Everybody crowded around to look. The screen showed the photographs Kari had taken. "As you can see, something clearly burned through part of its base and caused it to fall," Izzy went on, pointing to the images.

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed. "It's like a black crayon left on a radiator."

"What could do that?" Joe asked. "Did Flamedramon or Greymon hit it with fireballs?"

"No," Tai said. "I was just leaning on it for a while, and then it almost made me a pancake."

"Pamcakes?" Demiveemon slurred, looking around excitedly. "Can we (HIC) get shum, Davis?"

"That's what made me investigate this so thoroughly," Izzy went on. "He was leaning against that spire, and he keeps his Digivice in his back right pocket… so…" He paused and looked at his audience. "My theory is: what burned through the spire was, in fact, Tai's Digivice."

A collective gasp went through the group; even Matt looked up in surprise. "Our Digivices?" Sora asked, pulling hers out. "But why?"

"It's not something new, though," Joe recalled. "Our Digivices could destroy Black Gears."

"Then are Control Spires and Black Gears related somehow?" Patamon asked. "They don't look the same except for the color…"

TK suddenly remembered something. "It's not just those things," he blurted out. "Remember Andromon's ring?"

Kari, Gatomon and Tai all looked surprised. "Oh, yeah!" Tai exclaimed. "My Digivice glowed, and the Dark Ring he had on cracked!"

"…And when Blackwargreymon got in my face, mine glowed and scared him off," Matt stated.

"So, we can mess up all those things with these?" Sora recapped, looking at her little pale-green gizmo with a faint smile. "We're still… useful?"

"I guess…" Joe replied, not sounding certain.

"Yeah? So how come that Digital Gate keeps us out?" Matt asked.

The others grew uncomfortably silent. Matt's downer statement had a point: even if they were able to destroy control spires, that gate wouldn't let them into the Digital World to do it. "Why is that?" Upamon spoke up.

"I don't know," Izzy admitted glumly. "I suppose it could be the Order's way of transitioning between sets of Digidestined…"

"But wouldn't Mr. Gennai have told you so?" Cody asked.

"Unless he was bein' a jerk," Davis grumbled.

"No, Gennai isn't a jerk!" Joe argued. "He wouldn't… Uh… Would he?"

Izzy shook his head. "We can't answer that one right now," he said. "However, I think we now have a way to save Gargomon."

"Save him?" Gatomon asked, rolling her eyes. "Do we really have to?"

"Of course we do!" Kari snapped at her partner. "What's your plan, Izzy?"

"Gargomon became Blackrapidmon when Arukenimon fused him with a Crest and some spires," Izzy recalled. "Maybe if we can get one of our old Digivices close enough, we can dissolve those spires and change him back."

Cody scratched his head. "Couldn't that destroy him anyway?" he asked. "Those spires are part of him now."

"True…" Izzy admitted, "but it seems a better option than simply blowing him to smithereens."

"I guess it's worth a shot," TK said. "We can try it the next time a Crest piece shows up."

"So…" Patamon said, tugging one of his ear wings in thought. "Oh! Sora's and Tai's!" he exclaimed.

"That's right, Patamon," Izzy recounted, looking at Tai and Sora, "only your Crests remain: Love and Courage. You two need to be ready to join the new kids at a moment's notice."

"Right," Tai answered.

"Just let me know, and I'll be ready," Sora said to Yolei.

"Uh… sure," Yolei replied, looking uncomfortable.

"Whoo!" Demiveemon laughed, still swaying like a flag in Davis's arms. "We're gonna (HIC)… gonna… What're we doin' again?..."

"Well, that concludes what I wanted to discuss," Izzy finished, closing his laptop and dropping it into his pack. "I suppose we can go home now…"

Yolei sighed and turned to go, but Joe stopped her. "Hey, Yolei, what happened in Kyoto?" he asked.

"What?…" she asked, trying to make it clear she wasn't keen on talking.

"My brother Shin called me yesterday," Joe went on. "He said he met you there, and some crazy Digimon-related stuff went down. What was that all about?"

Everyone turned to Yolei, curious and surprised. "There were Digimon in Kyoto?" Cody asked.

"Uh…" Yolei stalled, then sighed angrily; she wasn't getting home just yet. "Yeah, there were," she said.

"Seriously?" Tai exclaimed. "What happened?"

Yolei rolled her eyes and recounted the strange happenings she had been dragged into in Kyoto: Blackwargreymon appearing in the park; the shadowy blobs that followed him, then turned into Digimon when provoked; the two she had to fight; and the weird way they died. "So Shurimon puts his shuriken right through the guy, and he just falls apart. Nothing left but stinky smoke and black sludge on the water," she finished.

"Those guys weren't easy," Poromon piped up. "I got so tired, I couldn't move for a day!"

"Sheesh," Tai said, adjusting his goggles. "You had quite a trip!"

Yolei shook her head. "Wasn't the vacation I needed…" she muttered.

Kari shuddered as Yolei's story swam around in her head. Those shadow creatures reminded her of those… _things_ she had run into on that eerie gray seashore.

TK remembered that dark ocean, too, and also the workers in the factory at the bottom of the whirlpool. Had the Deadmon found a way to get into the real world?

Davis looked a little more than cross. "So when were you gonna tell us all this?" he asked Yolei.

"I just got home yesterday!" she snapped defiantly.

"It's all right, Yolei," Izzy said. "We're glad you let us know. This opens up a whole new series of questions, though… like…" He trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.

Sora turned to Yolei expectantly. "How's my dad?" she asked.

Yolei looked puzzled and a bit annoyed. "He's… fine?" she ventured. "You don't talk to him yourself?"

Sora sighed. "Between school, soccer and helping Mom at the store, I don't have much time," she said. "When I have time on the weekends, I'll call his office… but he's never in."

"Oh, yeah?..." Yolei asked, Mimi's comments drifting back into her head. "That's… interesting."

Sora blinked. "What is?" she asked.

"Oh! Uh… Nothing," Yolei sputtered, then clammed up.

"What were you going to say?" Poromon asked, but his only response was a pinch to his behind.

While the girls shared an awkward silence, the others tried to get Izzy to voice his thoughts again. "C'mon, Izzy, it's no good if we can't hear it," Gatomon pressed.

"Yeah, what kinds of questions?" Joe asked.

"Oh! Sorry," Izzy apologized, snapping out of it. "I was wondering how Blackwargreymon was able to go between the two worlds. If Arukenimon can't do that, I doubt a Spire-born could… it's more evidence that he's not one of those."

"Then what is he?" Tai asked. "How did those clowns make him, and why can he show up in our world?"

"Maybe he used a special path, like Myotismon did," Patamon suggested.

"Perhaps, but the way Yolei described it, he just fazed into our dimension," Izzy went on.

"If he can do it whenever he wants, we're in deep shit," Matt warned. "He could show up in our rooms and kill us as we slept."

"Oh, thanks, Matt," Sora huffed. "How am I going to get to bed now? "

"No, it didn't sound like he could do it at will," Izzy pointed out. "Yolei said he was brought in and spirited away by a strange cloud formation."

"What the hell is this guy?" Davis grunted his frustration. "We saw him show up and we still ain't got a clue!"

Izzy scratched his chin again. "If we only knew exactly what he was, and why he can connect with those shadow creatures, we—"

"YOU!" Demiveemon's shrill voice made everyone jump. The red-faced little guy was squirming fiercely in Davis's grip, swinging his little fists at Matt. "You… you wanna (HIC) take my Davish'ish sish-shish-shishter!"

Matt looked at the drunken Digimon, then glared at Davis. "What's he mean?" he demanded.

"You wan' my Joooon! (HIGGUP)" Demiveemon slurred, still flailing around. "But… but I ain't letcha do it! (HURK) They're MY boobs! Myyyy boobs!"

"For the love of…" Cody muttered, putting his hand against his face.

"Still haven't taught him not to speak like that, I see," Yolei snorted.

Kari had to clamp her hands over her mouth to keep her laughter inside. Tai and TK chuckled, too. Matt, though, was increasingly irritated. "Now you listen…" he growled.

"You think… (HIC) you can music all by yourself? Nonono! I can do better!" Demiveemon cackled, then pulled back and started screeching a song at Matt. "DIGIIIII… (HIC) DIGIIII (HIC) DIGIMON ARE THUH CHAMPEEEEEENS!~" he bellowed.

Matt's jaw clenched. He yanked Demiveemon away from Davis, dropped him in the saxophone case and shut it.

"Hey, wait a sec!" Davis yelled.

"He's gotta sober up," Matt replied.

"Er… well, yeah…" Davis agreed, "but it ain't a good idea."

"He can breathe," Matt grunted. "It's not locked."

"Not that," Davis said. "He had dinner… but no potty break."

Matt was about to ask what Davis meant when he heard a terrible sound from inside his saxophone case. "HAH!" Demiveemon laughed drunkenly. "Now yer music _double_ shtinks! (HIC)"

Matt's face took on a hue of polished marble as he realized what had happened.

"…Well, I think we've covered enough ground tonight," Izzy said quickly, gathering his things. "I'll see you all on Monday."

"Err, yeah," Sora chuckled weakly. "Goodnight, you guys."

"Later!" Tai said, motioning for Kari and Gatomon.

The kids split up and disappeared into the evening. Only Davis remained, as well as a red-faced demon that used to be Matt. Davis looked at the face in front of him, then at the saxophone case, then back at the face. "…I tried to warn ya," he managed.

Two iron fists clamping onto his jacket told him that wasn't the right response.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Davis sluggishly made his way to the base of his apartment building, with Demiveemon drunkenly singling and belching in his grip. "September… September moooon!~" Demiveemon warbled. "C'mon, Davish! Shing it wiff me!"

"Forget it," Davis grumbled, "I just got a sharp pain in the piggy bank." Now he wondered if he should have paid Yolei for the beer; it sure would have been cheaper than owing Matt a whole new saxophone case.

"Hee hee hee!" Demiveemon giggled. "Piggies… piggies make pork chopsh! I wan'… wanna pork chop."

"Hell no," Davis muttered. "You ain't gettin' pork chops for a week." How could half a can keep the little guy sloshed for this long?

Demiveemon hiccupped again, but then suddenly grew quiet and sagged in Davis's grip. "H-hey, you OK?" Davis asked, shaking him a little.

"Vuooo…" the little blue Digimon groaned, "I tashte bacon…"

Davis blinked. "Bacon?" he asked. "You didn't eat any—"

Demiveemon keeled over and erupted in a torrent of gross sounds, splattering the pavement and Davis's shoes with a vile color. "Ahhh… better," he sighed, slumping back into Davis's shirt.

Davis's face was as red as Matt's had been. "You little…! You're lucky I ain't wearin' sandals," he snarled, and started up the apartment steps.

He reached the Motomiya residence and left his shoes outside to dry, then quietly made his way inside. His parents and Jun were absorbed in their favorite Saturday night comedy show, so he had no problem getting into the bathroom undetected.

"There we go…" Davis muttered as he set the unconscious Demiveemon down in the bathtub, jamming a sponge under his head to serve as a pillow. His mom had made his dad spend the night in the bathtub once or twice when he got as loopy as Demiveemon was, so he figured it was the thing to do. Besides, he wasn't taking any chances bringing the little guy into his room; he might have some ammo left in his tummy.

"I'm home," Davis announced as he came out.

"Oh, hi, hon," Mrs. Motomiya said, looking up and smiling. "Wanna sit down? They've got a cartoon segment coming up!"

"Err, sure… Just give me a sec," Davis replied, and headed for the family computer in the living room's corner. He wasn't one to turn down a veg-out session, but he had to e-mail somebody first. Even though Ken tried to keep his distance from the other Digidestined, he would probably want to know what Izzy had said.

He opened up his e-mail program and started typing as much as he remembered, knowing he wouldn't be spied upon until a commercial break, at least. Hopefully Ken would have some ideas of his own to supplement Izzy's.

* * *

"…And the cold and clouds will keep increasing as we move into December," the weather lady finished, motioning to the five-day forecast behind her. "Don't set your hopes too high, but it almost looks like Tokyo could even have a little snow this year!"

The news took a commercial break. Ken leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, trying to think of a topic for conversation with his parents. "Um… Hey, what is it they call it… a 'white Christmas?'" he asked. "Do you think we'll have one this year?"

His parents didn't answer him. He looked up to see them looking at him with even more worry than before. "Ken," his mother spoke, "what's the matter?"

Ken stiffened. "…Nothing," he replied, and tried to avoid their gazes.

"Come on, Ken, we know something's up," his father pushed. "First your grades start slipping, and then you get those strange injuries, and you're disappearing into your room just like before… What's going on?"

Ken just shook his head. He had to say something to reassure them. "It's nothing," he repeated, "the workload's just starting to get tougher, that's all…" and to finish the conversation, he got up and added: "I'd better double-check my math homework for Monday."

Before his parents could respond, Ken strode to his room and closed the door, sighing sharply. Coming up with new excuses was becoming a major hassle. They never poked their noses into his business when he was ravaging the Digital World; why did they have to get on his back when he was trying to make good?

Deciding to plan tomorrow's spire-toppling venture, he sat down and turned on his computer, but an e-mail from Davis arrested his attention instead. He read over the notes from Izzy's meeting and felt his brow fold into a frown, and the foreboding burn in his chest felt even harsher.

Planning tomorrow could wait. He took out his notebook and began to quickly write in it.

* * *

The sky glowed a dusky pink hue as morning crept into the Digital World. Mummymon sighed happily as he looked out over the mesa. "Look at that sunrise… Isn't that a lovely sight?" he asked.

His response was a volley of missiles raining down on him from above. He rolled away and responded with Obelisk's strongest blast, but Blackrapidmon shot sharply to the right, then dove and emitted his deadly triangular energy ray. Mummymon blocked with Obelisk, but the beam shoved him inside the hangar and into a stack of wooden crates.

Arukenimon sniffed and swatted at her hair. "Pay attention to your opponent, nitwit," she huffed. "You're supposed to be training him."

"Oho," Mummymon cackled as he painfully got back on his feet, "so does that makes me a training dummy?... Or would it be a training mummy?"

Arukenimon just exhaled sharply and looked around the dumpy building. The place where that foul-smelling girl received her first DigiEgg had turned out to be the optimal lair for training Blackrapidmon, so they had made camp there for the past few days. Mummymon had taken beating after beating getting Blackrapidmon to listen to her commands, but even now he didn't always do what she wanted. She angrily bit her lip and scowled at their spire-enhanced pet. She had to get him under total control, or else he might end up destroying the last thing they wanted destroyed; if that little tart were harmed, they would be in even more trouble than they already were.

"Now you listen to me," she snarled at the twitching mechanical rabbit, "You may be powerful, but under NO circumstances will you attack the girl in pink. Do you understand me? If you do, you're going to wish you were never born."

Although Blackrapidmon didn't respond, the way his expression changed between psychotic and sorrowful made her muse that he might have already had that wish in his heart. "Good," she purred, then looked back at Mummymon. "Come on," she barked. "He needs more practice!"

Mummymon slowly hoisted Obelisk back onto his shoulder and took a few painful steps forward when a loud crackling came from the jeep's radio. "Oh!" he exclaimed, looking that way. "It seems we're out of time!"

The radio sputtered and hiccupped a few times before a newscaster's voice managed to escape it. "This just in, folks," it said, "a mysterious flying train is roaring through the airspace of Spaghetti Junction. The populace is reported to be alarmed and frightened, and the Resistance forces in the town are mobilizing, fearing it's a weapon the humans have created. We'll bring you more details as they come."

In spite of her worries about Blackwargreymon's reliability, she couldn't help but smile at the report. "Utter imbeciles," she muttered. "Mummymon! Start the jeep!"

* * *

Davis's dreamless sleep ended with a bang on his door like a gunshot and his sister's sharp shouts of his name slicing into his membranes. He rolled onto the floor and dragged himself to his feet, scowling at the clock. He didn't care when others began their Sundays, but eleven AM was too early for him.

"Daisuke! HEY!" Jun snapped, and again banged on the door.

Davis stomped over and pulled it open with an equally nasty response of: "what the hell is your—"

"What's wrong with you?" Jun huffed, waving the scraggly, wet form of Demiveemon in his face. "You're too old to leave your stuff lying around like this!"

"Never stops _you_," Davis retorted, recalling how filthy her room was.

Jun wasn't listening; she sniffed Demiveemon and almost retched. "Uggh, he smells awful!" she declared. "What did you do, play with him in a sandbox under a highway bridge?"

"I wish," Davis muttered, but said nothing else.

"You're lucky I'm about to take a bath," Jun scolded. "I'll clean him for you THIS time, but that's it!"

Davis thought he saw Demiveemon's ear perk up. As Jun stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door, he groggily wandered into the kitchen and wet a rag in the sink. Getting Jun to wash the lightweight in exchange for minor humiliation was fine by him. In the meantime, he would clean his shoes. He had admittedly low standards, but even he didn't like his footwear slathered in barf.

Just as he was about to start scrubbing, though, he heard his D-Terminal go off back in his room. He scrambled back in and opened it to find a message:

_Davis,_

_Come to Takenouchi's ASAP. Crest of Love revealed itself._

_Cody_

Davis groaned loudly. Why now? Jun took hours in the bath!

* * *

"Come on, Tai! Quit dragging your feet!" Gatomon shouted at Tai. "Izzy said A-SAP, not A-sleep!"

Kari stopped to wait. Tai was a few steps behind Gatomon and her and walking slower than he usually did. "…Sorry," he apologized.

"Don't think Arukenimon's gonna be laid back because it's Sunday," Gatomon huffed. "In the Digital World, there's no such thing!"

"OK, Gatomon, he gets it," Kari warned, squeezing the cat a little. Tai was fidgeting with his hands as he caught up with them, and she wondered if it was because of what she had suggested the other day. Was he going to be nervous around Sora from now on?

They reached the fifth floor and saw most of their friends waiting at the entrance to Sora's apartment: Izzy, TK, Cody, and a very crabby-looking Yolei. The Digimon huddled together around their partners' feet to stave off the cold wind, though Yolei's venting sounded like enough to keep the whole block warm. "This is the one day, the ONE DAY I have off from work, and THIS is how I have to spend it?" she raged. "It's completely, totally, utterly not fair! I just got home! It's the only weekend where I don't have a pile of homework! Can't I ever get a break?"

"Sorry the Digital World didn't check your schedule," Cody muttered, already fed up with the complaining.

"Don't start!" Yolei snapped at him. "I'm NOT in the mood!"

Poromon looked confused and worn out. "Which one is it, Yolei?" he asked. "You said you're _in_ a mood on the way here, and now you're not?..."

Yolei spluttered angrily. "Just stay out of it!" she rebuked.

TK looked annoyed too, but his expression brightened as he saw Kari, Gatomon and Tai. "Hey, guys!" he called, waving.

"Hi!" Kari replied as they joined the rest of the group. Looking around, though, she noticed someone was missing. "Davis isn't here yet?" she asked.

As if someone had rubbed a grubby old lamp, Davis burst up the stairs and raced over to the group, gasping for air. "H… hey…" he panted, pausing to swallow a few times. "I… I made it!..."

The others couldn't help but notice the flecks of soap in his hair, and that the arm under which he had Demiveemon was soaking and drippy, much like Demiveemon. "Davis, why're you all wet?" Patamon piped up.

Upamon wrinkled his nose; Davis's saturation wasn't the only thing. "What's that icky stuff on your shoes?" he asked.

Davis fumed. "Gee, I don't know," he growled, holding Demiveemon in front of him. "Why don't you ask HIM?"

Demiveemon looked around, then just shrugged. "I dunno what he's talking about, either," he said.

As Davis shouted angry unintelligible things and almost smooshed Demiveemon's head in with a noogie, Izzy turned and pressed the doorbell. Sora opened it with a smile. "Hi, guys! Come in and get warmed up," she said cheerfully.

The seven kids filed inside and pulled off their jackets and footwear (Davis buried his shoes beneath the others'). Toshiko Takenouchi looked up from the Sunday paper in surprise. "Goodness!" she exclaimed. "Sora, what's going on?"

"It's OK, Mom," Sora reassured her, "we're just having a study session this afternoon."

Given the difference in ages between them, the kids understood why Toshiko still looked puzzled. "Uh… Amazingly, all of our grades are teaching the same subject simultaneously," Izzy lied quickly. "We figured it would be enriching for all of us to work together."

"Yeah, don't worry; we'll keep 'em in line, Mrs. Takenouchi," Tai added, flashing a grin.

"Oh, you boys are here, too?" Toshiko said, smiling a little. "All right, that's fine. Did you want some tea?"

"Uh, that's OK, mom," Sora intervened. "We've got a few snacks already."

"…All right," Toshiko said, turning back to her paper and looking a bit glum.

Sora corralled everybody into her room and closed the door. "Man…" Davis muttered as he looked back, "how come I'm the only Digidestined without a hot mom?"

Demiveemon scratched his head. "I thought she looked the same temperature as all of us…" he peeped.

Sora turned on her computer and logged in. "It's all yours," she said to Izzy.

Izzy sat down in the chair and pulled out the CD that held the Digital Gate program. "I should have us up and running in a few minutes," he said, "though I have to warn you: I'm not exactly sure where the Crest fragment is."

"Your stuff couldn't find it?" Patamon asked. "You're not getting rusty, are you?"

"…No," Izzy muttered. "I mean that the piece was in one place when I woke up this morning, and another place when I checked later on. It seems to be on the move, most often in the vicinity of Spaghetti Junction."

"Great," Yolei grumbled. "Those trigger-happy loonies again."

Cody thought for a moment. "Could it be inside something else, like Mimi's Crest was?" he asked.

"That was my theory as well," Izzy agreed.

"Well, whatever it is, we'd better find it before Blackwargreymon does," TK said, pulling out his Digivice.

"And before the others, too," Gatomon added. "I really don't wanna deal with Blackrapidmon again…"

"Don't worry; that's why Sora's coming with you all," Izzy said, still typing away.

Sora took out her old Digivice and stared at it intently for a moment, then looked at her young friends. "Izzy, did you get that message to Biyomon?" she asked.

"Tentomon found her, yes," he answered. "She'll be waiting near the warp outside of town… but be sure not to get too close. Tentomon said that the Resistance has really gotten aggressive since Gargomon vanished. They'll attack anybody that gets near Spaghetti Junction, and that includes Digimon."

Davis recoiled. "They're goin' after their own kind now?" he asked. "Shit, man!"

"It's understandable," Poromon said. "After all, they know that some Digimon are friends with you… and some even work for you."

Upamon looked surprised. "Work for them?" he asked. "We don't work for them; they're our partners!"

"That's a matter of perspective," Poromon muttered, glancing at Yolei. "Cody doesn't make you hit the 'snooze' button on his alarm five times, does he?"

"Lay off," Yolei muttered. "…And it was only four times today."

"Err… right," Tai said. "Anyway, you guys go find the Crest, and Izzy and I'll make enough noise that Mrs. Takenouchi still thinks we're all in here."

Sora smiled at him. "Thanks for offering to do this guys," she said. "I don't like to make Mom worry."

"Not a problem," Izzy replied.

"Err, uh… yeah! No biggie!" Tai agreed, his cheeks flashing an unusual red.

Izzy opened the Digital Gate's program and the younger kids prepared their D3s. "Awright, let's get goin'!" Davis said, thrusting his at the screen. "Digiport, open!"

The gate's light changed color and the screen revealed the dusty expanse that lay around Spaghetti Junction. With a bright flash, Davis and Demiveemon vanished. Yolei grabbed Poromon and disappeared, too. Then Cody picked up Upamon and was pulled inside the monitor.

As TK took Patamon and disappeared, Kari turned to Sora. "Go on ahead of me," she said. "If I go now, the gate'll close without you."

Sora began to approach the computer, then gave a start. "Oh! I forgot!" she said, looking back at Tai and Izzy. "Would you water my bonsai? I always water it on Sundays…"

"Wha?" Tai gulped, then noticed the small but ornate-looking tree on the desk. "O-oh yeah, sure."

"Thanks," she repeated, then vanished into the screen, and then Gatomon hopped on Kari's back and they disappeared too. The screen returned to normal.

Tai sat down on the bed and sighed heavily. "I hope this works," he admitted. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked, pulling his math book out of his sack. "We said we were studying, so that's what I plan to do. There's a tricky-looking calculus exam on Wednesday… and considering your usual grades, I'd say you should do the same. Would you like some notebook paper?"

Tai winced; leave it to Izzy to actually do what they made up.

* * *

Once again, Davis was treated to the endless blue sky over the arid expanse and the dusty wind in his hair. Living in a crowded, compressed city area like Tokyo, the sheer openness of this area blew him away every time he warped in. Despite the problems they encountered in Spaghetti Junction, this made him pause and think how lucky those Digimon were to live here.

Sora was more focused on the job. "Does anyone see Biyomon?" she asked, shielding her eyes and peering out over the dust.

The others looked around, too. Finally, Gatomon picked out two figures coming in their direction. "There!" she announced, pointing. "It's Biyomon… and Ken, too!"

"Ken?" Cody asked, scowling at Davis. "Did you tell him about this?"

"Hey, lay off," Davis snapped. "I was too busy dodging sponges and trying to block out what I saw in the bath—Aww, hell, it's back now!"

Yolei felt like doing backflips. He came! When Cody had woken her up and told her the news, she had stayed out of a funk long enough to shoot an e-mail to him… and he had actually come!

"Biyomon!" Sora called to the pink bird next to Ken.

"Sora!" Biyomon chirped as she fluttered into the waiting arms of her partner. "I missed you!"

Veemon looked confused. "I don't get it, Davith," he said. "Those two're always huggin' when they meet up. _You_ never hug _me_…"

"They can't live together, Einstone," Davis answered. "Besides, you get enough hugs from she-who-must-not-be-named, don'tcha?"

"Must be hard, not bein' able to go home with yer partner," Armadillomon admitted. "Dunno how I'd fend fer myself without a fridge—uh, I mean Cody."

Cody just rolled his eyes. "Biyomon, what's the situation here?" he asked, trying to make everyone focus.

"Oh, right!" Biyomon said, taking flight and looking at the wooden walls of Spaghetti Junction in the distance. "Well, first of all: do NOT go anywhere near town anymore! Those Resistance Digimon will attack anything around the walls! I'm surprised they haven't destroyed this TV yet…"

"They attack anybody?" TK asked.

"That's what I said!" Biyomon huffed. "I barely got away myself!"

"What?" Sora gasped. "What were you doing over there? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine, Sora," Biyomon reassured her. "I just got a little too close and they started throwing rocks and spitting fireballs; they didn't even ask me to 'halt' or anything… Luckily, Ken grabbed me and we hid far away until we saw you show up."

"Oh!" Kari exclaimed, looking at Ken. "That was really helpful, Ken!"

Ken just swatted at his hair, trying to ignore the attention. They were thanking the Emperor for rescuing a Digimon he had once enslaved? And one of his Generals, no less? It was the only thing he could do to repay the violation; he didn't deserve any words of thanks.

"Seriously, Ken, I don't know what I would have done if Biyomon got hurt," Sora said, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Ken's cheeks reddened a little and he looked away. "…You're welcome," he finally muttered.

"So, have you guys seen a Crest moving around?" Patamon asked.

Biyomon cocked her head to one side, looking amazed. "They move on their own?" she asked.

Ken glared up at the sky. "The only thing I've seen moving out here is that flying train," he replied.

Everyone followed suit and looked up. "What flying train?" Hawkmon asked. "I don't see anything up there at all."

"Well, it isn't always here," Biyomon went on. "But every now and then it comes out of nowhere, flies around in the sky and almost crashes into the town, then goes back up and disappears over the mountains."

"A _train _dive-bombs cities?" Davis remarked. "Sounds like it thinks it's a fighter plane."

"What could possibly make it do that?" Kari asked, remembering their close encounter with it up north.

"Might just be one of those Digital World things…" TK suggested. "I mean, they've got phones that insult you, so why not flying trains?"

"None of the trains in Rail Town flew, though," Gatomon pointed out.

As the others tried to come up with a half-cocked explanation for why a train was flying, Ken stood to the side, remembering what had happened in Rail Town. He had been standing right there when the train had roared to life and taken off into the sky. Had he done something to activate it? But what? He hadn't flipped a switch or stepped on a button, and his laser cannon certainly didn't power up machinery… What else could it have been?

Yolei, who had successfully kept out of the flying train debate, noticed Ken standing away from everyone else, apparently lost in thought. Her heart jumped in her chest. Now was her chance! But what could she do to get his attention? Her mind jumped back to the picture frame she had bought in Kyoto, and that pulled her eyes toward the digital camera around Kari's neck. This was a perfect chance to get a picture of them together! "Kari!" she almost shouted, grabbing Kari's arm and pulling her aside. "Get a picture of Ken and me!"

Kari blinked a few times. Hadn't she just been discussing trains with TK? "What?" she asked.

"Come on, help me out, here!" Yolei huffed. "I'm gonna go up and get next to him, and then you take a picture, OK?"

Kari raised an eyebrow. This hardly seemed the time for photography. "I don't think—" she began.

"C'mon, Kari, _pleeeeease_!" Yolei hissed. "This's my big break! Please please please please!"

"All right, all right!" Kari surrendered, unable to hold out against Yolei's increasingly hostile whining. "Just remember, don't move while I'm taking it, or it'll be blurry."

Yolei gave her a thumbs-up and slowly made her way over to Ken, who still concentrated only on the dust in front of him. Carefully, as if he were made out of playing cards, she maneuvered her hand between his elbow and his side and locked arms with him. "OK!" she chirped, waving for Kari to take the shot.

Ken snapped out of thought and stared blankly at the girl on his arm. "…What are you doing?" he asked, frowning.

Yolei froze in place, feeling hot all over. "Eh heh heh…" she chuckled awkwardly through her paralyzed smile.

She noticed Kari silently giving her an 'okay' signal and broke away. "Oh, nothing!" she giggled. "You'll see."

Ken frowned at her for a few moments longer, then went back to staring at the ground.

Yolei zipped back to Kari. "Did you get it?" she demanded.

Kari looked at her camera's screen and winced. "Well, yes," she said, "but—"

"Great! E-mail me a copy, OK?" Yolei cut her off, clapping her on the shoulder and then making her way back into the group.

"…Or maybe it's the ghost of a train that's flying around?" Patamon suggested. "Matt's got music from one of those, doesn't he, TK?"

"C'mon, you guys," Davis grunted, frustrated with the discussion. "Who cares how it started flyin'? We gotta find the Crest before Blackwargreymon shows up!"

"Right," TK agreed, pulling out his D-Terminal. "I'll ask Izzy if he's located it again."

"Hurry," Ken said. "We can get away from Blackwargreymon, but if Blackrapidmon appears, too…"

"Oh, don't worry about him!" Veemon exclaimed. "We've got a super-awesome idea to fix him!"

Ken looked understandably surprised. Kari and TK quickly explained Izzy's theory about the original Digivice model's power to destroy spires, and how it might be able to turn Blackrapidmon back into Gargomon. When they were finished, though, Ken did not look convinced. "Hmm… It's possible you could, but I doubt you could get close enough," he said. "Blackrapidmon is far too fast…"

"It's not worth the trouble," Cody grumbled behind them. "Even if we freed Gargomon, he wouldn't thank us for it, and he certainly wouldn't call off his resistance movement. He hates us."

Davis and Yolei scowled at Cody as they often did. TK sighed. "Well, he might react somehow, Cody," he said. "People can change, given enough time."

"Yeah!" Patamon added. "Look at Ken!"

Cody stayed silent, his glare unbroken. Even under a sky as huge as the desert's, the atmosphere felt uncomfortable and stifling.

Just then, Gatomon's ears twitched, then swiveled back. "Something's coming!" she announced, digging all four feet into the ground. "It sounds like train wheels!"

"What?" TK asked, looking around the expanse in surprise. "It goes on the ground now, too?"

Veemon glanced upward and his eyes bulged. "No it doesn't!" he yelled.

From seemingly out of nowhere the gigantic steam locomotive bore down on the kids, its whistle shrieking at full blast. Everyone dove for the ground as it raced just centimeters above their bodies, its rickety rumbles and clanking crunches making them flinch each time. It stayed close to earth long enough to pass over each Digidestined, and then it shot back up into the sky in the direction of Spaghetti Junction.

Armadillomon was the first to get back up. "Whoo-whee!" he panted. "If I didn't know what a train looked like from below, I sure do now!"

"Good grief!..." Kari panted, clutching her arm to try and ease the trembling. "That's twice in two days!"

"Damn flyin' train! You wanna go? Huh?" Davis yelled, shaking his fist at the chuffing monstrosity, which now puffed in circles around the town's perimeter.

"It can't hear you, stupid," Yolei snorted. "It's a _train_."

"Aww, shut up," Davis retorted, then pulled out his D3. "C'mon, let's blow it outta the sky!"

"You got it, Davith!" Veemon chirped, jumping up and balling his fists. "Make me Paildramon and I'll send it to the scrapyard!"

"No wait!" TK stopped him. "If there really is a Crest piece on that thing, we might destroy _that_ along with the train! Remember the one in Ken's base?"

Suddenly there was a loud _whoosh_, and Blackrapidmon zoomed overhead towards the airborne engine, with Arukenimon and Mummymon under his arms.

"We'd better hurry, or there won't be a Crest piece at all," Cody growled.

The others nodded and raised their Digivices. In a flash, Exveemon, Aquilamon, Nefertimon, Pegasusmon and Birdramon were ready to fly.

Their partners mounted them, and TK pulled Cody and Armadillomon onto Pegasusmon with him. Yolei saw Ken hadn't been offered a ride yet and beamed. "Hey, Ken! Wanna come up?" she asked, remembering Mitsuru's advice and swishing her hair with her free hand.

Ken looked Aquilamon over, then shook his head. "Not enough room," he explained.

"Here, Ken, you can hold the other one," Sora offered, motioning to Birdramon's free leg.

Ken secured himself there and Birdramon took off with a shriek. Yolei sighed angrily. "Should've picked Halsemon…" she grumbled.

"Hey!" Aquilamon rumbled.

"Just get going, will you?" she snapped.

Aquilamon took off and joined the other Digimon in pursuit of the flying train, which was still circling Spaghetti Junction. As they got closer they could finally see exactly what it looked like: it had five cargo cars; a fancy-looking coach; and then the coal tender and the classic-looking black locomotive engine. "Wow…" TK exclaimed, "it actually looks pretty cool from this angle."

Cody started to nod, but then his eyes zeroed in on trouble. "That doesn't," he said, pointing.

Up from behind the train zipped Blackrapidmon, still twitching and flitting about like a frenzied moth. He hadn't noticed the Digidestined yet; he was busy firing at the slews of rocks and fireballs shooting up from below. The kids could see the tops of the old, wooden buildings exploding like balloons, sending various Digimon skyward and then down to their makers. The remaining ones threw their volleys harder and faster.

"Got his hands full with the Resistance, looks like," Armadillomon remarked.

"If only they knew…" Kari muttered sadly.

"I don't see Arukenimon and Mummymon; he must have dropped them off inside," Nefertimon observed. "There's definitely a Crest in there."

"OK, make like hobos, guys!" Davis declared, slapping Exveemon on the shoulder. "Get on the last car!"

With Exveemon leading the charge, the Digimon pumped their wings and raced alongside the last boxcar like sky-bound train robbers. Birdramon flew closest to a door on the side of the car, so Ken reached out, grabbed the latch and pulled it open. "We're in," he announced.

Someone would have said something celebratory, but that was the moment Blackrapidmon's ears swiveled and he whirled around in a rage. The Digimon veered away from the train, barely avoiding the volley of missiles screaming past them. Blackrapidmon snarled and dove at them, his arm cannons readying another salvo.

"Son of a bitch!" Davis swore.

"He's gotten better," Aquilamon growled.

"Someone has to keep him busy!" TK growled. "Kari!"

Kari nodded. Maybe Nefertimon and Pegasusmon could tie Blackrapidmon up and buy everyone some time. "Ready!" she confirmed, flying ahead of the others.

"Hey, what about us?" Armadillomon objected from behind TK. "We can't do nothin' up here!"

Cody looked around, seeing who was close to Pegasusmon. "Aquilamon!" he called. "Can you give us a lift?"

Aquilamon nodded and flapped his way beneath Pegasusmon. "Good luck, you guys!" TK said to Cody as the boy grabbed Armadillomon.

"Likewise," Cody said, then pushed himself off of Pegasusmon. After half a second of free-fall, something hard and round dug into his back and he heard a familiar frustrated howl. He rolled ahead and landed in front of Yolei. "Thank you," he said.

"G'naaagh!" Yolei snarled, grabbing at her head with one hand. "You couldn't have landed on Birdramon instead?"

TK and Kari zipped past Blackrapidmon and he took off after them. Exveemon, Birdramon and Aquilamon raced back to the boxcar and let their passengers disembark, then shrank down to lower forms and the kids pulled them inside. Ken slammed the door shut and bolted it with a simple utter of "there." Oddly, the way the train rumbled and rolled felt as if it were still on the ground.

"Whoo!" Biyomon panted. "Let's leave another way, OK?"

"I have to admit, I prefer boarding trains when they're on the ground," Hawkmon agreed.

"OK, Davith, now for the easy part!" Veemon declared. "Let's go find that Crest!"

"Easy?" Yolei muttered. "Arukenimon and Mummymon are in here!"

Ken looked around and scowled. This boxcar was fine for hitching a ride, but far too cramped for combat; in addition to the car's dimensions, this car was full of rusty old tractor wheels, cotton gins and piles of other farm equipment. "This is no good," he muttered. "I can't use much of my weaponry, or I'll destroy the car."

The others looked around and grew the same worried expression on their faces. "Aww, man, you're right," Davis groaned. "Our Digimon get way too big to fight in here!"

Biyomon looked at Sora unhappily. "You mean I can't help?" she asked. "Even now?"

Sora scratched her head. "Well… We have to be selective about how we Digivolve, I guess," she said, then looked at Davis and the others. "We're out of luck, but don't you all have Armor Digivolutions that could fight in here?"

Cody thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right," he agreed, taking out his D-Terminal and hitting a few buttons. "Digmon should be just fine."

"Hey, yeah!" Davis cackled, getting his D-Terminal out, too. "Flamedramon can kick ass in here!"

"I dare say Shurimon would be a prime candidate as well," Hawkmon said, glancing at Yolei. "Wouldn't you say so?..."

Yolei leaned heavily on a dusty thresher, her face pale and sickly. "I need an airsick bag…" she groaned.

Davis grinned vengefully. "Ain't no airsick bags here, stupid," he snickered. "It's a _train_."

Yolei almost threw her D-Terminal at him, but a cross look from Sora made her sulkily push its buttons instead. Davis, Cody and she raised their D3s and Veemon, Armadillomon and Hawkmon changed into Flamedramon, Digmon and Shurimon. "OK!" Flamedramon laughed, energetically throwing a few punches, "we're back in business!"

"Not exactly," Shurimon objected. "The doors of these freight cars are on the sides. We can't use them to move forward."

Cody thought for a minute, then smiled at his partner. "Then we'll make our own," he said. "Digmon?"

"I like the way you think," Digmon cackled. He scrambled over to the far wall and plunged his drills into it. The wooden frame only held for a moment before crumbling, revealing the rear of the boxcar ahead and blasting everything with the frigid high-altitude gale. He shot his drills into it and created a second hole. "C'mon, fellas!" he cheered, waving them over. "Just, uh, don't look down when ya cross."

* * *

Nefertimon huffed angrily as Blackrapidmon dropped beneath another of their Golden Nooses and then shot up and over Pegasusmon, raining missiles down around him. Pegasusmon dove down and around most of them, but had to suddenly veer right to dodge the last one, almost throwing TK off his back. "Why can't he just hold still?" Nefertimon complained.

"We have to tire him out!" Kari called to TK.

TK's knuckles were white as they gripped Pegasusmon's hair. If his partner swerved like that again, he may not be able to hold on… but they had to buy the others more time. "Let's try to get him flustered," he said to his partner.

"Right," Pegasusmon agreed. He flew straight at Blackrapidmon, who responded with another missile salvo. Right at the last second, Pegasusmon zipped upwards and pelted the dark bunny with dozens of magical stars, forcing him to defend. "Kari!" TK cried.

Nefertimon charged next, shooting several red jewels at Blackrapidmon's legs… but Blackrapidmon recovered sooner than she had hoped, and angrily trained his cannons on her. Nefertimon panicked and tried to move out of the way, but then a strange thing happened: Blackrapidmon hesitated and then whirled around and fired at Pegasusmon, catching him totally off guard and forcing him to dive at breakneck speed.

"What the…?" Nefertimon gasped. "That's fighting dirty!"

Kari was equally astounded, but even more confused. Blackrapidmon had the perfect shot at them, but instead he turned and fired at TK. Was it really a ploy, or did he genuinely not want to shoot her?...

* * *

"All right, once again…" Izzy said, his annoyance beginning to seep into his voice, "to find a derivative here, you need to split the numerator into its factors, try to cancel out the denominator, and then take the limit of what's left."

Tai clawed at his goggle strap, his face aching from all the muddled expressions it had performed. "But… can I even get a limit when X is going to zero on the bottom? That breaks the whole thing!" he tried.

"…That's why you need to _factor first_," Izzy repeated, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands. "Try to get rid of the Xs in the denominator. You remember how to factor, right?..."

Tai could almost feel his face changing into that of a chimpanzee. "…I'm gonna take a break," he spluttered, and jumped up from the floor like something had bitten him.

"Are you OK?" Izzy asked, looking up. "You're more twitchy than usual today."

"Oh, uh, well…" Tai muttered. Between the intimidating math and being in Sora's room, he was a bundle of flustered nerves, but he didn't want to let Izzy know that. Looking for some sort of distraction, his eyes fell on the bonsai on the table. "Oh! We were gonna water that," he announced, moving over to it and grabbing the little watering can.

"Well, yes…" Izzy said, not satisfied with Tai's attempt to change the subject. "Is something bothering you, Tai?"

"What? No!" Tai chuckled nervously, pouring the can into the pot. "Nothing's wrong! Why would anything be wrong?"

"For starters, you've been jittery since we arrived, you haven't been concentrating on the homework…" Izzy replied, counting things off on his fingers, "and now you're overwatering that plant."

Tai looked down and almost dropped the can. Water was pooling around the bottom of the bonsai's pot and starting to dribble onto the carpet. "WHAGH!" he yelped. "They're not supposed to pee!"

"It's all right, Tai," Izzy tried, "it's only water. We'll just—"

"Towels!" Tai blurted, and tore out of the room. Izzy sighed and started moving Sora's papers away from the pot.

* * *

Wood splinters flew every which way as Shurimon kicked his way into the fourth boxcar. "My shuriken need sharpening," he admitted crossly.

Everyone piled into a room full of thick, wooden barrels. Curious, Sora opened one and looked inside. It was full of pungent black powder. "Looks like ground pepper," she remarked.

"…Doesn't smell like pepper," Biyomon observed, trying to wrinkle her beak.

"Maybe it's imported," Cody suggested. "Japan doesn't have every kind of food."

"Man! Old farm stuff, circus cages, heaps of undelivered mail, and now barrels of pepper?" Davis muttered, listing off what had been in the other cars on his fingers. "What's up with this place?"

"If humans used trains to carry certain things, then they're probably hauling the same things here," Shurimon suggested.

"Uooooh…" Yolei groaned, clutching a barrel to keep upright, "who cares? Let's just find the… ugh… Crest and bail!"

Digmon regarded her and chuckled. "Ya looked down, didn'tcha?" he mused.

"It's not funny!" Yolei growled, panting crossly. "I really… feel sick!"

"We'd better keep moving, then," Flamedramon said, starting forward and eyeing the far wall. "I'll take care of this one—"

The far wall blew apart without any help from Flamedramon. In leapt Mummymon, Obelisk gleaming on his arm and his bandages flapping in the cross-breeze. "Well! You certainly move quickly!" he cackled at the Digidestined. "I thought I'd have to go through a few more cars."

"Get outta the way, bandage breath!" Davis threatened. "We ain't got time for you!"

"Ah, but _I_ have plenty of time for _you_!" Mummymon sneered, taking a few steps forward, wincing each time. "You're not getting that Crest while I'm here!"

"Oh, not _now_…" Yolei groaned, glaring at him; she didn't feel well enough for this nonsense.

Faster than it takes to write it, Mummymon's bandages were snarled around her waist, and he yanked her over to his waiting claw. "Oh, am I a minor nuisance to the young lady?" he chortled, clamping down on her shoulder. "I'll try a bit harder, then!"

"Yolei!" Shurimon shouted. Flamedramon, Digmon and he started to move in, but Mummymon put Obelisk's barrel close to Yolei's head, forcing them to back away.

"Urrgh… You and the spider were made for each other," Biyomon growled.

Yolei squeaked and flailed as hard as she could, but the funk from Mummymon's bandages made her feel even sicker. "Vuooo…" she groaned, sagging, "you… _stink_."

Mummymon recoiled, seemingly offended. "I happen to think I'm reasonably pleasant!" he rebuked, then sniffed at her and winced. "Eugh, unlike you. You smelled lovely the last time we met; what happened?"

In spite of feeling ill, Yolei's face went tomato red. "Why, you…" she began.

Before things got any more awkward, Shurimon hurled a shuriken from one side and Digmon fired his drill nose from the other. Mummymon leaped back and the two projectiles smashed into each other above the kids, raining sparks down on the kids, who scrambled and collided with each other. "Hey! Watch where you're throwin' stuff!" Davis yelled.

"It's too cramped in here to fight properly," Cody growled.

"Well, if that's how you're going to behave, here!" Mummymon huffed, lifting Yolei up with inhuman strength. "Take the pungent little princess!"

Mummymon hurled her across the room before anyone could stop him. Her hope that, somehow, Ken would catch her fizzled out as she collided with a stack of barrels, throwing wood and black powder throughout the car, sending everyone into coughing fits.

"That's IT!" Yolei hacked, bursting out of the mess, "Shurimon, GET HIM!"

Shurimon flung his shuriken arm through the clouds of powder, but Mummymon blocked it with Obelisk, sending a few sparks into the air. Mummymon sneered, but surprisingly, did not fire Obelisk; instead he flung his bandages at another stack of barrels and knocked them towards the Digidestined. Flamedramon leaped over one rolling his way and threw a kick at Mummymon's head. Mummymon hopped away and smacked Flamedramon with Obelisk, knocking him into another stack of barrels.

"This is terrible!" Sora huffed.

"Ken, try to help!" Davis urged. "Use your laser or something!"

Ken started forward to try firing his shoulder cannon when a rolling barrel collided with his leg. He looked down and he noticed three large Xs stamped in a row along its side. He scowled, thinking hard. He had seen that symbol before, but what had it meant?

Davis looked at it, too, then back up at Ken. "C'mon, don't fall asleep now!" he huffed.

Ken snapped out of rumination and targeted Mummymon with his shoulder cannon. Mummymon noticed and angrily lifted Obelisk. "I've had enough of this!" he snarled, and fired at Ken. The boy quickly threw himself to the right and the electric blast hit a fallen barrel in the corner. It burst into flame, spitting small fireballs and popping loudly and sharply. Ken's eyes widened. Now he remembered what that symbol meant! "Wait!" he shouted. "Everybody, don't use—"

Before Ken could finish, Flamedramon jumped up and hurled three fireballs toward Mummymon through one of the black powder clouds. Instantly the cloud exploded, sending every barrel around it into flames. Immediately the barrels started sputtering their own fireballs each way, too. Davis didn't even need to swear; those kinds of words were written on everyone's panicked faces, including Mummymon's.

More barrels ignited and started popping. The kids and their partners ran screaming for the door Mummymon had made. Mummymon may have been an Ultimate-level Digimon, but even he couldn't stop a stampede of pre-teens; they flattened him and leaped through the sky and into the empty boxcar he had come from.

"Son of a bitch!" Davis panted. "What—"

"We're not safe yet!" Ken snapped, turning around and firing his shoulder cannon at the connectors beneath the cars.

Mummymon got back on his feet just as the metal snapped. "HEY! What are you—" he began, but the rest of his words were lost in the wind. All of the boxcars the kids had gone through plummeted into the sky before the burning one exploded, its remains tumbling towards Spaghetti Junction. Out of the wreckage floated Mummymon, a swath of his bandages fashioned into a yellowish-white parachute.

"Huh… I thought it was just ghosts what could fly," Digmon remarked.

"Ohhh…" Sora groaned, leaning against the wall. "That was _way_ too close."

"Ken, what were you going to say?" Shurimon asked. "What was in those barrels?"

"They were stamped with three X's," Ken said, taking one last look outside before turning to the others. "That's a symbol for gunpowder."

Davis blinked a few times, then sucked in air and shuddered. "Damn!" he swore. "What's that doin' on a train? Didn't they know there could be kids hitching' a ride?"

"That's probably why it was there…" Cody muttered.

"An' why didn't they just write 'gunpowder' on it instead?" Davis kept ranting. "I mean, nobody's gonna think barrels fulla porn blow up!"

There was an awkward silence as the others just stared at Davis blankly. Yolei was silently thankful he had blurted it out before she had.

Another explosion rocked the train, and Pegasusmon flew past them, dogged by Blackrapidmon's missiles. The corrupted fiend tore past a moment later, dodging each of Nefertimon's pink blasts without even looking at them. "We have to hurry, Sora!" Biyomon huffed. "I don't think they can last much longer!"

"Right," Sora agreed. "Come on!"

The Digidestined and their partners rushed to the other end of the boxcar and Digmon made an opening with his drills. Surprisingly, beyond the splintered wood was a covered passage to an ornate wooden door. "We made it to the coach car," Cody remarked.

"Coach car?" Flamedramon asked. "So it's just for coaches? We should've brought Tai along too, then."

"Uh… no, it's…" Cody started, but then figured that, much like his human partner, Flamedramon would be better off with visual examples. "Let's just go in," he said, opening the door.

Once again, the weirdness of the Digital World dumbfounded the kids. Unlike the realistically cramped boxcars, the coach was the size of a dining hall, complete with a dozen tables laid out with all sorts of utensils for fancy dinners, as well as colorful floral centerpieces. At the nearest one sat Arukenimon, sipping a reddish liquid from a delicate-looking glass. "It's about time," she said nonchalantly. "It's bad manners to keep a lady waiting."

"We'll keep that in mind, should we meet one," Shurimon growled.

Biyomon regarded Arukenimon's relaxed pose with confusion. "How come you're not jumping up to fight?" she asked. "Are you on break or something?"

"Yeah, I thought finding the Crests before us was your thing," Yolei said.

"An' where'd you get that drink when there ain't no kitchen car?" Digmon asked.

Arukenimon simply chuckled. "I've never been trying to _find_ the Crests… I've been trying to _destroy_ them," she corrected Yolei, "and I don't need to dirty my hands with that now. Blackrapidmon will destroy it along with this train, right after he incinerates your beastly little friend outside."

"Like hell he will!" Davis yelled, gripping his D3. "Flamedramon!"

The Digimon all leaped in front of their partners. Ken realized what he had kicked into the train before it started flying, and he joined them on the front line. "The Crest is in the engine," he said, looking back at the Digidestined. "I'll keep her busy; you go get it."

"What?" Davis yelled. "No way!"

"It's all right," Ken replied, the laser on his shoulder starting to hum. "I need to test these upgrades."

Yolei's tummy warmed and she sighed dreamily. Her dreamboat was putting himself on the line, just for her! Well, it was for everybody, but that _included_ her!

Sora smiled, too. "Thanks, Ken," she said.

Cody said nothing. He just looked past Arukenimon towards the gilded door on the far side of the dining car, and prepared to charge for it.

Davis gave Ken a wary look. "If it gets crazy, just run," he warned.

"Run? You children have no grasp of etiquette!" Arukenimon cackled, then burst into her spidery true form. "When there is wine, there should also be snacks!"

Shurimon hurled his giant shuriken and Flamedramon launched fireballs, but Arukenimon jumped over the buzzing blade and took the flames without even flinching. Digmon shot his drills, but she swatted them away like flies. "Are you making fun of me?" she sneered.

Biyomon got in Arukenimon's face and flapped her wings as hard as she could, but her Spiral Twister attack did little more than push Arukenimon's bangs. Arukenimon snared her with a strong thread and slammed her onto the floor. "You seem to have forgotten I'm an Ultimate!" she cackled.

"Biyomon!" Sora snarled and charged at Arukenimon. Before Flamedramon or the others could stop her, she vaulted onto Arukenimon's abdomen and shoved her Digivice in the spider demon's face.

Nothing happened. Arukenimon's eyes narrowed at Sora. "And what was that supposed to do?" she growled.

Sora froze in panic. Arukenimon pushed her onto the floor. As she raised her free thread tentacle, a bright red laser separated the lash from her wrist. She dropped Biyomon, jumped away and crashed down on a table as Ken ran up, furiously running his minigun. "Go!" he shouted to Sora, then looked back. "All of you!"

Shocked but able, Sora grabbed Biyomon and ran for the door with the other kids and their Digimon. Arukenimon got back on her feet, snickering wickedly. "Again and again, you come where you're not wanted…" she huffed. "You certainly have a death wish!"

Ken said nothing; he just reloaded the minigun, his eyes narrowing. Arukenimon laughed again. "Very well!" she crowed, cracking her thread tentacles against fallen chairs and rushing at him.

* * *

Blackrapidmon spun like a drill and deflected Nefertimon's Rosetta Stone, then arced upwards and disappeared over the train, scaring Pegasusmon out of hiding. "Nuts!" Kari huffed. "He's just too fast! Why—"

Nefertimon jerked violently to the left as a ball of fire spat upward, making Kari yelp. "He's not our only problem," Nefertimon warned. "Look how low we're flying now."

Kari looked down and swallowed hard; they couldn't have been flying more than twenty feet above the flat rooftops of Spaghetti Junction. She could see dozens of angry Digimon below loading giant wooden catapults with junk and debris, while combustible creatures like Meramon flung burning projectiles. "Blasted Resistance…" Nefertimon grumbled. "They're making this harder than it ought to be!"

"Blackrapidmon could destroy the town easily!" Kari warned. "We have to keep him from firing on it!"

"How?" Nefertimon asked. "He's too strong to drive off! I'm just glad he hasn't come after us… not that I like him attacking Pegasusmon either, mind you!"

That made Kari stop and think. Nefertimon had a point. Blackrapidmon hadn't fired on her once; he had always targeted TK and Pegasusmon. It was as if he was trying to avoid hitting the girls… and that suddenly gave Kari a great idea. "Nefertimon, fly as hard as you can!" she told her partner. "We have to get ahead of him!"

"What?" Nefertimon asked. "Did you become a lemming overnight, Kari?"

"Trust me!" Kari replied.

Nefertimon grunted her disapproval, but took off for the front of the train. Pegasusmon flew in a frantic serpentine path up ahead, trying to dodge both Blackrapidmon's missiles and the Resistance's flying refuse. Nefertimon destroyed a garbage ball heading for him, then intercepted Blackrapidmon. "Hold it right there!" she growled.

Blackrapidmon's missile launchers trembled. He started to move left, but she followed him. Then he tried to dodge right and she blocked him again. He snarled with frustration, then quickly dove under her and kept after Pegasusmon.

Nefertimon could hardly believe it. "What in the world?" she asked.

Kari sighed with relief. She was right: Blackrapidmon wouldn't attack her. She knew how to protect the town. "Now, catch up to TK!" she urged Nefertimon.

Nefertimon sucked in air and flapped her wings as hard as she could, navigating dozens of fireballs and flying debris until she caught up to Pegasusmon. "TK!" Kari shouted. "Fly the other way! I've got a plan!"

TK wanted to protest, but Kari looked serious enough for him to trust her on it. "You heard her, Pegasusmon!" he said, slapping the horse's neck. "Hang a uey!"

Pegasusmon swerved and shot back across the top of the train, heading away from town. Blackrapidmon saw Nefertimon up ahead and screeched to a halt, then turned and started after him. "It worked!" Kari exclaimed. "We saved Spaghetti Junction!"

"But who's going to save TK and Pegasusmon?" Nefertimon asked.

"That's our job," Kari said. "Now we'll follow Blackrapidmon and get him flustered long enough to catch him, and then—"

Suddenly, Blackrapidmon stopped chasing Pegasusmon. The corrupted creature's head jerked to the right, and then he turned all his weapons in the same direction. Kari peered off into the distance and her heart jumped into her throat. A dark shape was quickly shooting through the clouds towards them. Blackrapidmon was no longer the biggest threat; Blackwargreymon had arrived.

* * *

Davis stumbled on a loose piece of coal and fell flat on his face. Between the dining car and the engine was the coal tender, and there was no way past it except to get dusty and dirty. The train also kept rumbling higher into the sky, turning the hike into an arduous climb.

"C'mon, Davis!" Flamedramon urged, pulling him back onto his feet. "We're almost there!"

They made their way out of the tender and joined the others in the control room. Davis pushed his dusty goggles back up into his hair, leaving two flesh-colored circles on his blackened face. However, everybody else bore coal smears, too; he didn't feel too embarrassed... just as long as he got cleaned up before he saw Kari again.

"Looks like all of us met the coal fairy," Digmon remarked.

"Hey, do you think we'll turn into diamonds if we get squeezed tightly enough?" Sora joked.

"I can't believe this!" Yolei snarled, tugging at her darkened outfit. "It's totally ruined!"

"It'll clean itself when we leave the Digital World, Yolei," Shurimon pointed out. Yolei continued to fume.

Just then, Pegasusmon shot by the engine, startling the kids. Flamedramon looked out the window and yelped. Blackwargreymon was barreling right towards the train. "Quit joking, guys!" he announced. "He's here!"

"Aww, shit!" Davis swore, seeing the approaching menace himself.

"Game over!" Yolei groaned.

Suddenly, though, Blackrapidmon vaulted over the train and intercepted Blackwargreymon, spewing missiles like water from two hoses. Blackwargreymon spun like a tornado and deflected them, then quickly launched a dark sphere at his opponent. Blackrapidmon zipped out of the way and the pulsing projectile barely missed the locomotive. "Holy spumoni!" Digmon shouted. "I could _taste_ that one!"

"They could destroy the town easily!" Biyomon gulped. "Not to mention US!"

"Quick! We have to get the train away from here!" Sora urged.

Davis's eyes shot around the compartment. He saw lots of levers and switches, but nothing that he thought was a control system. "How the hell do we steer this thing?" he complained.

"Trains are supposed to run on rails," Cody growled. "You can't _steer_ them!"

"What?" Davis yelled. "Who came up with THAT idea?"

"He must've been related to—" Yolei began to snap, but an idea struck her. "Hey! I bet the Crest is powering this thing!" she exclaimed. "If we remove it—"

"Yeah, that could stop us!" Biyomon agreed. "Come on, everybody, start looking!"

The kids started to scramble all over the room when Sora had an awful revelation. "Wait!" she blurted. "If we stop the train, it'll fall!"

Everybody stopped dead. "Whew…" Digmon panted. "Good thing ya said that now."

"Still, finding the Crest seems to be our best chance," Cody said. "Let's be prepared to escape as soon as we grab it."

"Ken!" Yolei shouted. "I gotta tell Ken!"

"Yolei, wait!" Sora called, but Yolei had already scrambled back into the coal tender.

"Don't worry; I'll keep her safe," Shurimon reassured them, then bounded after her, shouting: "Yolei! At least change me into Halsemon first!"

Yolei and Shurimon were too far ahead to go after, so the remaining kids and Digimon frantically searched the cabin, but no one came up with a trace of the Crest. "It's hiding really well!" Biyomon admitted.

"Why couldn't it be in a plane? I know planes!" Davis yelled, angrily grabbing one of the levers and yanking on it. It snapped off with a hollow crack. "Piece of junk!" he hollered.

Cody bit his lip and looked around, trying to think logically. If the Crest was supplying power to the train, it had to be somewhere the engine drew power from. His gaze fell upon the firebox at the front of the compartment, which was bright orange with the might of its blaze. "There!" he exclaimed, pointing at the flames. "Davis, dig around in there!"

Davis gave Cody a weird look, but nobody else had any other ideas. He jammed the broken lever into the firebox and stirred the burning coals around. Through the fire he could make out something that didn't look at all like a piece of coal. "Heads up!" he shouted, and flicked the lever out. Several chunks of red-hot coal clattered along the floor, as well as a small, red triangle with what looked like half a Valentine heart scored into it.

Flamedramon, being the only fireproof person in the room, grabbed the object and held it up. "Does that look familiar?" he asked Sora.

"That's it!" Sora exclaimed. "That's part of the Crest of Love!"

"Hooray!" Biyomon cheered. "We found—"

The whole train shuddered and lurched, and the roaring fire went out like a dead light bulb. Everyone suddenly felt like they were in a descending elevator. "…I think this's our stop!" Digmon gulped.

* * *

Ken stumbled for a moment, but quickly got up and raced behind an overturned table before Arukenimon's whip hit him. He took several deep breaths and rubbed at the cut on his cheek. Another wound for his mom would grill him about later, he thought. Considering what Arukenimon had done to the furniture in the room, though, he had gotten off easy so far.

Arukenimon shuffled towards his hiding place, also looking the worse for wear; Ken's upgraded weapons were taking their toll. Still, her sadistic grin had not left her face. "Heh… What a funny little boy you are, Emperor," she cackled, raising her thread whips again. "You think you can redeem yourself by saving a Digimon who will never stop hating you!"

Ken waited quietly, his laser trained on the top of the table.

"It's the same for this whole world!" Arukenimon jeered. "Even if you defeated me, no one would thank you!"

She lassoed the table on both sides with her whips and started to yank it away. Instantly Ken fired the laser downward, cutting the table in half. The whips and their loads flew in opposite directions and Arukenimon lost her balance. Ken took the opening and charged at the spider, emptying round after round of his minigun into her abdomen, driving her back until she fell to the floor. She snarled and struggled to get back up, but Ken put his foot on her chest and pointed his laser at her face. Arukenimon hissed furiously, but Ken had her pinned down. "I don't care," he said in an icicle-like voice. "I'm going to destroy the Emperor… and whoever uses him."

Arukenimon's brow glistened as the laser began to hum. Suddenly, though, the door flew open and Yolei and Shurimon rushed inside. "Ken!" Yolei shouted. "We have to get out of—"

The train shuddered and then started to fall, making chunks of debris levitate for a few moments. "Yolei!" Shurimon huffed. "Hurry!"

"Oh, right!" Yolei gulped, pulling out her D-Terminal and pressing some buttons with her free hand while holding up her D3 with the other. "DigiArmor—"

Arukenimon saw her chance. Her thread whip snagged Yolei's D-Terminal and hurled it at Ken, knocking him off balance. Arukenimon rolled away and got back on her feet. "HEY!" Yolei shouted.

Ken looked furiously at Yolei, then back at Arukenimon. "Sorry, Emperor, but you've had your fill of blood!" Arukenimon cackled, slashing her threads on the ground.

"I'll fix you!" Yolei huffed, raising her D3 again. "DigiArmor Energize!"

In a flash, Shurimon changed into Halsemon… but as soon as she did, she realized what a mistake she had made: Halsemon was too big to exit the car! "…Whoops," she whimpered.

"I'll just make an exit once we're done here!" Halsemon huffed, charging at Arukenimon, but she was too fast for him; she snared a table and hurled it right between his eyes, knocking him over and reducing him to Hawkmon. "Urgh… Perhaps I should have stayed Shurimon a bit longer," he groaned.

Arukenimon laughed wickedly. "Gain one Crest, lose two Digidestined?" she mused. "A fair trade from my position!"

* * *

Blackwargreymon scowled at the manic Digimon flitting around in front of him. He hadn't flown from the other side of the Digital World to have it out with this nuisance of a corrupted soul; he had a Crest to destroy. Blackrapidmon charged him and he swung, but the black bunny dove under him and flew behind, firing off two more missiles. Blackwargreymon deflected one with his left claw and sliced the second in half with his right. "You may be agile," he growled, "but you're still only a brainwashed gadfly."

Blackrapidmon didn't seem affected by the insult. He readied himself to charge again, but suddenly something on the falling train caught both warriors' attention: Davis, Cody and Sora scrambled out of the engine and onto the coal tender, their Digimon reverted to Rookie forms. Blackrapidmon snarled and flew towards the train, and Blackwargreymon pursued him; he couldn't let a puppet like that carry out _his_ mission!

Kari and TK, left in the dust by the feuding dark soldiers, caught up just in time to notice their friends, too. "Looks like they're done!" Pegasusmon said.

"Quick!" Kari urged Nefertimon. "We have to protect the train!"

Davis and Sora raised their Digivices, and Veemon and Biyomon became Exveemon and Birdramon. "C'mon, let's bail!" Davis yelled as Exveemon scooped up Cody, Armadillomon and him.

"You guys go ahead!" Sora said as she clenched the Crest piece in her hand. "I'm getting Yolei and Ken! Birdramon, wait for—"

Sora's order died in her throat as Blackrapidmon and Blackwargreymon came into her vision. Blackrapidmon's eyes went red, and with a metallic shriek he thrust out his arms and launched a dozen missiles at the tender.

"Fool!" Blackwargreymon snarled and shot past Blackrapidmon, segmenting the missiles as he caught up to them… but one of the missiles was just too fast for him.

Birdramon grabbed Sora in her talon and started to fly away, but the missile buried itself in the tender and exploded, sending the coach and the locomotive spinning towards the ground. Birdramon was blown high into the air and lost her grip on Sora. The other kids froze in horror as Sora went up a little higher… and then back down towards the ground. "SORA!" Kari screamed.

Blackrapidmon wasn't finished yet. He flew down after Sora, his missile launchers trained on the red object in her hand. Birdramon, in an act of pure desperation, dove down after her as well, but she couldn't hope to catch up to Blackrapidmon.

Sora could hardly breathe as she plummeted, only seeing the wild-eyed Blackrapidmon getting closer. She tried to think about something or someone in what looked like her last moments, but nothing came. She could only watch Blackrapidmon approach in a burning red light…

A burning red light? She looked over and saw that the small piece of her Crest of Love was sparkling and glistening as brightly as it used to. At that moment, she heard Birdramon shriek behind Blackrapidmon, and her senses returned. She grabbed the Digivice in her pocket and yanked it out, feeling it throb and shudder as she held it up.

Blackrapidmon screamed and reeled away from her. Birdramon was engulfed in flames that seemed to swallow the whole sky… and then Sora was safe in the giant palm of Garudamon. "Are you all right, Sora?" she rumbled.

"I… Yes! You… you can still Digivolve!" Sora managed, overjoyed and stunned at the same time. Just then, she remembered something. "Yolei!" she yelped.

Garudamon swooped down and grabbed the falling coach in her other hand. "It's all right," she boomed. "I've got you."

Ken raced out of the gaping hole that used to be the front of the coach, Yolei running behind him with Hawkmon in her arms. "WOAH!" Yolei gasped, looking down at the giant claw, then up at the rest of Garudamon. She had forgotten how huge Sora's partner could become!

"Glad to see you're on our side this time, Garudamon," Hawkmon chuckled at his fellow bird.

"Drop the car!" Ken yelled at Garudamon. "Now!"

Arukenimon started to emerge from the wreck as well. "Get back here, you little—" she snarled, but whatever she was going to call them was lost in the wind as Garudamon let go of the coach. It plummeted to earth and smashed into a pile of broken wood near the half-buried engine.

Ken nodded to Sora and then to Garudamon. "Thanks," he said briefly.

Yolei beamed at Ken, but Hawkmon didn't look pleased. "Yolei, didn't you lose your D-Terminal?" he pointed out.

Yolei blinked, then looked down at the wreckage. "CRAP!" she bellowed.

"It's all right," Garudamon rumbled. "I can take care of this now…"

She turned to search the skies for Blackrapidmon. The high-octane bunny burst out of a cloud and came at the Ultimate creature, his guns blazing. Garudamon turned to shield the kids in her hands, but Exveemon, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon flew in and shot the missiles down with their beam and laser attacks. "Don't forget about us!" TK huffed.

"Yeah, we all wanna kick his ass! Right, Kari?" Davis cheered, pretty sure she had noticed that Exveemon had shot one more missile down than Pegasusmon had.

Kari nodded. "Exveemon, shoot down the missiles," she said. "We'll trap Blackrapidmon for Sora!"

The four flying Digimon charged at Blackrapidmon, who shrieked and spiraled towards them. Blackwargreymon hung back in the air and waited; a competent soldier never fought on two fronts.

Garudamon reached out to grab the erratic bunny, but he wouldn't be caught that easily; he lurched upwards, stretched his arms and launched his triangular energy ray, driving her back. Heavy with passengers, Exveemon could do little but fire his V-Laser; he bounced one off Blackrapidmon's shoulder, taking his attention away from the big bird. "Hey, dumbass!" Davis yelled at him. "I wear your mom's foot for luck!"

Blackrapidmon sputtered and crashed into Exveemon, trying to stab him with his horn. Exveemon grabbed him around the middle and struggled to hold him in place. Davis, Cody and Armadillomon held on as tightly as they could. "NOW!" Davis yelled.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon spun a Golden Noose and flew at the wrestling creatures. Blackrapidmon's ears swiveled and detected them, and he dove out of the way. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon couldn't stop themselves in time, and they snared Exveemon instead. "Huh… So that's what it feels like!" Exveemon exclaimed, squirming in the ropes.

"Sorry!" TK apologized.

"Get yer head in the game, TP!" Davis snapped.

"Oooh, I hate that rabbit," Armadillomon grumbled.

Blackrapidmon shot up and started after Garudamon and her passengers again. "We need a better plan!" Cody huffed.

Kari hesitated, then patted Nefertimon's side. "Let's get him confused again!" she ordered.

"Whaddya mean?" Davis asked.

"Just watch!" Nefertimon answered, and flew off after the dark bunny.

Garudamon swung her free hand this way and that, but Blackrapidmon always buzzed just out of reach. "Come on!" Yolei huffed, getting impatient. "He's _right there_!"

"I'm trying my best!" Garudamon growled, once again grabbing nothing but air.

Blackrapidmon shrieked and dove at Garudamon's head, but suddenly Nefertimon flew between them, forcing him to a screeching mid-air halt. He twitched angrily and tried to go around her, but Nefertimon flew around him in circles, shooting his armor with small lasers to agitate him further.

"Why won't he attack us?" Nefertimon asked.

"I don't know," Kari replied, "but we might as well use it in our favor!"

Whichever way Blackrapidmon looked to escape, Nefertimon got back in his line of vision, and those laser blasts, though ineffective, were visibly wearing on his nerves; his eyes flashed red and his whole body shuddered like he was having a seizure.

"Garudamon!" Kari cried. "Now!"

Garudamon reached for Blackrapidmon again, and Nefertimon flew at him from the other side. Blackrapidmon was so flustered he backed right into Garudamon's waiting palm, and her fingers clamped around him like vices. He shrieked and struggled, but there was no escape. "Good thinking, you two," Garudamon rumbled.

"Sora, I believe this is your moment," Hawkmon said.

Sora nodded. Garudamon brought her fist down so Blackrapidmon's jerking head was level with her, and Sora pulled out her Digivice. Its screen flashed and hummed, then bathed Blackrapidmon in a familiar brilliant light. He screamed for the dead as his black armor cracked like a hatching egg, each crack emanating the yellow light of devolution. Long, spire-like streams of black dust poured out of his writhing form and blew away on the wind, some of it staying behind on Garudamon's hand. What remained of his head shone like a glowing orb, and then all that remained was a struggling, snarling Gargomon. A small piece of purple plastic hovered just above his horn. Sora snatched it and showed it to Yolei, Ken and Hawkmon. "It worked!" she exclaimed, overjoyed. "We did it!"

"Awesome!" Yolei laughed. "Isn't she awesome, Ken?"

Ken didn't answer her, but nodded at Sora. "Koushiro's theory was right, then," he said.

"Wha… what are you doing?" Gargomon shouted at them, finding his voice and squirming in Garudamon's grip with renewed vigor. "Put me down, or you'll regret it!" Some of the black dust got in his mouth and he started coughing and spitting angrily.

"Aww, shut up!" Yolei snapped at him. "We just saved your stupid life!"

Almost on cue, Garudamon reeled back, making everyone lose his or her balance. Blackwargreymon swooped around her, spinning like a runaway top and blowing Nefertimon, Pegasusmon and Exveemon into the clouds. "We're not safe yet…" Ken growled, readying his laser.

Blackwargreymon stopped and floated in front of Sora. "Give me those Crests," he ordered.

Sora clutched the two Crest fragments tightly. "No," she growled, trying to sound tough though her voice was shaking as hard as her arms. "We… our Digimon need these."

Blackwargreymon's eyes narrowed. He shot upward and drilled into Garudamon's right wing, making her bellow and start to fall. She flapped her remaining wing harder, but it didn't stop the descent. "Garudamon!" Sora yelled. Garudamon was big, but she couldn't take many blows from a creature like this; the next blow might make her de-Digivolve and send them all plummeting down.

"What the hell _are_ you?" Gargomon demanded, the shock evident in his voice. "Are you with the humans?"

Blackwargreymon didn't even acknowledge him. "I repeat," he said coldly to Sora, thrusting out his claw, "give me the Crests."

Yolei squeezed her Digivice like an empty juice box; without her D-Terminal, she had few options. "Can Aquilamon carry all of us?" she asked Hawkmon.

"I doubt it," Hawkmon admitted.

Just then, Exveemon crashed down on Blackwargreymon's shoulders. "Hero time!" he yelled, stomping as hard as he could while Davis, Cody and Armadillomon hung on for dear life.

Kari and TK came down on either side of Blackwargreymon and peppered him with lasers. "Quick, Garudamon! Fly away!" Nefertimon called.

"She's huge," Ken objected. "Blackwargreymon will be able to find her anywhere."

"So what can we do?" Exveemon shouted as he stomped even harder, grabbing Davis and the others so they wouldn't be thrown off.

Blackwargreymon was taking the abuse patiently, but even he had his boiling point. "Enough!" he shouted, swatting Exveemon off of him like a paper doll and holding his arms over his head. The wind picked up and the daylight began to be sucked inside of the energy ball he crafted. The kids could hear the panicked screams of the Resistance Digimon below as they dropped their weapons and ran for cover.

"Not again!" Yolei wailed.

TK's mind suddenly leaped back to what Matt had said the night before, and his eyes lit up. "Sora!" he shouted over the wind. "Your Digivice!"

Sora hesitated, then pulled the gizmo out again. "Garudamon! Up there!" she barked, pointing at Blackwargreymon.

Garudamon thought her partner had gone insane, but Sora had never steered her wrong before. Despite Yolei's loud protests, she lifted her hand until the kids on it were level with Blackwargreymon. "Hey, you!" Sora huffed, mashing the Digivice against his chest, "get a load of this!"

The Digivice's screen shone with a brilliant green aura, and Blackwargreymon shot back ten feet, sucking in his breath as black smoke wafted from his chest. His icy composure melted as he glared into Sora with absolute hatred. "Those won't save you forever!" he rasped, then turned and sped off into the clouds. The whirling energy ball spun itself out, and the late afternoon sunlight returned to Spaghetti Junction.

"YES!" Davis cheered, pumping his fist. "We win!"

"Good…" Armadillomon muttered, his face a sickly green. "Can we land now…? My belly's gonna throw itself in reverse."

Sora looked at her Digivice in surprise, then looked at TK. "How did you know?" she asked.

"When he got close to Matt's Digivice, he reacted like that," TK recalled. "I don't know why, but it saved us."

"Well, good!" Yolei said, smoothing down her hair. "That means we're done here!"

Ken turned and looked at Garudamon's other hand. "Not quite," he reminded them.

Gargomon writhed and struggled, snarling angrily. "Let me go!" he snapped. "Stupid humans!" They could hear him firing his machine gun hands, but Garudamon held him fast.

"Yes, what should we do with him?" Hawkmon asked.

"He's been a pain in the ass," Davis grunted. "Why doesn't Garudamon just loosen her grip and—"

"Davis, no!" Kari shouted at him. "That's awful!"

"Wrong idea," Cody grumbled. "You'd make him a martyr. The whole Digital World might turn against us."

"Uh… I mean… I was just kidding! Really!" Davis panicked, grinning awkwardly but feeling ashamed. Whatever coolness points he'd gained with Kari during that battle had just been flicked off his score.

"But if we just let him go, he's gonna bring the Resistance after us again," Exveemon said. "Can't we do something about that?"

Kari regarded the struggling rabbit, and he turned and glared at her. "I want answers!" he yelled. "Where have you taken me?"

Nefertimon blinked. "You don't remember leaving the jungle?" she asked.

Gargomon leered at her. "If you traitors think you'll escape this unscathed, you're more arrogant than I thought!" he snapped.

Kari hesitated. Gargomon didn't seem to remember anything that had happened since he became Blackrapidmon. If that was the case, then… she looked up at Garudamon. "Let's go down to the wreck," she instructed.

"Will that help?" Garudamon asked.

"I think so," Kari replied.

"I'm not going anywhere with you filthy humans!" Gargomon howled.

Nefertimon flew closer to Gargomon and Kari stared him down. "We're not going to let you go until you see something," she said. "Understand?"

Gargomon snarled and fired his guns again, but he wasn't going anywhere. "It looks like I don't have any other choice," he growled. "Typical human strategy."

Kari nodded and Garudamon began to descend to the ground. "What's Kari gonna do?" Exveemon asked.

"I don't know," TK said. "We just have to trust her."

The other Digimon began flying downwards after Garudamon. What could Kari show to calm the human-hating Digimon down?

* * *

The jeep's brakes squealed to a halt beside the crumpled remains of the dining car. "Arukenimon!" Mummymon called out. "I believe this is your stop!"

The rubble shuddered, and then Arukenimon burst out of it, looking like she had been flattened a couple of times. She paused to pull a large chunk of wood out of her hair and pitched it at the jeep. "Be quiet!" she snapped. "We just lost two Crests AND our minion! Why must you always take everything so lightly?"

"Now, now, you just need a rest," Mummymon said. "Hop in and we'll find somewhere nice and quiet."

"Don't patronize me, you—" Arukenimon began, then realized a shadow had fallen over her. She looked up in time to see Garudamon touch down, sending a wave of dust over the wreck. After a bright glow, she had turned back to Biyomon and rested in Sora's arms. Exveemon crashed down and shrank back to Veemon, unceremoniously dropping his passengers in the dirt. Nefertimon and Pegasusmon landed gently and reverted to Gatomon and Patamon. Arukenimon's eyes narrowed at Gargomon, and then she glared at Sora. "You…" she hissed. "Don't you know when you're not wanted?"

Gargomon recoiled at the sight of the two. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "You're those human… Digimon… mixed freaks!"

"You're one to talk!" Arukenimon sneered. "Why couldn't you have vaporized those brats like you did in the jungle?"

Gargomon stiffened, and his expression changed a little. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Gargomon, did these two say they knew how to use a Crest?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, they did," Gargomon growled, "but they must've knocked me out after that!"

"No, they turned you into Blackrapidmon!" Gatomon huffed. "And then you went crazy!"

"It took all we had to get you back to normal!" Patamon chirped. "Don't you remember anything?"

Gargomon screwed up his face, seemingly not believing the kids… but then Sora pulled out the piece of the Crest of Knowledge. "This is what you found, isn't it?" she asked. "What happened after that? They came with spires, didn't they?"

"Give that back, you—" Gargomon began, but suddenly he froze in place, his mind racing back to the jungle and the Resistance camp. His eyes widened at the horrible truth. "You… That… wasn't a…?" he murmured, his arms starting to shake. "What did you do to me?" he shouted at Arukenimon.

Arukenimon glowered at him and laughed. "Did you think you were just having a little nightmare?" she cackled. "The violence! The absolute destruction! Not a living soul left! It was a glorious spectacle!"

"My… my soldiers!" Gargomon hissed. "You killed my soldiers!"

"Oh, I didn't have a hand in that," Arukenimon mused. "But you… Well, I would dare say it was a performance worthy of the Digimon Emperor himself!"

His black eyes red with rage, Gargomon lifted both his guns and fired round after round. Despite her injuries, she leaped out of the way and landed in the back of the jeep. "It was a pleasure working with you!" she sneered above the sound. "We really should do it again some time!"

He ran after her, shrieking for the damned as his bullets ricocheted off the jeep's side. Mummymon hit the gas and they shot off across the gulch, Arukenimon's laughter fading into the distance.

Gargomon aimed upwards and kept firing into the air, screaming and howling all the while. Finally, all his bullets were spent; he clicked his guns but no more came. He fell to his knees and stared after the vehicle's trail, gasping painfully. It almost sounded like he was crying.

The kids and their partners stood around awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Finally, though, Sora went forward. "Gargomon," she said, reaching out to touch his arm, "I'm—"

The moment her fingers grazed him, he whirled around on all of them with a roar, his guns aimed and ready. "YOU!" he shouted, his eyes full of tears. "This is all BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Kari's and TK's arms shot up in surprise. Armadillomon leaped in front of Cody. Yolei screamed and held Hawkmon up like a shield. Ken armed himself, waiting. Davis's looked as angry as Gargomon did. "We just saved your stinkin' life!" he snapped.

"If you had never come to our world, we would have had peace!" Gargomon snarled. "But now I'm gonna fix that!"

The others drew back in terror, but Sora was rooted to the ground, her eyes bending into an insulted scowl; she'd had enough. "Put those down!" she shouted at Gargomon, shoving one of his guns toward the ground. Gargomon snarled and started to lift it again, but she was already in his face, glaring into his eyes. "You think killing humans makes everything better?" she demanded. "It won't! This is bigger than your anti-human crusade, Gargomon! MUCH bigger!"

"How DARE you—" Gargomon began.

She cut him off as she stabbed her finger at the wreckage of the train. "Arukenimon and Mummymon were the ones behind this!" she went on. "They're evil Digimon, and they're trying to destroy the Digital World!"

"Don't even try to blame _Digimon_!" Gargomon shouted back. "The Emperor invaded our lands, enslaved thousands and murdered hundreds!"

"That's not what this is about!" Sora huffed, regaining her cool but keeping her stern tone. "Even if you won't believe we're trying to help the Digital World, can't you accept there are evil Digimon out there?"

"The only bad Digimon are the ones with you!" Gargomon snapped, motioning to Biyomon. "You turned them against their own kind, just like the Emperor!"

"I didn't turn against anyone!" Biyomon huffed. "You big, stupid—"

Sora put a hand on her head, signaling for quiet. "Have you forgotten guys like Devimon? Myotismon? The Dark Masters?" she argued. "Yes, there _are_ bad people, but there are also bad Digimon! And their being bad doesn't simply mean they work for humans!" She paused and took a deep breath. "You saw Blackwargreymon up there," she said. "Did it look like he was working with us when he threatened me?"

Gargomon clenched his teeth, but did not reply.

"…I don't blame you for hating humans. You have every right," Sora said quietly, "but you need to understand… there are more forces at work here than that, and killing us isn't going to solve those problems."

Gargomon hesitated, then broke from Sora's gaze and stared pensively at the ground.

The other kids' jaws dropped. "She's amazing," Cody murmured.

"I'd hate to have her as my mom," Davis chuckled. "I wouldn't get away with jack squat."

Ken put his weapons down and relaxed. If a Digimon like Gargomon could be talked out of shooting them, then maybe the Resistance wouldn't pose as much of a threat any more.

A fireball whizzed past his head, and he suddenly knew his thoughts were too lofty. A battalion of Resistance Digimon from town had surrounded the train wreckage. "Speaking of not getting away…" he growled.

"I told you!" a Gazimon shouted. "Humans were driving that thing!"

"Look!" a Meramon exclaimed, pointing. "Gargomon's back! He must have gotten that giant bird to destroy it!"

The crowd erupted with wild cheers and howls. "Gargomon! Where've you been?" a Geckomon asked. "The lath thing we heard wath you were leadin' a group into a jungle! What happened?"

Gargomon clenched his teeth, seemingly at a loss for addressing his troops.

"Well?" TK asked, glaring at the Resistance leader. "What're you gonna tell them?"

A Gotsumon conjured a rock and threw it at him. "Shut up!" it yelled.

"You musta captured them, too!" an Otamamon cheered. "But why did you bring them back?"

"Did you bring them so _we_ could do it?" an Elecmon asked.

"All right!" a Mojyamon laughed. "I want the purple one!"

Yolei swallowed hard. Hawkmon angrily flapped free of her grip. "You'll get nothing of the sort!" he huffed, inviting several rocks and fireballs to target him.

Cody noticed Starmon and Deputymon, the once-proud sheriffs of Spaghetti Junction, in the crowd. "Starmon! Deputymon!" he called. "Please, do something about this!"

His answer was another salvo of rocks from the Digimon around them. Starmon and Deputymon quietly and shamefully turned away. Cody's jaw dropped. "You're officers of the law!" he shouted, throwing up his hands to block a larger stone.

"Ain't nothin' they can do, Cody," Armadillomon huffed, trying to shield his partner's knees. "It's a lynch mob!"

Davis growled and pulled out his D3. "Wanna see what I do with mobs?" he huffed. "C'mon, Veemon!"

Like the other Digidestined partners, Veemon looked exhausted from all the fights on the train, but he still balled his fists and stamped his feet. "You got it, Davith!" he growled.

"Davis, there're way too many of them!" Gatomon argued. "We'd never—" a stray fireball hit her tail and she ended with a pained yelp.

"Gargomon!" a Gazimon shouted. "Give us the order! We'll fix 'em!"

Some of the other Digimon weren't so patient; the ring around the kids shrank by the second. Yolei grabbed Ken around the middle, much to his annoyance. Suddenly, an Apemon broke ranks and grabbed Kari's hair, pulling her screaming into the mob. TK and Davis both beat on his arms, trying to make him let go.

"ENOUGH! CEASE!" Gargomon shouted, stomping his foot and firing his guns into the air. The Resistance Digimon fell instantly silent, and the Apemon dropped Kari. "All of you, BACK DOWN!" he snarled.

The mob quietly shuffled back a few feet. The Digidestined looked at Gargomon, scarcely believing what they had heard. Had he really just told his soldiers to back off?

Gargomon glared at Sora. "Even though you're a human, you made a good point," he grumbled. "Maybe there is something else at work here… And…" He paused and looked at the kids expectantly.

Davis and Yolei stared back blankly. Cody scowled, looking disgusted. TK understood what Gargomon was waiting for, too. "We won't tell anyone," he stated. "Will we, you guys?" He nudged Patamon in the gut.

"Um… nope!" Patamon agreed. "We won't!"

"Good," Gargomon muttered, then turned to his crowd. "They've learned their lesson!" he announced. "I'm sending them back to their world!"

The mob gave a collective groan of disapproval, but Sora smiled at the green rabbit. "Thank you," she said.

Gargomon turned an evil eye on her. "Just this _once_. Hear me?" he barked, holding up one of his guns for emphasis. "Now get out of our world, and DON'T let me catch you here again!"

Gargomon waved to his Digimon, and a path opened up. As the kids and their partners walked away, the mob broke into wild cheering and loud jeers and a few more stones were thrown. It took every fiber of Davis's being to keep from turning around and cussing back at them.

"Now! Brothers!" Gargomon shouted, pointing at the train wreckage, "let's salvage the human craft and use their powers to defend our homes!"

The mob of Digimon swarmed over the wreck, pulling it apart like a Thanksgiving turkey. Ken sighed wearily as he watched with the others. "What a waste…" he grumbled. "They won't be able to use any of that properly."

"My D-Terminal!" Yolei whined, fidgeting as she watched two Gazimon rip a wooden plank in half. "It's in there somewhere!"

"We'll have to sneak back later and retrieve it," Hawkmon said.

"How?" Yolei demanded. "You heard Gargomon! He'll pump us full of lead!"

"He said 'don't let me catch you,'" Cody pointed out. "So all we have to do is avoid being caught."

Davis spat into the dirt. "What a jerk!" he snapped. "Not even a thank you for savin' his ass!"

"He made all those Digimon back off and let us go in peace," Kari pointed out, rubbing at her head; it still ached where the Apemon had grabbed. "I think that's as close to a 'thank you' as we're going to get."

Davis folded his arms, not convinced.

"So what are we not tellin' people?" Veemon asked.

"We're keeping Gargomon's transformation into Blackrapidmon a secret from the Resistance," TK said. "He couldn't keep leading them if they learned he's the one who wiped out all the ones in the jungle…"

"It's called 'preserving honor,'" Cody grumbled, "though he doesn't have much to preserve, in my opinion."

The kids and their partners walked on silently for a few minutes. Finally, Patamon couldn't stand the atmosphere. "Hey, come on, you guys! It's not so bad!" he chirped. "We got another Crest, didn't we?"

"Yeah… I guess so," Armadillomon sighed.

Sora smiled. "We got two Crests, actually," she pointed out, digging in her pockets and pulling out the purple fragment of the Crest of Knowledge that had been stuck in Gargomon, as well as the Crest of Love.

"Hey, cool!" Veemon laughed. "So today wasn't a total loss!"

"Not at all," Ken agreed.

Yolei sagged. "There's still my D-Terminal…" she grumbled.

Suddenly, someone yelled behind them. They turned around to see Gargomon running towards them, with something in his hand. "What do you want?" Davis fumed.

Gargomon gave him a nasty look, then pitched Yolei's D-Terminal into the dirt at their feet. "Take your junk back with you!" he growled, then turned and started back towards his soldiers.

Yolei grabbed the device, opened it and looked it over. "…Whew! It's fine," she reported, stuffing it in her pocket.

"Well…" Kari said, scratching her head, "I guess that's a little bit more of a 'thank you.'"

* * *

"Oh, geez, no!" Tai groaned as the paper towels under the bonsai disintegrated into wet mush. He tore another wad off the roll and stuffed them under the bowl, then jammed the sponges in the dirt even further down. "Why won't this plant stop leaking?" he cried, exasperated.

Izzy sat on the bed with his face buried in his math book, having decided that he'd watched Tai freak out long enough and he should get back to his homework. Just then, he noticed the Digital Gate program open on Sora's computer screen. "They're back," he remarked.

"What? AGH!" Tai yelled, and scrambled for another wad of towels, but the kids who had entered the computer and most of their partners reappeared before he could stuff them. He quickly stepped in front of the mess. "Hey! How'd it go?" he asked loudly.

"As well as it could," Sora said with a smile, showing them the two Crest pieces.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed, putting down the book and looking the fragments over. "That's almost all of them!... So, you were able to free Gargomon, too?"

"Fshh, yeah, like that helped," Davis grumbled. "He practically kicked us out afterwards!"

"Well, it was the best outcome," Sora replied.

"I don't understand how," Cody muttered, raising an eyebrow. "He still hates us, and so does the Resistance. We have to be even more careful now."

"Yes... but he let us go," Sora said. "That could be the start of better relations later. It only takes a little seed to grow a big tree."

"Hmm… Yeah, that's a good way to put it," Kari agreed.

"Sora would come up with an analogy like that," TK chuckled.

Cody's expression remained skeptical. Complex beings like humans couldn't change their personalities; how could Digimon?

"Speaking of which…" Sora suddenly remembered, looking at Tai, "did you water my bonsai?"

Tai yelped and looked pitiful. There was no way he was getting out of this one. He scooted to the side and revealed the mess. "What the…?" Sora asked.

"I didn't mean to!" Tai spluttered. "It just started leaking from the bottom, and… I tried to stop it, but…"

"Plants pee?" Demiveemon asked. "That's AWESOME!"

She scratched her head, not sure what to make of Tai. "But… that's what it's supposed to do," she ventured. "That means it has enough and won't hold any more. Haven't you taken care of plants before, Tai?"

Tai hung his head, feeling even more stupid.

"Um, our parents aren't really plant people…" Kari tried. "They're afraid they would just be salad for the cat."

"I tried to stop him," Izzy pointed out quickly. "Honest."

Sora looked at the mess again, then smiled and chuckled. "Well, it sure looks more interesting," she admitted, "but there's no harm done."

Tai let out a relieved whistle. "G… good," he managed.

"The next time you need a plant sitter, I'd call someone else," Yolei remarked.

"Oh, like you could do better!" Davis ribbed her. "You'd have spent the whole time wonderin' how to plug it in!"

"Shut up!" Yolei snapped nastily.

"OK, OK, that's enough," Gatomon broke in. "Let's end today on a good note."

"Right," Sora said, and handed Izzy the two Crest pieces. "I hope Gennai tells us why we're doing this soon."

"Don't we all," Patamon said. "Just one more, though!"

The kids grabbed their things, hid their partners and filed out of Sora's apartment. Toshiko waved goodbye to them, then closed the door. "Goodness, your friends looked sweaty," she remarked to her daughter. "Should I turn the heat down?"

"Err… no, Mom," Sora said, chuckling. "You know… that many people in a room and all…"

"Hmm, yes…" Toshiko said. She then gave her daughter a bemused look. "Was Tai stuck in the middle of everyone?" she asked.

Sora's cheeks flashed red.

* * *

The setting sun stung Blackwargreymon's eyes as he flew along the Server coast, but his mind was too deep in rumination to care. He had to find the final Crest before those children did, and destroy it without delay… but if they brought more of the kids with the original Digivices, there was a chance he might fail.

That word burned into him more than the sunlight, and he shook his head angrily to dislodge it. He paused to look down at the undulating waves crashing on the beach, then resumed his flight. As shameful as it was to admit, there was a backup plan in case he failed. He could only hope that those fools had built enough control spires to make it work.

Rumbling along beneath the airborne menace was the jeep, keeping a steady pace in spite of the bullet holes that peppered its side. Mummymon hummed a cheerful little ditty as he steered, flicking his fingers left and right every so often, and causing control spires to burst out of the earth where he pointed. "Don't worry, dearie," he said to his passenger, "I know a quaint little seaside cave we can patch ourselves up in."

Arukenimon sat up in the back of the trunk and gave him a foul look. "You're awfully cheerful for a loser," she growled. "Why?"

Mummymon paused to flick up another spire. "No real reason," he said. "Today just made me appreciate how nice it is to be the one who's less smashed up."

Arukenimon kicked him in the back with two of her legs, making him lose control of the jeep. "Your driving is atrocious!" she shouted. "It's worse than your fighting skills, and considering the kids have seven Crests, that's really saying something!"

"Oh… you worry too much, friend," Mummymon replied, rubbing at his shoulder and then making another three spires pop up. "There's always the backup plan. That's why I'm making all these lovely roadside attractions."

Arukenimon hesitated, then her frown curled into a wicked smile. "Ah, yes…" she hissed. "How could I have forgotten?" She waved her hand and more spires emerged from the ground.

"That's the spirit!" Mummymon cackled. "We've got this world all wrapped up!"

They drove on after Blackwargreymon, an obsidian forest rising in their wake. Arukenimon couldn't help but laugh at the brats' predicament. Even if they did get all the Crests, they would be in for a big surprise!

* * *

"I'm home," Yolei grunted as she shut the apartment door and kicked off her shoes.

"Oh, good, then you can help me with dinner," she heard her mother say from the kitchen, but she ignored her and went to her room. She placed her backpack on her bed, grabbed her comb and sat down in front of her mirror, grooming out the dust and stress of the day.

Poromon burst out of the backpack, gasping for air. "Yolei, leave a bigger opening next time!" he complained, then looked at her curiously. "Why are you combing your hair now? It's nighttime."

"There's always time to look nice," Yolei replied, recalling what Mimi had taught her and planning her next romantic maneuvers. She may have had some slip-ups with Ken that day, but she would win him over next time, and the first step to that was keeping her knockout look. It was a shame the outfit the Digital World slapped on her hid most of her hair, but she'd make sure that what she did show was spectacular. If she could just get him alone without a monster in the room, then…

Three loud knocks hit her door. "Miyako!" her mother's irritated voice came. "You have a phone call!"

Annoyed, Yolei opened the door and held out her hand. Her mother didn't look at all pleased and withheld the phone. "And you can start peeling carrots afterwards," she scolded.

"OK, OK!" Yolei snapped, and took the phone. "Hello?"

"Miyako? Hey!" Mimi's voice came, and Yolei instantly smiled. "Listen, the girls and me are gonna hit the mall tomorrow after school. You wanna come?"

Yolei's eyes lit up. Mimi was inviting her along with the cheerleading squad? That was like the prime minister inviting someone to tea! "Really?" she exclaimed.

"You'd better take a rain check," Yolei's mother butted in from the sink, seeming to sense what the call was about. "Remember, you're still grounded, and your father wants you at the store."

Yolei rolled her eyes and closed her room's door, so her only audience now was a puzzled Poromon. "Sure," she told Mimi. "What time?"


	41. Reversal Of Fortune

**CHAPTER 41**

**REVERSAL OF FORTUNE**

The barrage of ruby projectiles peppered the control spire, and it swayed for a moment before tumbling backwards into the dust. Nefertimon looked back over her shoulder at her partner. "How are you doing back there?" she called.

"Just fine!" Kabuterimon replied, giving a thumbs-up with his upper left appendage. "Sorry you have to keep blasting these things!"

"Glad to do it…" Nefertimon replied and looked ahead, scanning the region for the next spire that might make Kabuterimon de-Digivolve. It wasn't her idea of a grand adventure, but almost an entire week had gone by since they saved Gargomon, and nothing had happened since… nothing, that is, aside from the appearance of tons of control spires.

"Keep it up, Nefertimon; we've got a lot of ground to cover," Tai said from his place on her back. Though they would have to surrender dealing with Arukenimon, Mummymon and Blackwargreymon to the new Digidestined, the older kids couldn't just sit on their hands. Izzy, Joe and Tai had joined Kari in traveling to the eastern end of the Digital World to finish filling in the map, as well as topple a few spires along the way.

"I sure wish we knew what ground was left to cover," Joe sighed as he took another picture with his cell phone, his hair sticking almost straight back in the wind from Kabuterimon's wings. "There aren't many landmarks here; it's all dust and spires."

"Yeah," Gomamon, who was perched in Joe's lap, agreed. "It's like nobody cared what went after the creek."

"We may yet find something," Izzy said, taking a picture off the side of Kabuterimon that Joe was not. "If we go far enough east, there could be another floating island."

"But if we can't get to it, it seems kind of silly to be looking for it," Gomamon said.

"At least we'll know it's there," Izzy replied, though he had other motivations for learning. As chaotic as it often appeared, everything that showed up in the Digital World had a reason… and something told him those mysterious, fortified islands could hold the keys to the entire adventure.

On Nefertimon's back, things were much more awkward. Tai was mostly silent as he took his pictures, and Kari found that a little more than bothersome. If he was still thinking about what she had suggested with Sora, then he was really taking it seriously. Since the week before, he had seemed thoughtful and introspective, not the usual traits of her big brother. "Are you OK?" she asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, not really looking at her.

Kari hesitated, then decided to bring Sora up again. "How's Sora's bonsai?" she asked.

"What? Oh… It's fine," he replied, looking embarrassed. "Guess I'm never going to work in a greenhouse." He paused and wiped his brow. "…Glad I didn't kill it."

"I didn't think you'd get this nervous," Kari admitted. "I mean, you two get along so well..."

"Well, yes, but… as _friends_," Tai muttered. "This is… something else."

"There's something besides friends?" Agumon asked. "Like what? Partners? You're not going to trade me for Sora, are you, Tai? _Can_ you, even?"

"Ugh, don't you start, too!" Tai groaned.

Kari frowned. How could her brother, the Digidestined of Courage, be so wimpy about something so simple? "Why don't you just ask her out on Christmas Eve?" she suggested. "That's not too far off, and it might be fun!"

Tai gurgled and made a face like she'd dropped a hammer on his foot. "Kari, knock it off!" he spluttered, his cheeks burning. "Why're you butting in, anyway?! That's Mom's job!"

Kari looked surprised. "I just thought—" she began.

"Well, stop it!" Tai huffed. "You wouldn't like it if I was pushing TK on _you_!"

She started to reply, but then recoiled as the words sank in, blinking in surprise. Why would Tai make a comparison like that?

"Kari, I hate to break this up," Nefertimon spoke up as she destroyed another spire, "but I think we just reached the end of the world… again."

Tai, Agumon and Kari looked ahead. Surely enough, a little ways off the land seemed to drop off, and floating in the clouds beyond was an island with a massive structure reminiscent of an ancient Greek temple, with bright white stone columns and a triangular roof. It was perched at the top of a long stone stairway, which even at a distance they could see was flanked by dozens of fountains shooting water into the air like graceful geysers. "Wow!" Agumon exclaimed.

"It certainly looks more inviting than the other islands," Kabuterimon rumbled.

"Do you think we can land on it?" Gomamon asked.

"I don't know…" Joe objected. "The last time didn't turn out so well…"

"Well, it's worth a shot," Tai said, sounding more like himself. "Let's go for it!"

Nefertimon and Kabuterimon flew past the cliff and made their way toward the temple. They had almost reached the stone pathway up to the steps, however, when the temple lit up with brilliant, harsh white light, blinding humans and Digimon alike. "Geez!" Tai yelled, throwing his arm over his eyes.

"Who turned the lights on?!" Gomamon demanded, burying his face in Joe's jacket.

"Retreat!" Izzy shouted, gripping Kabuterimon's exoskeleton hard.

Blinded like the rest, Kabuterimon and Nefertimon could only slowly fly backwards and away from the island. When everyone's vision finally came back, they were hovering over the dusty fields again. "So close, and yet so far," Nefertimon grumbled.

"What is with those places?!" Gomamon huffed. "If they didn't want people coming in, couldn't they just build a fence?"

"Ugh… Well, at least we know now," Izzy muttered, rubbing at his eyes. "There are indeed four islands in the four directions."

"Just wish we could get in there and find out _why_," Tai muttered.

"Urgh… I wouldn't mind calling it a day," Nefertimon grunted, shifting her weight a little. "That light sure took it out of me…"

Joe noticed that Kabuterimon seemed a little unsteady, too. "Yeah, we should stop for today," he said. "Besides, I've got to study for an exam tomorrow… and now I want to check my eyes."

"Well… we did learn what we wanted," Kari said. "I guess we could go home early today."

"Go?" Gomamon asked, disappointed. "But you just got here!"

Joe smiled sadly at his partner. "Sorry, Gomamon," he apologized. "I wish I could stay longer, but this is how it is growing up in our world..."

Gomamon made a face. "It's no fun," he grumbled.

"You said it," Tai chuckled. "You guys just have to play twice as hard for us, OK?"

"Can you make it back to the TV, Kabuterimon?" Izzy asked his partner.

"I'm tired, not wounded," Kabuterimon harrumphed. "We'll get back just fine!"

Nefertimon and Kabuterimon slowly took to the air and began to turn back west. Suddenly, Agumon pointed at something. "Hey, look!" he exclaimed. "What's that place?"

Everyone stopped and turned. Smeared along the side of the cliff was a crowded mass of small buildings with bright colors flashing between them. It was surrounded by a high brick wall, which ended at the edge of the cliff on one side and a thick, green forest on the other side. "Is that a town?" Joe asked.

"Looks like one," Kari said. "What are those lights?"

"Intriguing," Izzy remarked. "We'll have to come back and investigate."

"Maybe we'll get the new kids and go tomorrow," Tai suggested. "I bet it's something cool!"

The beetle and the sphinx flapped their wings and slowly began flying towards the setting Digital sun.

* * *

"Keep quiet, Gatomon," Kari warned as she gripped the computer lab's door. "There are still students here at this time of day."

"Don't worry about me," her partner muttered from inside Kari's backpack. "I'm just gonna catnap until dinner."

She slid the door open and they all walked into the hall. Surprisingly, Matt and TK were there, talking with a very excited Jun. "Are you sure you can do this?" Matt asked, handing an envelope to her.

"Don't you worry, Matt!" she chirped, clutching the paper like a sacred relic. "You can count on me!" She raced towards the stairwell, emitting a delighted squeal. Matt cringed as if he had bit his tongue in half.

"Afternoon, Matt," Joe said.

Matt noticed them and nodded. When he wasn't around the new kids or Jun, he seemed to be able to keep his cool demeanor. "Hey," he said.

"Did you reach the eastern end?" TK asked.

"We certainly did," Izzy said. "There's a floating island that we can't get close enough to land on, just like in the other directions."

"Yeah, but this one has a town nearby," Tai pointed out. "Maybe the Digimon living there know something!"

"The last Crest hasn't shown up, right?" Matt asked. "Then you have time to go ask them."

"I hope it does show up…" Tai admitted. "If Davis and the others destroyed the only piece, well…"

"Gennai said there would be other fragments," Izzy said. "It's only a matter of time before we pinpoint another."

TK tried to follow the older boys' conversation, but he kept noticing Kari looking him over curiously… but every time he turned to meet her gaze, she'd quickly look away. He scratched his head. Why was she doing that? Had he done something wrong?

"By the way, Matt, what did you give Jun?" Izzy asked, changing the subject.

"You finally give in and fork over a love letter?" Tai mused.

"L… like hell I would!" Matt snarled, his face growing pale. "I'm trying to sell tickets for my band!"

The others looked at him in surprise. "You got a gig?" Joe asked. "Seriously?!"

"You could at least _pretend_ you're not surprised," Matt grumbled.

"The music teacher likes Matt's band so much, he's agreed to let them have a jazz concert in the park on Christmas Eve," TK explained. "Our dad's helping, too; the TV station's gonna broadcast it on public access!"

"Wow, awesome!" Tai exclaimed. "You're hittin' the big time!"

"Not exactly," Matt sighed. "I've got a hundred tickets to sell and nobody's buying." He paused and looked disgusted. "The Teenage Werewolves are playing on the same night. Everyone's going to THAT mess."

"Well, not everyone," Izzy pointed out. "I assume Jun's coming."

"Yes," Matt grumbled, not at all sounding consoled.

"Actually, she's helping us out," TK said. "She said she could sell the tickets and she was really enthusiastic, so we gave them to her. Err, but there _was_ a catch."

"Have to take her out again, don't you?" Tai chuckled. "She's pretty crafty."

"I didn't think anyone related to Davis could be," Matt muttered, then sighed and looked a little less resentful. "But… it would be nice to have a full house for our show."

"I'm sure she'll put a lot of effort into it," Joe chuckled. "At the very least, she might buy all the tickets herself."

"She'd better not," Matt huffed, looking at them. "I want all of you there, too!"

"Do you hear that, Tai? Joe?" Izzy mused. "We've been drafted."

"Relax, Matt; you know we'll come," Tai assured him. "Right now, though, I think I'm due for a snack at home. See you tomorrow!"

The group said its goodbyes and split up. Matt, TK and Joe headed towards the music room. "I don't feel safe leaving my saxophone here when it doesn't have a case," Matt muttered. "I can thank a Motomiya for _that_, too…"

"Don't be too hard on him, Matt," Joe tried as they turned a corner. "It wasn't his fault that—"

They all had to jump back as the posse of cheerleaders pattered down the hallway, giggling and chattering and not seeing anyone else. Mimi was there in the gaggle, but more surprisingly, so was Yolei, all dolled up and chattering like the rest. She also didn't look at the boys.

TK sighed sadly. "I just don't get it," he said. "Why is Yolei so buddy-buddy with Mimi now? I thought they hated each other!"

Matt shook his head in disgust. Joe did a double take. "_That_ was Yolei?!" he asked.

"Yeah…" TK said. "She's been changing her looks over the past few months, and all this week we've hardly seen her; she must have been hanging with Mimi the whole time." He paused and looked at Joe. "I know it's a surprise, but you sound _really_ surprised. What's up?"

Joe sighed. "Well, you see, I was at the mall a few weeks ago…" he began.

* * *

A chilly December night blanketed Tokyo, as did dark gray clouds. "I hope those clouds move on," Fumiko Hida said as she glanced out the apartment window. "I don't really care for snow." She looked at her son. "I hope your jacket's warm enough, Iori."

Cody silently chewed his rice, not at all hearing his mother. His mind was on the events of the last week, and also the enigmatic Blackwargreymon. When Sora had talked with Gargomon, he had called off his troops and let them leave unharmed; could Blackwargreymon be dealt with like that? Then again, Yamato had made it clear that there was no reasoning with evil Digimon, and Blackwargreymon certainly fit that description… at least, Cody thought so. Agumon, on the other hand, had spoken with Blackwargreymon, and he didn't think Blackwargreymon was all that bad… but what about his destroying the Crests? And yet Blackwargreymon didn't lay waste to everything in sight when there were no Crests to find...

His frustration must have shown on his face, because when he reached for his cup, he noticed both his mother and grandfather looking at him. "Iori, what's the matter?" Fumiko asked.

"You look far more troubled than a child should," his grandfather said. "What's bothering you?"

Cody hesitated, then shook his head. He couldn't mention the Digital World, but maybe he could still wrangle some guidance from them. "I'm trying to settle a conflict," he spoke slowly, thinking about every word before he spoke it, "but I don't know if it can be resolved peacefully."

Fumiko reacted as mothers often do. "Is there a bully at school? Are you being bullied?" she asked. "You need to tell your teacher right away! You can't just sit on your hands with something like that."

Cody shook his head. "Err, no… It's not about a bully." He sighed and shook his head again. If only it _were_ as easy as that… but he couldn't imagine a teacher brave enough to tell Blackwargreymon off.

Chikara watched his grandson closely, absorbing what he had said. "Iori," he said in his instructor's tone, "in spite of all the wars and conflicts in human history, remember that the greatest victory is a battle _not_ fought."

"…Yes, grandfather," Cody said, then thoughtfully sipped his tea. Even if he had no idea what Cody really meant, his grandfather was right. The next time he ran into Blackwargreymon, he would try to talk him out of destroying the Crests.

* * *

Demiveemon looked from the red airplane to the green airplane, then back to Davis, who was hunched over his desk with his math book open and scrawling things in his notebook. "Are you talking to the book, Davis?" he asked.

Davis looked up. "What?" he asked.

"Your mouth is moving," Demiveemon said. "Are you talking to it? Do you have to be really quiet? Is that why they don't let you talk in libraries?"

Davis frowned and went back to work, trying hard to stop moving his lips as he stumbled over what a "multiplicative inverse" was. He hated math class. The problems in the book bored him to death; if both sides of the equation were equal, why bother figuring out what X was? It's not like he was discovering anything new and exciting, like how to fly a plane through a typhoon…

Suddenly a stuffed envelope assaulted his math book. Demiveemon stiffened. "Congratulations!" Jun's voice came, and Davis found her leaning over his shoulder, grinning in a sneaky way. "You're hired! You get to help me sell Matt's concert tickets!"

"What?! Forget it!" Davis huffed, grabbing the envelope and throwing it back at her. "I ain't helping with that!"

"Come on, little brother," Jun said, "I can't sell a hundred tickets at once. We've gotta work together like a family ought to!"

Davis gave her a dirty look. "Family?" he asked. "So Mom and Dad are helpin', too?"

"Well, uh… no," Jun admitted.

"An' neither am I," Davis grunted, turning back to his book. "You took 'em, you sell 'em!"

"Hey, you'd better help me!" Jun protested. "If you don't, I'll tell Matt what you say about his music!"

"Big deal," he snorted. "He hates my ass already."

Jun hesitated, then grabbed him and whirled him around in his swivel chair; it was time for a sweeter approach. "Kari's into photography, right?" she asked. "I bet she loves boys who support the arts."

Davis's cheeks flashed red. As much as he hated to admit it, Jun brought up a great point. "Oh, all right," he grumbled, opening the envelope and reading one of the tickets. He recoiled at the information on the paper. "Wait, 2000 yen?! Each?! On Christmas Eve?!" he yelped. "How the heck am I supposed to sell these?!"

"That's what you need to figure out!" Jun chuckled, half skipping out of his room. "Thanks!~"

Davis swore and pounded the envelope with his fist. Now the boring math problems looked way more appealing. How was he going to sell all these tickets? After all, who was going to come hear a bunch of screechy jazz instruments on a prime date night?!

* * *

_You now bear the burden of both his destiny and your own. Now that your parents have lost their perfect child, YOU shall be expected to carry out the dreams that Sam can no longer fulfill. This world shall become unbearable for you... The pressures on you shall be too great..._

Ken trembled as his eyes floated over the mysterious e-mail; no matter how many times he read it, the burning sensation in his spine never dulled.

He looked from the screen to his notebook, where his pen lay at the end of the word "because," almost at the end of his tale. The only time he had met Gennai, the strange old man the older kids relied on as a guide, he hadn't used the same dark tone as this message. Still, it had to have been sent by someone. Someone close… someone who _knew_.

He looked at the e-mail again. Arukenimon knew… and she admitted it was all a ruse to get him making control spires. But could she have sent the e-mail? But it didn't sound like her; again the tone was wrong. He shivered as the loneliness of uncertainty settled into his heart. Who had written this letter?

* * *

Saturday classes came and went, and when the last bell rang, the computer lab again played host to an irritated set of Digidestined. "Can't we just go?" Davis asked Tai.

Tai looked around and frowned. Davis, Cody, TK and Kari were present, but… "Let's wait a little longer," he said.

"Why is Yolei so late?" Kari voiced everyone's question.

"Yeah, we don't have all day!" Upamon huffed, bouncing impatiently.

"Don't be rude," Cody scolded his partner, then looked sullen. "She's been making a habit of it, though… A few nights ago, I heard her parents shouting at her because she didn't go right to work after school."

"Hey, Poromon, what's going on?" Gatomon asked the pink bird ball. "Why's she actin' like this?"

"Is she sick?" Demiveemon asked. ""

Poromon gave them a sad look. He knew Yolei would get mad if he talked about her when she wasn't around, but he didn't like how she had changed any more than the others. Maybe they could help get his old partner back. "Well…" he began, "it started when—"

Just then the door opened and Yolei walked in, today wearing another new ensemble: a long purple coat trimmed with fluff; a leather-red cotton leotard with tights; and purple high top boots. A fluffy cream-white scarf was draped over her shoulders, and a red-leather "flapper" style hat perched on her head. "Hi, guys," she said casually. "What's up?"

"Whaddya mean 'what's up?!'" Davis huffed. "You're late!"

"Jeez, chill out," Yolei blew him off. "There's no Crest yet, right? We've got plenty of time."

Davis gnashed his teeth. TK looked at her with concern. "Hey, Yolei," he started, "Joe said you yelled at him when you met him at the mall a few weeks ago. Why'd you do that?"

Yolei's cheeks flushed red. "I… Well, it wasn't _my_ fault," she replied curtly. "He came up and gave Mimi a hard time! Anyway, all I did was tell him to back off."

"_Joe_ gave…?" Kari asked, not believing her ears.

"Are you sure?" Patamon asked. "Joe's like a pussycat! I don't think I've ever seen him be mean."

"Well, that's what happened," Yolei replied, making it quite clear that this line of conversation was irritating her. "So why are we here?"

There was a pregnant pause, and then Tai coughed. "Err, sure," he said. "We found a new town in the far east of the Digital World, and I thought we'd go explore it today."

"That's it?" Davis asked, sounding disappointed. "Just sightseeing?"

"Ooh, I've never seen a sight, Davis!" Demiveemon chirped. "What's it look like?"

"It's a figure of speech…" Yolei grumbled.

"I guess we can do that while we're waiting for the last Crest," TK admitted, "but do we all really need to go?"

"Well…" Tai said, turning to the computer and bringing up the Digital World's map. There was a vertical swath of black squares between the creek and the edge of the world, like someone had drawn a lower-case "L" on the map. "I figured we should work on clearing some of that, too," he said.

"Boy, they're fast," Poromon gulped.

"Why are they putting so many up?" Patamon asked. "They can't use them all, could they?"

"We know they aren't always active," Kari recalled, "but if all they do is block Digivolution, why can they turn on and off?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it," TK said, frowning at the screen. There were still far too many questions that Izzy couldn't answer, and Gennai wasn't dropping hints. The sooner they found the last Crest piece, the better.

"Agumon's going to meet us at Muskaweegee Creek," Tai said. "We'll go east from there, knocking spires down along the way."

"What?! But that's in the middle!" Yolei exclaimed, stabbing the creek's square with her lavender fingernail. "You want us to go all the way east in one afternoon?!"

"It's not that bad, Yolei," Gatomon ventured. "It's mostly wasteland, and the wind blows eastward."

"Yeah, we'll be back before dinnertime…" TK said, then started. "Wait, you have to work, too, don't you?"

"Forget it," Yolei snapped, pulling out her D3. "Let's go."

"But Yolei," Poromon protested, "TK's right! You've—"

"GOING!" Yolei huffed, grabbing Poromon and pushing her D3 at the screen. The Digital Gate opened up and they vanished in a bright flash.

The others stood there, stunned. "Sheesh!" Patamon finally chirped. "What was _that_ all about?!"

"Err… Maybe she had a bad day," Kari ventured. "She might cheer up once we're in the Digital World."

Davis muttered something, picked up Veemon and shoved his D3 at the screen with the others.

* * *

In spite of Kari's wishful thinking, Yolei's attitude did not improve as the Digidestined made their way eastward through the wastelands, the Armor Digimon occasionally darting off to knock down nearby control spires. "Why isn't Ken here?!" she huffed at Tai.

Agumon scratched his head. "Was he supposed to be here?" he asked.

"I… Well… Ugh!" Yolei spluttered. "Didn't you e-mail him about this?!"

"Hey, take it easy, Yolei," Tai said, surprised at her outburst. "I don't have his address…"

"He shows up enough on his own," Pegasusmon pointed out as he lifted off the ground, "but I guess he's busy today."

"Didn't ANYBODY e-mail him?!" Yolei yelled. Nobody answered. She snarled and folded her arms. "I should've just gone home," she grumbled. "No Crest, and Ken's not here…"

She noticed Cody scowling at the mention of Ken and scowled right back. "And you be quiet!" she snapped.

"I didn't say anything," Cody replied without looking at her.

Just then, a control spire off to the right toppled to the ground, showering them all with fine brown dust. "Argh, what the hell?!" Yolei spat.

Digmon climbed over the spire's stump. "Sorry," he apologized, "forgot to yell 'timber.' Everyone OK?"

"Look at this!" Yolei shouted, yanking on her dusty overalls like she was trying to stretch them to a larger size. "You can't just knock things over and get dust on people!"

"Yolei, it's a dusty area," Flamedramon tried.

"It's not that bad. We can clean up later—" Halsemon tried, but as he landed another plume of dust rose up and covered the groundlings.

"ARGH! Just _stoppit_!" Yolei yelled, kicking at the ground and sending even more dust flying. "I didn't come here to look like a sand man!"

Halsemon and Flamedramon exchanged bothersome glances, then went back to their work. "Sand _witch_, more like," Davis huffed. "No, 'sand _bitch_' sounds better!"

Yolei glowered at him. "You got something to say to me?!" she demanded, stabbing her finger at his chest.

"Yeah!" Davis snapped. "We're ALL out here an' we're ALL dusty! So shut the hell up!"

For a moment it looked like Yolei would blow smoke out of her nostrils, but then she folded her arms and turned her nose up at him. "I'm not going to take that from _you_," she replied coldly, then turned and kept walking silently.

Davis stopped and let the others walk past him, his mind flipped upside-down at what had just happened. Why hadn't Yolei insulted him back, like she usually did? She didn't even try to butt heads with him this time! And why did she call him "you" like that? She was unpleasant to him on a regular basis, but that "you" was a different kind of nastiness. It sounded like she was addressing something vile, like a rat eating out of a dumpster, or a backed-up toilet. He just stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists, unable to make sense of it and his stomach boiling because he couldn't.

Tai and Agumon noticed he had stopped and walked back. "Davis, are you OK?" Agumon asked.

"I… I just don't get it, coach," Davis muttered, and then his teeth clenched and he stamped his foot. "She's really pissing me off!"

"Just take it easy," Tai tried, clapping him on the shoulder.

Davis looked like Tai had insulted his grandmother. "Coach!" he huffed, "she's NEVER been like this before! Not for all the years!"

Tai scratched his head. "How long have you been friends with Yolei?" he asked.

"Since preschool," Davis said. "We've been fighting just as long, too… but it's never been BAD fighting; somehow we stuck around." He paused and stared at the ground. "But this new shit she's pullin'…" he trailed off.

Agumon looked between Davis and Yolei, who kept trying to dust herself off as she walked. "Boy, it sounds like how Tai and Matt got along," he observed.

"Hey, come on! Give me SOME credit," Tai snapped half-jokingly, then looked at Davis. "You've got weird ways of keeping friends, Davis," he admitted, "but I can see why it's bothering you." He looked back at Yolei. "Even us older kids noticed she's changed since October. Bailing on Sora, yelling at Joe… Now Cody says she's been skipping work?"

"All week, I heard," Davis grumbled. "TK said she's hangin' out with Mimi and the cheerleaders."

Tai sighed and shook his head. "She'd better be careful, then," he said. "At this rate, she might turn _into_ Mimi."

"Wait a minute, Tai," Agumon objected, "you told me humans couldn't Digivolve."

Davis didn't even laugh. He just stared after Yolei with that image piercing his mind. Yolei changing into Mimi. Mini-Mimi. His teeth mashed into his gums.

Tai motioned for him to hurry; the rest of the group was getting pretty far ahead. Davis swore under his breath and raced after his mentor and Agumon, and the three of them got there just as Pegasusmon and Nefertimon landed and their partners dismounted, again showering the kids and their ground-based partners with dust. "Geez, Kari!" Yolei huffed, trying to swat the dust away.

"Um… It looks like we're almost through," Kari said after a pause, pointing at the dwindling number of control spires in the distance.

"Good. That'll speed things along," Tai replied with a nod. Without the spires and their influence, Veemon could Digivolve normally and they could fly the rest of the way to the east on four Digimon.

"It better," Yolei grunted. "If I get hit with one more dust cloud, I'll—"

Three control spires burst out of the ground at an angle right in front of the party, throwing up more dust and driving them all back in shock. There was a sound like a roar cut off by a hacking cough, and the yellow jeep vaulted from the top of the spires. It silhouetted against the sun, then crashed onto the ground behind them and screeched to a halt. Mummymon and Arukenimon leaped out of the vehicle, instantly in their grotesque combat forms.

"Shit!" Davis swore. "Flamedramon!"

Before the Digimon could move to protect the kids, Mummymon fired Obelisk and hit Halsemon, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon simultaneously, and Arukenimon snared Digmon and threw him on top of Flamedramon like a carnival game. All of their victims reverted to Rookie forms and crashed into the dirt. "No!" TK yelled.

"Well! I didn't expect you today, children; there's no field trip scheduled," Arukenimon cackled. "But that doesn't bother me… Whether there's a Crest at stake or not, I can't pass up a chance to put you out of your misery." She lashed at the ground threateningly with her tentacle whips.

"Where did you come from?!" Cody demanded. "Was this a trap?!"

"It's just our lucky day, I suppose," Arukenimon mused. "We were just in the area, giving it a little makeover, and there you were… so we decided to make a pit stop."

"Then whyn'cha just find a pit an' go jump in it?" Armadillomon coughed.

Tai glared at the two troublemakers. "What are you after?" he asked. "Why are you putting up so many control spires?!"

Mummymon shuddered with raspy cackles. "Wouldn't _you_ like to know, old man?" he taunted, limping a few steps forward and leaning on Obelisk.

Agumon raised an eyebrow as he saw the way Mummymon walked. "You're calling _him_ that?" he asked.

Already in a bad mood, Davis wanted to slam these clowns' heads together, but Veemon was in no condition to fight. None of the Digimon was, for that matter. How could they get out of this mess? The jeep behind the monsters coughed and sputtered; Mummymon hadn't shut it off. Davis stared at it for a moment, and then his brain began to hatch a diabolical scheme of its own.

"Now, who wants to be first?" Arukenimon cackled, her fingers dancing around in the air, waiting for something to clench. "Don't worry; I'll be as gentle as a mother—"

Suddenly, one of the spires in the barricade shuddered and collapsed, making Arukenimon hiss in alarm. Blackwargreymon floated out of the dust cloud, flicking the obelisk's remnants out from between his claws. "What do you think you're doing?!" Arukenimon shouted at him. "You're supposed to destroy THEM, not my spires!"

"Hey! It's you!" Agumon cheered, forgetting the danger and waving at the newcomer. "How're you doing?"

Not seeming to hear the little dinosaur, Blackwargreymon glared at the spider woman and her accomplice. "You really are a disgrace," he boomed. "What honor is there in fighting your opponents when there is nothing to fight over?"

"Nothing to fight over?!" Mummymon huffed. "That helmet must be pinching your brain!"

"You're here to help us," Arukenimon snapped. "Now get down here and help us!"

Blackwargreymon looked away from them coldly. "A soldier doesn't take orders from lowly tricksters like you," he stated.

Cody's eyes widened at that. Blackwargreymon thought of himself as a soldier, with honor and dignity to uphold? His mind jumped to his late father, the decorated police officer. Maybe he really could get through to this dark entity…

He would have tried right then and there, had not Davis nudged him in the ribs. "Cody!" he muttered, "huddle time, quick!" Cody turned and joined the rest of the kids and their partners in a speedily whispered plan.

"YOU'RE the disgrace!" Arukenimon shouted at the floating monster, absorbed in her own rage. "Devimon told us you would destroy the Digidestined, and you haven't done it!"

"You haven't even _tried!_" Mummymon threw in his two cents. "You had them on the ropes plenty of times, but you always backed down at the last minute!"

Blackwargreymon turned away from them, unaffected by the criticism. "There are larger matters than your petty desire for blood," he rumbled, then shot up into the sky.

"Get back here!" Arukenimon screamed, shaking both her fists at the disappearing figure. "You're ours, and you'll do as we—"

"BANZAIIIII!" Davis's shout rang in her ears, and she looked down just in time for Veemon's feet to mash into her eyes, knocking her on her back as the kids and their partners charged past her. Mummymon raised Obelisk to shoot, but Tai slapped it so hard he spun around 180 degrees and crashed into the dust too.

"Road trip!" Patamon cheered as TK, Kari, Tai and their partners leaped into the backseat of the jeep. Yolei, Hawkmon, Davis, Veemon, Cody and Armadillomon jumped into the front.

"How're you gonna drive this thing?!" Gatomon asked Davis. "You're too short!"

"Uh…" Davis gulped, suddenly realizing his feet were only pushing at air. Thinking fast, he pushed Cody onto the floor, pulled on his seat belt and gripped the wheel. "Floor it, Cody!" he yelled.

Much against their better judgment, Cody and Armadillomon found the accelerator and slammed their hands down on it. The jeep screamed like an angry cat and shot across the wasteland, veering one way and then the next, often with two wheels up in the air. "What the hell are you doing?!" Yolei screamed at him. "It's a _car_, not a plane!"

Kari yelped as Gatomon's claws dug into her lap. "It's better than crossing on foot," TK pointed out before he was thrown against the door and squashed Patamon under his thigh. "…Marginally," he corrected himself.

Davis whooped with delight as he hurled the steering wheel this way and that. "Aww, yeah!" he laughed wildly. "I can't WAIT 'til I'm sixteen!"

"I sure can!" Tai gulped, squeezing a bug-eyed Agumon.

Mummymon sat up and watched the vehicle fishtail three times before groaning and speeding off to the east. "MY CAR!" he wailed.

Arukenimon snarled at the dust cloud. The children had always been pests, but this was a new low for them! They had to catch up and punish them… but how?

Her eyes quickly fell on the control spires around them. "Get up!" she snapped at the weeping Mummymon. "Cover me while I work…"

* * *

"Are we there yet, Davith?" Veemon asked as he jumped up and down on the seat.

"You asked fifteen seconds ago! No, we ain't!" Davis grunted, grabbing Veemon's tail and forcing him to sit. His other hand jerked the wheel and the car bounded to the right.

Yolei flew against the door and almost fell out. "Hey, watch it!" she screamed at him.

"Well, buckle up, moron!" Davis rebuked. "That's what they're there for! DUH!"

Once again, Yolei didn't retaliate; she just pulled the seat belt off of Hawkmon (who _had_ buckled up) and replaced it over the both of them, then stared icily ahead. Davis wrinkled his nose. "So what kinda town we lookin' for, coach?" he asked Tai.

"Err, it has a big wall and a lot of lights…" Tai started, but the roar of the engine turned his attention to the speedometer. "Good grief!" he exclaimed. "Cody, don't stay on the gas! We're past 140 Kilometers!"

Cody and Armadillomon quickly took their hands off the pedal. "I'm surprised this bucket goes that fast," Armadillomon commented.

"We should see what this thing can do while we've got it," TK pointed out. "Maybe it can show us how they always know where we were going!"

Davis glanced at the dashboard. It showed how old the jeep was supposed to be—there were knobs and switches instead of buttons and screens, and a cassette tape deck instead of a CD player—but nothing really jumped out at him. "So you want me to start pushin' stuff?" he asked.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Veemon chirped, bouncing in his seat again, "can I push 'em, Davith? I love pushing buttons!"

"Knock yourself out," Davis replied, turning back to driving. "Cody, more gas!"

"Just don't touch anything that says 'ejector seat,'" Patamon joked.

Veemon tried one knob and wipers flung themselves back and forth on the thin glass windshield. He twisted another and the radio crackled to life with a bellowing woman and banging drums. "Aghh, turn that off!" Gatomon hissed, clamping her paws over her ears. "It hurts!"

Veemon quickly switched it off. "I think that was 'Madame Butterfly,'" TK remarked.

"I'm fine with butterflies, but less madams!" Gatomon groaned. "Those're pitches no cat wants to hear!"

Veemon saw a button with a drawing of what looked like an opening mouth. "Ooh, maybe this gives snacks!" he cackled, and mashed it in.

The glove compartment flew open, spraying Yolei with papers, old bandages and spools of thread. The award Mummymon had won at Grave Glacier slid out and landed right on her foot. She howled in agony, grabbed it and hurled it out of the car. "What'd you do that for?!" she yelled at Veemon, who shrank back.

"Hey, lay off! He didn't know!" Davis snapped at her. "Why'd you get in the front seat, anyway? I bet nobody else would bitch as much!"

Yolei didn't respond. Davis rolled his eyes, then left one hand on the wheel and turned around in his seat. "Hey Kari, you wanna sit up front?" he asked, flashing a grin. "There's lots more room."

Kari's eyes widened. "R-right!" she said breathlessly.

"Sweet!" Davis laughed. "Yolei, get yer ass in back and—"

"NO, RIGHT!" Kari shouted, pointing as the others' faces paled as well. "TURN RIGHT!"

Davis turned around and swerved to the right just before the jeep collided with a control spire. "SON OF A BITCH!" he screamed, ready to barf up his heart.

"Ooh, I don't feel so good…" Agumon groaned.

"DAMMIT, Davis!" Yolei yelled, hammering the top of his head with her fist. "Watch it!"

"I swear, that wasn't _there_ a second ago!" Davis tried to defend himself.

"We know," TK growled, looking over his shoulder. "Check your mirror."

Davis looked in the rear-view mirror and almost bit his tongue. Bearing down on them with amazing speed was an Airdramon, and perched on its back were his two least favorite people. With each flick of their hands, more control spires shot up in the jeep's path, forcing Davis to veer left and right. "Cody!" he yelled. "Sit on that pedal!"

The speedometer crept from 150 to 160 Kilometers per hour, but the spire-born Airdramon was flying alongside the jeep in no time. "I know you haven't got a license for that, little boy," Arukenimon jeered, calling up another spire that Davis narrowly missed.

"Not to mention you STOLE it!" Mummymon yelled, his yellow eyes burning red as if Davis had insulted his mother. "Now pull over!"

Davis scoffed; did Mummymon seriously think he was going to stop the vehicle? It was time for some airplane-like maneuvers. "Hope you're all buckled up," he said to the others. "Now grab onto somethin' and don't piss yer pants!"

The jeep shot under the Airdramon and took off to the left. Airdramon tried to follow, but it turned more slowly than the little jeep and lost some distance. Then the jeep swerved again and zipped diagonally right under it. Airdramon turned to compensate, but the jeep drove around in a ring and raced under them again, going the exact opposite way of the dragon. Even the spires Arukenimon and Mummymon erected didn't stop Davis; he drove like a madman across the expanse.

Mummymon shrieked angrily. "He'll wear the tires out completely!" he cried.

Arukenimon fumed. It was time for drastic measures. "Attack!" she snapped at the Airdramon, slapping its scales.

"What?! NO!" Mummymon wailed. "That's my jeep!"

Airdramon sucked in air and then spewed a whirling tornado at the vehicle. Davis swerved in time to avoid it, but it slammed into the ground and threw heaps of dust into the kids' faces. "Not _again_!" Yolei snarled, spitting orange every which way.

"I've had enough, too," Kari huffed, pulling out her D3. "Gatomon! DigiArmor Energize!"

Gatomon nodded. She leaped off the jeep, changed into Nefertimon and took to the air, though the jeep and Airdramon were moving so fast it took her a few moments to catch up. The Airdramon shrieked and turned its shots on her, driving her further back.

"TK, let me help!" Patamon squirmed. "It's too fast for just one!" TK unbuckled, let Patamon loose and held up his D3. Pegasusmon shot upwards and kicked at Airdramon, but the speedy serpent veered away and pelted both Armor Digimon with needles from its mane.

Hawkmon noticed another two control spires shoot up. "Yolei, let me loose and change me into Aquilamon," Hawkmon urged. "Pegasusmon's not enough!"

"What're you gonna do?" Yolei asked. "He's too fast for them, so he's too fast for you!"

"True…" he said with a smirk, "but I have a plan."

Yolei didn't think Hawkmon would be able to help much, but it was better than not doing anything. She unbuckled enough to let him wriggle free on his own, then secured the belt again before raising her D3.

As the wind blew Hawkmon off of the jeep, he transformed into Aquilamon. He his mighty wings to catch up to the fracas, and actually flew further ahead. "Aquilamon?" Nefertimon managed to ask. "Where're you going?!"

"What are you doing?" Arukenimon taunted, then sent up another spire right in front of him. "This is a raid, not a race!"

"Nefertimon! Pegasusmon! Get clear!" Aquilamon rumbled. He flapped hard and somersaulted in midair, coming down right in Airdramon's face with a barrage of energy rings. Airdramon screeched and flailed around, but Aquilamon kept up the assault while flapping backwards as hard as he could.

"Hey! Get out of our face, bird-brain!" Mummymon shouted, shaking his gray fist.

Aquilamon estimated where he was and decided it was time. He let up and flew out of the way, and suddenly Airdramon was flying right towards the center of a new control spire. Arukenimon and Mummymon screamed and pulled on their ride, but they were going too fast; the monster connected and shattered along with the obelisk, sending the fiends flying.

The kids and their partners celebrated with lots of whoops and yells. "Yeah!" Tai cheered, pumping his fist. "Nice work, Aquilamon!"

"Hah! Suck on that!" Davis taunted the black rubble, but when he turned back to the front, his spine almost leaped out the back of his head. Almost like someone standing up from the ground, a spindly black tree appeared right where the jeep was headed! "SHIT!" he screamed. "BRAKES! BRAKES!"

Cody and Armadillomon took how loud Davis was screaming to heart, and slammed down on the brake. The wheels screeched and a dust plume shot ten feet behind the jeep, but nothing could stop the collision. The jeep's rear lurched into the air and the whole vehicle somersaulted over the tree. Aquilamon desperately tried to grab it, but his talons only scraped the door and turned the vertical spin into a horizontal one. With all of its occupants screaming for dear life, the jeep smashed into the ground on its left side and skidded fifty feet before it finally came to a stop, its bumpers and left wheels discarded in the dust and every thinkable automotive fluid dribbling from the scrapes and holes like a savaged deer.

"Kari!" Nefertimon cried, flying down to the wreck with Aquilamon and Pegasusmon. "Are you all right?!"

Kari groaned and opened her eyes, amazed to find herself intact, albeit sideways and up in the air; her tight seatbelt had kept her in place. "I… yes," she exclaimed. "Tai? TK? Cody? Are you all OK?"

TK had been in the middle of the backseat, and he looked all right, though he trembled violently. Tai and Agumon were at the bottom, half-buried in dirt, but from the spitting noises and flailing limbs, they were very much alive.

Yolei's angry shrieks came from under a heap of dirt, and she presently broke through. "WAGGH!" she yelled, orange clouds erupting from her throat. "Why me?!"

Davis was still fast in the driver's seat, his knuckles white as he clenched the wheel, which had popped off the dashboard. Cody crawled out from the pedals, clutching Armadillomon around his middle. "If I ever criticized you for having a shell, I take it back," the boy told his partner.

Tai coughed, unbuckled and rolled out onto the ground, exhausted. Agumon looked incredibly sheepish. "Sorry, Tai," he apologized, "I kinda had an accident…"

Tai just chuckled. "You're two for two, buddy," he mumbled.

Yolei walked some distance away and dusted herself off, grouching and muttering all the while. Nefertimon, Pegasusmon and Aquilamon shrank down to Rookie forms, and Tai and Cody helped the others unbuckle and get back onto solid ground. "I've made my decision," TK announced in a shaky but cheerful voice. "When the time comes for me to take driver's ed, I'm going to be the first kid ever to say 'no thanks, I've decided to be a lifelong supporter of public transport.'"

Back on the ground, Davis and Veemon walked around the mutilated machine. It was completely totaled and giving off a burning stink. Nobody would ever drive it again. "Damn…" Davis mumbled, realizing what everyone had just gone through and amazed that they were all alive.

Veemon, on the other hand, was all smiles. "Yeah, Davith!" he cheered, giving his partner a thumbs-up. "You not only got the jeep away from Arukenimon and Mummymon, but now they can't chase us in it anymore! You're so awesome!"

Davis grinned awkwardly. "Well, uh—" he began.

"Awesome?! AWESOME?!" Yolei exploded, stomping up to Davis and grabbing him by the collar. "The only tree—_the_ _only tree_—in this whole area, and YOU HIT IT! We could've all been killed!"

"You wanna do it next time?! Be my guest!" Davis snapped, shoving the steering wheel into her hands. She dropped it in the dust and folded her arms. "An' that tree wasn't there the first time I looked!" he went on, pointing at the far-off offending plant.

Cody folded his arms. "So the tree just jumped into our path and bit the car?" he asked dryly.

"No! It just shot up there, like the spires!" Davis huffed. "Honest to God!"

"Look, Davis, you don't need to get so upset," Gatomon tried. "That thing wasn't supposed to be driven by kids anyway."

Davis stuttered for a moment, then got even angrier. "This isn't about my sucky driving!" he exclaimed. "That tree wasn't _there_!" He turned and looked desperately at his partner. "C'mon, Veemon, tell 'em! You didn't see a tree there, did you?!" he demanded.

Veemon grinned. "Nope, but you sure did, Davith!" he exclaimed. "That was the best crash ever!"

"OK, calm down," Tai urged everyone as he put a hand on Davis's shoulder. "The main thing is that we're all OK… and Veemon's right; this probably helped us out a lot."

"OK, fine," Yolei grunted, looking even more sour, "but we didn't get to that town, did we?"

Kari glanced eastward and noticed a few shapes in the distance. She took out her camera and zoomed in on them, and cried out with excitement; it was the walled, strangely lit settlement she had seen the other day. "Look!" she called to the others. "We're almost there!"

"Oh, boy!" Agumon cheered. "We must've driven most of the way here!"

"It was a shoddy-looking jeep, but it certainly was fast," Hawkmon said, looking back at the junk pile. "I see why they used it."

"That's probably the only thing related to Arukenimon or Mummymon that's gonna get a eulogy from us," Patamon muttered. "C'mon, let's go!"

With their excitement and terror of the crash under control, the Digidestined and their partners made their way towards the city. They reached its walls in only about half an hour and found that it was a relatively small place; the buildings only had two or three stories and the gray brick wall encapsulating the place made them look even smaller. Two red pillars stood at the entrance, balancing an ornately decorated structure that resembled a traditional oriental roof, painted in garish golds and blues. In the center of this structure were three characters, shining a more brilliant golden color than the rest of it. As lovely as it looked, the kids were dismayed to find a thick wooden door barring their way in. "They're closed?" Gatomon asked, walking up and scratching at the wood. "Can a whole town be closed?"

"Great!" Yolei snapped, folding her arms again. No Ken, a trek across a dusty desert, a car crash and now the place they were going to was closed! She really should have stayed home.

Armadillo looked up at the characters. "Hey Cody, what does that say?" he asked.

"It's gibberish, but if you read it backwards, it says… 'Chinatown?'" Cody said, raising an eyebrow. He knew the Digital World was host to strange places… but a Chinatown?

"Seriously?" Davis asked, looking at the characters in disbelief… but even he could tell that's what they actually spelled. "So, is it a reverse Chinatown?"

"Hey, Davith," Veemon piped up, "what's 'China?'"

"Oh, Those're fancy dishes," Patamon spoke up, "and you get screamed at if you break one of them. Right, TK?" He grinned at his partner.

TK's cheeks reddened. "Did you have to bring that up?" he muttered. "I told you, I lost my grip on it."

"That's funny," Hawkmon broke in, "China didn't sound like dishes the way Yolei's father spoke about it. He said they make a lot of cheap rubbish that puts quality brands out of business." He ruffled his feathers. "…Not that I know what any of that means," he finished.

Kari couldn't help but giggle. "What?" Hawkmon asked. "Have I said something wrong?"

"No," Cody said, smiling wryly, "but you could be the first Digimon to teach economics."

Tai walked up to the gate and banged on it a few times; he hadn't come all the way here just to let a closed door stop him. "Hello!" he called. "Is anyone home?"

A small slat opened in the gate, revealing a big eye with a spiraling yellow pupil. It looked at Tai and then down at Agumon, and someone yelped with excitement. The slat shut and the gates creaked wide open, and a jolly-looking Geckomon and a bouncing Otamamon rushed out to the party. "Hey! It'sh you guysh!" the Geckomon exclaimed, grabbing Agumon's claw and shaking it vigorously. "Long time no shee!"

"Hi!" Agumon replied happily. "Did you make this whole town yourselves?"

Davis scratched his head. "Wait, what?" he asked, looking at Tai. "But you didn't come to the jungle with Mimi and us… How d'you know these guys?"

Tai thought for a moment, then smiled as he remembered. These Digimon must have been from Shogungeckomon's castle, where Joe and he had helped save Mimi from a massive case of princess-itis on their first adventure. "Oh, I get it," he said. "You guys are from the castle!"

"Yeah!" the Otamamon chirped, still bouncing up and down. "We all remember you helped make Princess Mimi nice again! Lots of us live here in Chinatown now."

The Geckomon looked at the others and smiled again. "And our friendsh shaid you guysh knocked down the shpires in their jungle," he continued. "Pleashe! All of ya, c'mon in!"

The group started to go inside the gates, but Cody stayed put. "Wait!" he urged them. "It might be a trap!"

The others stopped. "Whaddya mean, Cody?" Armadillomon asked, a little embarrassed by his partner's negative streak. "Tai n' Agumon know these guys…"

"Yes," Cody said, "but how do we know they won't catch us and throw us to Arukenimon, or the Resistance?"

"The Reshishtanche? Oh, no, no!" the Geckomon exclaimed, shaking his whole upper body left and right like he was expecting coconuts to drop. "We hear about 'em on Digiworld newsh, but thish town is sho tiny, they haven't come here yet."

"There aren't any Resistance Digimon here," the Otamamon said. "All we want to do is live peacefully and worship the Great Dragon."

Kari blinked. Great Dragon? That sounded strange and even mystical. Was that a really big Digimon, or maybe something else?

"Well, that's good enough for me," Tai said. "Come on, guys, let's go in and look around."

Cody didn't look convinced, but he decided arguing wasn't worth it and quietly followed everybody in.

The Digidestined learned quickly that Chinatown lived up to its name: flashing neon signs in dozens of languages assailing their eyes from every direction; the streets were claustrophobic and thinned even more by outdoor storefronts; and gaggles of Digimon jostled each other, some shouting about the wares they sold, others buying or haggling. Rickshaws rambled through the chaos every so often, making brief waves in the crowd. Though many of the creatures were Geckomon and Otamamon, there were dozens of other kids of Digimon too, some of which the kids—even Tai—had never seen before. "Wow!" Patamon exclaimed as he sought refuge on TK's head, "this joint is jumping!"

"It's pretty lively for such a little place," Kari agreed.

"A while after the world changed, a group of Digimon came to the edge of the world," Otamamon spoke loudly, trying to make himself heard over the crowd. "They set this place up and stayed there. I don't know how they found water out here, and that forest is too small for lumber, but it all worked out pretty well; even though we're not as big as other towns, we've got a lot of businesses and even our own money system!"

"Money?..." Yolei repeated, then looked around at the various stalls. They didn't look very impressive, but one of them might have a nice piece of jewelry or a ring she could buy; maybe Ken would like that she was supporting a Digital World economy.

"This is pretty neat," Kari said, "but I'd like to know more about this 'Great Dragon' you mentioned."

"And what about that floating island?" Agumon asked, motioning in the direction he thought it was.

"Well, it'sh funny you ashked both of thoshe at onche," Geckomon said, stopping to scratch his horn. "Shee, we don't really know anything about that island… but the foundersh of the town believed that'sh where the Great Dragon livesh. So the resht of ush jusht go with it."

"Local tradition, huh?" Tai said, looking disappointed. "Are you sure there isn't anything else?"

"Sorry," Otamamon apologized. "Anyway, we've gotta get goin', but you're welcome in Chinatown! Please stay as long as you like!"

The Geckomon and Otamamon set off and melted into the crowd. "Well, great," Davis grumbled. "That told us a whole lot of nothin'."

"At least we know they're friendly here!" Veemon pointed out. "That's a good start!"

"But now what?" Gatomon asked. "If this place is mostly made up of those guys, we're not gonna get any clues about the island…"

Kari began to reply when suddenly a delicious scent flowed into her nostrils and stayed there. It was a mixture of several odors—onions, sesame, garlic, mushrooms, soy and ramen—and behind them was another unknown smell that made the rest of them combine into an olfactory symphony. "Mmm!" she gasped, quickly rubbing the back of her hand against her mouth to catch the drool. "What _is_ that?!"

The others put their snouts in the air and had similar responses. "Ohhh, that smells _gooood_," Armadillomon gurgled.

They made their way through the crowd to a place where the scent was so thick one could almost take a bite out of it; the bright red doorway of a small restaurant with its menus taped in the window. "It's in there!" TK said, then paused and read the menu. "It's a soup and noodle place."

"They must be cooking for the dinner crowd," Hawkmon remarked.

"Well, I'd say that's us right now," Davis cackled, grinning from ear to ear. "Who's up for a second lunch?"

All the Digimon yipped and cheered excitedly, and even the kids looked enthusiastic… but Cody again scowled. "Wait a second," he objected. "We can't stop to eat here. What if Arukenimon and Mummymon show up? We'd be caught completely off guard! We should secure a warp point and then look for more information on that island—"

His stomach's growling cut him off. "How about that," Yolei smirked, "your belly's as irritating as you are."

Cody clenched his fists and fumed. "OK, OK, calm down, Cody," Tai said. "We hear what you're saying."

"But we just had a crazy fight out there, not to mention a wipeout," TK went on. "Our Digimon are pretty beat up. We could all use some more energy, so why not stop and take in the local cuisine?"

Cody bit his lip and looked at Armadillomon. His partner had just kept him safe from the jeep crash… He should keep him in good shape in return. "…All right," he surrendered. "But don't overeat."

"Yeehaw!" Armadillomon cheered, spinning around like a top. "Awright, let's go get us some vittles!"

Veemon blinked. "I thought we were gonna get food," he said.

"Well, yeah," Davis replied, "what do you think vittles are?"

"…Really tiny violins?" Veemon tried.

Davis ushered his partner into the restaurant along with the others. The place was packed with Digimon laughing, chatting and jamming their faces into big bowls of broth and noodles. "Boy, dinner starts early around here," Agumon remarked.

"They must be full," Cody suggested, hoping the others would decide to keep moving. "Maybe if we come back later—"

He started to turn back towards the door, but a new kind of small Digimon had appeared and blocked his way. The lower half of its body made of puffy white smoke, and it floated a few inches off the ground. The upper half looked like an elephant without a trunk, its head covered by a silver helmet adorned with golden symbols. "Uh… howdy?" Armadillomon tried.

The creature clasped its paws together in a praying manner and bowed slightly. "Poooork ramen," it said in a chirpy high tone.

"Eh… what?" Gatomon asked as everyone took notice of the strange little fellow.

"I do believe that's a Bakumon," Hawkmon observed, "a Rookie Digimon like us."

The Bakumon nodded, then bowed again. "Wonton ramen?" he asked.

"Sounds like he's got noodles on his noodle," Patamon remarked.

"…I also think he's a waiter," Hawkmon continued.

The Bakumon nodded again. "Oh! Well, in that case, table for twelve, garkon," Yolei requested.

Bakumon nodded and floated off, gesturing for them to follow. He led them to a huge table in the corner of the restaurant with booth seating against the wall and also six chairs. "Cantoneeeese ramen," he said, and motioned to the menus at each place.

"They must get parties in here pretty often," Tai remarked.

"If it tastes as good as it smells, I can see why," TK said, sitting down and opening the menu. To his surprise, though, the writing inside wasn't anything he could read; it was that strange code-like language they came across in the Digital World from time to time.

"Err…" Davis muttered, flipping the menu upside-down and trying again. "Anyone figure out this chicken scratch?"

"Great!" Yolei groaned, dropping the menu back on the table. "The key to that great food's right in here, and we can't read it!"

Kari thought for a moment, then smiled. "I've got an idea," she said, then looked at Bakumon; she knew something she could order without being able to read. "We'll all have the house special, please," she requested.

Bakumon bowed. "Tientsin ramen," he chirped, and floated away.

"Heh! That was great!" Davis laughed, beaming. "You're so smart, Kari!"

"I wonder what it is," Agumon thought out loud.

"Usually the house special is the dish the chef comes up with himself," TK said. "At least, that's what my dad calls his own dinner creations."

"So… this could be something bad?" Yolei ventured.

TK frowned, a little annoyed. "Yolei!" Hawkmon scolded.

"I didn't mean anything by it!" Yolei snapped.

The argument would have gone on longer, but just then Bakumon reappeared with a huge tray floating above him. "Spicy ramen," he announced, and twelve bowls heaped high with noodles floated off of the tray and placed themselves in front of the Digidestined.

"Hooo-wee!" Armadillomon whelped. "I'm likin' this place already!"

"OK, then!" Tai chuckled, snapping his chopsticks, "let's dig in!"

The kids and their partners didn't waste any time starting to eat, and once they began none of them wanted to pause. The wonderful smell that had brought the group in from the street was given edible form in the long, perfectly cooked noodles and the golden brown broth they bathed in, and amazingly it tasted even better than it smelled. "Mmf… gllff… decliiicious!" Patamon gurgled between swallows.

"Chopsticks… not fast enough!" Davis grunted, shoveling the pasta down his throat. "Need… vacuum!"

"Don't just wolf it down; you have to savor the flavor and texture," Gatomon corrected him, even though she had already eaten half of her own bowl.

"I think there's somethin' in this soup, Davith!" Veemon exclaimed, pausing to lick the extra drippings off of his face. "I'm feelin' stronger by the mouthful!"

"It must be just that good," TK remarked, looking down at his broth.

Armadillomon took his face out of his bowl and thought for a moment. "Y'know, there might be somethin' to that," he said. "My shell doesn't ache so bad anymore."

"Huh…" Tai said, and moved around in his seat. He had felt pretty sore after the wipeout in the jeep, but he felt a lot less of it now. "You don't think this is some kind of magic soup, do you?"

"Come on, there's no such thing," Yolei huffed, but her curiosity was piqued. "Waiter! Hey, waiter!" she called.

In a flash, Bakumon was floating at the table again. "Vegetable ramen?" he said, looking inquisitive.

"Uh… yeah," Yolei said, then held up her bowl. "This soup's really good! What's in it?"

Bakumon hesitated, glancing back towards the kitchen. "…Chicken ramen," he said quickly, shaking his head.

"No, seriously," she said, starting to get annoyed. "What're the ingredients?"

The Bakumon shook his head again. "Pork ramen!" he yipped crossly.

"OK, now you're repeating yourself," Yolei grumbled. "If you can't tell me, then I want to see the cook!"

"…Garlic ramen…" Bakumon grumbled, and floated away to the kitchen. Yolei couldn't help but beam. Even in the Digital World, Mimi's lessons were coming in handy.

"Yolei, they might not _want_ to tell us," Kari pointed out. "It could be something special the owner doesn't want to share."

Yolei rolled her eyes and went back to watching for the cook. Hawkmon sighed and tried to work chopsticks with his feathers.

A few moments later, a strange Digimon lumbered out of the kitchen area. It was a giant gray egg with green reptilian legs jutting out of the bottom, and a large crack in front revealing two gleaming yellow eyes. It also wore an apron and a chef's hat. "I'm Digitamamon, the cook _and_ the owner," he said in a raspy, crabby voice. "What did you want?"

Tai, TK, Agumon and Patamon all jumped. They recognized that Digimon: it was the same one that had forced Joe to work in his restaurant on their first adventure, and then dragged Matt into indentured servitude, too!... or at least it was the same type of Digimon.

"Hey, you're that bum—" Agumon started, but Tai shook his head and put his hand on Agumon's mouth.

"It might not be the same one," TK muttered. "Let's just watch."

"I wanted to know what was in this soup," Yolei said, motioning to the bowl, "but your waiter wouldn't tell me."

"Of course he can't tell you," Digitamamon grunted nastily, "he's got a speech impediment. Or didn't you notice?"

Yolei fumed. Getting aggressive worked with meek people, but she hadn't said how to handle people with attitudes. "Just tell me what's in the soup," she huffed.

"Sorry," Digitamamon snapped, "it's a trade secret. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a restaurant to run." With that, he turned and marched back into the kitchen.

Yolei sat back in the booth and folded her arms. "Don't be too upset," Hawkmon tried. "He's got to think of his business."

"Sure shut you down," Davis cackled, having enjoyed the whole exchange.

Yolei sniffed and didn't respond; she picked up her chopsticks and kept eating. Davis's smile faded, and he also grouchily went back to his meal.

* * *

Half an hour later, all the bowls had been thoroughly picked over, and everyone leaned back in their seats, their bellies full. "Ohh, that was good," Gatomon sighed.

"Yeah, now let's get back out there!" Veemon said, hopping up and down on the cushion. "I feel like I could explore all night long, too!"

Surprisingly, none of the kids felt lethargic after such a big meal; like Veemon, they all had renewed energy and vigor. "It's funny," Cody remarked, finally breaking his silence, "but I feel fully recovered from the crash."

"Well, then we ought to get moving," Yolei agreed, not wanting to stay any longer than she had to; the encounter with Digitamamon still had her irritated.

The group got up and moved to the counter at the front of the store, where Digitamamon was fiddling with the cash register (as much as an egg can fiddle with anything, really). "Excuse me," Hawkmon spoke, "we'd like our check, please."

"Oh, of course," Digitamamon said, then thumped the cash register. The number 87 came up, followed by a weird symbol. "Twelve house specials: 87 Digidollars. That doesn't include the tip."

Everybody's spines burned. "…Digidollars?" Davis asked, looking at Veemon. "What's that?"

"Ya got me, Davith," Veemon said, shrugging.

"You don't have any money?" Yolei asked, rolling her eyes. "Fine, you can pay me back later." She made her way ahead of the others and took out her purse. "How much is that in yen? Oh, and it'll be on a credit card," she said, putting her card on the counter.

Digitamamon's eyes narrowed. "This is Chinatown; we only take our own currency," he snapped. "That's 87 Digidollars. Anything else might as well be scrap paper… or lumps of plastic!"

"Well, how're we supposed to know what you use?" Yolei returned, slapping her hands on the counter. "We just got here!"

"You should have asked before you started stuffing your faces!" Digitamamon huffed.

"Stuffing my face?!" Yolei shouted, baring her teeth. "That's no way to speak to a customer!"

"You're not a customer if you _don't pay_!" Digitamamon snarled, his yellow eyes flashing red. "If you don't have money, you're working it off! All of you!"

A chorus of groans came from the Digidestined. "You know what?" TK muttered to Tai, "I think he's the same one."

"Isn't that child labor…?" Cody ventured.

"Um, OK, everyone, please…" Kari tried, "I'm sure if we all calm down, we can come up with a reasonable—"

"_Work_?!" Yolei yelled, her voice jumping up an octave. "I'm not gonna work in this dump!"

Digitamamon's eyes narrowed hatefully. "Then maybe you'd prefer to pay the old fashioned way?" he hissed, leaping up on the counter. "With a pound of flesh?!"

Before anyone could react, Digitamamon belched and enveloped Davis in a black blob. It shook and jerked around like it was being electrocuted, his muffled screaming making everyone else sick. After a few moments the blob faded away and Davis collapsed to the floor, trembling. "Davith!" Veemon shouted, trying to pull him up. "Are you OK?!"

"Devil clowns!" Davis gasped, curling up like a pill bug. "Devil clowns!"

Agumon looked at Davis, then back at Digitamamon. "OK, we'll work it off," he said. "Just don't do that again!"

"What?!" Yolei roared. "I have to work at home! I'm not—"

She was cut off when Hawkmon clamped his wings around her mouth. "_All_ of us will," he agreed.

"Good!" Digitamamon said, cackling unpleasantly. "I've got plenty of chores waiting! Now come back here so I can size you up!"

The group slowly filed back towards the kitchens. TK sighed. If this cracked egg wasn't hassling Matt, he was hassling him.

The kitchen was smaller and more cramped than the kids had imagined, but since Digitamamon was the only cook, it made sense. Patamon wondered if Digitamamon liked confined spaces because he was encased in an egg himself. "Now, then…" Digitamamon grumbled, shuffling down the line of kids and Digimon. He stopped at Cody and hesitated. "You're a little shrimp, aren't you?" he chortled. "I bet you can't even reach the tables… so you'll run the register!"

Cody frowned at the jab, but nodded. "I'll do my best," he said.

"You'd better," Digitamamon retorted, and then came to Kari. "Well, well, what have we here?" he asked excitedly, looking her over. "Now you've got 'waitress' written all over you!"

Kari looked around awkwardly, her face getting hot. "M-me?..." she stammered.

"Hey, what're you getting at, you sicko?!" Gatomon demanded.

"I resent that," Digitamamon snapped. "What I meant was that she looks friendly and personable. The customers would love her!... Besides, maybe now I'll actually know what they ordered instead of guessing what Bakumon's rambling about."

"Oh… Well, in that case, I'll do it," Kari agreed, scratching her head.

Gatomon's tail swished. "Fine, but if Kari's waiting tables, then so am I," she said.

"Y'all don't mind if I wait, too?" Armadillomon piped up. "I don't wanna get too far away from Cody."

"You, wait?" Digitamamon snorted. "You're even shorter than your friend!"

"I can carry the stuff on my back," Armadillomon pointed out, turning around and showing off his shell.

"Heh! Fine, then," Digitamamon scoffed, then looked at the rest. "That's all the staff I need."

Yolei stiffened in surprise. "Hey, what about me?" she argued.

"What _about_ you?" Digitamamon returned.

Yolei clenched her jaw, but couldn't come up with a response.

"As for the rest of you," Digitamamon went on, looking at the remaining people, "the rest of you are going to get supplies."

"All right," Tai said, "which way is the grocery store?"

"Oh, you'd like it to be that easy, wouldn't you?" Digitamamon cackled. "Well, I use _fresh_ ingredients here, and water's the most important one! Now come here."

Digitamamon waddled out another door. Davis, Yolei, TK, Tai and their partners followed him outside and behind the restaurant, where a wooden rickshaw was propped against the wall, next to a stack of a dozen large stone pots with wooden lids. "You're going to put those pots in the rickshaw, then take it to the spring in the forest and fill them all up," he instructed.

Veemon walked up to one of the pots and found it was taller and wider than he was. "Boy, Davith, how do I pick this up?" he asked, trying to grab onto it.

"Woah, there!" Tai stopped him, grabbing the pot. "I don't know if Digimon can get hernias, but we shouldn't experiment now."

Yolei grabbed a pot and pulled, but it hardly moved. "Urrgh! These are too heavy!" she grunted. "It'll take forever!"

Digitamamon's eyes flashed red again. Davis broke out in a cold sweat. "Just do it, Yolei!" he shouted at her.

Yolei gave him a nasty look, but shut up and pulled at the pot again.

"Where's the spring?" Agumon asked. "Is it far into the woods?"

Digitamamon thought for a moment, then whistled sharply. Bakumon floated out of the restaurant and bowed. "Creamy chicken ramen?" he asked.

"Show them where the spring is," Digitamamon instructed, "and don't let anyone follow you in! That means ALL of you!"

Bakumon bowed. "Mushroom ramen," he answered.

"And when you've brought back the water, you'll finish by washing the dishes!" Digitamamon said to the kids, starting back to the door. "Now make it snappy!"

The door slammed shut. Bakumon turned an evil eye on the Digidestined. "Oriental ramen!" he snapped crossly, clapping his hands.

"Somehow, I don't think that means 'work slower,'" TK sighed, dragging a pot towards the rickshaw.

With a lot of effort and groaning, the kids started loading the heavy pots onto the rickshaw. Yolei fumed angrily the whole time. Why did these things always happen to her?!

* * *

The Gigas… the dark core that powered it… and the blueprints for the dark rings and the control spires. Ken looked over his page a fourth time, wondering if he had missed anything. Since his sudden spark of curiosity the night before, he had left his story and turned to detective work, cataloging everything that had been left for him after receiving that e-mail, the text of which he had also transcribed on an earlier page. It all had to have a source. Someone had been pulling his strings from the beginning. He had tortured all those Digimon, created the horror that was Kimeramon, which in turn killed Wormmon, and had made enough control spires around to let Arukenimon and Mummymon run wild… and all along, it had been someone else's plan that he do so. Whoever this entity was, Ken was going to find out and expose it if it was the last thing he ever did. Who's to say that person wouldn't take another disturbed child and unleash him on the Digital World, too?

He paused, then closed the notebook and shut his eyes for a moment. He had been turning this over in his head since last night and all through the school day, and it was wearing on his nerves. Seeking a distraction for a little while, he turned to his computer and opened the Digital World map. The flashing lights that marked the other kids' locations were all on the far eastern edge, a place he himself had never been to. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. It must be nice for them, he thought, to find a place completely free of the Digimon Emperor's grip… He wondered what it looked like, and whether the Digimon there welcomed humans. Maybe the Digidestined were being treated like gods appearing from the sky, he mused; wouldn't that be a change?

Suddenly, a square two squares away from the kids turned black, and he sat up in alarm and anger. Arukenimon and Mummymon weren't far away, and he knew which way they'd be heading. The fury of resent boiled in his chest, and he yanked his D3 off the desk and got up to shut his door. He wouldn't let those wretches bring control spires into a free land like that!

* * *

Arukenimon surveyed the flat land between two control spires, thought for a moment, then flicked her finger and another rose between them. "That completes the scenery, wouldn't you agree?" she mused.

Her answer was another tearful wail. Angrily she turned and scowled at Mummymon, who knelt in the sand beside his ravaged jeep, weeping bitterly. "Oh, grow up, you man-child!" she shouted. "It was just a derelict vehicle!"

"It… it was MY jeep!" Mummymon sobbed, throwing his hands skyward. "How… how am I supposed… supposed to get around now? I can't walk much farther than this!..." He stayed like that for a moment, then clenched his fists angrily. "Those brats!... Those heartless monsters!" he snarled through his tears. "I'm going to rip them into so many pieces…!"

"Just get up and shut up," Arukenimon snapped. "You're acting more like a baby than a mummy!"

Still whimpering and panting, Mummymon slowly pushed himself up onto his feet and hobbled a few steps, almost completely bent over his cane and limping heavily on his left side. Arukenimon watched him for a moment, suddenly realizing how hard it really was for him to move. "…We'll find another way to get around," she muttered.

"When I get my hands on them…" Mummymon growled, dragging himself into a semi-dignified stance.

"You won't have to wait long," Arukenimon said, her smirk returning as her eyes fell on the walled town in the distance. "I know exactly where they went."

* * *

"Nigh!" Veemon grunted as he gave the rickshaw handle another hard yank and feeling it inching forward. "This thing's heavy, but don't worry! We got it, Davith!"

Veemon and Patamon yanked on one handle and Hawkmon and Agumon pulled on the other, but their strength wasn't what was making the loaded rickshaw move; Tai, Davis, TK and Yolei were behind it, pushing with all their might. "Yeah… keep it up, buddy!" Davis wheezed to his partner, straining against the weight of the stone pots. They had managed to wheel it out of town and now they slowly advanced on a forest full of green bamboo. Bakumon floated around the cart shouting ramen dishes at them, never in a friendly tone of voice.

"This is brutal," TK remarked. "I feel bad for the regular staff."

"I don't," Tai muttered. "The regular staff is the one shouting at us."

"This is ridiculous!" Yolei groaned as she pushed. "He can't do this to us! I should just—"

"You should just _shut up_!" Davis snapped at her. "Your big mouth's done enough damage today! We're in this mess 'cuz of you, and _I_ got zapped because you mouthed off again!"

Yolei just sniffed and looked away, silent. Davis almost bit his tongue gnashing his teeth. "Oh, look at you, all high an' mighty!" he snarled. "So I ain't even worth arguing with now, huh?!"

"OK, Davis, that's enough. All of us need to calm down," Tai broke in, trying to imagine what Sora might say in a situation like this; she was the best mediator in the old gang. "It's all of our fault, really; we didn't learn enough about Chinatown's money system before we started eating, even though Geckomon and Otamamon mentioned it. The quickest and best thing we can do is make it up to Digitamamon, and then be on our way."

"And you must see the bright side of this, Yolei," Hawkmon pointed out as he tugged. "If you're stuck here for the afternoon, you're not stuck in your family's store."

Yolei just grunted. Compared to schlepping a rickshaw full of pottery, a cash register job sounded like a birthday present.

TK didn't care for the oppressive atmosphere, so he tried to make conversation. "Hey, Bakumon, do you know anything about that floating island?" he asked.

"Ah… Shitake ramen," Bakumon said, facing the island and bowing low.

TK blinked. Did that mean the island was a sacred place for the Digimon? What could be on it, then? TK would have asked more, but Bakumon clapped his paws and flew ahead into the forest, motioning for them to follow.

They schlepped their heavy load through the bamboo trees, which grew like a tunnel around the path, not giving any hint of how close they were to the edge of the world. The path didn't have any hills or bumps, but it was still a good forty-five minutes of pushing before Bakumon shouted at them to stop. They had arrived at a clearing with an amazing view of the island drifting in the afternoon sky. Right at the edge of the cliff was a beautifully clear spring of water, and erected next to it was a simple stone shrine. "Hey… Nice place," Agumon said, looking around. "I bet Kari'd love to get a shot of this."

Bakumon floated over to the shrine, muttered something and bowed low again. "Cheddar ramen!" he snapped at the others, motioning for them.

"Erm, I believe he wants us to pray, too," Hawkmon said, letting go of the handle.

"Whatever," Yolei muttered. "At least I can bend my spine now."

The kids and their partners walked over to the shrine and bowed respectfully, and Bakumon seemed satisfied. Patamon suddenly noticed something and his wing ears perked up. "Hey, TK! Look at this!" he urged, pointing at stone top.

TK looked and jumped in surprise. Etched into the shrine were the Crest symbols that Kari and he carried: Light and Hope. He scratched his head. "What do you think it means?" he asked.

Davis noticed something, too: a small slot in the shrine, large enough for inserting coins. He dug around in his pocket and dropped a one-yen coin in with a shrug. Maybe it would help him get lucky with Kari later on.

"Sweet sour ramen!" Bakumon ordered, motioning between the jars and the spring with his stubby paws; that spring must have been the place Digitamamon wanted them to get his water from.

"Yeah, yeah, got it…" Davis grumbled as he headed back for the rickshaw. "C'mon, Veemon."

Veemon was parched from the work, and the sound of the spring's running water was too much for him. He rushed over to the water and started spooning it into his mouth. Bakumon screamed angrily, yanked him away and threw him to the ground. "Soggy ramen!" he snarled.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Gatomon huffed as the other Digimon came to Veemon's aid. "He was just thirsty!"

"Lay off, cloud butt!" Davis shouted at Bakumon, who growled and floated back a distance. "Veemon, you OK?" he asked, helping his partner sit up.

Veemon blinked, then leaped to his feet, strangely energized. "Wow, Davith! That water's ten times better than normal, an' now I feel like liftin' a caboose!" he exclaimed, his eyes starting to tear up. "It's like… like drinkin' a pork chop!"

"Seriously?!" Yolei asked. "Hey, I want a drink, too!"

"Me, too!" Agumon cheered. "I'd love to lift a caboose!"

Yolei and Agumon ran towards the water, but Bakumon intercepted them, growling angrily as black vapors began trailing from his mouth. "Stop!" Hawkmon shouted, clamping a talon on Yolei's shoulder. "Bakumon attacks with Nightmare Syndrome, just like Digitamamon!"

Yolei stopped in her tracks, and Agumon screeched to a halt as well. Bakumon drooled haze for a few moments more, then closed his mouth and pointed sharply to the cart. "Oh, OK…" Agumon surrendered sadly.

"I'm still thirsty," Yolei grumbled as she turned around.

It took each Digidestined and his or her partner to lift a jug off the cart and haul it over to the water, where they dropped the jug in and then pulled it out by its handles… and it was twice as heavy when it was filled up. "Oh, SHIT!" Davis yelped as he almost lost his grip, "it's gonna pull my arms off!"

"I'm going to be the first seventh grader with a hernia," TK grunted, trying to both hold the jug handle and keep his face away from Patamon's flapping wings.

As Tai dunked his jug, something in the water caught his eye. At the bottom of the spring, maybe only five feet down, was a tiny glint of orange light. He squinted at it, then leaned a little closer, his heart starting to pound. "Agumon," he said quickly, "look at that. Could that be—"

A sharp slap on the back made him leap up and almost fall into the pool, and Agumon almost went with him. "Shrimp ramen!" Bakumon snapped at him, pointing angrily between the jug and the rickshaw cart. There were plenty of jugs yet to be filled, and he apparently didn't appreciate dillydallying.

"All right, all right!" Agumon huffed. "Geez, who knew 'ramen' could be such a threatening word?"

They dragged the jug back into the grass, then Tai hoisted it up and started back to the cart. There were plenty more jugs to fill; he'd have time to confirm what he thought it was.

* * *

Gatomon sighed as Kari and she approached another table of hungry Digimon. It was bad enough that they had to work off their meal, but the restaurant's patrons weren't helping matters at all.

Kari didn't look very upset; she smiled warmly at the Digimon and bowed politely, seeming to fit the waitress role perfectly. "Hi!" she said. "What can we get you today?"

"Well, what do we got here?" a Roachmon asked, his buggy eyes travelling up and down Kari's figure. "Heh heh… Ya must be new."

"Whoo, nice!" a Gazimon crooned. "This place is gettin' better all the time!"

"Hee hee, yeah," a Woodmon cackled, licking his splintered lips. "You look miiighty tasty!"

"Err…" Kari tried, scratching her head with her pen, "thanks?..."

"Hey!" Gatomon warned, her claws jutting out defensively, "stick to the soup if you know what's good for you!"

"I heard that, furball!" Digitamamon snapped, popping out of the kitchen looking irate. "Don't threaten my customers, or you'll be here even longer! Now get over there and help the yellow thing; we don't need two waitresses!"

Gatomon lowered her claws, still looking very angry. "Fine…" she growled. "Kari, call me if you need help."

"It's OK, Gatomon," Kari replied, starting to jot down what foods the Digimon were calling out, "I think I can remember what everyone wants."

Gatomon was about to say she'd be better off _not_ remembering what the customers wanted, but thought better of it. Instead she scampered over to Armadillomon, who had a tray piled with dishes strapped to his back and a flustered expression strapped to his face. "Oh, goldang it! The rice!" he panted, looking from table to table. "Who ordered the rice?!"

"It's a Chinese restaurant," Gatomon muttered. "_Everybody_ gets rice."

"Oh," Armadillomon said, calming down a bit. "Well, that explains all them bowls."

"Here, give me table five's," Gatomon said, pulling a few bowls off the tray. "I'll be back for another one in a second… after I check on Kari."

"She sure is gettin' along nice with the customers," Armadillomon remarked. "I worry 'bout how Cody deals with people sometimes."

"You don't want him getting along _too_ nicely," Gatomon grumbled, "believe me."

Cody's hands jabbed at the buttons on the register and it popped open with a greedy ding. "Out of a hundred… Twenty, twenty-five, twenty-six Digidollars is your change," he muttered, pulling out the right bills and putting them in the Elecmon's claw. "Thank you. Have a nice day."

The Elecmon burped and scampered out the door. Cody sighed and closed the register. Even though he had picked up on cashiering fairly quickly, he thought it would have been a better job for Yolei, who actually did it on a regular basis. On the flip side, he felt bad for her if human customers acted the way these ones did; these Digimon didn't even say 'thank you' half the time! Bitterly he leaned on the counter and stared out the window at the second floor across the street and the heads of tall Digimon in the throng. Some exploration day this had turned out to be. He had hoped to learn something more about Blackwargreymon, not how to break a fifty! How could things get any worse?

A familiar red hat moved into the window frame, and he almost fell off of the stool. Arukenimon was here, and most likely Mummymon was with her! There was no way Kari and he would be able to fight them if they came into the restaurant! Gnashing his teeth, he waved frantically to Gatomon and Armadillomon, and then to Kari, who frowned and quickly strode over. "What is it, Cody?" she asked. "I've still got two tables to do!"

"Arukenimon!" Cody hissed, pointing out the window. "What do we do?!"

"Crimony!" Armadillomon yelped, almost knocking the tray off his back. "We gotta get outta here, pronto!"

Gatomon looked back towards the kitchen and noticed that the back door was open. "We can go that way," she said. "Come on!"

Cody hesitated, remembering how nasty Digitamamon had been about making them work off the debt. How would he react if they took off? "Digitamamon…" he began.

Kari shook her head. "We'll have to come back later," she said. "Staying away from those two is more important."

Cody nodded gravely and hopped off the stool. The four of them quickly crept into the kitchen. Thankfully, Digitamamon was stirring a big pot of soup and had his back turned, so they sprinted out the door without delay. "Let's sneak back into the crowd, then get to the woods and find the others," Kari said, throwing off her apron.

Armadillomon bucked the tray off his back and the contents splattered into the dirt. "If'n I ever get a job again, it'll be in somethin' I'm _good_ at," he grumbled, "like mattress testin'."

* * *

As Arukenimon and Mummymon stepped into the restaurant a hush fell over the patrons. That cute little human who had been waiting tables was one thing, but these two had an entirely different air around them; they were haggard, covered in dust and looked extremely angry. "All right," Arukenimon announced loudly, "I'm looking for some human children with Digimon tagging along behind them. What do you know?"

"Come on, speak up!" Mummymon huffed, banging his cane on the ground. "Those brats destroyed my jeep!"

The other Digimon all froze and exchanged glances, none of them knowing what to say. Just then, Digitamamon burst out of the kitchen. "Oh, for the love of…" he growled, then looked around for his new staff. "Little girl! Furball! Yellow thing! We have more customers! You'd better not all be taking bathroom breaks at once!"

Arukenimon grinned wickedly: jackpot. "So, you know who I'm talking about," she purred, putting a hand on his shell. "Good. Now tell me where they are!"

Digitamamon scowled and pulled back. "I've got nothing to say to people who haven't bought anything," he retorted. "Now sit down or leave! You're bothering my customers!"

Mummymon lurched up and got in the egg's face. "Tell us where they went right now!" he demanded. "If you don't, you'll regret it!"

Digitamamon snorted. "Give me a break!" he snapped. "What have I got to fear from a smelly, limping clown with a cane?!"

Mummymon's eyes flashed red. He sent his free hand smashing into Digitamamon's shell and hoisted the surprised creature into the air. Every mouth in the restaurant dropped open. Even Arukenimon looked shocked. "Start talking," Mummymon hissed, "or I'll show you _exactly_ what to fear from a smelly, limping clown with a cane!"

* * *

The old Gotsumon thought it was just going to be a regular afternoon at his laundromat, and so when the little TV on the counter shuddered and spat out a raven-haired teenage boy with artillery strapped to his limbs, he almost hit the roof. The other patrons dropped their baskets and ran away screaming. The Gotsumon gawked at the intruder, stumbling for something to say. "Um… We can't clean metal stuff," he finally said. "I could press your pants, though?..."

Ken hesitated, then regarded the Digimon. "Have you seen any other humans?" he asked quickly.

"Err, nope?" the Gotsumon replied, all of his sentences ending like questions. "But I've been in here… all day? You… might wanna ask around town?"

"Thanks," Ken said, then hesitated a minute. "Err… Sorry about scaring your customers."

"It's… just fine!" the Gotsumon said, trying to smile but failing.

Ken strode out into the busy sea of Digimon and started looking for the other humans. As he walked through the crowd, he was amazed at how anonymous he seemed to be. Not one Digimon regarded him with fear or hatred. The vendors barked their wares at him like he was just another Digimon. When a Gazimon bumped shoulders with him, it even said "excuse me!" In spite of his desire to hurry, he couldn't help but feel a small pang of warmth inside; this town was a place the Digimon Emperor's tyranny had never reached. He would work to make sure it never knew Arukenimon's, either.

He had just turned a corner when Kari crashed into him with a hollow thud. "Ow!" she yelped, then looked up at him. "Ken! Thank goodness!" she exclaimed.

Gatomon, Cody and Armadillomon raced up quickly, Cody's face twisting into a familiar scowl at the sight of him. "Kari…" Ken began, and then realized she might have hit one of his weapons and hurt herself. "Are you OK?"

"I'll be fine," she said, rubbing at her forehead, "but we have to hurry and find the others!"

"Yes," Ken agreed. "Arukenimon and Mummymon are coming this way."

"Comin', nothin'! They're _here_!" Armadillomon huffed. "We're toast if we don't regroup fast!"

Ken's stomach compacted. His vow would be tested almost immediately. "Where's Davis?!" he demanded. "And the others?!"

"This way!" Kari urged, and pushed her way through the crowd.

The others followed her out of the mob and away from the buildings and raced along the path towards the bamboo forest. "Digitamamon sent them in there," Kari explained to Ken as they ran. "I hope it's not too thick…"

Cody and Armadillomon raced ahead of the others. "Slow down, Cody!" Armadillomon panted. "Won't do to lose everyone else, too!"

Cody looked back with scorn. Ken just _happened_ to show up right after Arukenimon and Mummymon? A likely story! If Cody kept waiting, Ken would betray his true self, and then—

Something slammed down behind him and sent Armadillomon and him crashing to the ground, and he heard Kari cry out in alarm. He sat up to a frightening sight: Blackwargreymon had landed at the forest's entrance, separating Armadillomon and him from the others. The dark-armored creature stared down at Kari, Gatomon and Ken, silently flexing its claws.

"Wha… what do you want?!" Gatomon snarled, jumping in front of Kari with her claws out.

Blackwargreymon's eyes narrowed. Kari swallowed. Whatever it was he wanted, it unfortunately involved them.

* * *

With a cry of "heave!" Tai and Agumon yanked the full jar out of the spring. It landed in the wet grass with a squelch, and Agumon pounded its top down with his claw. "Whew!" he panted. "They must really like watery soup around here, huh, Tai?... Tai?"

Tai scowled at the strange glow at the bottom of the spring. That water was deceptively deep; they had put that jar into the water as far down as their arms could stretch, and yet they still hadn't reached the bottom. How could they get at it without alerting Bakumon?

There came a grunt and a huff, and Davis and Veemon lugged another jug up beside him. TK, Patamon, Yolei and Hawkmon came quickly after with more jars. "Whoo! These things are gettin' heavier, I swear!" Davis wheezed, then noticed Tai staring into the water. "…Coach? What's up?" he asked.

"Come on, don't slack off!" Yolei grunted. "I don't want ramen yelled at me."

"Look down there," Agumon said quietly, pointing at the shiny thing.

"Ooh! Cool!" Veemon exclaimed. "Can I have a coin, Davith? I wanna make a wish, too!"

"Shh!" Tai scolded, motioning towards Bakumon, which thankfully was praying at the shrine. "…I think that's a piece of my Crest," he muttered.

Everyone's eyes widened. "No way!" Davis gasped. He had figured Tai's Crest was gone forever after Paildramon had been forced to destroy the fragment in the Gigas. Now he had a chance to redeem himself to his coach!

TK scratched his head. "How come Izzy didn't tell us about this?" he asked.

"Maybe they're not always turned on," Patamon suggested. "We've only ever been looking for one at a time…"

"Who cares? We've got to grab this one!" Davis huffed. "We already blew it once!"

"But Davis, if we didn't blow it, it woulda blown us," Veemon pointed out. "Ya know… up."

"That's a given, but how?" Hawkmon asked. "Somehow I doubt Bakumon will let us take a swim…"

"I suppose one of us could pretend to fall in," Agumon suggested. "The grass is really slippery…"

Davis grinned wickedly and glanced at Yolei. "I know a good candidate for that," he cackled.

Yolei scowled and folded her arms. "No way," she balked. "It would mess up my hair."

Davis's smile flipped upside-down. "You're wearing a helmet, genius!" he snapped. "You're hair's all jammed in there! Not like your brain!"

Yolei just looked away, silent. Davis clenched his fists like he wanted his fingers to burst through his palms. Why wasn't she exploding at him?!

"OK, OK, you guys," TK said, think of some way to defuse the situation. "Here's an idea: I'll distract Bakumon while you guys find a way to get it. That'll take care of one problem, right?"

"I guess…" Tai said, not very keen on having only half a plan. "But how do we get into the water without him noticing, even with you distracting him?"

Everybody stopped and thought for a moment. Yolei leaned on her empty jar, which subsequently fell over, almost squashing Veemon. "Hey! Watch it!" Davis huffed.

Yolei just sniffed and looked away, making Davis's face burn again. Veemon, curious, poked around the stone jug and peered into its top. "Woah, this thing's a lot bigger on the inside!" he said, sticking his whole head inside. "No wonder ya get so much water in here!"

"Really?" Patamon asked. "How big is it?"

"I think…" Veemon said, then squeezed himself inside the jug. "Yeah! Hey, lookit me, Davith! I'm a genie!" he chuckled, popping his head out with a grin.

Davis's eyes lit up with the quickest idea he'd ever had. "TK, make with the distracting," he said quickly. "This's in the bag."

TK nodded, and Patamon and he walked over to the shrine. "This is a neat shrine," he said loudly. "Who built it? Do you know when?"

Bakumon angrily turned on them. "Pepper ramen!" it snapped, pointing back towards the spring.

"Oh, come on!" Patamon beamed. "TK loves his cultural studies! Can't you answer a few of his questions?"

While Bakumon huffed ramen types and chased TK around the shrine, Davis turned and approached the jar. "C'mon, Davith!" Veemon pressed. "Wish fer some pork chops!"

"Actually, I wish you'd go get that shiny thing," he said. "Take a deep breath and hold on!"

Before Veemon could ask what he meant, Davis shoved his head back in the jug, then kicked it into the water. Like the stone it was made of, it sank right to the bottom. "What the—Davis!" Agumon cried.

"He could drown!" Hawkmon squawked.

"I didn't hear any other ideas!" Davis replied, pulling off his jacket and gloves. "Now help me pull it up!"

Tai was shocked that Davis would endanger his Digimon like this… but at the same time, the kid had a point. He pulled off his uniform shirt and jumped into the spring with his protégé. Agumon and Hawkmon also dove into the water, but Yolei remained stubbornly on shore.

"Chicken ramen, chicken ramen, chicken ramen!" Bakumon snapped, ramming its little body into the backs of TK's legs as it forced him back towards the spring… but as soon as it saw the gaggle of soaking-wet boys hauling a jar out of the water, its rage focused on them. "Garlic ramen!" it snarled, waving its arms like a puppet with an ice cube down its back.

"Sorry; it slipped out of our hands," Tai apologized quickly as they dropped the jar in the grass. He glanced back into the water and saw that the glow was gone. Did that mean…?

Suddenly, Veemon burst out of the jar with a splutter and a gasp, a small orange object sitting in the palm of his claw. "That's it!" Agumon exclaimed. "It's your Crest, Tai!"

Bakumon shrieked like someone had pulled its ears down to its butt cheeks. "_SOGGY RAMEN!_" it roared, and charged at Veemon.

Agumon and Hawkmon intercepted the cranky creature and restrained it, Hawkmon clamping his wings on its arms while Agumon sat on its belly. Davis groaned and rolled his eyes at Veemon. "You couldn't hold yer breath a few seconds more?" he muttered.

"Sorry," Veemon coughed as he crawled out. "I'll practice in the bathtub, an' maybe I'll grow some gills!" He scooted over to Tai and offered him the Crest. "This's yours, right, Tai? Here!"

Tai smiled as the little blue lizard pressed the fragment into his hand. Its glow in the afternoon sun and its smooth texture took him back to his first adventure and the dangers he had gone through to make it glow. It was like being reunited with an old friend. "…Thanks, Veemon," he said, almost overcome with emotion.

"OK, good!" Patamon chirped, suddenly sounding frantic, "but shouldn't we get outta here now? This is about the time Blackwargreymon shows up!"

Tai frowned and clenched the Crest piece in his hands, nodding. "Right," he agreed. "Let's get back to town and—"

An explosion rocked the forest and almost made the kids fall over. Suddenly they knew getting back to Chinatown wasn't going to be that easy.

* * *

Blackwargreymon glared down at the boy, girl and cat in front of him. "I sense that the final Crest is… somewhere in that forest," he rumbled, raising his claws. "I won't allow you to interfere with my search."

"YOUR search? They're not _your_ Crests in the first place!" Gatomon huffed, raising her claws too… but then she saw she was the only person looking aggressive. She looked at Ken, who had not readied his weapons like he usually did. "Ken? Why aren't you helping?!" she asked.

Ken shook his head darkly. "I built these to deal with Ultimate-level Digimon at most," he admitted. "They wouldn't even scratch him... We can't fight him and expect to win now."

Gatomon hissed angrily, but she saw his point; it was stupid to try to fight this menace without everyone else here. Bitterly, she dropped her arms to her sides.

"You are wise to know your place," Blackwargreymon said, lowering his claws a little, then turning to walk into the woods. However, after one step, he stopped; now Cody and Armadillomon blocked his path. "Move," he ordered.

"Cody, c'mon…" Armadillomon urged his partner. "He ain't playing' around."

Cody swallowed hard, but stood his ground; now was his chance. "Just a moment, please," he said to the giant Digimon, well aware he could be cleaved into a pile of hamburger, but trusting his instinct. "I have to ask you to stop destroying the Crests."

"Cody! Don't!" Kari cried.

Blackwargreymon hesitated, but didn't immediately attack him. "I don't have to answer your questions," he growled. "I repeat: move."

Cody took a deep breath and went on, rooted to the spot by both his courage and his terror. "I don't understand why you're doing it," he said. "What do you gain from destroying them?"

Blackwargreymon regarded Cody thoughtfully. This human child was unlike the Agumon he had talked with before; this one knew the destruction he could wreak, and yet he still dared to ask questions. That kind of gall deserved an answer. "…I am a soldier," he said after a moment. "My place is not to reason; it is to obey."

Cody's frown lightened; so, he was right! "Then… If you're a soldier, then you have a sense of honor," he pressed. "Why are you doing something as dishonorable as Arukenimon or Mummymon would do?"

Blackwargreymon audibly scoffed. "Our actions may be similar, but my goal is entirely different," he rebuked, taking a step forward.

Cody didn't budge, though now it was mostly from fear. "But… there can't be anything honorable about destroying the Crests!" he protested.

"My honor is in my obedience," Blackwargreymon returned, the irritation finally present in his voice, "and one with as little life experience as you could never hope to understand that truth." He took another step forward and pointed his claws at the boy. "I will give no further warnings. _Step aside_!" he snarled.

Cody was frozen in place, unable to move. Blackwargreymon's refute had stunned him so badly, he couldn't come up with any more words. As little life experience as him?...

"Cody?!" Armadillomon asked, grabbing at his partner's leg and trying to make him move. "C'mon, snap out of it!"

"Whether they are naïve or not," Blackwargreymon declared, pulling his claw back for a decapitation, "I cut down all who block my path! Farewell!"

The next few moments went by in slow motion. The black, sharp claws took up all of Cody's vision as they sailed toward his throat, and Kari's scream filled his ears above Armadillomon shouting his name. In the last tenth of a second, though, the claws vanished in a warm, pink light and Blackwargreymon howled in pain. Cody looked up to see a beautiful lady angel floating over Kari, her body radiating that colored light.

Kari was just as surprised as Cody was. "Ange… Angewomon?!" she managed. How had Gatomon Digivolved, and why? Kari wasn't the one in mortal danger!

There was no time to ponder it. Blackwargreymon forgot all about Cody and flew at Angewomon with a roar. Angewomon answered him with several of her Celestial Arrows, none of them hitting their marks but driving him back all the same. "Run!" she ordered the kids. "We have to find the others!"

Ken nodded. "Now!" he urged Kari, and pushed her to start running. "We need Davis and Paildramon, too!"

Cody's feet moved well enough now, and he grabbed Armadillomon and raced alongside the others. Angewomon fired a few more arrows, then flew after the children.

Furious, Blackwargreymon rose into the air above the forest and leered down at it. The children had not one angel on their side, but two?! Then he had no qualms about what to do next. He pulled his arms back and summoned a giant ball of black energy, then hurled it into the woods, disintegrating dozens of trees on the spot and sending the rest into the stratosphere. Both the Crest and the children were hiding in the woods. Thus, he would eliminate the woods.

* * *

"What the hell?!" Davis yelled as several bamboo trees flew across the skyline and smashed down onto others.

TK's jaw locked; he knew from whom those explosions came. "He's here," he growled.

Almost on cue, Kari, Ken, Cody and Armadillomon raced into the clearing. "You guys!" Kari shouted. "We have to get outta here! Black—"

Before she could finish, a dark burst of energy exploded in the sky, and Angewomon crashed down in front of them. Blackwargreymon hovered into view.

"Oh, shit!" Tai heard himself yell.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Yolei wailed, looking around frantically, but no television warps appeared.

Angewomon started to get up, but Blackwargreymon stopped hovering and stomped down on her back, keeping her in the grass. His head swiveled towards Tai and the Crest piece in his hand; he wouldn't have to decimate the woods after all. "Give it to me," he demanded, opening his claw.

"Don't do it, Tai!" Davis huffed. "We can take 'im!"

"Here, now, don't be foolish," Hawkmon objected. "He's far too strong for us. He's proven that several times!"

"Dammit!" Davis snarled. "But we might never find another Crest piece!"

"Tai!..." Kari panted, not sure how her brother would react, but fearing the worst.

Tai bit his lip, trying to think. With no warps for them to escape, Blackwargreymon had the upper hand… and as powerful and important as it was to him, the Crest wasn't worth losing his life, or any of the others'. Slowly, he unclenched his fist. "All right…" he began.

Suddenly, Agumon's claw was on his hand, pushing it shut. His little dinosaur friend looked up at Blackwargreymon sadly. "Please don't take it," he urged. "Tai's my best friend, and he needs it!"

Blackwargreymon's eyes narrowed. "And _I_ need to destroy it," he returned. "Now move so he can surrender it."

Tai began to tell him it was OK, but Agumon shook his head. "Don't do this," he tried to convince Blackwargreymon again. "Please… We're friends, right? Won't you stop for that?"

Blackwargreymon hesitated, then scowled and readied his claws. As he thought, this 'heart' Agumon championed was nothing more than a distraction. "I am a friend second and a soldier first," he boomed. "Step away if you want to keep existing!"

His jaw set, Agumon refused to budge.

Yolei couldn't stand the tension any longer; she wanted out of this place right now. "Let's get outta here!" she yelled, grabbing Hawkmon and running for the path out of the woods.

"Wha—Yolei, wait!" TK shouted.

"Don't run off alone!" Kari cried.

Hearing nothing but her own panting, Yolei raced for the exit. Just as she reached the footpath, though, she was knocked backwards onto the ground. Digitamamon stood over her, gasping for air, lashed to the second rickshaw from his restaurant. Arukenimon and Mummymon jumped off of the cart and accosted the group. "You're a naughty, naughty bunch of children," Arukenimon purred, twisting her hair around her finger. "Joyriding? Vandalism? Running from the scene of the crime?... Tsk, tsk."

"You're going to pay for my jeep!" Mummymon snarled, spitting his P-sounds sharply.

Yolei yelped and scrambled back to the protection of her friends. Davis glowered at them and yanked out his D3. The only way out of this mess was fighting. "C'mon, Veemon!" he huffed.

The other kids followed suit and raised their Digivices. Exveemon, Aquilamon, Ankylomon and Angemon appeared on the scene in brilliant flashes of light. "This's the last Crest," Exveemon growled, socking his fists together, "and we're gonna protect it!" The others gave yells of affirmation.

"Good!" Mummymon yelled as he shifted into his bandaged combat form and kicked Digitamamon and the rickshaw into the trees. "I want to feel you getting what you deserve!"

Arukenimon reverted to her spider shape as well. "You can't handle us AND Blackwargreymon," she cackled. "Too bad you're too young to have written wills!"

Agumon looked at Tai expectantly. "Let me help, Tai!" he urged.

Tai wanted to refuse him, but the new kids needed all the help they could get here… and the little dinosaur was raring to go; maybe he had a plan. "Right!" he agreed, and pulled out his old Digivice. Agumon shimmered, became the bulky Greymon and joined the fray with a roar. Tai was happy to see his monster in fighting form again… but he wished it was a fight it looked like they could win.

Ken readied his weaponry and jumped onto the front lines. "Arukenimon and Mummymon are mine," he snarled. "You take care of Blackwargreymon."

"You sure, Ken?" Ankylomon asked, but Ken looked so fierce he didn't dare ask again. "…Right. C'mon, fellas!"

Blackwargreymon took to the air as Ankylomon and Greymon charged at him, only to be met by lasers from Exveemon and Aquilamon. He swatted it all away with ease and dove at Exveemon, but a golden fist drove him back. He snarled as Angewomon reappeared in his sight, with Angemon right beside her. This would be slightly more annoying than he had expected.

Arukenimon laughed as Ken approached Mummymon and her with his weaponry. "Both of us at once?" she mocked. "Have you any sanity left, Emperor?"

Ken bared his teeth and fired his mini guns, catching Arukenimon in the shoulder and driving her back with an angry shout. His furious face unchanged, Mummymon quickly lobbed a snaky bandage, which sailed past Ken. "You're getting sloppy," Ken admonished.

"No I'm not!" Mummymon laughed.

The bandage twitched and there was a scream, and then Mummymon reeled it back with Kari in tow. "Try shooting at us now!" he snarled, holding her up in front of himself.

Ken angrily bit his lip; they weren't playing around today.

"HEY!" Davis shouted, his attention jumping away from Blackwargreymon. "Kari! No fair!"

"Why do you always go after her?!" TK demanded. Arukenimon just laughed and leaped at Ken with her tentacle whips flying.

Blackwargreymon hissed as a glowing arrow grazed his shoulder. He easily thwarted every attempt the lower Digimon made to hit him, but those angels were getting to be pests.

"Stand down!" Angemon boomed, lobbing another Hand of Fate that burned as it narrowly missed his side. As much as he relished the thought of destroying these interlopers, he reminded himself that his goal was the Crest; it was best to get at it quickly, before the children could retreat. He needed to remove some obstacles.

Ankylomon swung at him with his massive tail, and Blackwargreymon grabbed it; here was his opening. He pulled and shot upwards, bringing Ankylomon up with him. "Hey, what the?!" the overgrown dinosaur hollered. "Lemme go!"

Blackwargreymon whirled Ankylomon in the air like an Olympic hammer, forcing the flying Digimon to back off. Then he effortlessly hurled the beast over everyone's heads and off the cliff behind the shrine. "ANKYLOMON!" Cody screamed as his partner disappeared into the clouds.

"Don't just flap there!" Yolei yelled at Aquilamon, pointing over the edge. "Help him!"

Aquilamon swallowed hard. Ankylomon was about as light as a cement truck. Still, he knew he had to try. He flapped once and dove down after the dinosaur.

"I'll come too!" Angemon yelled, and flew over the Cliffside. "Angewomon! Help me!"

Angewomon bit her lip—she didn't want to go while Kari was in danger—but Angemon and Aquilamon couldn't catch Ankylomon themselves. She dove over the cliff after them.

"Me too, Davis?" Exveemon offered.

Davis thought about it, but then shook his head. "No; there's enough going," he said, raising his D3 again. "We've still got a fight to win! Come on!"

Davis's D3 sputtered and sparked, and Exveemon frizzed out of focus, then changed into Paildramon. He flew at Blackwargreymon firing both of his guns, but the bullets did little against the monster's armor. Paildramon changed tactics, flew at him and swung his claws, but Blackwargreymon dropped under and smashed into him with an upward headbutt. Paildramon sailed up, then crashed down next to Greymon.

Blackwargreymon scowled at the remaining Digimon, then at the children watching the battle. "How many times has this been now?" he asked coldly. "You always try to fight me, and you always fail. Why?"

"'Cuz we're tryin' to save the world, duh!" Yolei huffed.

"Why else would we keep fighting?" TK added furiously. "You're trying to destroy the Digital World!"

Blackwargreymon regarded them for a little longer, then shook his head with an annoyed sigh. "You don't understand what's going on around you at all, do you?" he asked.

Tai blinked. "…What do you mean?!" he demanded.

"We understand perfectly," Cody snapped, not hearing Tai. "You have to be stopped. That's all there is to it!"

Blackwargreymon's eyes narrowed at the boy. "How disgraceful," he sneered, "to have fools such as you as my opponents."

Cody froze up again, rocked to the core by Blackwargreymon's words. Why did they sting so badly?

"Who're you callin' fools?!" Davis shouted, his face burning strawberry red. "Paildramon, get him!"

Paildramon grunted and pushed himself up into the air. At that same time, Aquilamon, Angemon and Angewomon reappeared, dragging Ankylomon back from the brink and dropping him back on solid ground. "Next time I'll take the elevator…" he grumbled.

"Now! Let's end this!" Angemon declared, taking point alongside Paildramon.

The Digimon launched their strongest attacks at Blackwargreymon, but the monster seemed to have caught his second wind; he dodged Angemon's and Angewomon's divine attacks with ease, and the others bounced off him like they always did. Davis's goggles fogged up, and sweat ran down every part of his trembling body. As brave as he tried to look, this was not a winning situation.

Ken wasn't faring any better with Arukenimon and Mummymon. Every time he tried to shoot, Mummymon threw Kari in his way, and then Arukenimon went on the offensive. "I see you were watching Pythmon," he snarled at Mummymon, forced to lower his guns yet again.

"_I_ taught _him_, brat," Mummymon wheezed. "Get it right!"

"It figures," Ken retorted. "Even snakes aren't _that_ snake-like."

His response was a lash to the face from Arukenimon, and he crashed to the ground. "Now you know how it felt for your slaves!" she cackled, advancing on him.

"Ken!" Kari yelled, struggling to loosen her bindings. "Don't listen! Just keep fighting!"

As Arukenimon approached, a grenade popped out of Ken's launcher, catching Arukenimon in the chest and blowing her backwards. "I'm far from done," he growled.

"Oh, I can see that…" Arukenimon sneered, picking herself up with an unpleasant smile on her face. "Isn't he admirable, Mummymon? All this abuse and he's still full of energy!"

Mummymon cackled rottenly as well. Ken raised an eyebrow. "What're you laughing at?!" he demanded.

"You'll never know!" Mummymon shouted, lifting Obelisk and firing. The blast caught Ken's shoulder cannon and blew him spinning into the air. He crashed down next to Davis with a pained shout.

"Ken!" Davis shouted, but then his attention was arrested by something else; all the light in the forest was disappearing. He looked up to see small fires burning on Blackwargreymon's body, and his heart almost stopped. "…EVERYBODY RUN!" he shrieked to his friends, grabbing Ken and trying to pull him up.

"Where?!" Yolei yelled, her eyes wide and frantic. "There's nowhere TO run!"

Tai's eyes widened. He had seen a lot of things in the Digital World, but this energy filled his heart with a new kind of terror.

"Such willing ignorance…" Blackwargreymon's voice boomed as the wind swirled and tore around him, "can only be given one answer!"

"Watch where you're aiming that!" Mummymon shouted at him, holding Kari up. "Wouldn't want to damage the goods!"

"Keep shooting!" TK urged Angemon. "You have to stop him!"

"Angewomon!" Kari wailed. "Save everyone!"

As desperate as their partners, the Digimon once again threw everything they had at Blackwargreymon. Paildramon's guns peppered him with bullets. Ankylomon slammed his tail into the ground and swatted big wads of earth at him. Aquilamon filled his ears with his Blast Rings. Angewomon shot arrow after arrow into his sides. Angemon mustered enough power to lob Hands of Fate from both of his knuckles.

In spite of the danger, Greymon still tried to talk to the fiend. "That's enough!" he huffed at Blackwargreymon. "You don't have to do this!"

Blackwargreymon did not respond, and his eyes disappeared into the darkness of his helmet. Angemon ceased fire; there was only one thing they could do. "Protect your partner!" he shouted into the wind, and flew down and fell on top of TK.

Greymon, Ankylomon and Aquilamon stopped attacking and rushed to their partners. Her own partner safe from Blackwargreymon, Angewomon chose to cover Ken. Only Paildramon kept firing into the sphere of evil floating over Blackwargreymon, unaware that the others had retreated. "Stop!" Davis yelled at him. "Come back!"

Suddenly realizing he was alone, Paildramon stopped shooting and rushed for Davis… but it was too late. The words "TERRA DESTROYER" boomed in the air, and then came the wind. Davis kept his eyes open long enough to see a black sphere the size of a small moon coming at him… and then everything was airborne. He could hear Paildramon screaming next to him, then Veemon screaming, and then Chibomon screaming, and then he screamed alone in the howling wind and searing heat. He spun this way and that, with no sense of where the ground was; maybe he had even been blown over that cliff into the void. Chunks of wood pierced him from all sides. Something hot and gooey plastered his forehead; was he bleeding? He kept his eyes squeezed shut and kept screaming, his only hope being that he hadn't gone over the cliff; his parents would want a body to bury.

He slammed down hard in a smell of freshly smashed wood and blood; his prayers had been answered just this once. Half of his body ached, half of it was numb, and all of it trembled and shuddered. Somehow he opened his eyes and saw the carnage. Except for the area around the path Mummymon and Arukenimon were blocking, and also the shrine right next to where he landed, the bamboo forest was gone. He could see Kari still in Mummymon's grip, horrified, but at least safe. Something snapped behind his ears, and his goggles fell into the dirt, broken into shards and melted beyond any usable form.

He didn't know what had happened to the others. Only Tai lay nearby, battered and bleeding but still groaning and alive… but the fragment of the Crest of Courage had fallen from his grip and lay a few inches from Davis's left hand.

He heard footsteps approaching and instinctively he clamped his hand down over the Crest. Blackwargreymon's massive foot obscured his view, and he pushed himself up to look. The demon looked at Davis's clenched hand for a moment, then raised his sharp claw. "For my life," he stated solemnly.

Davis groaned, only able to tighten his grip on the Crest. After all the shit he'd gone through, this was the end.

"For my honor," Blackwargreymon said, raising his arm higher.

"NO! DAVIS!" Kari screamed as Mummymon and Arukenimon laughed. Tai shuddered and tried to raise his Digivice, but it also slipped from his hand and clattered against the shrine's base.

Blackwargreymon pulled back, his eyes locked onto Davis's head. "For my master!" he finished icily. Davis closed his eyes, stifled a sob, and waited.

And then everything was a pale jade green. Blackwargreymon jerked back with a startled growl. Davis opened his eyes again to see Tai's Digivice glowing brilliantly… and with it, the shrine! The stone structure lit up like a lighthouse, and Blackwargreymon hissed and leaped away. "What in…?!" Arukenimon shrieked, furious.

Someone grabbed Davis's arm and he was pulled up onto his knees. He looked up and saw Ken, pretty banged up like him, but somehow still on his feet. Davis strained to look around, and thankfully it seemed that every one of his friends was alive: TK staggered towards him holding a little white blob thing and a white snowball with ears; Yolei leaned heavily on Cody, who trudged along holding both a yellow radish and a pink, floppy bird; and Tai pulled himself up with the help of the shrine. Chibomon slowly pushed his way out of a pile of mulch alongside a small black creature with glowing yellow eyes. "Davis!" he chirped loudly as he hopped up to his partner. "Davis, are you OK?!"

The little black critter wobbled over to Tai, who picked it up with a surprised grin. "I've never seen you go back this far, Botamon," he remarked.

"I don't want to again," the Botamon gurgled. "It really hurt!"

"Thank God…" Davis mumbled, managing a weak smile and patting Chibomon on the forehead.

"It seems that way…" Ken admitted, pointing at something Davis couldn't see. "Look."

Ken helped Davis stand and turned him so he could see the island floating in the distance. Its tallest mountain was glowing the same color as the shrine and the Digivice. Suddenly, it erupted with brilliant pinkish-yellow light, shooting up like a pillar into the evening sky. Out of the mountaintop came a long, winged, serpentine Digimon the likes of which none of them had ever seen: it was solid in some places but ghostly in others; it had silver chains wrapped around its body like belts and glowing blue orbs floating around its claws; it had a sharp jagged horn like Raidramon's on its blue, spiked forehead; and its face had four red, glowing eyes and a flowing white beard. It undulated towards the cliffside and revealed how huge it really was: about the length of a soccer field, Davis guessed. None of the kids knew how to react. What in the world was this thing?!

Mummymon's mouth dropped open, and Kari dropped with it; she thrashed out of the wrappings and raced to her brother's side.

"What are you doing, you oaf?!" Arukenimon shouted at him, then sneered at the newcomer; nobody had told her about _this_.

Blackwargreymon's whole body stung as the creature approached with its divine light, but still he stood his ground. "And what are you?!" he demanded, drawing his claws.

The creature hovered over the shrine, its long body spiraling around in the air in a never-ending loop but its head stationary. "Agent of Darkness: I bid you cease this;" an aged yet powerful voice boomed across the field. "The Digidestined shall not come to harm."

Blackwargreymon snarled and readied his claws, his eyes wide with insight and rage. "No one shall stop me from completing my mission," he growled, "not even _you_!"

Blackwargreymon flew at the newcomer in his devastating spinning charge. The creature quietly opened one of its talons and a wave of pinkish-yellow light blew through Blackwargreymon, who roared in agony and fell to the ground, smoke pouring from his limbs, his shield shattered, and every piece of his armor cracked and crumbling. The kids' eyes almost bugged out. This newcomer had fried a Digimon they had never been able to dent, just with a ray of light! Just who was he?!

Blackwargreymon struggled back to his feet and resumed his combat stance, but the Digimon still had its claw open and ready. "The Digidestined shall not come to harm," the serpent repeated. "They are under my protection now."

Blackwargreymon hesitated, looked the creature over, then growled softly, lowered his claws and hung his head in shame. "I… have failed," he muttered.

"Wha…?" Davis gaped, looking between Blackwargreymon and the newcomer. "Seriously?!"

"So… we're safe, then… Right?" Yolei ventured.

"No! NO!" Arukenimon shrieked, stomping all of her legs. "How can you just roll over?! The children are right there! DESTROY THEM!"

Blackwargreymon snarled at her, and she shrank back. With that, he turned from the shrine and began to walk away through the ravaged forest, bits of his armor flaking off with each step. "Hey, wait!" Botamon squeaked after him. "Where're you going?"

"Don't turn your back on us! We want answers!" TK yelled.

"Who's your master?" Kari asked. "Can't you tell us that, at least?"

Blackwargreymon stopped and was quiet for a moment, then looked back at them with a dark expression. "…You'll know soon enough," he warned. "Don't fool yourselves into thinking we won't meet again." With that, he leaped into the air and flew away into the setting sun.

"YOU… YOU WORTHLESS CRETIN!" Arukenimon shrieked after him, then turned on Mummymon. "Then we'll do it!" she snarled. "They're weak now! Shoot them!"

Still burning angrily, Mummymon lifted Obelisk and aimed for Davis. The new Digimon's horn lit up, and a bolt of blue lightning struck right in front of Mummymon, making him leap back in terror. "What part of 'the Digidestined shall not come to harm' do you not understand?" it asked, somewhat bemused.

Arukenimon hissed at the creature, but even she knew when to call it quits. "…Come on," she growled at Mummymon, and turned and started scuttling down the path.

Mummymon's face fell. "But… but what about my—" he began.

"NOW!" Arukenimon shouted, and disappeared into the tree.

Mummymon's whole body sagged. He shot one more desperate glance at the kids, then gnashed his teeth and bounded away after his partner. Birds began to chirp in the trees again, a sound that nobody realized was absent until just then.

The kids and their partners looked up at the titanic being, their bodies quaking as they wondered just what would happen next. Sure, he saved them from Blackwargreymon, but what if that was just because he was hungry?...

The creature closed its eyes and its body glowed with a jade green hue. Suddenly, all of the kids felt their wounds and aches just disappear. Chibomon, Botamon and the other baby Digimon glowed too, and then Digivolved all the way to their usual forms. "Oh, that's better!" Agumon said. "I really didn't want to sleep in a crib again."

Kari looked at her rejuvenated partner and decided she had little to fear. "Excuse me, uh, sir…" she ventured, looking up at the strange creature, "but who are you?"

The creature looked down at the children, then raised its head high. "I am Azulongmon," he stated. "I am the god of the Eastern Digital World, of Spring, of Light and of Hope. I had been protecting that piece of the Crest of Courage in the waters of my ever-renewing spring, keeping it hidden until you appeared, Digidestined."

"Woah, a god?!" Davis asked. "I didn't know this place had gods!"

"I bet Tai mentioned it," Cody replied, "or maybe Izzy."

"I… I didn't know, either," Tai admitted. "I've never heard of them before… None of us have."

"But you're only the god of the east?" Hawkmon asked, then tugged at Yolei's pant leg. "I say, that sounds a lot like what Sora's father spoke about."

Yolei thought for a moment, then remembered the folklore of Kyoto, about how four gods surrounded the city. "Oh, yeah…" she murmured. "Is it the same here, then?"

Azulongmon nodded his great head. "Indeed," he said. "In this man-made world, much of your human culture has taken on physical form… the good as well as the bad."

Cody blinked. "What do you mean?" he ventured.

"Izzy once said that this world was made from all the data and information flying through our communications systems," Tai tried to explain. "You know, phones, TV, Internet, that stuff. Was he right, Azulongmon?"

"Yes, that boy has a basic grasp of the nature of our world…" Azulongmon agreed, speaking as if Izzy was a distant relative of his, "but surely you know just how much data is sent around your world. There is so much of it that our world does not—indeed, it cannot—use all of the data flowing into it. It must cast a great deal of it off… That runoff process has created another world beneath the Digital World; a shadow world comprised of the unused remnants."

"Unused… remnants?" Armadillomon asked, confused. "Ya mean… like what's in the bowl when you're done makin' cookies?"

"A better analogy would be the filth-ridden sewers beneath a shining metropolis; the darkness behind the light," Azulongmon replied. "It is known simply as the Dark World."

"Dark World…" TK repeated, his mind floating back to the dark factory he had seen at the bottom of the whirlpool. Kari shivered, instantly remembering the gray beach and its shadowy inhabitants. Ken remembered Devimon and the dark aura that surrounded him, which passed into Kimeramon.

"I see you've encountered it," Azulongmon said. "Yes. Every so often, the Dark World had bled into this Digital World, attempting to rise up and take precedence. If that happened, it would ruin our Digital World and severely damage your own. If balance is to be maintained, it must be forced back down."

"Wait, how could it mess up our world?" Yolei asked. "It's all part of the same Internet."

"But it's the _bad_ stuff in the data streams," TK pointed out. "You know, probably viruses and broken programs and stuff. If those suddenly showed up in the world's networks, who knows what would happen?"

"At first, the Dark World was easy to keep in its place," Azulongmon went on, "but over time, as more and more data poured in from your world and our world cast it off, the Dark World grew and created life of its own… unhappy, bitter life, resentful of the Digital World and its Digimon. This life eventually began to emerge in the Digital World, seeking to conquer it just like before." He paused and shook his great head. "For a time, the Digital World and its residents could defend themselves properly… but the evils in the Dark World continued to grow, concocting smarter, stronger entities which appeared to attack us."

"Sounds like human history," Ken muttered. "Those who get knocked down come back stronger every time, and always still keen on fighting."

"Finally, the day came where an entity came from the Dark World which was so powerful, no force in the Digital World could stop it," Azulongmon said with a painful expression, as if he had been there. "We had no choice but to call upon the world that had created us for help: your world. That help came in the form of the first Digidestined."

"Oh, yeah!" Davis exclaimed, looking at Tai. "That was you guys on your crazy adventure!"

"No, child," Azulongmon responded, "I said the _first_ Digidestined."

Everyone blinked, puzzled. "Yeah, that's what _I_ said," Davis repeated. "Tai and the others."

Tai thought for a few moments, then remembered something. "Oh, yeah! Right at the end, Gennai told us about some kids before us, who defeated another evil Digimon," he said. "Is that who you meant, Azulongmon?"

"Indeed," Azulongmon replied. "Those were the first Digidestined. Your group was the second set."

"Weird…" Veemon said, looking at Gatomon. "How come you guys never took us to meet 'em?"

"We don't know who they were either," Gatomon replied. "All we know is what Gennai said."

TK scratched his head, pondering the first Digidestined. When the world was in danger during their adventure, why hadn't these veterans appeared to help, like Tai and the older kids did for Davis and the others?

"So, that would make us the _third_ set instead of the second," Cody ruminated.

"Aww, Cody," Armadillomon groaned, "why'd ya make it sound like we just got demoted?"

"I guess the first kids didn't really beat the Digimon, then," Yolei said, "if the Digital World had to call in more."

"No, the first Digidestined destroyed that creature," Azulongmon corrected her, "and the Dark World seemed to go dormant. Years and years later, however, it began to stir again, sending even stronger foes." He closed his eyes and looked pained.

"Devimon, Etemon, and Myotismon were small attempts to conquer isolated parts of the world… and then there were the Dark Masters. These were enemies far beyond even the first Digidestined, and with their corrupt powers they sought to rearrange the very structure of the Digital World, solidifying their rule forever and wiping out hope." He opened his eyes and looked at Kari and Gatomon. "It was only thanks to a higher power that help came again from your world. Eight more humans were chosen to bear the energies of the Digital World, bound in the sacred Crests."

"You mean The Order?" TK asked. "The group Gennai belongs to?"

"Even higher?..." Kari asked, puzzled. Why would a god like Azulongmon speak of The Order as something higher than himself?

"It was thanks to you, the second Digidestined, and the Crests that you carried and nurtured, that the Dark World's creatures were destroyed. Even when they recombined into Apocalymon and absorbed the Digital World's data, you were able to defeat it," Azulongmon recalled. "Having used up all of its energy, the Dark World was forced into dormancy and the Digital World was saved once again…" he paused and looked down. "…Until now."

"Now?" TK asked.

"But we just beat Blackwargreymon and got all the Crests!" Patamon objected.

"It is good that fragments of all the Crests have been recovered," Azulongmon said, "but thanks to the power of the spires, the Digital World has been weakened so that the Dark World could easily overtake it… And…" he stopped and fell silent for a few moments, then cleared his throat. "However, now that the Crests have been found, there is hope for recovery. Surely you've seen the four great temples of the Digital World?" He glanced back at the floating island.

"Those're temples?..." Cody asked, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't like any temple he'd ever visited. How could they hold prayer services when nobody could enter?

"Those are the temples of us gods of the Digital World," Azulongmon said, sounding imposing and impressive. "The eight Digidestined must make pilgrimages to the temples of the gods who hold the elements of their Crests. Each of us holds two: Knowledge and Purity in the north; Courage and Love in the south; Friendship and Reliability in the west; and Hope and Light here in the East." He focused on Tai, TK and Kari. "There, we gods can restore the powers of your Crests."

"Really?! Awesome!" Tai exclaimed, overjoyed at the thought of being able to fight at full power again… and he knew the others would love to hear this, too.

"Sweet!" Davis cackled. "Spider bitch and TP boy won't stand a chance with everyone fightin'!"

Kari wasn't so ecstatic. "Wait…" she began, "how do we do that? We tried to reach all four islands and got driven away."

"I can still feel those bugs all over me," Gatomon shuddered, scratching at her arms.

"Yes… as you've seen, the homes of the gods are not accessible to Digimon kind," Azulongmon acknowledged them. "The entrances lie elsewhere."

"…Elsewhere?" Armadillomon asked. "…So, uh, where?"

"Yeah, how about throwing us a bone here?" Yolei huffed.

"Yolei, don't speak to a god like that!" Hawkmon squawked.

"Simply repeat my words to the child of Knowledge," Azulongmon replied, unfazed by Yolei's rudeness. "He will understand."

"Wait a second!" Patamon piped up. "If we need to see you to recharge our Crests, why can't we do it right now?"

"The ritual must take place inside the temple, where my power is strongest," Azulongmon explained. "Besides, you haven't been foolhardy enough to carry the Crest along with you in this world, have you?"

Patamon's ear wings drooped, and he looked pouty. "Nuts," he muttered.

Azulongmon shimmered a moment more, then began to float backwards over the void. "Now you know your fates, Digidestined," he thundered, "and so I shall return to my temple and await your coming…" He paused and looked at Davis. "Oh, and thank you, child, for the coin you put in my shrine."

"Uh… You're welcome, I guess," Davis said, scratching his head, "but how come you need money? Ain't you a god with divine powers?"

"Indeed… but divine powers won't keep my 'Group Citadel' subscription running," Azulongmon responded. "Believe me, I tried."

Davis blinked. Tai chuckled. It was still the Digital World, after all.

Azulongmon turned and slowly began undulating back towards the floating island. "Hey, wait!" TK shouted after him. "What about Arukenimon? How can she make spires?!"

"And how are they weakening the Digital World?!" Ken demanded.

"What about us?" Cody asked. "What else can _we_ do?!"

Azulongmon said nothing else; he faded away in the setting sun. "Whew…" Veemon sighed, "he knows how to make an exit."

"What did he mean by all that?" Gatomon asked.

"Beats me," Davis muttered, but opened his hand and looked at the Crest fragment inside, "but hey, we got 'em all! Here, Coach!"

Davis tossed the piece to Tai, who stuffed it in his pocket with a smile. Maybe this was why Gennai said to find them in the first place.

"So, uh… What's next?" Armadillomon asked. "Just go settle Arukenimon's hash?"

"I don't know…" Kari said worriedly, remembering Blackwargreymon's threat. "I don't think that's the end of this…"

"Yeah," TK agreed, "when we get home, let's talk to Izzy about our next move."

"Azulongmon told us our next move," Cody pointed out. "We go restore the Crests. Maybe that will be enough to keep the Digital World safe."

"Good," Yolei replied, folding her arms. "Then we can stop tearing across this place and get back to normal life." She shot Ken a hopeful smile. "Isn't that great, Ken?"

Ken stared at the ground silently, the phrase "back to normal" sitting on his mind. Chasing Arukenimon and destroying spires… Ruling the Digital World with an iron fist… or standing in the shadow of his genius brother… Had he ever really known "normal?"

Yolei waited, but her dreamboat said nothing. Davis coughed. "Uh, Ken?" he asked. "You OK?"

Ken shook his head and looked up. "Oh… Sorry," he apologized to Davis. "I'm fine."

TK started to say something else, but an angry groan reminded everyone that they weren't alone. Digitamamon slowly picked himself up and hobbled out of the trees, still dragging the rickshaw behind him. When he saw the devastation, his eyes almost popped out of his shell. "WHAT in the name of—WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!" he demanded.

Bakumon peeked out from behind the shrine—somehow it had survived, too. When it saw Digitamamon, though, it started flailing its arms and pointing at the kids. "Soggy ramen! Soggy soggy ramen!" it shouted.

Davis had seen those actions when his sister was telling on him. "…Oh, boy," he grumbled. "Now what'd we do?"

"For the record, we didn't blow up the trees," Veemon said quickly. "That was someone else!"

"Shut up," Digitamamon snapped, then looked back to Bakumon. "Now what did they do?!"

Bakumon motioned to the spring and swatted at the water. Digitamamon scuttled over and jumped as he looked down. "Wha… Where's the glow?!" he demanded. He bent down and sucked at the water, then spat it out angrily. "Blaugh! You brats have ruined my secret soup recipe!"

The kids froze. The Crest of Courage must have been flavoring the water somehow, and now that it was gone, the spring had only plain water. "Err…" Agumon said, scratching at his head, "sorry?"

"Oh, you're sorry!" Digitamamon huffed nastily. "That makes it ALL better! You just put me out of business!"

Bakumon was shouting several garbled dishes at once. "We don't need this!" Yolei huffed, looking at her friends. "We got what we came for! Let's go home!"

"Wait, Yolei, he could be right," Hawkmon pointed out. "We have to make it up to him somehow."

"Make it up?!" Yolei huffed. "He forced us to work for him! This is what he deserves!"

"Dammit, Yolei!" Davis erupted. "Stop being such a bitch!"

Yolei folded her arms and looked away, again. Davis was so mad he couldn't get any words out. TK tugged at his shirt collar and approached Digitamamon; he had an idea. "What if we taught you some new recipes?" he asked. "My brother's a great cook, and I remember some of his stuff."

Digitamamon stopped ranting and looked at him strangely. "Can you make something as good as my soup?" he asked.

"Well… I can try," TK replied with a chuckle. "So, what do you say?"

Digitamamon thought for a second, then sighed. "Well, if you really are the Digidestined and the gods are on your side, I guess it's stupid to argue," he muttered. "All right, show me what you can do!"

"Whew!" Patamon panted. "Thanks, Digitamamon!"

The other kids breathed sighs of relief; the crisis had passed. "Good…" Gatomon muttered. "The last thing we want is to make more Resistance supporters."

"OK, so TK knows something about cooking; good…" Yolei said, tugging at her hair. "So can the _rest_ of us go home?"

"Not a chance!" Digitamamon barked. "You'll keep working until nightfall! I haven't forgotten you didn't pay!"

"WHAT?!" Yolei wailed. "Aww, come on! We just got beaten up!"

"Please… just don't even start, Yolei," Hawkmon grumbled, putting a hand on her leg.

* * *

The sun's last rays were sinking into night as Blackwargreymon landed at the pile of rubble that had once been the Asp Mountains, giving him a last glimpse of the destruction he first caused. He clenched and unclenched his claws, seething quietly as he reflected on his failed mission. All the power he could muster could not stop those children. If the seal had been complete, then those originals would not have been able to step in and interfere…

He turned and walked to the epicenter of the blast, where he had first emerged in the Digital World. The ground wavered and turned pitch black, and the dust began to blow and dance around it like a small tornado. The winds began to whisper his name, and he hung his head again; he had failed when the master ordered him to succeed… and now he would pay the price.

He cast one more look around him, then stepped onto the dark patch of land, sinking down as if into quicksand. As he descended, his mind went to the alternate plan and he shook his head. It truly was a shame that the children had stopped him from destroying the Crests… for now in their stead would begin the slaughter of innocents.

* * *

"Ohhh… My jeep! My lovely jeep!" Mummymon sobbed as he dragged his wobbling legs along the ground. "I can't even avenge you!"

Arukenimon walked beside him quietly, flicking her finger and bringing up more control spires as they went; she refused to give the children a complete victory.

"And now Blackwargreymon, too!" Mummymon went on, banging Obelisk's nozzle into the sand with all the anger he could. "How do we handle the Digidestined now?!"

"Don't get your bandages in a bunch," Arukenimon hissed. "This is all part of the plan, remember? Now be quiet and keep moving; we have to find a television."

Mummymon whimpered and kept hobbling along, wincing with each step. Arukenimon's mind filled with more venom each time he yelped or groaned. It was all part of the plan, she reminded herself… all part of the plan.

* * *

"All right, I should be able to pull this off," Digitamamon grumbled as he looked over the recipe cards again. "Thanks for sharing! I should be just fine now!"

"I'll tell my brother you liked them," TK said, smiling even though his hair had wilted from the heat in the kitchen and he was covered in sweat. "We'd better go now; it's almost dark."

"All right, you can go," Digitamamon said, trying to sound prickly though it was obvious he was overjoyed at the prospect of the new recipes. "Come back again for lunch!... but make sure you pay this time!"

TK thanked Digitamamon and left the kitchen. The others were waiting for him out in the restaurant, all of them working as waiters. "OK, we're free to go," he announced.

"Finally!" Yolei huffed, unceremoniously dropping her tray on a table. "I thought we'd never be done!"

"It's only been half an hour…" Cody muttered as he closed the cash register.

"That's enough for me," Veemon chuckled. "I'm way better at eatin' food than serving it."

"Heh! No kidding!" Davis snickered as they headed for the door. "We gotta get a good dinner ourselves now! Hope mom made something I like…"

The group stepped outside. Surprisingly, Ken was leaning against the building, waiting for them. "He let you go already?" he asked. "Those must have been good recipes."

"Oh, you waited for us?!" Yolei beamed, ecstatic. "Thanks, Ken! You're so nice!"

Ken shrank back from the girl. "Why _did_ you wait?" Kari asked. "I thought you'd have gone home."

"I was thinking about what Azulongmon said," Ken replied, looking wary. "Even though you've got the Crests back, I don't think things are going to get any easier. Stay alert. Arukenimon isn't dead yet."

"Um… W-well, no," Kari mumbled. She was glad somebody else thought what she did, but the way Ken phrased it didn't sound at all reassuring.

Cody raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?" he asked coldly.

"…I also thought you'd like to know," Ken went on curtly, "that there's a warp back to our world in the laundromat down the street."

"Yeahhh!" Veemon cheered. "We don't gotta look for it!"

"Laundromat, huh?" Davis chuckled. "Maybe we oughta drop our clothes off while we're there; mine stink like soup."

Tai looked Davis over and suddenly realized something was missing. "Hey, Davis," he said, "what happened to your goggles?"

"Whaddya mean? They're—" Davis began, but when he reached up to adjust them, all he got was a pinch of his hair. "Oh, right…" he muttered, feeling sulky. "They broke."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the melted, shattered mess. "Wow, that's too bad," Agumon said. "You don't look right without them."

"Yeah," Patamon agreed, stifling a giggle. "He looks… naked!"

"Hey, shut up!" Davis snapped, but Patamon was already laughing wildly at his own observation. Several of the others also chimed in on the chuckling. Davis's face went cherry red. "W-well, how come yours didn't break too, Coach?!" he managed crossly.

Tai stopped laughing and tugged at his goggles. "Huh… I don't know," he replied. "I guess these were just made to last."

"Oh! I know!" Veemon piped up, waving his hand like a game show contestant. "An' Tai's also didn't get hit by six soccer balls, and they're not mummified in duct tape! Am I right, Davith?"

The others burst out laughing again. Davis sighed and pulled his jacket up over his ears.

* * *

After narrowly escaping death at the hands of Blackwargreymon, escaping detection at the hands of the janitor back at school was no problem at all. The kids got out of the building just as the first stars appeared in the sky. "Oh, man! Mom's gonna think we all got eaten by wolves or something!" TK gulped. "We'd better run home!" With that, he took off down the sidewalk, Patamon sailing in the breeze on his hat.

"We'd have been home a lot sooner if we hadn't worked for that jerk," Yolei complained bitterly.

"Tomorrow's Sunday, Yolei," Cody grumbled. "You can relax the whole day."

"Like hell I can!" Yolei rebuked. "Dad's got me on a double shift because I skipped Friday!"

"And Thursday," Poromon muttered. "And Tuesday."

"That's not the point!" Yolei huffed, squeezing the bird until he yelped. "It's just not fair!"

Davis's face was getting red again, and his fists trembled as he clenched them. Tai glanced around for some way of excusing himself from the whining. "Oh, Kari, remember Mom asked us to get some batteries on our way home?" he said. "We'd better go before the store closes!"

"What?" Gatomon asked from her perch in Kari's backpack. "She didn't—"

"Oh, yeah, she did!" Kari agreed quickly. "OK, see you guys later!"

"We'll talk to Izzy and set up a meeting!" Tai said, waving as Kari and he walked away, a confused Gatomon in tow.

"Not on Thursday!" Yolei called after them. "I've got plans with Mimi."

Cody shook his head. "You seem to have lots of plans with Mimi," he remarked.

"Oh?" Yolei asked, frowning at Upamon and him. "And what's that supposed to mean?!"

Cody glared at her for a moment, then turned away. "Come on, Upamon," he said, and started down the path out of the school grounds.

Yolei watched him go and sniffed. "What's his problem?" she muttered, then seeing only Davis and Demiveemon were left, she shrugged and started to walk away.

"Now hold it!" Davis snapped, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her around to face him; it was time he put a stop to this. "What the hell is your deal?!"

Yolei blinked in surprise, then pushed his hand off. "What are you talking about?" she asked, seemingly not knowing what he was referring to.

That only made Davis angrier. "Cut the crap!" he huffed. "You've been slackin' off in the Digital World, you've been a pain in the ass to every one of us, and you're dressing like frickin' jailbait, just like Mimi! You're changing, and I wanna know why!"

"Davis…" Demiveemon tried nervously. He had never seen Davis this angry, and it scared him.

"Don't talk about Mimi that way," Yolei rebuked, scolding him like Jun might. "And I'm not 'changing;' I'm growing up! Kind of like how you should be."

"Why all of a sudden?!" Davis demanded. "You didn't give a rat's ass about how you looked when school started!"

"I found a good reason to," Yolei sniffed. "That's why I decided to make myself better."

Davis blinked, confused. "What could possibly make _you_…" he began, but suddenly clarity hit him like a sledgehammer; all those times she glommed onto Ken suddenly made sense. "…Oh, I get it," he growled at her, "you just wanna make Ken think you're hot shit, don'tcha?!"

Yolei folded her arms and glowered at him, a dark sense of pride emanating from her. Davis hesitated, then grinned unpleasantly. "Gimme a break!" he balked. "Like he'd fall for this bull!"

Yolei's mouth dropped open in a silent gasp, and then her face twisted into a mask of rage, and Davis knew he'd struck something. "W-well, what's it to YOU?!" she exploded. "What do _you_ care who I want?! Huh?!"

Davis spluttered as Yolei's expectant glare bore into him. His spine froze, then burned, then froze again as his mind tried to come up with an answer that. "Ghh!" he hacked out, and then his anger took back control and gave him a voice again. "Who the hell said I care?! Your personality's all wrong now! That's all!"

Yolei glared at him for a moment more, then sniffed and turned away, whipping her hair as she went. "I'm maturing; it's what teenagers do," she said coldly. "It's not my fault if you can't get with the program."

"Yolei, come on!" Poromon huffed, squirming in her grip. "You can't talk to your friends like that!"

Yolei walked away quickly, her heels tapping on the concrete. Davis was rooted to the spot, his fists clenched and shaking and his teeth grinding like they were trying to dislodge each other. She reached the part of the sidewalk right above the school's fish pond, and then the anger burning inside of him flipped into blind rage, and he tore down the path towards her. "I ain't GONNA get with the program!" he roared, tackling Yolei with as much force as he could muster. Completely caught off guard, Yolei dropped Poromon and tumbled into the grass, rolling down the hill struggling with Davis as they had in so many other fights. She screamed and howled at him like a banshee, punching at his sides, but he held on fast, roaring right back in her face. Demiveemon helped Poromon right himself, and then they both chased after them.

They hit a bump and flew for a moment, and then came a terrific splash. Davis was on his rear end in the pond while Yolei was on her hands and knees, both of them soaking wet and dripping. Demiveemon and Poromon arrived, panting hard. "Is… is it over?" Demiveemon asked.

Davis looked at Yolei, his inner fires doused by the cold water, and a goofy smile crept to his face. Then he started laughing wildly, splashing his fists in the pond. They hadn't had a tussle like this in some time, and he had forgotten how much fun it was.

Poromon wiped his brow with relief. "Whew… Yeah, I think it's over," he answered.

"AH HA HA HA HA! Oh, GOD, that was AWESOME!" he laughed. "That was just frickin' AWESOME! I—"

Yolei rose out of the water and stood over him. Her trendy clothes were slathered with wet mud and wet grass stains. Her hair looked like an overused purple mop. Her cheeks were smeared with purple from her eyelids, and the sides of her mouth ran red from her lipstick and blush, looking like she had been drinking blood. Her whole body shook and shuddered as her wide, wild eyes took in every soggy detail of herself, her mouth hanging open and trying to emit words, but only managing gasps and whimpers. Her eyes locked onto Davis, who stopped laughing as fast as he has started, and suddenly felt very afraid.

"You… _You_… _YOUUU_…" Yolei wheezed madly, and then her lower lip trembled and her eyes spilled over with tears, and she let loose a soul-chilling wail. "You ALWAYS do this! Ever since day one! You call me _names_! You _push me around_! You make other people think I'm _stupid_!" She heaved a few times, then her eyes twisted from sad to feral. "You… you LIKE doing it! _You like making me feel like shit!_"

"H-hey, wait a minute," Davis tried, getting back on his feet; maybe the push had been too much. "I don't—"

"SHUT UP!" Yolei shrieked, shoving him back into the water. He looked up and froze at the sight of her wide, hateful eyes. "I just want to be happy! Now I've found someone I love, who'll love me back! _And instead of supporting me you're trying to ruin it, just like always! I HATE you!_"

Demiveemon hid his eyes in terror. "This's too scary!" he whimpered. "Stop!"

"Yolei!" Poromon gasped. "You don't really mean that!"

"I DO TOO!" Yolei screamed, kicking volleys of water over Davis in a feral frenzy. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I WISH I NEVER MET YOU!"

"Yolei! (COUGH) C'mon!" Davis hacked as he tried to get up again, but the kicks kept coming and so did the water. "STOP it, dammit! _I can't breathe!_"

Yolei didn't seem to care; she kicked water in his face several more times, then pulled back and kicked him in his outstretched hands, knocking him on his back in the water. For a few terrible moments, she glared at his petrified face. "I _never_ want you near me again! _EVER!_" she snarled, then grabbed Poromon and stomped out of the pond.

Davis watched her tear down the street in a fit of screaming sobs, and then the December night sounded like any other in the city. He just sat there in the pond, his knees shuddering, his chest hollow and his eyes blurred. His thoughts no longer made any sense.

"Um… Davis?" Demiveemon finally ventured. "…Do you need help?"

Davis didn't answer. He just kept staring ahead, a new and horrible feeling firmly gripping his psyche.


	42. Humbug

**CHAPTER 42**

**HUMBUG**

After spending the daytime hours resting from the encounter with Blackwargreymon, the Digidestined and their critters were full of energy and questions as they crammed into Izzy's room on Sunday night. "…So he said the doors were somewhere else," Kari finished filling the older kids in. "Then he went back to his island…"

"Wow…" Sora said, scratching at her hair, "so Blackwargreymon actually retreated… There's more to the Digital World than we thought."

"Isn't there always?" Tai chuckled.

"Whew," Joe breathed, shaking his head in amazement. "Where were those gods when _we_ needed them?"

"…On vacation?" Patamon asked. "TK's mom says everything falls apart when she takes those."

"Maybe they couldn't appear before us," Izzy theorized. "A lot of folklore says that gods can never directly intervene with the affairs of the world."

"More like they didn't _have_ to," Matt grumbled, frowning at the new kids. "We got things done without needing a babysitter."

Davis glared back at him, and Cody's face burned. "OK, Matt, that's enough," Tai cut in. "The big thing now is to find a way into those temples."

"Izzy, do you have any ideas?" TK asked. "Azulongmon said you would know what to do."

Izzy leaned back in his chair and thought hard, the eyes of everyone in the room trained on him. After several tense minutes, he sighed and shook his head. "I don't have the first clue," he admitted.

Everybody groaned or gasped in frustration. "What?!" Gatomon asked. "But you're the resident brainiac!"

"That doesn't mean I immediately know what to do in any given situation," Izzy replied. "I need time to think!"

"Aww…" Demiveemon sighed. "That's no fun."

"Well, it can't be helped," Sora sighed. "We're not tracking an energy source like a Crest, so we've got nothing to pinpoint…"

Izzy froze for a second, and then he looked up with gusto. "Sora, you just gave me an idea," he said. "Kari, you said each of those gods could recharge two of our Crests, so perhaps they have an energy source similar _to_ the Crests!" He whirled around in his chair and started typing feverously.

"Woah!" Upamon gulped. "He's got super fingers!"

"Hey Matt, you need a new keyboarder?" Tai asked.

Izzy hammered on his laptop for a few moments more, then turned back to the anxious crowd. "I'm going to scan the entire Digital World for more Crest energy," he explained. "If the gods really do give off the same power, we might find some clues to enter their temples."

"Neat!" Poromon chirped. "You think really fast!"

"It's still going to take some time, though," Izzy went on, motioning to his computer screen; there was a little box that read "scanning… 00.01% complete" on it. "In the meantime, we can't forget Arukenimon and Mummymon are still running around in there, making new spires. Our priority until the scan is complete should be trying to bring them to justice, or at least eliminating as many spires as we can."

"Yeah, Azulongmon didn't like those either," Demiveemon remembered.

"And we can search for the doors ourselves, too," Sora pointed out.

"We should go talk to Gennai and see if he knows," Joe suggested.

"Yeah!" Gatomon agreed. "Hey, maybe he's fixed my tail ring by now!"

Davis folded his arms, obviously in a bad mood. "So how long's this gonna take?" he grumbled. "Can't we get a guess, at least?"

"It'll take as long as it takes," Matt huffed at him. "Don't think losing those dumb goggles is an excuse to be rude."

Davis scowled at him again, but said nothing. The lack of goggles was only the tip of his iceberg of irritation. The rest of it was anger and frustration from the venomous screeching Yolei had hit him with the night before; the initial shock had burned away now, leaving only magma-strength rage at the very sight of her. She obviously housed the same anger, as she sat on the other side of the room, as far away from him as she could, and she stared at anything but him with icy eyes.

"I'm sorry to say I don't know how long it will take; sorry, guys," Izzy admitted, but then his face softened. "But even though we still need to deal with Arukenimon and Mummymon, I'd say you've earned some time to relax. After all, Christmas Eve is next Friday, and the New Year starts the week after. Why not go have some fun?"

Instead of a relieved response, Izzy was greeted with yelps of panic from almost every kid. "Friday?! Really?!" TK gulped. "Crap!"

"I haven't even…!" Joe stammered, not able to form sentences. "I don't have…! Ack!"

"I guess we've been so absorbed in the Digital World, we forgot the holidays were coming," Sora chuckled weakly, though she also wore a nervous look. "Oh, boy…"

The Digimon all looked puzzled. "Christmas?" Upamon asked Patamon. "What's that? Is it candy? Sounds like candy…"

"I don't know," Patamon admitted. "I was only here during summer last time…"

"Hey Davis," Demiveemon asked, "what's Christmas?"

Davis wanted to say it was why he had to sell tickets to Matt's crummy concert, but with Matt standing right there, he didn't dare; he already owed him for a saxophone case. "I'll tell ya later," he said.

The group left Izzy's apartment and began to disperse. "See you tomorrow," Sora said to Tai and Kari, then turned and walked off.

Tai felt a nudge, and he looked down to see Kari's elbow in his side. "C'mon, Tai, ask her," she urged. "She's thinking about Christmas now, so it's—"

"Will you be quiet?!" Tai hissed, nervously looking back at Sora and hoping she hadn't heard. "Not right _now_!"

"But—" Kari tried.

"Just… quit it!" Tai huffed, then quickly walked away, brushing TK as he went.

"Woah!" Patamon gulped. "What's with him? Did you pop another soccer ball, Gatomon?"

"Not me," Gatomon huffed. "He hides them now."

"Kari? What's going on?" TK asked.

Kari shook her head. "Oh, I just thought it would be neat if Tai and Sora got together on Christmas Eve," she explained, "but he's way too nervous to try, and now he's mad at me for bringing it up."

TK scratched his chin. Tai and Sora, going out together? Yeah, he could see that happening... He remembered all the times he had seen them talking together on their first adventure, and the way they kept each other going. Then he remembered how upset Tai had become when the deranged Datamon had kidnapped Sora; Tai had been the loudest about saving her, and even activated his own Crest in the process. Those were just the examples that came to TK's mind right off the bat. Tai had always had a close friendship with her, and the feelings were probably mutual. So why was he against asking Sora out? "It's a good idea…" he said, "but why don't you let me talk to him instead?"

Kari blinked. "But why?" he asked.

"Well, not to sound mean, but you're his sister," TK tried. "I know Matt hates it when I try to make suggestions for him." He paused and thought for a moment. "And also, sometimes a guy… well, he needs convincing from another guy. Listen, how about I talk to Tai, and you talk to Sora?"

Kari sighed, a bit annoyed, but TK made fair points. "Oh, OK," she surrendered.

"All right," TK agreed, "I'll talk to him the next chance I get. See you tomorrow!"

She waved goodbye as he started down the street, Patamon perched on his head and flapping his little ear wings. She smiled quietly as they turned a corner, happy that TK had asked what was wrong, and even happier that he offered to help. "We'll have to get him a nice present," she said to Gatomon.

Gatomon looked at her strangely, her tail twitching. "Huh?" she asked. "Why? It's not his birthday, is it?"

Kari giggled a little. "That's what you do at Christmas, Gatomon," she explained. "You give presents to your friends. It shows that you care about them."

"Really?..." Gatomon asked, scratching at her ear and looking thoughtful. "Do you think—"

"Kari!" a shrill voice made both Kari and Gatomon jump. Yolei, who hadn't left yet either, was standing behind them looking irritated. "Do you have that picture ready yet?" she asked, squeezing Poromon's wings and making him wince.

Kari blinked a few times, then groaned as she remembered. "Oh! I'm sorry, Yolei, I haven't had time to empty my camera lately," she apologized. "I'll send it when I get home, OK?"

"Well, make it quick," Yolei replied curtly, "I need it really soon! Later!"

Yolei dashed off, Poromon's "bye" lost as they disappeared around the corner. Kari and Gatomon started home too, now fairly annoyed. "Boy, that was rude," Gatomon grumbled. "Nice way to talk to someone doing you a favor…"

Kari sighed and looked back the way Yolei had gone. She hadn't said anything, but she had noticed how different Yolei had become since fall. What had come over her?

* * *

The black obelisk shuddered and tumbled off of its foundation, landing at an acute angle among the dusty rocks. Ken raced halfway up the fallen spire and launched a grenade, blowing the top third apart and completing its destruction. He paused and looked back at the Chinatown gates in the distance, and the spire-less horizon that surrounded it. Not too many spires had sprung up around the one town where he could walk around without persecution, and now they were all heaps of black rubble. No new spires had appeared anywhere since the night before. While that was comforting to him on one level, it only made him nervous in others. Had Arukenimon given up with Blackwargreymon's resignation, or was she simply lying low, planning her next move?

He turned and looked at the piles of spire refuse scattered across the landscape. There were still a few standing in the distance, but it was nowhere near the imposing forest of blackness that polluted the landscape in other parts of the Digital World. Maybe things really were coming to an end, he dared to think. Maybe he would destroy Arukenimon and stop the Emperor's reign of terror sooner than he thought… but what then? What other threats to this world were out there, as Azulongmon hinted? Could Davis and the others handle it themselves?...

He paused and looked up at the stars appearing overhead. Even if Arukenimon fell soon, Davis and the other kids might still have a long way to go; Blackwargreymon was still out there, after all, along with his mysterious master. His mind went back to Davis, and how, in spite of everything he had done, that hotheaded boy reached out to him when Wormmon died, and kept encouraging him ever since. Even though he himself didn't believe he had something left to offer the world, Davis did. Somehow, Davis had made his greatest enemy into a friend.

He suddenly realized a new feeling of warmth forming in his chest, and he clutched at it with his armored hand. If Davis believed in him, then maybe it was time to put his trust in that belief. The weaponry he had designed was powerful, and he was sure he could make improvements. Even after Arukenimon and Mummymon were eradicated, his artillery could still be used against whatever new threats came to the Digital World. His hand clenched and his arm trembled a bit. Staying and protecting this land would be far more effective and fulfilling than simply… destroying the Emperor.

His hand dropped, and he started trudging back towards town, his decision made. He should tell Davis first; he would be the easiest to talk to… but how? They went to different schools, he didn't know where Davis lived, and just sending an e-mail wouldn't carry the weight of his words. He had to find a way to meet up with him outside of the Digital World…

* * *

Davis sat poised with the piece of duct tape in his hand, his eyes probing for any spot he could make it stick… but it was no use. He sighed angrily and slapped the tape back onto the roll, then glared at the mess of warped, melted plastic that had once been his awesome goggles. They would never adorn his forehead again. With a grunt, he slapped them off his desk and into the garbage can. "So much for takin' after Coach," he grumbled, rubbing at the spot on his forehead where the goggles used to sit proudly. "Damn…"

Demiveemon's head popped out of the middle desk drawer; the little guy was digging through all the junk looking for treasure. "Wow, Davis, you've got so much cool stuff in here!" he chirped, but then his smile faded. "…Davis, are you OK?" he asked. "You look mad."

"Oh, I'm _fine_," Davis replied sarcastically. "I mean, aside from gettin' blown up, bawled out, de-goggled, and forced to sell tickets to a show I wouldn't go to if ya paid me, I'm just peachy!" He shook his head and slumped in his chair. "An' it takes a lot of shit to make me say 'peachy,'" he grumbled.

"Aww…" Demiveemon mumbled, his ears drooping for a moment before he perked up again. "Well, cheer up! Things'll get better! They always do! And that Christmas thing is coming too, so that's gotta be fun!"

Davis groaned and sat upright again. "Great…" he muttered. One more problem on his plate: what presents to get for all his friends. He grabbed a piece of scratch paper and started scribbling a list of names: Veemon, Kari, TK, Ken, Cody, Yolei… He paused, then angrily scratched three thick lines through "Yolei." He had only written it on instinct. Well, at least he'd save a little money this Christmas.

"Ooh! Ooh! Davis! Lookit this!" Demiveemon yelped as he popped out of the drawer again, holding a pair of old red plastic sunglasses. "You could wear these instead!"

"Those don't fit me anymore," Davis replied. "Head got too big."

"Oh? Then can I have 'em?" Demiveemon asked, pushing them over his eyes. "Look! I'm a cool guy now!"

Davis looked over and couldn't help but smile. The sunglasses were too big for the little Digimon; they covered his ears as well as his eyes, making him look like a baby beatnik. It was adorable and funny at the same time. "Yeah, you do look…" he started, and then his face lit up even more. He suddenly knew how he could solve another of his problems. "Demiveemon, can you bring those to school tomorrow?" he asked.

"Huh? Sure…" Demiveemon said, his mouth showing he was puzzled. "But why?"

"'Cuz things are gonna get better sooner than I thought," Davis said, getting up and peering under his bed. "Now where's that shoebox?..."

He pulled a dusty old cardboard box out and took it to the desk. Just as he was cutting a rectangular hole in the top, though, his D-Terminal beeped loudly; someone had sent him a message. He opened it and looked it over, surprise and confusion on his face. "…It's for you," he said to Demiveemon, putting the device next to him, "from Gatomon."

Demiveemon looked at it, then back up at Davis. "But I can't read, Davis," he pointed out.

"Oh, right," Davis remembered, and picked the D-Terminal up. "Well, here's what it says: 'meet me 7 PM tomorrow in school hedges.'" He looked at it again, then looked at Demiveemon. "Is this some kinda prank?"

Demiveemon looked as confused as Davis did. "I don't know…" he admitted. "Whaddya think she wants?"

Davis shrugged, then looked at his friend impishly. "If a girl sent this to me, it would mean I have a date," he cackled.

"Oooh!" Demiveemon chirped, beaming. "Wow, Davis! A date! I have a date! Those go really good on oatmeal, right? Ooh, is Gatomon making oatmeal, then? Yummy!"

Davis rolled his eyes and chuckled. Maybe Demiveemon was better off thinking that way.

* * *

Having sent her message, Gatomon put Kari's D-Terminal back on her desk. "All right, I'm done," she said, hopping back to the floor and scaring Miko back into the other room.

Kari was watching her computer as she copied the contents of her camera into it. She hadn't done it in a while, so it was taking some time. "OK," she said. "Why did you want to use it, anyway?"

"Oh, uh, no reason," Gatomon said, thinking quickly. "I just wanted to, uh, be sure it was working right. You know, if there's an emergency."

"Okay…" Kari replied, not quite believing her but not thinking anything bad of it. She shook her head and went back to her work, hoping she would finish before her mother called her for dinner; she could hear her fumbling with pots and pans out in the kitchen area and didn't think she had much time left. Fortunately, the computer beeped quickly after, signaling that it was done.

Kari opened the new folder of pictures and found the one she had taken of Yolei and Ken. When she opened it, though, she flinched at how awkward it looked: Yolei had a cheesy, almost manic smile on her face as she clenched Ken's arm, and he looked really annoyed. Not to mention he had his Digital World artillery on, which would really confuse anyone else who saw it. It wasn't a picture she herself would have given someone; would Yolei really want it?

Well, she had said she would send it, so she started an e-mail, attached the picture and wrote:

_Here's the picture, but I don't think it's very good._

_We could try again the next time we seen Ken in the Digital World. Maybe that would that work better?_

She hit "send" and watched the letter disappear into cyberspace. "I wonder why she was so pushy about this?" she thought out loud. "What's she going to do with the picture?"

"Beats me," Gatomon replied, stretching and clawing at the side of the desk, "maybe it has to do with Christmas."

At the mention of "Christmas," Kari leaned on her elbows and started thinking about her other challenge: how would she approach Sora to meet up with Tai? Even though Sora was Tai's best friend and she came by frequently to help with homework and such, Kari didn't have a good grasp of how to talk to her. And how would she suggest Sora talk to Tai, too? What could she do to get his attention?

Just then, the whole apartment resounded with the heart-stopping peal of shattering glass. "Oh, blast it!" Yuuko's voice came from the kitchen. "Tai? I need you to run out and get me a new pan… and some sandwiches or something!"

The light went on in Kari's head. As she had often heard, the way to a man's heart was his stomach.

* * *

Upamon rolled to one side, then rolled to the other, then rolled himself upside-down, but none of those new positions helped him imagine why Gatomon would send a message like that. "But why does she wanna meet in the bushes, Cody?" he asked. "There aren't any berries there; believe me, I checked."

Cody had gone back to practicing his kendo strikes on the balcony, and he hardly heard his partner's question. He was ruminating over what Azulongmon had told them, but even more so what Blackwargreymon had said to him. "Someone with as little life experience as I have…" he muttered to himself, and the words stung just as harshly as they had when Blackwargreymon first spoke them. Why would he say something like that? Was it simply to mock Cody's age? His eyes narrowed and he stabbed at the mental image of Blackwargreymon, which fizzled into Ken Ichijouji. He didn't have to be an adult to deduce what was going on!

He sneered at the ghostly image of smirking Ken in his mind's eye. What was that treacherous lout planning now? Maybe once Arukenimon and Mummymon were defeated, he would shed his sheepskin and resume his tyrannical guise as the Digimon Emperor… Or perhaps he'd even begin earlier, on the chance that Arukenimon and Mummymon were actually working for him all this time! "_Men_!" Cody shouted, and brought his shinai down on the imaginary boy, dissipating him in a wink.

Cody paused, shivered from a cold breeze, and lowered his shinai. He stared out at the city's nightscape, a look cold enough to match the wind on his face. Whatever Ken had planned, he would be ready. The others, he thought bitterly for a moment, would be sorry they didn't listen.

* * *

"She did? She DID! Oh, geez, that must have been embarrassing!" Yolei laughed into her cell phone as she lay sideways on her bed, trying to plant her feet on the ceiling. Poromon sat on his frilly bed, his eyes half-closed in an annoyed stupor. She had been yapping with Mimi for the past forty-five minutes, and forty-five minutes of half a conversation would dull anyone's senses.

"OK, so, another mall trip on Wednesday? Great! I'll be all ready after school," she went on, and he fluttered his wings crossly; he didn't have a good grasp of time, but he had heard her dad say he wanted her working on Wednesday. This had gone too far; he had to say something now. He fluttered up and landed on the bed next to her and pecked at her side, expecting her attention.

Yolei shot him an irked look. "Look, I've gotta go," she said. "Talk to you tomorrow, OK? Bye!" She closed the phone and sat up. "What is it?" she asked. "Are you hungry?"

"Um, no," Poromon began, suddenly becoming nervous. After all, she had bawled Davis out royally; who was to say she wouldn't do the same? Still, he had to say _something_. "Uh… Listen, Yolei…" he began.

Just then, the computer beeped, and so did Yolei's D-Terminal. "Oh! That's it!" she exclaimed, hopping up and rushing to the keyboard. "Kari sent the picture!"

Poromon bristled at how quickly she had blown him off, and decided not to delay any longer. "Yolei, you haven't been nice to your friends," he said. "You left Sora when she needed your help with school, you've ignored your dad when he tells you to work, and you've been rude all around to pretty much everyone, including me." He paused and sighed. "Not to mention what happened with Davis the other day…"

"Aww, geez," Yolei groaned. Poromon looked up hopefully, but she was still staring at the computer screen and the photo Kari had sent. "She's right; this sucks!" She thought for a moment, then started typing on the keyboard. "Well, nothing a little editing can't fix… Let's see, I can pull his eyebrows so it doesn't look like he's scowling, and the mouth—"

"Yolei!" Poromon huffed, his little voice becoming shrill. "I can't believe how you're acting! Did you really mean what you shouted at Davis yesterday?!"

Yolei turned around and gave him an unpleasant look. "He's been an asshole forever," she growled. "He doesn't understand how I feel. He _deserved_ it."

Poromon lowered his eyes for a moment, then looked at her sadly. "If _I_ said I didn't like how you changed, would you scream and yell and tell me to go away, too?" he asked quietly.

Yolei sighed crossly, shook her head and turned back to the computer. "I can't expect you to understand this either," she said. "It's a human thing. Now, what do I do about making him smile without messing up his chin…"

Yolei busied herself with manipulating the picture. Poromon sadly fluttered back to his bed and sulked, wondering if he would have felt better if he were screamed at instead of just ignored.

* * *

School on Monday went the same for Davis as it did every Monday: he forgot his homework, got shouted at and was given extra assignments. Today, though, he didn't mind much; he just went with the flow until the last bell rang. It was time to show his salesmanship skills.

"Demiveemon!" he called as he peeked into the empty computer lab. "Are you ready?"

Demiveemon hopped out of his hiding place, still holding the sunglasses. "Yep!" he said. "Let's spell some tickets, Davis!"

"Heh… You're gettin' as bad as me," Davis chuckled, picking his partner up. "Now put on the sunglasses and don't move," he instructed. "Just stand there bein' Jim Cool."

"Roger!" Demiveemon chirped, putting on the shades. "I'm the coolest mon on the block!"

Davis walked to the stairwell and pulled out the tickets and the shoebox, then stood there with Demiveemon perched on his shoulder like a pirate's parrot. It didn't take long to get the attention of three giggling girls. "Oh, look!" one gushed. "Isn't that just so cute?!"

"I just wanna cuddle it to death!" the second exclaimed.

"What're you selling?" the third asked.

"Jazz concert on Christmas Eve," Davis replied, showing them the tickets. "Only 2000 yen apiece."

"Christmas Eve?" The second girl asked. "Oh, but that's when the Teenage Werewolves are playing…"

"It's only 2000," the third pointed out, starting to thumb through her wallet. "If we don't like it, we can duck out halfway through…"

"And that thing's adorable!" the first girl squealed, crushing two 1000-yen bills in her hand. "Come on, let's try it, Fuuka!"

"OK, then!" the second girl said, digging out her purse. "We'll take three."

Davis took the bills and handed the girls their tickets. "There ya go, ladies," he said with a grin, "enjoy!"

"Bye bye!" the first girl said, tapping Demiveemon on the head before they scampered off. Davis was worried he would react, but Demiveemon stayed still.

Davis was surprised by how fast he'd sold some tickets, but as he was thinking that would be all he sold, two skinny boys from the soccer team lumbered up. "Hey, Motomiya!" the taller one said. "What've you got there?"

"Didn't think you'd wanna show off yer doll collection," the shorter one joked.

"Got your attention, right?" Davis asked, smirking. "How's about buyin' a ticket to a Christmas jazz concert? Two thousand yen each."

"The band that Ishida guy's in?" the shorter one asked. "They finally got a gig?"

"I'm helpin' with it," Davis said, waving the tickets like a fan.

"I dunno, Motomiya…" the taller one said. "I don't usually like sittin' still for that long unless it's TV…"

Davis decided to switch to an angle he knew would work with guys. "I just sold some to three cute girls," he tried. "If you get some too, maybe you'll be able to meet 'em."

"For real?!" the tall one asked, digging in his pocket. "Awright, gimme one!"

"Me too!" the short one spluttered, practically shoving a bill up Davis's nose.

The boys got their tickets and went on their way. It wasn't long before several more students approached Davis, drawn in by Demiveemon and his awesome sunglasses. A boy came by and bought two for himself and his girlfriend, and then an older girl bought one, and then another girl bought two more. Davis looked down at his shoebox and realized he had sold ten of his fifty tickets in just twenty minutes. "Well, how 'bout that!" he chuckled. Maybe this salesman thing was easier than he thought.

* * *

Kari pulled her white furry hat down over her ears as she looked around the soccer field. Even though there was nothing scheduled today, she was told this is where Sora would be found… and there she was, over by the benches with a clipboard. She wore her robin-egg-blue winter coat, and also the blue helmet-like hat she had kept from her childhood and still wore when it was cold. "Hey! Sora!" she called, waving.

Sora looked up, waved back and jogged over. "Hi, Kari. What's up?" she asked.

"What're you doing out here?" Kari had to ask. "It's too cold for soccer!"

"What're you talking about?" Gatomon asked from her place in Kari's open backpack. "It's fine!"

"You've got fur," Kari pointed out.

"Heh, your body gets used to it after a while," Sora chuckled, "but I'm just inspecting the field. It's part of a coach's job to make sure it can be played on: the grass is cut right; the lines have been painted correctly; no chance of getting splinters from the benches…"

Kari winced at the thought. "Well, it's good they've got you," she said.

"I'm just doing what I can," Sora replied, looking the clipboard over and then putting it in her bag. "So, what brings you out here?"

"Oh. Well, uh…" Kari started, hoping things would go better here than they had with Tai, "I was just wondering if you were doing anything… on Christmas Eve."

"Christmas Eve…" Sora said, looking into the sky with a far-off glance. "Hmm… Well, I might go to Matt's concert; I think he'll need the support."

"Oh? That's good," Kari said, deciding to deliver her point. "You know, Tai's thinking of going too... I bet he'd like it if you went with him."

"I… _what_?!" Sora yelped, her cheeks changing to burning red within seconds. "Go with Tai?!"

Kari groaned; this wasn't going to be any easier than talking to her brother. "You too?" she asked. "Sora, I know he likes you… and, well…"

"You look like a strawberry with caramel topping," Gatomon finished.

Kari gave her backpack an awkward sock. "If it's Christmas Eve and you're best friends, why not?" she asked.

For a few moments, Sora looked like an asteroid was about to drop on her, but then she straightened up and took a deep breath. "I… It's not that I don't _want_ to…" she said quietly, "but… W-well, we worked really hard to get where we are, but sometimes we still fight..." She paused and sadly shook her head. "What if we try, and something wrecks it for good? I… I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't…"

Kari's irked expression softened. Sora was hesitant because she didn't want to risk the friendship she already had with Tai; maybe Tai was the same way. It was clear a slower, subtler approach was needed. "Well, why not start small?" she ventured. "Give him a nice present, but nothing big… like… hey, how about cookies? Those are popular around the holidays, so it's not a big deal."

Sora looked up from staring at her shoes. "Make cookies?" she asked nervously. "But… I can't make much past a pot of tea! All my talent went into soccer and plants!"

"Hey, c'mon, Sora," Gatomon urged. "If I can learn to stop clawing the couch, you can make some cookies."

"That's different!" Sora huffed. "You just had to NOT do something!... Heck, I don't even know if I've got any recipes for cookies!"

"Well, um," Kari thought fast, "why don't I get my mom's recipe for you? Tai likes those… when she doesn't make any additions, anyway."

"Um… Yes! I…" Sora began, but then she stopped and thought about it. "W-well, if it's your mom's recipe… then it's not really something from me…" she thought out loud. "Hmm… Thanks, Kari, but I'll do it myself!"

Sora grabbed her bag and quickly walked away towards the school. Kari smiled. Mission accomplished.

* * *

TK thought hard as he walked towards the school's main staircase. Volunteering to speak to Tai was one thing, but actually doing it was a whole other challenge. He ran through several ways to bring up Tai's relationship with Sora, but each one he came up with sounded either too nosy or too contrite. After all, what did _he_ know about dating? Not much… Still, he knew Tai well enough to guess at what he _shouldn't_ say… but still…

Tai suddenly appeared coming up the stairs from the basement and smiled at him. TK froze. Blast it! He wasn't ready! Tai took a few steps toward him when, almost as if by divine intervention, Sora rushed in from the side and almost crashed into the goggle-wearing boy. She yelped as if he'd stepped on her toe, and he jerked back in panic. "Oh! Sorry, Tai!" she apologized quickly, then quickly rushed past him. Even TK could see her face was burning red.

"Uh… It's OK?..." Tai asked, his forehead glistening with fresh sweat.

TK blinked a few times, then saw that he'd been given an opportunity. "Hey, Tai!" he said, walking up to his friend. "Boy, that was a near miss; she could've knocked you down the stairs!"

"Err… Yeah, I guess she could have, huh?" Tai asked, taking a few quick shuffles away from the steps. "Well… no harm done."

TK hesitated for a moment, then decided to just speak his mind about things. "Tai, you like Sora, don't you?" he asked.

"What?! That's… none of your business, TK!" Tai grunted, his face turning as red as Sora's had been as he bared his teeth. "What, are you and Kari in cahoots or something?!"

TK thought of saying Kari asked him to help, but thought better of it. "It's OK, Tai," he said, "Going out with Sora isn't something you have to be scared of…"

Tai gave him a dirty look. "And how many dates have _you_ been on?" he scoffed.

"Uh… let's talk about you right now," TK tried, glad that years of having Matt as a brother left him well prepared for sarcasm. "What I mean is that it's OK to start slowly and ambiguously."

"Ambi… what?" Tai asked.

"You know, it doesn't have to be intimate or romantic; it can be anything," TK tried as they started up the stairs. "Like… How about taking her some place she likes?"

"Err, well…" Tai fumbled, scratching at his head, "I don't know where she'd like… I mean, aside from the soccer field and her mom's flower shop, I've never heard her mention anywhere…"

"Seriously?" TK asked, starting to get frustrated; could Sora really not have any other interests? "So she's never talked about a movie she wants to see, or a store she wants to visit, or…"

He looked around for some sort of idea he could put in Tai's head, and thankfully, something came: at the top of the stairwell was Davis, peddling his tickets with Demiveemon on his shoulder. "Hey, Coach! TZ!" Davis called to them. "Boy, is it lab time already?"

"Oh, hey, Davis," Tai said. "Uh… What're you guys doing?"

Demiveemon looked around to make sure nobody was looking, then hopped off Davis's shoulder. "I'm a Jim Tool!" he chirped.

"Uh… we're sellin' tickets to Matt's concert," Davis said, motioning to the shoebox.

TK's eyes lit up. "There!" he said to Tai. "There's something! You could take her to Matt's concert!"

"His _Christmas Eve_ concert?" Tai gulped. "Geez… I dunno… I mean, I was gonna… but that seems kinda…"

"No, no, it's great!" TK pressed. "Chances are Sora's going anyway, to support Matt and the band. That's why you're gonna go, right?"

"Well, yeah…" Tai agreed.

"And I bet Izzy and Joe will be there, too," TK went on, "so it's not like you'll be alone together! No pressure! It's perfect!"

"Well, if you want 'em, better say so," Davis said, pointing to the tickets in his hand. "I've only got five left."

"Really? Wow, so it's a full house!" TK said, looking at Tai again. "Seriously, this is a great idea!"

Tai hesitated a little longer, then sighed and dug for his wallet. "OK," he muttered. "Give me two, Davis."

"Awright, there ya go, Coach," Davis said, handing Tai the tickets and taking his money. "Pleasure doin' business with you!"

"Boy, you and Kari make a good team," Tai said to TK. "You win this time."

"Hey, you're going to be the winner, I hope," TK pointed out. "Better go find her before she buys her own ticket."

"Yeah," Davis agreed, his smile gone at the mention of TK and Kari being a good team; why rub that in his face now? "My sister's sellin' the tickets too."

"Hoo boy, and she can be just as persistent!" Tai gulped, stuffing the tickets in his pocket. "See you later, guys! Knock down some spires for me!"

Tai took off down the stairs again. "Well, that's my good deed for the day," TK chuckled, turning to Davis. "Should we get going?"

Davis rolled his eyes at the boy. He was about to put the rest of the tickets away when Izzy and Joe emerged from the stairwell. "Afternoon, TK, Davis," Izzy called to them.

"Hey, guys!" TK said with a smile. "Joe, what brings you here?"

"Well, I have a little time, so I thought I might help break some spires today…" he said, looking more fidgety than usual. "And, uh…"

"Hey, Izzy, did you figure somethin' out already?" Demiveemon asked.

Izzy sighed and shook his head. "No, not yet," he admitted.

"Did you want us to take you to Gennai's place?" TK tried.

"Not right now, thanks," Izzy replied with a hint of annoyance. "I've got a few more things I want to try before I call for help."

TK chuckled. "I think you're hanging around Tai too much," he joked. "You're getting to be pretty stubborn."

"Awright, well, I'm done here," Davis said, picking up his shoebox and peering inside. He was delighted to see it was full of bills. "Damn, I'm good at this!" he laughed.

"I would think so, with such a helpful partner," Izzy agreed, motioning at Demiveemon.

"Yeah, he's cute like that," Joe agreed.

"Demiveemon put one paw on the sunglasses and nodded. "Word," he said.

Joe blinked. "What?" he asked.

"Word," Demiveemon repeated.

"…What word?" Joe asked.

"Ahh, forget it, Joe," Davis said as he moved to put the remaining three tickets away. "You need that brain and he'll just pop it."

"Before you put them away," Izzy interrupted, taking out a bill, "I'd like to purchase one, please. Your salesmanship is very engrossing."

"Oh yeah? Cool!" Davis said, trading Izzy the money for a ticket.

"Um…" Joe mumbled, then took some money out of his pocket too, his face red but his jaw set. "I'll buy the last two, Davis."

"Two?" Davis asked, but took the money and gave him the tickets.

"Ah…" Izzy said with a wry smile. "I think I know what you're planning, Joe."

Joe said nothing; he just tucked the tickets away in his jacket and took a deep breath. TK smiled. "Go for it," he encouraged the nervous college student. "She's bound to say yes sooner or later."

Davis rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. He was sick of hearing about everybody's romantic plans.

"Wow, Davis!" Demiveemon exclaimed as he looked into the shoebox. "Look at all that paper! You're rich!"

Davis looked at his partner, then found he could smile again. He had sold all fifty of his tickets. At least he could rub that in Jun's face.

* * *

Poromon fidgeted as he glanced out at the dark cityscape. It had been a little while since dinner, so he figured it was almost 7 o'clock. Gatomon would be waiting for him, like the e-mail said… but how could he get out of here with Yolei glued to the computer? She had read the letter to him, but somehow he knew she had forgotten about it…

Yolei was clicking away with her mouse, editing Kari's picture to fit her own tastes. Thanks to a blend of copying, pasting, smearing, warping and pulling tools, she had almost managed to erase the guns from Ken's arms and turn his frown into a smile… but even she didn't think it looked very good. It was like someone heated up a wax face, then pushed the eyebrows upward and pulled the mouth back. She had to do better than that to make it believable. Maybe there were some FAQs she could read…

Poromon cleared his throat; he didn't want to be late. "Yolei, can I go sit on the balcony?" he asked.

Yolei sighed crossly, then got up and quickly pushed the balcony door open. As soon as he was outside, she shut it and went back to the computer. Poromon fluttered over the balcony railing and slowly descended to the street. Thankfully, Yolei's neighborhood got pretty quiet after dinnertime, so there weren't too many people around. He hopped down the sidewalk and crossed the street, like Yolei always did. That was easier than he thought; now he just had to remember the way back to school.

He hopped along at a quick pace, always peering around the corner for any people before he kept going, but he didn't have any trouble reaching the school and its big wall of bushes below the first floor windows. "…Hello?" he asked quietly.

The bushes rustled, and Upamon's beady eyes popped out, along with the rest of his face. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "You got an e-mail too?"

Poromon blinked, baffled. "It wasn't just me?" he asked.

The bushes rustled again, and Demiveemon and Patamon crawled out behind Upamon. "Looks like she wrote to all of us," Patamon concluded.

"That's fine," Demiveemon said. "I wouldn't want to eat a whole date by myself anyway. Those really make you hafta go!"

Poromon looked around, but Gatomon was nowhere to be found. "So, where's…" he began.

"Wait! I'm here! I'm here!" Gatomon's voice came from behind, and they all turned to see her rushing up the walkway. "S-sorry…" she apologized as she panted hard. "I got held up… Had to pretend I was a toy… And then the lady picked me up and put me on a high wall… Cats are bad at getting off those…!"

"Oh, that happened to me, too!" Demiveemon piped up. "The guy looked at me, said 'dam kids' and kept walking. Why would you want to put kids in a dam?"

"Or did he mean put a dam IN a kid?" Upamon asked. "Eugh, what would that do?"

"Maybe it's a way to keep 'em from wettin' the bed," Demiveemon thought out loud, "but it sounds kinda ouchy…"

"Um, so, Gatomon, why did you call us here?" Patamon broke in. "If we're gone too long this late, our partners will get worried."

"Not all of them…" Poromon muttered quietly.

"OK, I'll get right to the point," Gatomon agreed. "Everyone's saying that Christmas is coming, and Kari says that's when you get presents for your friends… So I think we should all get presents for _our_ friends!"

The others all looked surprised, then delighted. "You mean, get something for Cody?" Upamon asked.

"Ooh! Davis would be so happy!" Demiveemon cheered, bouncing up and down.

"Yeah! That's a great idea, Gatomon!" Patamon agreed, flapping his ear wings excitedly. Suddenly, though, he thought of something and stopped. "Oh, wait… How? We don't have money to buy stuff."

The other Digimon sagged as quickly as they had perked up, except for Demiveemon. "Ooh! Ooh! I know!" he blurted. "I always see Davis's dad pullin' money out of the couch! So the couch must give you money!"

"Hey, Cody's mom has a couch!" Upamon exclaimed.

"So does TK's!" Patamon added, getting excited again.

Poromon knew Yolei had a couch too, but he suddenly thought of another problem. "Wait," he piped up, "even if we have money, how do we buy stuff? I can't just go to the store without Yolei…"

The other Digimon stopped celebrating. Gatomon made an annoyed face. Poromon was right; if she tried going out in public, she would at best make humans freak out, and at worst get put on a wall again.

"How about a disguise?" Patamon asked. "When Tai took Agumon outside last time, he dressed him up."

Gatomon's tail twitched. "That's it!" she said. "We need a big thing we can all hide in, like a rain coat or something!"

Demiveemon thought for a minute, then clapped his paws together. "I know!" he chirped. "I know just what to get! It's in the closet at home!"

"Awesome!" Upamon laughed, rolling around happily. "This's gonna be the best Christmas ever!"

"…How do you know?" Poromon asked. "None of us have ever had one."

Patamon laughed, then sighed. "Oh, I wish all our friends could get in on this," he admitted. "Agumon and Gabumon and Biyomon… All of 'em."

The newer Digimon grew quiet and felt a little bad. They could learn about this holiday thing, but all the older kids' Digimon had to stay in the Digital World. "It's not very fair," Upamon admitted.

"How come they can't come back with their partners?" Poromon asked. "Is it because of the Digivices?..."

Gatomon's tail swished back and forth as she thought hard. "Let me ask Kari about that," she said finally. "Maybe there's a way… In the meantime, let's all check couches, and we'll meet back here on Thursday morning."

"Morning?" Demiveemon asked. "But don't we have to hide until school's over?"

"Nope!" Upamon said. "Cody said there's no school on Thursday 'cuz it's the Emperor's Birthday."

"It's Ken's birthday, too?" Demiveemon asked. "Wow, then we gotta get him a present, too!"

"No, not…" Gatomon started, but figured it would only tire her out. "Just meet back here on Thursday, and Demiveemon, remember to bring that coat!"

"OK!" the others chirped, and dispersed.

Poromon followed Upamon and Patamon back to the apartment complex. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone outside at that hour, so the three colorful little critters could stroll along unnoticed. "Hey, Patamon, can I get a lift?" Upamon asked the winged pig as they reached the front. "Hopping _up_ stairs is a lot harder than hopping _down_ them."

Patamon scooped up the yellow ball and started upwards. "Goodnight, you guys…" Poromon called, then flit his little wings as hard as he could. Though he wasn't as fast or graceful as Patamon, he managed to fly high enough to land back on his balcony. Yolei still had her face trained on the computer. Poromon sighed, then tapped at the glass with his beak.

Yolei jumped a little, then got up and rushed over. "What were you doing out here?" she asked, picking him up and bringing him inside. "That was a long time for a bathroom break."

"I'm better trained than that," Poromon replied crossly, thinking a present might be just the thing to make her bearable again. "Yolei, could I spend the night in the living room? I, uh, want to try sleeping somewhere else."

"Uh… I guess…" Yolei said, raising a puzzled eyebrow. "But keep hidden. If my sisters found you, I'd get laughed to death, and you'd get cuddled to it."

"Erm... point taken," Poromon said as she started to open her door. "Could you just leave me on the couch?"

Yolei blinked. First the balcony, and now the living room? What was Poromon's deal?

* * *

"Well, _hel_-lo there, big sis!" Davis chortled as he ambled up to Jun after Tuesday classes, Demiveemon still wearing shades and perched on his shoulder. "How's business goin'?"

Jun was standing in the hallway of the high school with a cardboard sign around her neck that read: "Jazz concert! 2000 yen!" Despite that stellar advertising gimmick, she still had two fists full of tickets, and the tea can she was using to store money was empty. She scowled at Davis. "How does it _look_ like it's going?" she snapped. "I've only sold three, and that was to my friends! Everybody's already going to see the Teenage Werewolves instead!"

"Well, not fifty people I know," Davis said, grinning wickedly.

Jun turned to him, her eyes wide. "What?" she asked.

Davis gave her the most devilish smirk he could. "Yep," he snarked, showing her the empty ticket envelope, "I sold _every last one_ of my tickets! HAH! Ya like that?! That's what you get fer draggin' me into yer dumb plans!"

"You little…!" Jun hissed as her face burned, and she looked ready to kick the can at him… but then she became eerily calm, and a crafty smile returned to her face. "Well, good job, Daisuke," she purred. "You did better than I did."

"Hell yeah!" Davis laughed, motioning to Demiveemon. "You wish you thought of this!"

"Oh, I know!" she replied, offering her hand in surrender. "You're a much better salesman than I'll ever be…"

"You know it!" he crowed, reaching for it.

All he got, though, was a hand full of tickets. "So I know you'll sell the rest of them, too!" Jun said, grinning impishly. "Good luck!"

"HEY! Wha—" Davis began, but Jun was halfway down the hallway already. He looked sadly down at the forty-seven new tickets he had been saddled with, then gnashed his teeth. "RAZZLE-FARK!" he yelled.

Demiveemon reacted in the opposite way. "Oh, boy!" he cheeped. "I can keep wearing the shades! C'mon, Davis! Let's go stand by the stairs again!"

Davis muttered something under his breath. Why did he have to open his big mouth? He stared at the tickets for a moment, then sighed angrily. Well, maybe if Matt learned that he was the one to sell all the tickets, he'd forget about Demiveemon crapping in his saxophone case. Besides, Demiveemon was having fun being in marketing, and why spoil that for him?

Davis stuffed the tickets in his backpack and headed back into the junior high part of the school. Cody, TK, Kari and Yolei were just coming up the second-floor stairs with their partners. "Davis! Hey!" Kari called.

Not even Kari's happy call could keep Davis's eyes from locking nastily onto Yolei, nor prevent his hands from clenching his bag like vices. Yolei glanced his way for half a second, then looked away with a puff. Poromon looked up at her, then sadly shrugged. "Hi, Davis," he said.

"Hi, guys… Hi, Poromon," Davis replied, the venom in his voice all too obvious.

The others glanced from Yolei to Davis. "Um… did you—" Upamon began, but Cody shushed him.

"Well, there're still plenty of spires left," TK said quickly. "Are you in, Davis?"

"Sure," Davis agreed curtly. "Might help blow off some steam…"

They all walked to the computer lab and closed the door. Kari booted up their usual computer and opened the Digital Gate program. A black dot flashed in the middle of the Twin Time Jungle. "Oh, look!" she said, "Ken's busy already!"

"Ooh! Well, let's go help him!" Yolei insisted, shoving to the front of the pack and thrusting her D3 at the screen. She thought she heard a nasty word behind her, but when she leered back, Davis was looking out the window.

The others were a little put off by the tense atmosphere, but they didn't see any reason not to help Ken. They all pulled out their D3s and disappeared into the computer one by one, until only Davis and Demiveemon were left.

"Davis," Demiveemon asked his partner, "what does that word mean?"

"Never mind," Davis grumbled, taking out his Digivice, "but don't you dare say it yourself."

He raised his Digivice to the screen, and the familiar bright light and sick motion engulfed them… and then they were in the steamy jungle among their friends. The nearest spire shuddered and then fell backwards, crashing to the ground and making birds scatter into the air. "Over there!" Patamon said, pointing.

The Digidestined raced into the trees and quickly found the fallen spire. Ken stood nearby, smoke curling off his grenade launcher and a pensive look on his face. "Hey! Ken!" Gatomon called, waving to him.

Ken looked up with a start, and looked uncharacteristically nervous for a moment, but then he steadied himself and walked over. "…Hello," he said briskly.

"Need a hand?" TK asked.

Ken hesitated, looking preoccupied with some stray thought. After a few minutes, he sighed and nodded. "All right," he agreed. "I think there are… twenty spires left in this area." He paused and shook his head. "No, twenty-five," he corrected himself.

"Not for long!" Veemon cackled, pumping his fist. "OK, Davith, let Flamedramon play today!"

Davis nodded and took out his D-Terminal, though he was still looking at Ken. Why was he acting weird today, too?

* * *

Toshiko Takenouchi was surprised to find her daughter's shoes at the entrance of the apartment at such an early hour, and even more surprised to see her in the kitchen surrounded by a small army of cooking tools and bags of ingredients, her face buried in a book. "Sora?" she asked.

Sora almost jumped out of her skin and whirled around, the cookbook still in her hands. "Mom! Uh… hi," she greeted her nervously.

Toshiko looked around, then smiled. "Trying something new?" she asked.

"Well, um, uh…" Sora muttered, looking down at the book and holding it up. "I, uh, I want to bake cookies… for, uh… Well, I, uh, want to practice first, so I get it right."

Toshiko looked her daughter over for a moment, then smiled the sad, far-off smile Sora knew so well. "I see…" she said. "Did you need any help?"

"Err… No, I think I've got it," Sora replied, forcing a smile. "Thanks, though."

"All right… I'll be in my sunroom if you need me," Toshiko said, walking to the sink, collecting a small watering can and filling it. She looked at Sora and smiled again, nodding gently. "I remember the first time I made sweets for your father…" she started to reminisce. "He—"

Sora's jaw locked and she dropped the book on her foot. She yelped and hopped around a few times, then scrambled to pick it up. "Mom!" she huffed loudly, her cheeks bright pink, "it's not… _like_ that!"

Toshiko couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's reaction. "All right, I'll get out of your hair," she said, taking the watering can out of the sink. "Let me know if you do need help."

She disappeared into the other room. Sora sighed crossly as she turned back to her tools, trying to calm herself down. "OK… Three cups of flour…" she read out loud, but when she picked up the flour bag, her hands trembled so violently that she spilled more than she got into the flour bag. She groaned and stared at the white mess. Why did her mother have to say _that_, of all things?!

* * *

Digmon plunged his drill into the spire and let it spin, making a giant crack shoot up through it like a spindly tree. Instead of pushing it over like he usually did, though, he pulled out and jumped away. Flamedramon rushed the spire and rammed his fist into the drill hole, and the entire crack system erupted with flames, then caved in on itself in a smoldering heap. Flamedramon turned around and high-fived Digmon.

"Whoo! Now that was awesome!" Davis laughed, seemingly back in a good mood.

"Showing off isn't good, Davis," Cody replied, then smiled wryly. "…Though it was pretty neat."

"Neat! Neat, he says!" Davis cackled, slapping Cody on the back. "We just made a spire blow up from inside-out! 'Neat!' Whew!"

There was a dull groan to the left, and then Nefertimon and Pegasusmon landed next to them, and then another spire slammed into the ground, taking a few trees down with it. "Whoops!" Kari gulped. "We'll have to plant new ones later!"

"Aww, don't worry about it," Davis cackled. "It's a forest. They'll grow back, right?"

"Well, I—" Kari began, when a nearby explosion made them all jump, and a nearby spire veered violently. They heard Shurimon shouting something, then Yolei yelling something else, and then the spire crashed down. Everyone raced to the impact spot to find Shurimon with his springy legs coiled in a tree, one arm clutching Yolei and the other pulled down and under the spire. Ken was running from the other direction, looking between the wreckage and Shurimon with more than a small frown.

Yolei looked around, then sheepishly waved. "Uh… I'm OK, guys," she said. "Shurimon, put me down."

"What happened?!" TK asked. "That didn't sound good at all."

"I had just finished melting the spire's base when I heard her tell him to cut it," Ken said crossly. "His blade got stuck higher up and pulled it down in the wrong direction. Almost flattened them both."

"What?!" TK asked. "Yolei, weren't you paying attention?!"

"You could have been killed!" Cody barked.

"I was just trying to help!" Yolei said, casting an upside-down weak smile at Ken. "I was, Ken!"

"Well, good ya got out of that, Shurimon!" Davis jeered, ignoring Yolei again. "Good thing you can stretch, or you'da been a ninja pancake!"

"Um… Thanks?" Shurimon tried as he untangled himself and landed on the ground.

Yolei straightened herself up and Shurimon went to free his arm. Between Davis's and Ken's scowls, Kari could feel an oppressive atmosphere taking over the jungle. "Well, I think it's time to call it a day… Besides, I promised Sora I'd check in with her before dinner," she said, smiling for everyone. "We can keep working here tomorrow, OK?"

"Oh. Right… Maybe…" Ken said, his expression becoming nervous. Maybe now would be a good time…?

Shurimon grunted and yanked his twisted arm out from under the black obelisk, then shrank back to Hawkmon. "I think that's for the best," he said, rubbing at his wing. "I believe I'll be feeling this for a few days… Ohh…"

The other Digimon reverted to their lower forms, too. "Maybe tomorrow I'll use just mah feet drills," Armadillomon thought out loud. "Might be fun."

As everyone started to walk back to the TV warp, Davis folded his arms and avoided looking at Yolei, who stood as close to Ken as she could, any good mood he had regained quashed. However, when he glanced back he noticed that Ken was looking at him strangely, and that made him stop. "Somethin' wrong, Ken?" he asked.

Ken froze, gritting his teeth. "Er… No, nothing's wrong," he said quickly.

"Really?" Davis asked, finding enough humor in himself to come up with a quip. "'Cuz ya look like ya got a steerin' wheel club on your nuts."

"I… what?" Ken asked.

"Ooh! Nuts?" Veemon asked, looking at Ken hopefully. "You've got nuts?"

Kari tried to keep her laughter in, but couldn't. "Veemon! Everything's about food for you, isn't it?" she chuckled.

Patamon laughed too, and then TK, and so did Armadillomon, effectively breaking the tension. Yolei rolled her eyes and looked away.

Ken sighed, glad that they weren't staring at him any longer… but since he still kind of had Davis's attention, he figured now was as good a time as any. "Would you, uh…" he began, approaching Davis, "would you like to come to my house for dinner on Friday?"

Davis raised his eyebrows. So did everyone else, too; none of them had thought Ken would ever warm up enough to invite someone over… and on Christmas Eve, too! "I… Gee, wow…" Davis said, suddenly flashing through all the ways he wanted to ask Kari somewhere on the same night… but Ken looked really expectant, and he didn't want to turn down the first invitation the boy had ever given him. "…Sure, Ken," he said. "I'd be glad to."

Ken began to smile with relief, but suddenly the purple-haired girl got in his vision again. "Yeah, me too!" Yolei blurted out. "Sure I will!"

Ken's smile fell off. "Wha…?" he began, then realized he hadn't been clear he only meant to invite Davis. Why did she want to be in on it, too?

"That sounds like a good idea!" Kari agreed. "We can have a little Christmas party!"

"Great!" TK said. "Everyone else will be at Matt's concert, so this'll be our own thing."

Ken's teeth gnashed behind his lips. Friday was Christmas Eve?! He had completely forgotten! No wonder everybody jumped on his vague invitation! "Oh… But…" he began.

He noticed that Cody was glaring at him again, but Armadillomon looked at him and smiled meekly. "Uh… Are we invited too, Ken?" he asked. "And, uh, is there gonna be food?"

Ken wanted to run like hell and disappear. What a mess this had become, and all because he hadn't started by saying "Davis!" If he backed out of it now, though, then he would really sound like a jerk, and they might not want him along for the rest of the adventure after all… Besides, he _was_ going to tell them eventually… He sighed heavily and nodded. "Yes, you are," he said. "All of you."

"All RIGHT!" Davis roared, pumping his fist, and everyone else cheered loudly, too. "Party at Ken's place!"

"What time does it start?" Kari asked.

"Are we gonna play games?" Patamon asked.

"Oh! Should we bring food?" TK asked.

"Err… I'll, uh…" Ken stammered, thinking as fast as he could. "I'll send an e-mail with details tonight," he said. "But no, I don't think you'll have to bring anything."

"OK, cool," Davis said. "Lookin' forward to it!" His good mood was back. Now he had somewhere to be on Christmas Eve that wasn't Matt's concert… and Kari would be there too! Things were looking up!

"Thanks, Ken," Kari said, smiling at him happily. "Well, see you then, if not earlier!"

The Digidestined turned and kept walking towards the warp, each kid lost in his or her own excited thoughts. TK decided he would bring a bottle of soda to the party, just in case. Davis wondered where he could get some mistletoe he could surprise Kari with. Yolei was practically walking on air, dreaming of Ken's reaction when she gave him that picture in the frame; she had to find a good outfit to match it. Cody was silent and unsmiling as he brought up the rear, wondering just what Ken was planning.

The Digimon were in high spirits, too, racing around their partners and peppering them with questions about parties. "Oh, boy!" Armadillomon chuckled, hopping as high as an armadillo could. "Hey, Cody, what kinda snacks do ya get at parties?"

"Are there gonna be games?" Patamon asked. "I'm really good at spinning bottles!"

"Hey, is this gonna be a party of the first part or a party of the second part, Davith?" Veemon asked Davis.

As the kids and their partners disappeared into the warp, Ken sighed again. He had only planned on Davis coming, and now he had to tell his parents he would be hosting a full-blown party. What would they say to that?

* * *

Izzy's eyes darted around the computer screen, and his ears listened as hard as they could, waiting for any hint of a beep… but all that came was the familiar blue sign reading "Search Complete." He pushed away from his desk with a groan. This was the fifth time he had run the scan this afternoon, trying to find any trace of Crest energy that might lead to the gateways… but there simply was none to be found. Maybe he should have gone to see Gennai…

He pursed his lips and scowled. He was older and smarter now. He couldn't be running to Gennai every time he hit a roadblock; he could figure this out on his own! He stared at the map a bit more, and his glare softened. He opened his e-mail program and started typing a letter to his overseas friend. He didn't want to get Gennai's help, but the advice of a fellow computer wiz didn't seem unreasonable.

He finished his technical-sounding letter and sent it off, then decided it was time for a break and some dinner. At least the pressure he was under was entirely self-inflicted. No new control spires had appeared all day; maybe Arukenimon and Mummymon were taking time off for the holidays too, he thought with amusement.

Speaking of which… He opened a text program and started making a list of friends he needed to buy Christmas presents for. Tai, Kari, Joe, Matt… He thought for a moment, then decided to add the new Digidestined to his list; they had worked hard enough in the short time he had known them to deserve a little recognition... but what would they like. He leaned back and blew a raspberry. Now came a reason he disliked holidays: he could crack a computer open like a walnut, but he never could judge what people would like as presents… and four more people meant four more headaches, not to mention their Digimon partners! That list looked every bit as frustrating as the map of the Digital World now. He stared at it a moment more, then sighed. On this one, he really _did_ need to call for help.

* * *

"Oh, hello, there," Toshiko said to the girl at the door, then looked her over again. "You're Taichi's little sister, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Takenouchi," Kari answered with a quick bow. "I just wanted to see how Sora's doing. She asked me to check up on her today."

"Ah. Well, she's in the kitchen…" Toshiko said, looking a bit worried, "but she's not in the best mood… Maybe you can help her."

As Toshiko returned to her room, Kari took her shoes off and walked over to the kitchen. "Hi, Sora! What's…" she began, but the rest of her words tumbled out of her open mouth and died.

The kitchen table and the counters were absolute messes, smeared with patches of flour, sugar and puddles of presumably melted butter. Sora didn't look much cleaner: her red apron had turned to a frosty pink thanks to all the flour caked on it, and her face looked like she had used more flour for war paint. She looked up and Kari and groaned. "Oh, hi, Kari," she grumbled.

Still stunned, Kari put her backpack on a cleaner chair and opened it. Gatomon popped out and had a similar reaction. "Good grief!" she exclaimed. "Did you murder that guy from the instant rolls commercial, Sora?"

Sora looked around and forced a chuckle. "Looks like I've got some cleaning to do," she admitted. "I guess I've played soccer so long, I've forgotten how to grip stuff with my hands. I'm just glad I didn't break any glass."

"Well… did you end up with cookies, at least?" Kari ventured.

"I ended up with _something_… Three somethings, really," Sora said, pointing to three trays on the counter. "I've been working all afternoon, and that's all I could come up with."

Kari and Gatomon went over and observed each tray. The first one had a large mound of dough that looked like a loaf of bread. The second one held a little pile of black circles with a powerful burnt smell. The third tray had a dozen plain-looking white discs. "Um…" was all Kari could manage.

"So what happened?" Gatomon asked.

Sora sighed. "OK, on the first batch I put yeast in to make them puffy… Of course, then I looked at the recipe and it didn't mention yeast at all," she explained. "Then the second batch didn't look ready when the book said they would be, so I left them bake more while I went to the bathroom, and when I came back they were burnt to a crisp." She paused and picked up one of the white cookies. "The last batch… Well, try one."

Kari and Gatomon each picked up a cookie and chewed it. It was thin and crispy, like a wafer, but to Kari's surprise, it had no taste or flavor whatsoever.

"You can see the problem, can't you?" Sora asked as she watched Kari chew. Kari quietly nodded.

"How did you do this?" Gatomon asked, taking another unsatisfying bite. "It's like crunchy air!"

"I don't _know_!" Sora huffed angrily, banging her fist on the counter. "I followed the recipe to the letter! I don't know what I did wrong!"

"Um… Well, look on the bright side," Kari tried to calm her down. "If they don't taste like anything, then they can't taste terrible!"

"Don't use Izzy-speak on me right now!" Sora snapped. "This really pisses me off! I can't fix the problem if I don't know what needs to be—"

"Hey, Sora, maybe that's the problem," Gatomon said, pointing to a full cup of sugar by the sink. "Was that for this batch?"

Sora looked at the full measuring cup, then swore through her teeth. Kari's eyes widened; she thought Davis had made those words up himself.

Sora stopped raging and sagged against the counter, defeated. "I'm such a sucky chef," she mumbled, her voice wavering. "Why did I even…? How am I supposed to… Ugh."

Gatomon looked sad, and took another bite out of pity. Kari had never seen her friend look so frustrated. Sora had always stayed energetic and collected... so how could a small baking project reduce her to a cursing, flustered mess? Maybe trying to deepen the relationship with Tai was more difficult than she thought…

Kari looked around, trying to think of a way to re-energize Sora. "Um, where's the cookbook you were using?" she asked.

Sora jerked her thumb at a flour-encrusted volume on the table. Kari picked it up and shook it off, then flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for; maybe Sora didn't want her mother's recipe, but maybe she would still want to try making Tai's favorite cookie. "Why not try making these?" she said, offering the book to Sora. "They're Tai's favorite."

Sora bit her lip as she read it over. "Chocolate chip? But I just blew basic wafers!" she objected. She stared at it a few minutes longer, then looked at Kari hopefully. "They're his favorite?" she asked.

"If you give him a plate of those, they'll be gone in five minutes," Gatomon agreed, quietly dropping the rest of her cookie in the sink.

Sora looked back at the cookbook thoughtfully, scratching at her nose and adding another smear of flour to her face.

"You don't have to start right now," Kari said, looking around at the mess. "Why don't we clean this up and you can try tomorrow?"

Sora glanced around at the mess with a jump, having seemingly not noticed it until just now. "Uh… Yeah, good idea," she agreed. "Can you get the broom out of the closet?"

Kari got the broom and started sweeping the floor as Sora gathered all the cups and utensils in the sink, as Gatomon busied herself emptying Sora's messy failures into the trash. Just then, they heard the phone ring, and Sora's mother picked it up. As Gatomon heard footsteps heading her way, she put the pans down and did her stuffed toy impression. "Sora, it's for you," Toshiko said as she stepped into the room. "It's Koushiro."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Weird; he almost never calls me…" she said as she took the phone. "Izzy? What's up?... Yeah… Sure, I'd love to. Tomorrow after school? Yeah, that'll work. All right, meet you at the doors. Bye." She turned the phone off and handed it back. "Looks like I've got a way to relax," she said to Kari. "Izzy and I are going Christmas shopping together."

"Good!" Kari agreed. "That'll be fun!"

Toshiko scratched her head, looking concerned. "Goodness, you're not stringing _two_ boys along, are you, Sora?" she asked.

Sora's face burned as she looked at Kari, panic-stricken. "No, this is actual help; he's got no idea how to get people presents!" she explained with an awkward smile and a hasty tone. "I mean, last year he gave Matt a set of wires to improve his instrument's sound through amplifiers… and Matt's saxophone is acoustic." She looked at her mom again. "So, no, I'm not!" she finished quickly.

Toshiko smiled. "I know," she said. "I just wanted to see how you'd react." She went back to her garden room and quietly closed the door.

Kari couldn't help but giggle. "Your mom's got a crafty sense of humor," she mused.

Sora shook her head with a smile. "Just help me keep cleaning," she sighed.

* * *

Izzy wasn't alone in the difficulty of present picking; Davis was tugging at his hair as he looked at his list again, not knowing where to even start. Where could he find a decent present for Kari—oh, and everyone else—with a seventh-grade budget? The mall was too expensive, so that was out. He considered food, but the grocery store charged an arm and a leg for the good candies… then again, he had found some good stuff at the I-Mart, and—he struck that idea down as fast as it came to him. Yolei might be working when he went in there, and there was no way in hell he was giving her any of his money now. He groaned and stared at the ceiling, wishing he had a pair of goggles to fumble with.

Just then, he heard something thump outside his room, and then he realized that Demiveemon wasn't sitting on his bed anymore, and his door was open a crack. He dropped his pen and raced into the living room, where he saw the couch's cushions were all on the floor. Demiveemon bounced around on the springy bottom, his little hands hugging something as he bounced into the corner. His mother was in the kitchen area, washing the dishes from dinner. "What the?!" Davis snapped.

Demiveemon looked up at Davis with a smile. "Hi, Davis!" he chirped. "I'm—"

Davis's spine almost snapped as he saw his mom start to turn around, and he grabbed Demiveemon just as she looked his way. "Davis, what…" she began, then she saw the couch. "Why did you pull the couch apart?" she demanded.

"Err, uhh…" Davis groaned, racking his brain for some excuse he hadn't used on his mother yet. "I… lost my pen?"

She looked at the couch again. "_One_ pen?!" she asked.

"I… like that pen," Davis replied, then flashed her a big cheesy smile.

She sighed and shook her head. "Just put it back together," she muttered, and stepped back to the sink.

Davis rushed back into his room and closed the door, then angrily dropped Demiveemon onto his bed. "What the hell?!" he asked. "Mom would flip out if she knew you were alive!"

Demiveemon didn't seem to realize how much trouble he was in; he smiled and dropped four 100-yen coins on the bed. "Look what I found, Davis!" he said, jumping up and down. "Can I have 'em?"

Davis stared at the money, then at Demiveemon. What did a Digimon need money for? It wasn't very much, but he might be able to get a better present for Kari with that… but Demiveemon's big eyes were on his, and he just didn't have the heart to take the coins. "Oh, all right," he grumbled. "But you've gotta stay in here unless I say so, OK? No more tearin' up the house."

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" Demiveemon said, happily hopping around the pile of coins like he'd found leprechaun gold.

"Now stay put; I've gotta put that couch back together," Davis said, heading for the door again.

"Oh, wait a sec, Davis!" Demiveemon piped up. "Can you tell me where Jun keeps her raincoat?"

Davis paused and looked at his partner strangely. "Same place as everyone else; the closet by the door," he said, then looked harder at Demiveemon. "First ya want money, and now you ask about Jun's raincoat? Why're you actin' like this?"

Demiveemon looked around quickly, then giggled. "Oh… nothing! It's a secret!" he said, then gathered up his coins and ducked under the bed.

Davis scratched at his hair, then walked out to straighten up the couch. Something weird was going on…

* * *

"Hey, let go!" Gatomon huffed, trying to get Kari to drop her. "It's embarrassing!"

Kari held fast to the scruff of Gatomon's neck and went back into her room. "What were you doing, digging around in the couch?!" she huffed. "How would I explain all the claw marks you might leave?"

"…Miko did it?" Gatomon ventured as she landed on the rug.

"Maybe that would work… if Miko grew three times his size," Kari said, grabbing one of Gatomon's big paws. She was surprised to see several coins clenched tightly between the claws. "…What're you finding money for?" she asked.

"Oh… nothing," Gatomon said, pulling off her other mitten and dropping the coins in as she thought of a way to change the subject. "Have you thought about what Tai might want for Christmas?"

Kari paused, then thought for a few moments. "…I don't know," she admitted. "He never really drops hints, so I usually just get him something related to soccer." She shook her head. "Boy, I hope Sora can make those cookies, or he won't have a very good holiday…"

Gatomon decided to bring up what Patamon had talked about. "I think it would be great if Agumon could be here. Tai would love that!"

Kari smiled sadly. "Yeah…" she agreed. "It would be great if all our friends could have their partners around like we do. But we're the only ones with D3s... and…" she trailed off, having caught a stray thought.

Gatomon's tail swished around as she waited. "And?" she asked. "And what?"

Kari's eyes lit up. "That's it!" she exclaimed with a big smile. "I have an idea!"

She turned on her computer and opened the Digital Gate program. "What're you going to do?" Gatomon asked.

"I want to do a little experiment," Kari replied, pulling her D3 out of her pocket. "If it works… Well, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

Gatomon gave her a dry look. That phrase was already wearing on her nerves.

* * *

Wednesday's classes went just like they had the day before, and the day before that. Matt walked brusquely down the high school hallway, brooding about his upcoming concert. He had practiced for hours each day, and he was sure he would pull it off… but he didn't think he would have anyone to pull it off for. It had been a bad idea to give Jun Motomiya the task of selling tickets; he hadn't seen her since he'd given them to her, and he hadn't heard anything either (not that he was about to give her his phone number). He angrily sighed and scowled at the tiles on the floor. Those damn Teenage Werewolves would be playing to a cheering crowd on Christmas Eve, and all his band would hear would be the resounding silence that tells a musician when it's time to give up.

"Hey, thanks! Enjoy the show, sempai!"

Matt's ears perked up; that annoying voice was familiar. He turned the corner to see Jun's brother standing at the stairwell, a shoebox at his feet and his Digimon perched on his shoulder and wearing stupid-looking sunglasses. He waved to an older boy, then counted the tickets in his hands. He then noticed Matt and grinned in a saucy way. "What's up, Matt?" he asked.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked as he walked up.

"Sellin' tickets to yer… show," Davis said, trying to keep his mouth in check. "I'm… _helping_ my sister."

"Me too!" Demiveemon chirped quickly, then went back to playing statue.

Matt sighed with disgust. "Great," he muttered. "Then I guess I can—" His eyes lowered to the shoebox and his voice stopped; he could see a ton of bills in there. He looked back at Davis questioningly. "You've sold some?" he asked.

"No," Davis said, grinning and showing him five tickets in his hand, "I've sold _a lot_. These're the last ten. It's all thanks to this little dude." He patted Demiveemon on the head with his free hand.

"This is fun!" Demiveemon added. "You're gonna have a straight flush, Matt!"

"Full house," Davis snapped quickly. "He means full house."

Matt stared at Davis, then at the shoebox, then at Demiveemon, then at Davis, at a loss for words; his furled brow actually came apart into a neutral look. "I… Well," he mumbled. "That's… that's great."

"I know!" Davis said. "On Friday, you'll be tellin' the Teenage Werewolves where to shove it!"

A couple of high school girls came up behind Matt, cooing as they looked at Demiveemon. "Ohh, he's so cute!" one squealed.

"What're you selling?" the other asked.

"Jazz concert on Christmas Eve," Davis replied, showing them the tickets. "Only 2000 yen apiece!"

Still giggling at Demiveemon, the girls handed Davis the money and he gave them tickets. "Thanks!" he called as they left. "Enjoy the show!" He turned and grinned at Matt. "See? You're all set," he said.

Matt stood there frozen for a moment, then shook himself out of it. "…Good," he said. "Keep it up."

He kept walking down the hallway, hearing Davis making another sale as he went. He felt a lot better about the concert now. Maybe Davis wasn't such a screw-up as he thought.

Suddenly he had another troublesome thought: would the tent they rented hold a hundred people?

* * *

Two knocks on the door finally broke Yolei away from her picture-tweaking venture. "Mimi's here!" she declared to Poromon. "I'll be back later."

"Hey, wait!" Poromon objected, fluttering off his bed and onto hers. "You ought to take me with you!"

Yolei rolled her eyes; like she'd be seen at the mall with a stuffed toy lookalike, at her age. "There aren't any spires. I'll be fine," she replied.

"But what if I get hungry?" he pressed.

"You just had dinner," she rebuked, walking to the door. "Now quiet down."

Poromon bitterly quieted as she opened the door. Her father stood there, looking more imposing than usual. "Your friend is here," he said.

"Thanks!" Yolei said, and started to walk past him… but he held his arm in front of her, forcing her to stop. "…What?" she asked impatiently.

"You've skipped work the last three times I've asked you to come in," he pointed out bluntly.

"OK, _OK_!" Yolei huffed. "I'll work this weekend, I promise! Now _excuse me_!"

As her father started to say that's what she promised _last_ weekend, she pushed his arm down and rushed past him to the door. "Hi, Mimi!" she said excitedly.

Mimi was wearing a thicker green jacket with a matching woolen cap, and a berry red winter skirt. "Well you're in a good mood," Mimi said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you get asked out?"

"Well, no," Yolei admitted, pulling her shoes on, "but the guy I like? He's having a Christmas party, and he invited me!"

"Ooh, that's awesome!" Mimi squealed, grabbing Yolei's hands excitedly. "See what I said about dressing up?"

"Yeah!" Yolei agreed. "So, can you help me come up with a good outfit?"

Mimi thought for a second, then her eyes lit up. "Oh! Yes!" she exclaimed. "You need something to fit the holiday! Maybe some cute red stockings, or a green skirt! Emerald, not forest…"

Yolei beamed. Hearing Mimi think out loud about what she would look good in made her feel energized and empowered, like she could get anything she wanted. "OK, let's go!" she said, pulling on her jacket.

"It's gonna be packed since it's so close to Christmas, so we'll have to make people get out of your way," Mimi said, taking her arm as they rushed for the elevator. "Oh, this is gonna be totally great for you!"

Yolei smiled as she daydreamed about what she could wear to hook Ken Ichijouji. So this was that teenage life she had always heard about!

* * *

The Ichijouji family dinner was more quiet than usual, which made Ken incredibly nervous. If his mom or dad had something to talk about, it would have calmed him down… but as it stood, he had to deliver his request in thick silence. The sweat beads forming on the back of his neck made it even more uncomfortable. If only somebody would say something first!

He almost jumped at the sound of his father's teacup hitting the side of his plate, and they both looked at him. "Ken? Are you OK?" his mom asked.

"Uh… Yes," Ken said, then swallowed; looks like he'd gotten his wish. "Hey, Mom?... Dad?... May I have a few friends over for… dinner on Friday night?" he asked nervously, lowering his gaze a little.

When he looked up, his parents weren't frowning like he thought; they were smiling widely. "Oh, Ken!" his mother whimpered, dabbing at her watering eyes. "Of course you can!"

"Throwing a party for all your friends? That's my boy!" his dad laughed. "So, what's it going to be? Games and music? Or something you're inviting girls to? Eh?"

Ken hesitated, then smiled sadly. Their reactions surprised him, and they also made him feel a little ashamed about how little they really knew about him; they reacted like he had just been elected prime minister. Still, he was happy they were OK with it.

For the rest of the meal, he talked with his parents about what might be good to eat at a Christmas dinner, and what they could come up with for decorations or festivities. A warm feeling throbbed in him all through it. This was the right way to go about things.

* * *

"See you later, Mom!" Sora called back inside before she closed the apartment door, then turned to Izzy. "So, should we try the mall?" she asked. "It'll be crowded, but it's got all sorts of things."

"That was going to be my suggestion," Izzy said. "I'm not keen on little shops that only carry one type of thing, especially when I have no idea what I'm looking for."

"Yeah…" Sora agreed as they headed down the stairs. "Say, um, have you figured anything out yet? About the gods' places, I mean."

Izzy sighed crossly. "No," he said in an uncharacteristic grumble. "I've tried everything I know how to do, and even a few things I invented right then and there. I also e-mailed my friend, but he couldn't come up with a solution, either!" He paused and shook his head. "Sorry," he apologized. "Nothing infuriates me more than being told I'll know how to do something, and then I don't."

Sora sighed too. "I guess we're both kind of stuck, then," she replied.

"You?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you working on?"

Sora quickly explained her baking dilemma in all its doughy detail. "…So I'm really nervous," she concluded. "I mean, you know Tai—he eats everything—but I want to make something he really likes… and I can't find a middle ground between puffy tastelessness and burnt-to-a-crispness."

Izzy couldn't help but chuckle and she frowned at him. "Sorry; I just like how you phrased it," he apologized. "Well, perhaps a walk will help you think about your next plan."

"I hope so…" she replied.

"And I do appreciate your offer to help; our new additions have me even more perplexed than previous years," he went on, digging a slip of paper out of his pocket. "It's hard enough to find something TK likes, since he never talks about his interests… but Cody is a total enigma to me. What does one give a boy who can't operate a computer?"

Now it was Sora's turn to smile; suddenly her problem didn't feel so big. "We'll come up with something," she assured him.

* * *

Cody zipped his midnight-blue jacket up all the way and pulled his gym bag close. The sun setting earlier meant his walks back from Kendo practice were a lot colder, and he still hadn't adjusted to it. He also hadn't had a very good practice; his grandfather had admonished his technique several times because he had been preoccupied thinking about Ken's party. He grunted and shook his head; he would never willingly go to that!

As he passed by the school, he looked across the street, where a bridge stretched over a small inlet. Tai was standing there, just staring out over the water. Curious, Cody crossed the street and walked up to him. "Taichi-senpai," he greeted him with a short bow.

Tai looked at him and smiled. "Heh… You don't have to call me that, Cody," he said. "Or would you prefer 'Iori?'"

"…'Cody' is fine," Cody replied, feeling a little awkward. After all this time, he really didn't know Tai very well; he was just Kari's brother and another Digidestined. What could they have in common? "…What were you looking at?" he tried. "I've never seen you here before."

"What was… Oh," Tai rambled, then laughed quietly. "Nothing, really…" He paused and looked out over the miniature bay again. "Have you ever had girl trouble, Cody?" he asked.

Cody frowned; that was all that Tai was thinking about? "…I'm in fifth grade," he replied bluntly. "I thought you'd be strategizing or something…"

Tai's smile faded, too; Cody sounded crabbier than usual. "Is something bugging you, too?" he asked.

Cody blinked a few times, amazed that Tai could see; nobody his age could have deduced that. He decided to confide in the soccer coach. "The Emp… that is, Ken has invited us to a Christmas party at his home," he explained bitterly. "The others are really excited about it, but I don't trust him for one second. Now that Blackwargreymon's gone, he might start up his own plans again and—"

"Woah, let's not get too far ahead," Tai cut him off. "This is a real world party, right? So let's keep it in the real world for now, OK?"

Cody blinked again. How could one separate this problem into real and digital ones? It angered and intrigued him at the same time. "…All right," he ventured.

"So, about Ken…" Tai went on, leaning on the bridge's railing. "Has he done anything lately to make himself untrustworthy?"

Cody thought for a little while, then crossly shook his head. "No," he replied, "and that just makes me more suspicious."

Tai scratched at his chin, regarding Cody with thoughtfulness. Finally, he stood up straight and looked Cody in the eye. "Now, be honest with me, Cody," he instructed. "Do you _know_ that Ken hasn't changed, or do you just _want_ to think he hasn't changed?"

Cody's eyes narrowed and his spine trembled at such a condescending remark. "Why would I _want_ to think it when I _know_ it?!" he barked at Tai, losing his composure. "Why doesn't anybody believe me?!"

Tai stepped back, the outburst catching him off guard. "Wait a second, Cody, I didn't—" he tried.

"I keep warning you people, and you all think there's something wrong with _me_!" Cody snapped, throwing his gym bag on the ground. "Even you older kids! Why can't anyone _see_?!"

"Cody, calm down," Tai tried. "I wasn't trying to—"

"You said I just want to think he's still evil!" Cody snapped. "Well, I say _you_ want to think he's changed! But he _hasn't_! I know he hasn't! You'll see!"

Tai stayed quiet and watched the boy. Cody stood there panting furiously, his vision blurred from releasing all that anger. Finally, he took a deep breath and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have exploded like that."

Tai looked at him, more than a little bothered by Cody's extreme closed-mindedness and impatience with other opinions. He felt like he was seeing himself a long time ago, when he had tried to force his newfound Crest to glow and make Agumon Digivolve. He just hoped the blow of learning would be softer for Cody than it had been for him.

Cody turned away from Tai and looked down at the water, trying to calm himself down. The chilly December sunset gave the water a grayish orange tint that reminded him of old construction vehicles, like a crane he had seen as a child. In fact, the water even seemed to gleam in the shape of a crane.

He paused and looked again. There wasn't just a shape of a crane in the water; it looked like there actually was a crane beneath it, with a long shaft and a pointed top… His heart froze and his hands locked onto the railing. "Tai!" he shouted. "Down there!"

"Huh?" Tai asked, having gone into his own thoughts again. "What did you—"

"In the water!" Cody said, pointing. "There's a control spire _in the water_!"

"What?!" Tai asked, turning and looking down… but the wind had picked up and the water was full of ripples, impossible to see through. He looked at Cody.

Cody bit his lip. After all that ranting, Tai must have thought as little of him as the others did. "It was there…" was all he could say.

Tai sighed and straightened up. "You really need to relax, Cody," he said, pulling at his goggles. "Take a few days to chill out. It's Christmas, after all; take a load off."

"But…" Cody objected.

Tai hadn't heard him. "Well, it's getting late," he said, checking his watch. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

Cody could do nothing but follow Tai off the bridge. He looked back at the water and gnashed his teeth. He was sure he had seen that… What did it mean?

* * *

"Oh, yes! Yes, that's perfect!" Mimi bubbled as she saw the shimmering emerald green skirt Yolei pulled out of her shopping bag. "That'll look so cute with that white sweater!"

"I got this, too," Yolei said, dropping the skirt back in and taking out a shiny red hair clip shaped like a sprig of holly. "All three Christmas colors!"

"Well, it's not as exciting as yours, but I found something nice, too!" Mimi said, taking off her green cap and donning a bubblegum pink beret. "This'll go great with my shoes!"

Yolei laughed and smiled, but now she knew there was hardly any money left in her bank account; she would have to put in a lot of hours at the store before her dad would fork over more money. She knew landing a boyfriend would cost money, but she hadn't realized how much…

"Whew… I'm parched from all that pushing," Mimi sighed, putting her elbows on the table. After their hectic shopping adventure, the girls had retreated to their usual spot in the food court, which didn't have many people in the evening. "Wanna get a drink before we go home?"

"Oh… I'm fine," Yolei replied, thinking of her pocketbook. "I'll probably just go to bed when I get home anyway."

"Yeah, you're right; it'll all go right to your figure then," Mimi recalled, then decided to get some more details. "So… what are you gonna do at the party?" she asked, smiling wryly.

"Oh. Well, uh, I've got a picture of me and him together," Yolei said, her cheeks starting to flush. "I'm going to frame it and give it to him. Hopefully…"

"Aww, that's sweet," Mimi said. "I bet he'll love that!" She paused, then giggled. "You think there's mistletoe at this party?"

Yolei put her elbows on the table and sighed, daydreaming about the possibility of Ken kissing her… and as it often did, her imagination was unsatisfied with kissing and oozed into other, more intense realms. "Oh, yeah…" she murmured as she made no attempt to restrain her mind.

Her legs writhed under the table and jerked up with a bang, making Mimi sit up. "Hey, take it easy, Miyako!" she warned her friend, looking around crossly. "We're in public!"

Yolei blinked a few times, then fell out of her fantasy. "Oh. Uh… right," she muttered.

"Remember, this isn't a doujin; it's real life, and you're thirteen," Mimi went on. "Just focus on kissing. That's enough for now."

"Oh…" Yolei sighed, her wild thoughts fizzling away for the time being. "So, uh… how do you do it?" she inquired.

Mimi blinked. "What?" she asked.

"You know… kissing," Yolei pressed. "How do you make sure it happens? And how does it work?"

Mimi looked around, her wry smile going crooked. "Um… do you mean a random 'you,' or are you asking…?" she ventured.

Yolei waited hopefully in a thick silence. "Oh! Uh… W-well, I… I can't tell you!" Mimi stammered, suddenly becoming very interested in playing with one of her rings. "Um, I mean, it's… different for everyone! Too different for one way to work somewhere else! Yeah! That's something you hafta figure out yourself!"

"O…kay…" Yolei replied, scratching her head; why didn't Mimi want to share any secrets on kissing? "Well, what do you think: should I be forward and kiss him, or should I wait for him to kiss me?"

Mimi's smile curled itself again, and she pressed a finger to her mouth as she thought. "Now that I can help you with…" she began.

* * *

Izzy groaned, shuffled to the wall and set down his heavy shopping bags again; this was a lot more exercise than he was used to and he had to rest every so often. "How're you holding up?" Sora asked him, undaunted by the bags in her hands.

"Oh… I'm OK," he said, his voice a little breathy. "This will be worth it, assuming everybody likes what I found for them… urgh… with your help."

Sora smiled for a moment, then looked solemn again. "Glad your problem's solved," she admitted, shaking her head, "but mine doesn't feel any easier."

"I'm sure you can bake something if you keep trying," Izzy said. "Even I can make a basic loaf of bread if I have the instructions."

"But this isn't bread; it's cookies," she pressed, panic jumping into her voice, "and they're for Tai! On Christmas Eve! I mean, think of the message I'd be sending if I gave him burned-up chunks!..." she paused and looked glum. "…Or the message I _won't_ be sending."

Izzy regarded her for a moment, then smiled. "Sora, I believe you're over-thinking this a bit," he said. "You've known Tai for years, and he's your best friend. Whatever you end up baking for him won't have negative effects. If anything, your relationship can only improve."

Sora's cheeks burned and she stared at the white tiled mall floor. She was a little scared of _that_ result, too…

Izzy turned and pulled the bags up with a grunt. "This is taking a lot out of me," he admitted. "Do you mind if we stop for a drink before we go?"

Sora snapped out of her imagination and looked up. "Huh? Oh… Oh, sure," she said. "Tea sounds good."

With a few more starts and stops, Sora and Izzy lugged their haul up the escalators to the food court. "I don't have much money left, maybe just some green…" Sora began, but she quickly trailed off. Sitting at a nearby table was Mimi and some other preppy-looking girl with lavender hair. From the few words she caught, they were talking about something to do with kissing. "Hey, there's Mimi," she motioned to Izzy. "Looks like she's with one of her cheerleader friends."

Izzy put his bags down again and looked, then eyed Sora with confusion. "No, that's Yolei," he corrected her.

Sora snorted with laughter. "Oh, come on," she chuckled. "You've got to do better than that!"

"I'm serious," he repeated, a bit annoyed. "It's Yolei."

Sora looked at Izzy, then at the girl again, then back at Izzy. How on earth could that plastic-molded girl be the game-loving goofball she'd met? Then again, how many people around town had lavender hair? "No, it's not!" she insisted.

"Yes, she's changed a lot lately," Izzy replied, looking at the table again. "…A lot."

Sora looked at the girl again, her face not sure how to set itself. She had thought Yolei was a neat person when she first met her—acting the way she wanted and not caring what anyone thought—and now to see her dolled up like Mimi and her floozy new friends… and why was she hanging around with Mimi now, anyway? Is this why she had ditched her on the science project, and then hadn't talked with her since? Had Yolei decided Mimi was cooler or more fun? But what had brought it on? Her stomach gurgled loudly, giving noise to her worry.

Izzy looked around and shuffled a few steps from the escalator. "Why don't we say hello?" he suggested. "Perhaps Mimi will be in a better mood with the upcoming holiday."

Sora hesitated, then set her jaw. "All right…" she agreed, and started towards the table. Maybe Mimi would be more sociable, but also maybe she could get some answers out of her young friend.

* * *

"Look, boys are too dumb to know when's the right time these days," Mimi went on, double-checking her nails as she talked. "I think it would be better if you took the… um… what's that word for going first?"

"…Initiative?" Yolei ventured.

"Yeah, that," Mimi replied. "If the mood's right, go ahead and kiss him."

"Just go and do it?..." Yolei asked, nervously contemplating putting her real-life mouth on Ken's for the first time. "Isn't that kind of a letdown?"

"Well, yes, it would be more romantic if he kissed you," Mimi agreed, "but he's sure not gonna fight back if you start it."

"I guess…" Yolei muttered. "I was kinda hoping he'd kiss me, though…"

Mimi stopped checking her nails and looked hard at Yolei. "Listen. If you just stand there waiting for a kiss, you might never get one," she warned, "and then all you'll ever be is just one of his friends… or worse, he'll just think of you as a _sister_."

Yolei cringed at the idea of losing any sexual power in Ken's eyes, and being downgraded to the same way she regarded her own brother Mantarou. "Oh, no!" she yelped.

"That's right," Mimi said, "and that would make you just like—"

Something arrested Mimi's attention and she stopped talking, but Yolei knew what she was going to say. "You're right," she agreed. "I don't want to end up like Sora!"

Two heavy bags thudded to the ground. "What the hell do you mean by _that_?!" a furious voice sounded behind her. She whirled around and felt the blood flee her face. Sora stood right behind her, looking incredibly shocked and angry. Izzy stood behind her, looking between Sora and her with a sudden rush of panic.

Mimi scowled at the intruders. "What do you want?" she growled.

"I was just going to say hello, but now I want answers!" Sora snapped, punching her fists into her sides and taking on the look of an irate mother as she glared into Yolei. "Now what were you talking about, not wanting to 'end up like' me?!"

"Sora," Izzy ventured, trying to tug at her arm; he knew what she was like when she got angry. "Maybe we should just go…"

Yolei nervously glanced around. Sora's loud voice was drawing onlookers in the food court. She looked at Mimi, who didn't seem at all upset that they were being yelled at, and her own anger churned. Why did Sora think she could yell at her, anyway? And why should she be afraid to say something true? Sora had no right to butt in like this!

Yolei stood up and matched Sora's glare, which made Sora jerk back a bit; with her new heels, Yolei matched her eye level. "I was talking about how I'm going to get a boyfriend," she replied sharply, "something _you_ can't help me with."

Sora couldn't believe how nasty Yolei sounded, but she wouldn't be driven off that easily. "I gave you advice, but it sure doesn't look like you remember it," she argued. "Tell me how dressing and acting like Mimi counts as being yourself!"

"Oh, so she's supposed to dress like _you_?" Mimi interjected, getting up and putting her hand on her hip. "You're wearing that stupid helmet from when you were a kid!"

"…It's cold out," Sora grumbled, pushing the helmet back on her head; the low blow struck a nerve. "Yolei, this is _not_ the way to get someone to like you," she went on. "How will he know what you're really like if you hide behind… this?" She waved her arm at Yolei's outfit.

Yolei frowned and looked away. "You just don't get it," she said curtly, "but after all, how could someone like _you_ know about romance?"

Sora's eyes narrowed into red slits. "What did you say?!" she hissed, rising to her full height.

"Sora, calm down…" Izzy tried, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she brusquely pushed him back.

A small crowd of teens formed around the table, murmuring quietly as they waited for something. Yolei folded her arms and smirked; now was the time to hit Sora where it hurt with a salvo of verbal stabs. "Well, your mom and dad sure aren't Romeo and Juliet…" she started, and seeing Sora flinch strengthened her will to continue. "And you've never been able to tell Tai how you feel about him…" she went on, and Sora's hanging mouth egged her on. "And when it comes down to it, you're just _not feminine_!" she finished, almost spitting the last two words.

Sora huffed through her clenched teeth, and her whole body shuddered and trembled, her spine pulsing with volcanic heat. Her eyes drilled into Yolei with the venom of a hundred needles. Yolei didn't care. She glowered at her one-time mentor's twitching face, savoring the look. So many kids had made her show them a similar look, and now she knew what a rush it gave.

Izzy shook his head in horror. "Yolei..." he whispered.

"The only way I'll get Ken to love me is how Mimi showed me," Yolei finished, then frowned at Sora again. "How the hell could I learn anything from _you_?!"

Sora's body heaved and shook, and then there was a roar. Yolei felt something hard plow into her left cheek, and her hearing and vision went blurry. She crashed onto her side on the cold floor, her head bumping into the metal railing that bordered the escalator. Her cheek burned and she tasted metal. She spluttered and saw a thin stream of blood connect her tongue to the floor. She rolled onto her back and looked up to see Sora towering over her, her steady fist still hanging in the air. Her cockiness vanished as quickly as it had come, and she grew terrified. "…You… HIT me!" she gurgled.

Sora's furious eyes burned into Yolei's for a few moments, and then they watered over and the soccer coach looked away, her fist falling to her side. "…Do whatever you want," she snapped, then turned and quickly strode away.

The murmuring crowd suddenly made Yolei incredibly nervous and self-aware. She looked to Izzy for some sort of consolation. He glanced around at the crowd, then nervously gathered Sora's dropped bags and started after her without a word.

Yolei grabbed at the railing and pulled herself back onto her feet, her mouth still bleeding. Mimi was still standing at her spot at the table, silent with her eyes downcast. "Mimi…" Yolei whimpered, clutching at her mouth.

Mimi shook as hard as Sora had been, and when she looked up, Yolei was shocked to see she looked just as angry. "You want _him_?!" she whispered furiously. "I helped you, I made friends with you… and you want the _Digimon Emperor_?!"

Yolei winced, remembering how Mimi had broken down in the Twin Time Jungle. "But… but he's not—" she tried.

"How _could_ you?!" Mimi shouted, grabbing Yolei by the jacket and wildly shaking her. "He killed them! Put rings on them! He took Palmon! And then turned her into a monster! And everyone else's too! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"B-but Ken's not like that anymore!" Yolei stammered, Mimi's sudden change in behavior scaring her. "He's changed, and—"

"NO!" Mimi shrieked, and shoved Yolei so hard she banged into the railing and spat the blood she hadn't swallowed. Yolei looked up to see Mimi's eyes spill over, and the cheerleader queen raced away sobbing.

The rest of the crowd slowly pulled away, still muttering and some even chuckling at the spectacle. Yolei sagged against the cold railing and stared down at the blood on her jacket.

* * *

Ken hesitated, then crossed "tea" off of his list of things to get for the party. Most likely everyone drank tea on a regular basis, so something else would be better. He leaned on his desk and put his pen to his lips. If it was a Christmas party, maybe hot cocoa with marshmallows would do… He nodded and wrote that down instead; that would make things more special. His list was finished.

He put his pen down and leaned back in his chair, feeling proud, but also a bit nervous. It hadn't gone at all like he had planned, but at least his parents were all right with this, and Davis was coming. Maybe he would be able to pull him aside and tell him his decision… or would it be better to tell them all at once? Maybe they would respond well to it… except for Cody, of course. Still, he wouldn't let that shake him. He was going to repay Davis's kindness and trust as long as he could…

A chill raced down his spine and he shot out of his chair. He raced over to the window, shoved it open and peered out into the cold metropolitan night, in the other lit windows and down on the sidewalk… but there was nobody there. He looked each way again, and then a third time, then just stared anxiously at the street; he didn't know how, but he was sure somebody had been watching him.

* * *

Yolei applied more powder to the mark Sora had left on her face, but the lavender welt was still pretty apparent. She hoped she had enough lavender blush left to cover it for the party.

Poromon was flitting back and forth on her bed, flustered at the story she had told him. "I just can't believe she punched you!" he exclaimed. "How could _Sora_ do that, of all people?!"

"Well, she did," Yolei grunted, "and now I have to go to Ken's party looking like a boxer."

"But what could have made her…?" Poromon began, then frowned at his partner. "Did you hurt her feelings?" he asked. "What did you say?"

Yolei sighed and rolled her eyes. It was bad enough that her father scolded her when she came home late, but now Poromon was laying into her, too… but now that she was calming down, maybe he was right; maybe she had gone a little overboard with what she had said to Sora. Still, she wasn't going to admit it to him.

"And Mimi ran away from you, too?" Poromon recounted, shaking his body sadly. "Good grief, Yolei… How many friends do you have left now?"

"…Just be quiet," Yolei muttered, turning back to the mirror and observing the bruise again. Hopefully it would look better in the morning.

She walked over to her computer and brought up the photo of Ken and herself. She had spent hours editing it, and now Ken had a fairly believable smile. Her worries melted and she smiled back at it. If all of these fights with her so-called friends were the price she had to pay to net Ken Ichijouji, then they would all have been worth it.

She turned on her printer and pressed a few buttons, and it began to whir and chug, preparing to squirt the image onto photo paper. Her chest swelled with anticipation as the picture emerged in the tray. After Friday night, he would be as good as hers.


	43. A Very Digi Christmas

**CHAPTER 43**

**A VERY DIGI CHRISTMAS**

Davis had hoped to spend the morning of his holiday in bed, but the sound of his door creaking open and a crash from the closet said otherwise. Before he had his eyes open he scampered over and found Demiveemon pulling down raincoats and sniffing at them. "The fark're you doing?!" he whispered angrily. "You're gonna wake everyone up!"

Demiveemon sniffed at an army green jacket and his bright eyes lit up. "Ooh! This's Jun's!" he announced, showing Davis the coat. He started fumbling and found a pocket, which he pulled open and peered into.

Davis folded his arms and looked at the Digimon with tired eyes. "If yer tryin' to make Matt jealous, don't," he muttered. "You're safe."

Demiveemon strained to think for a moment. "Hey, Davis, can we go outside?" he asked. "I, uh, need to catch some air!"

"But it's freezin' out!" Davis objected.

"Pleeeeease?" Demiveemon asked, flashing waif eyes.

Davis groaned; he was going to be a lousy parent if he was this easy to win over. "Fine…" he muttered. He grabbed his jacket and opened the door. A gray winter morning in Tokyo greeted them on the apartment balcony, where almost all the leaves had come off the surrounding trees, and a chilly wind blew.

Davis shivered; he really wished he had put some pants on with the jacket. "Man, it's frickin' cold now…" he grumbled. "What're we gonna do today, little buddy? I think the ground's too hard for soccer. How about we get a… Demiveemon?"

A rustling sound made him look down, but Demiveemon wasn't there. His partner was scampering towards the stairs, Jun's jacket smooshed into a big ball twice his size, with one of the sleeves trailing on the ground. "HEY!" he yelled to the little Digimon. "Where're you going?!"

Demiveemon turned around and giggled. "It's a secret, Davis!" he said. "I'll come back later, OK?"

"Hey, wait!" Davis objected, but Demiveemon was already bouncing down the steps. He thought of giving chase, but a 13-year-old running around without pants had to be illegal somehow. He whistled crossly and shuffled back toward the apartment. Oh, well, he thought; Demiveemon couldn't get into too much trouble with just a raincoat, could he?...

* * *

"…So I think we can do this the same way," Kari finished, glancing back at Tai's door and hoping he wouldn't come out and hear the conversation. "What do you think?"

TK was silent on the other end of the line for a moment, then chuckled. "I can't see how it wouldn't work," he agreed. "I'm no Izzy, but it sounds doable."

"I sure hope so…" Kari said. "Listen, we've got today off, so why don't we try it now? Then if it works, we'll get everyone together tonight and spring it on them!"

"OK," TK agreed. "I'll go talk to Cody and Yolei, and you can call Davis and get the others ready. How about we meet in the Digital World around 11?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kari said. "See you later!" She closed her cell phone and walked back into her room. "Gatomon, can you…" she began, but her partner wasn't on the bed where she'd left her. She looked under it and in the closet, but there was no sign of Gatomon. She went back into the living and checked the couch, but she only found Miko, who revealed his belly to her and waited expectantly. She scratched her head and looked out the window. Where could Gatomon have gone?

* * *

Gatomon and Demiveemon had gone exactly where they had promised to be: they were in the bushes at the school with Patamon, Poromon and Upamon. "Hey, about time!" Upamon huffed at Demiveemon, sounding like he had something in his mouth. "What took ya?"

"Sorry; Davis's family likes to sleep in on holidays," Demiveemon apologized, then dropped the jacket on the ground. "Look! I've got moneys!" He opened the pocket and pulled out his coins.

"You found that much? Neat!" Patamon said, dropping three coins. Gatomon pulled off her glove and shook her coins onto the pile.

Upamon looked bummed, then spat one small coin out. "Sorry…" he apologized. "Cody's mom puts all the money in jars and things. I had to move fast to even get that one!"

Poromon had a pouch in his beak, and when he dropped it on the ground at least twenty coins spilled out. "WOW!" Demiveemon gasped, clapping his head with his hands. "How did you get so many?!"

"There was plenty in the couch," Poromon said. "Yolei's siblings aren't very careful with their money…" He paused and shook his head. "She's starting to get like that, too…"

Gatomon sorted the coins into a few piles and stared at them thoughtfully. "So, how much do we have?" Patamon asked.

Gatomon sighed. "Not much," she admitted. "I think we can buy maybe… really, really small presents."

The other Digimon groaned quietly; it had looked like a lot of money to them.

"OK, well, at least we can buy something," Patamon reasoned, "but how do we get into the store?"

"I've got us covered, Patamon!" Demiveemon said, rolling out the raincoat. "See? We can all go in this!"

The other Digimon looked at him like he had suggested they hop an airplane to Seattle to go ice fishing. "Are you nuts?!" Upamon asked. "We'd have to stand on each other, like circus perfumers!"

"Performers," Poromon corrected him, "and how would we keep our balance? If we fell out and people saw us…"

Gatomon scratched at her ear, then shrugged. "Well, I don't have any better ideas," she admitted. "How about you?"

Patamon smiled. "We're playing Frankenstein for Christmas," he chuckled.

With a lot of squabbling and struggling, the five Digimon piled into the raincoat and formed a crude body: Gatomon was on the bottom, since she had the most manageable legs; Upamon and Poromon made a midsection, with Poromon fluttering against the back of the coat to keep things upright; Demiveemon stood on them with two sticks in the coat's arms so he could actually use them; and Patamon, with a more human-like face than the rest, sat on Demiveemon's head and pulled the hood down over his face. "OK!" he declared as he looked around, "let's go get some presents!"

"Forward, march!" Demiveemon cheered, thumping Upamon on the head with his foot.

Gatomon took a few wobbly steps, and thanks to Poromon she was able to keep the Digimon totem pole upright. "I hate to think how this looks…" she admitted. "We're ambling around like a demented scarecrow."

"Hey, be nice; _I've_ got a brain!" Patamon objected. "Now where are we going on our budget?"

"Food!" Upamon suggested. "Get food!"

"For our partners, not us!" Gatomon huffed.

"Well, I'm the tummy, so I say food," Upamon replied. "I have to!"

"Let's go to Yolei's dad's store," Poromon said. "Yolei says it's full of cheap crap… so it can't be too expensive."

"No, let's go to the toy store!" Demiveemon argued. "That's where Davis gets his model planes!"

"We can't afford something like that," Patamon reasoned. "Gatomon, let's try the I-Mart first."

"Right," Gatomon said. "Which way do I turn?"

"Um…" Patamon thought for a few moments. "Go left!"

Gatomon shifted, then veered to the right. "No, left!" Patamon huffed. "LEFT!"

"I know!" she snapped. "You guys are heavy!"

"Um, do you mean her left, or your left?" Demiveemon asked.

"Don't get her _more_ confused!" Patamon yelped, flapping his own wings to stay upright.

The strange, coated figure wobbled its way down the sidewalk, tilting this way and that as Poromon struggled to keep the balance. As they turned a corner, they almost ran into a little girl and her mother, which almost made them tumble. "Whoops!" Patamon said to them. "'Scuse me!"

Gatomon slowly made her away around the pair and kept moving. Demiveemon raised one of his sticks to wave. Patamon turned around and saw the mother pull the girl away, saying it was rude to stare. "…You guys think it's too late to get something online?" he asked.

* * *

Yolei clenched her teeth as she gently slid the printed photograph into the frame, then put it on the desk and stood back. Yes, that was a great picture; a few steps away and she couldn't even tell it was edited! She squealed as she thought of Ken's reaction when she gave it to him… but then she looked at it again and regained her balance; it needed one more touch. "Hey Poromon, do you think this would look better wrapped in red paper or green?" she asked, turning toward the bed.

Poromon wasn't on her bed. She looked down and saw he wasn't in his bed, either. She thought hard for a moment, then remembered he asked to be let out onto the balcony again… but when she went over and opened the door, he wasn't out there either. She scratched her head; where had he gone?

Just then, the door rattled, and Chizuru came in without knocking, as usual. "Hey, Miyako," she said in her blunt manner, "your friends are outside."

Yolei closed the balcony door and walked to the front door, where TK and Cody were waiting in their winter duds. "Hi, Yolei!" TK said cheerfully.

"Oh… Hi, guys," she muttered, not caring for being interrupted… but maybe they could help her. "Have you seen Poromon? I can't find him."

TK and Cody both looked at her in surprise. "Funny you should say that," Cody said. "Upamon's disappeared, too. He's been acting odd lately…"

"Patamon's not here either," TK said, "but I figure he knows the neighborhood well enough, so he'll stay out of trouble."

"Huh…" Yolei muttered; that hadn't helped at all. "So… why're you guys here?"

"Oh, yeah," TK said, remembering. "You want to come to Kari's with us? We're all going to get presents for Tai and the older kids."

"Older…?" Yolei said, then frowned at them. Sora's roundhouse was still fresh in her memory, and it certainly hadn't left her sore cheek yet, either. Why should she get a present for her? And why should she give Izzy something, either? He just stood there and _let_ Sora get away with hitting her! And then Mimi screamed at her, too! Why did _any_ of them deserve presents from her?! "I'm busy," she replied crossly, and quickly closed the door on their surprised faces.

TK's "but—" was cut off with the click of the latch, and Yolei put them out of her mind. She went into the living room, where her sisters were wrapping Christmas presents of their own… but all she saw of wrapping paper was empty tubes. "Hey, isn't there any more?" she asked, picking one up.

"Oh, sorry, Miyako," Momoe apologized. "I used the last bit on Jun's present… I didn't think you'd need any."

Yolei scowled at her sister. "What does _that_ mean?!" she snapped.

"Calm down, sis," Chizuru said, and pointed to the little wicker basket near the TV. "There's still some of today's paper; you can use that."

Yolei walked over and picked up the last bit of the paper. Naturally, her older siblings had used all the good bits themselves and only the mundane "business" section remained. Yolei sighed sadly, but took it and some tape with her back to her room. At least the present would be wrapped… That was what mattered, right?

* * *

The kids may have had school off on the Emperor's Birthday, but the working world went on as it usually did, especially since the day after was Christmas Eve. Naturally, the press wasn't at rest either, and so Nancy Takaishi was down at the wharf-side shopping arcade, searching for a good human-interest story for her next article. There were a lot of things going on at the small line of cafes and boutiques—young couples goofily sharing drinks, old man watching the water, ladies trying on jewelry while their kids pestered them for sweets—but there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. All she had managed to do was run into Mr. Motomiya, who was chatting happily beside her about how helpful Takeru had been to Daisuke that year. "Yeah, he's not much for studying, that's for sure," Mr. Motomiya went on, "but as soon as your son turned up, he's been workin' harder at almost everything! Maybe Takeru inspires him to do better."

"Well, um, he does have that kind of effect on people…" Nancy agreed, though somehow she thought that wasn't exactly the case; the way TK talked about Daisuke's actions, she thought it sounded more like Daisuke was trying to start a rivalry and it just wasn't getting through.

Mr. Motomiya turned away and yawned. "Oh, sorry," he said, "I only just got up… But hey, looks like both our kids got into the cool club, eh? Daisuke said they got into a party at Ken Ichijouji's!"

"Yes, I know… That's really something," Nancy replied, nodding. She knew TK could make friends with almost anybody, but she had never thought he'd end up befriending the famous Ken Ichijouji. She wondered how it happened; her son didn't even go to the same school as the child prodigy, and yet here he was invited to a Christmas party.

"Well, don't mean to talk your ear off," Mr. Motomiya said, picking up his shopping bags. "Gotta get home; I'm makin' a special dinner for the little lady, and it's got some prep time."

"All right. Good luck, and Happy New Year!" Nancy called as he headed off. As she watched him turn a corner, she sighed with relief and kept going. Mr. Motomiya was nice enough, but he was such a motor mouth she was afraid she would have to come up with an excuse to—

She looked ahead and stopped with a gasp. Looming in front of her was a pale, gaunt man at least six feet tall, with long, drooping black hair. He wore a deep purple overcoat over a peculiarly red shirt and gray tie. As she looked up into his deep-set eyes and their tiny pupils, the air suddenly became much colder. "Excuse me, Ms. Takaishi," he spoke in a low, drawling tone.

Nancy blinked a few times. How did this guy know her name? "I… I'm sorry, do I know you?" she asked.

Half of his mouth drew up into a smirk. "Ah, yes… I apologize," he said. "We have never met face to face, but perhaps you remember my name: Yukio Oikawa."

Nancy hesitated, secretly hoping she didn't remember this odd fellow's name, but then it jumped into her mind; she had read it before. Ten years ago, after the attack on Highton View Terrace (and her subsequent divorce from Hiroaki Ishida), a slew of articles about the incident and the alleged 'monster' sightings had flooded the desks at the paper, and all of them had been written under the name Yukio Oikawa. Naturally, none of them were ever printed; the editor deemed them insensitive to those who lived through the alleged terrorist attack, as well as privately saying they were mad ravings about monsters written only to upset the readers. "Oh… Err, yes," she recalled. "You… sent a lot of articles to us ten years ago."

"Yes," he answered with a nod. He nodded slowly, just like he spoke.

Nancy shifted her feet nervously, wondering just what he was getting at. "Um… I'm sorry they were never published," she tried to explain nicely, hoping it would satisfy him. "It's just that, well… Your letters…"

"I understand," he said, the smile never leaving his lips. "To the layman, I'm sure my musings would have been deemed unconventional… perhaps even disturbing."

"Oh…" Nancy said, and squirmed a little as Oikawa continued to stare into her. Just what did he want?

"I've been collecting data on the Odaiba Fog incident, five years ago," Oikawa said after a pregnant pause. "Perhaps what I know would interest you."

Nancy shook her head brusquely, hoping to get out of the conversation. "No, thank you," she said firmly. "That's being handled by official sources." She also didn't want to think about the incident, or how the attacking monsters almost cost her both her sons, but this man didn't needed to know that.

"Ah…" he said, again nodding slowly. "Yes, of course…"

"Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Nancy said, starting to take a step around him.

"There is one other thing, Ms. Takaishi," he said, his eyes still trained on hers. "I would advise caution. A mother must be careful of who she lets her sons play with…"

A sick feeling drizzled over Nancy. She froze in her steps and glared up at him. "What do you know about my sons?!" she whispered harshly.

Oikawa was still smiling unpleasantly. "Far more than you would like, my dear," he said in even lower tones. "I might even say _everything_."

Nancy opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. She just stood there, rooted in shock.

"Well… I must be going," Oikawa said, turning away but keeping one eye on hers as he walked away. "Goodbye, Ms. Takaishi… and do enjoy the holidays…" he said as his voice faded with the wind. "They truly are the most wonderful time of the year."

Nancy whirled around, but there was no sign of him on the arcade at all; the other shoppers carried on cheerfully, having not even noticed the man. It was like he had just vanished. She hugged herself for warmth, daring to wonder just what he had could have meant.

* * *

Kari smiled as she opened her door and saw Davis, TK and Cody. "Hey! Come on in!" she said, opening it wider. "Bring your shoes into my room…" She paused and looked again, realizing that none of the boys had their Digimon partner. "Where is everyone?" she asked. "Gatomon's been missing today, too."

"I don't know," TK admitted. "Patamon wanted to go out on the balcony, and when I came back a minute later he was gone."

"I haven't seen Upamon all morning," Cody added.

"Weird thing happened," Davis recounted as he peeled off his shoes. "Demiveemon was sniffin' around in the closet, then he wanted to go out… then he ran off with my sister's raincoat. I asked him what he was doin', but he said it was a secret and kept running."

Kari thought for a moment, then smiled. "I guess it isn't anything to worry about," she theorized. "I bet they'll be home before dinner."

"Yeah… If Upamon missed any meals, I'd know something was wrong," Cody agreed. "So, why did you want us to come?"

Kari motioned for them to come with her to her room and shut the door behind them. "The best Christmas present we could give Tai and the other Digidestined is to bring their Digimon here like ours," she explained, "so that's what we're going to do today."

Davis's eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked. "Can we do that?"

"We're sure going to try," TK agreed.

"I got hold of Agumon, and he's getting them all to wait for us on File Island," Kari said, turning on her computer and opening the Digital Gate program. "They should be there by now."

"Sweet!" Davis cackled. "Well, let's go get 'em!"

"But is this a good time?" Cody asked. "None of us have our partners."

"Tai's out Christmas shopping now, so we can do it without him seeing," Kari pointed out. "We just have to be fast."

"Has he talked to Sora yet?" TK asked her.

Kari thought, then shook her head. "I don't think so," she admitted. "I hope he doesn't chicken out…"

"Maybe Agumon'll give him the kick he needs," Davis said, pulling out his D3. "Let's do it!"

The others produced their Digivices, too. The screen flashed, and just like that they were overlooking the lake where the trolley stood on the island, waiting for its next passengers. The six Digimon of their mentors were all crowded together nearby, quietly watching a campfire. As soon as Agumon turned and saw them, though, they all jumped up and rushed over. "Kari! TK!" he cheered as he raced around them. "This's gonna be great!"

"I sure hope so…" Palmon said worriedly. "Mimi hasn't visited me much…"

"Well, that's why _we're_ going _there_," Gomamon replied. "When you're not in the Digital World, she can't not visit you!"

"I… what?" Palmon asked, her head flower sagging.

Kari giggled at Gomamon's classic sense of humor. "She'll be happy to see you; I know it," she reassured Palmon. "They all will."

"It beats sitting around doing nothing," Gabumon pointed out. "We can't do much to the spires on our own…"

"Yeah, and the Resistance Digimon know who we are, too," Biyomon sighed. "It'll be good to get away for a while."

"But how is it going to work?" Tentomon asked. "I mean, maybe if Izzy had planned this, I'd believe it…"

"Gee, thanks, Tentomon," TK muttered. "Kari, could you explain what we're going to do?"

Kari nodded, then looked at her human friends. "Do you remember when we went into the Digital World to find the Gigas?" she asked. "We brought in backpacks."

"Oh, yeah!" Davis remembered. "And we brought 'em back out, too!"

"Then… do you think we can take the Digimon into our world just by touching them as we exit?" Cody asked.

"That's my idea," Kari said. "If we hold the Digimon and warp out, I think they'll come with us."

"Huh…" TK muttered, frowning at the TV and remembering one of Izzy's earlier thinking sessions. "If the Digital World was in danger, why did it put up a wall to keep us out?" he thought out loud.

Cody frowned as he thought about that, too. It could be another of Ken's nasty computer tricks… After all, the D3s had appeared and let them get past the gate…

"Well, let's hurry and try it," Agumon broke in, walking up and grabbing Davis's knee. "I can't wait to see Tai's house again!"

"It's been ages since we've been there," Gabumon said. "…I hope Matt's cleaned his room a little."

"OK!" Kari agreed, picking Biyomon up. "Looks like some of us will need to grab two."

"Yeah, we know why _that_ is," Davis grumbled. Once again, Yolei's absence made him want to kick something… namely her. He said no more and grabbed both Agumon and Gabumon.

Cody got Gomamon to climb onto his back, and TK held Palmon's hand while Tentomon sat on his head. "I think we're ready," he said, holding up his Digivice with his free hand.

Kari nodded and raised her D3 to the TV warp. In a flash, both Biyomon and she had disappeared. "Awesome!" Gomamon yelped. "It worked!"

"Let's hope so," Cody said, and raised his D3. The next moment, the two had vanished as well.

"I can't wait!" Tentomon chuckled as TK approached the warp. "Does Izzy's mom still cook well?"

The three of them were gone before Davis heard TK's answer. "All right, fellas," he said to his cargo, "let's get you outta here."

"But Davis, how are you going to hold your D3 up?" Agumon asked.

Davis thought for a moment and felt incredibly stupid. His D3 was in his hand, which was tucked under Gabumon. He couldn't raise it and keep a hold on him, could he?... He thought hard, then had a great idea. "Here," he said, nudging Gabumon's belly with the device, "stuff it in."

"Stuff it?" Gabumon asked, taking the device. "But where?"

Davis opened his mouth and waited expectantly.

Gabumon blinked. "And you guys say the Digimon are the weird ones…" he muttered.

Gabumon placed the D3 in Davis's mouth. Davis clamped down on it, then craned his neck at the TV. In the next moment, he was back in Kari's room with his Digimon loads. "Yes!" Kari cheered. "It worked!"

"Yay!" Biyomon laughed, flapping around the room. "I've missed how this air feels under my wings!"

"Concrete and wood ground! Stinky air! Needing money for everything! I love this place!" Gomamon cackled, clapping his paws.

Davis put Agumon and Gabumon down, then spat his D3 into his hand. "Sweet!" he laughed, rubbing the device on his jacket. "You've always got the good plans, Kari!"

Cody rolled his eyes, but seeing the Digimon so happy warmed his insides. "Now how should we take them to their owners?" he asked Kari.

Kari thought for a moment. "We could just drop them off after school," she repeated what was on her mind, "but since it's Christmas, let's make it more special… TK, you call Joe, Izzy and Matt. Davis, you call Sora and Mimi. Let's get them all to come to our school this afternoon… and don't say what it's about. I'll tell Tai when he gets home. Then we can hide them all at Davis's."

TK smiled and took out his phone, imagining his brother's face when he saw Gabumon. Davis looked at his phone and frowned. "Why've I gotta call Mimi?" he grumbled.

"We can't leave her out," Cody replied crossly. "We've already brought Palmon here."

"But she doesn't know, and you said don't tell 'er," Davis pressed. "She ain't gonna come just 'cuz I say so; she hates our asses."

"What?!" Palmon yelped, her leaves twitching. "No, Mimi couldn't hate you! Why would you say that?! Of course she'll come!"

Davis raised an eyebrow, showing he wasn't convinced… but Palmon's face made him want to try. He raised his phone and punched in a few numbers, then put it to his ear. "Hey, Mimi? It's Davis," he said. "Listen, don't hang up. I wanna—"

Davis's phone was loud enough that everyone could hear Mimi yelling on the other end; Davis flinched and kept trying. "Will you just—Listen, I—Who gave me your?—Who cares? I—OK, Yolei gave me the—"

The phone clicked loudly and Davis angrily stuffed it back in his pocket. "She ain't comin'," he muttered.

Palmon's flower sagged again. TK put a reassuring hand on her head. "Hey, relax, Palmon," he said. "We'll think of something else."

"A-are you sure?" Palmon whimpered.

"Sure I am," he said, smiling. "The rest of us may have had a falling out with her, but she's sure not going to turn _you_ away."

Palmon sighed sadly. "I sure hope not…" she whispered.

* * *

The young boy cried out as the soccer ball went right between his legs, and then all five kids raced after their toy… but then they all stopped and stared. Two strange figures made their way along the park's path: a silvery-haired woman with dark sunglasses, a red steepled hat and a red cloak; and a hobbling old man with a cane and a blue cloak and hat, both pulled in so his face could hardly be seen.

Arukenimon looked up at the tops of the skyscrapers that surrounded the park, a sneer curling her lips. "I had no idea there would be so many wretched humans… and this is just one city!" she snarled. "Well, at least there are lots of dank and dreary corners… and if there are this many humans, that's good news for us; we'll be able to blend in…" she paused and frowned at Mummymon. "…If you can manage that."

Mummymon took in a deep breath and coughed loudly. "The air's so stale here, I don't know how the trees are growing!" he complained.

"…_You're_ complaining about stale?" she mused. "You're the definition of it."

"It doesn't mean I can't appreciate the open air and the wind… This is going to be tough on my lungs," he sighed, then immediately perked up. "But at least we can try the local cuisine! Let's ask where a good ramen place is!"

"We're here to _work_," Arukenimon snapped, "not _eat_."

"But we have plenty of time before it happens," he pointed out. "Why not make the most of this little excursion?"

"You're always…" Arukenimon began, but then she felt something nudge her foot. She looked down to see the rolling soccer ball had stopped in front of her, and the five children were quickly approaching, trying to get a better look at them. "Ugh!" she hissed. "These brats… Get rid of them!"

Mummymon, however, smiled widely and his eyes lit up. "HELL-lo, children!~" he gushed, waving his free hand. "What are you playing, there? It sure looks like fun!"

"What?!" Arukenimon snapped. "What's the matter with you?! They're _children_, like the Digidestined!"

"But they're _not_ the Digidestined," Mummymon said as one boy crept closer to him, "and they look so free and adorable!" He turned and smiled at the boy. "Yes, you're a fine-looking lad!" he said. "What's your name?"

The kid smiled, then pulled his leg back and kicked Mummymon's staff away, sending the surprised Digimon crashing to the ground. "Ha ha! Dumb ol' man!" the kid laughed.

"You smell like old chicken farts!" a girl jeered.

"Geezer! Geezer! Stupid old geezer!~" the others joined in singing, then grabbed their ball and ran away laughing.

Mummymon groaned and tried to get up. Arukenimon quickly grabbed his staff and helped him up. "Free and adorable, my abdomen," she muttered. "Have you learned your lesson now?"

"I… I thought they respected their elders here!" Mummymon rasped.

"You need to be respectable first," Arukenimon growled. She let go of him and turned away, adjusting her shades as she glared at the fleeing children. "Now come on."

* * *

"Two cups of lousy sugar… Stick of rotten butter… Generous handful of goddamn chocolate chips…" Sora growled as she tossed things into her mixing bowl with very little care. Even as she worked to fix her cookie recipe, Yolei's remarks still drummed in her mind, making her see red and not the right ingredients. "Little twerp!" she heard herself snarling. "Scrawny, mouthy cheerleader patsy!" She grabbed a bottle off the counter and started to wrench it open. "Shoulda kicked her! Clear to frickin' Venus! How's THAT for 'feminine,' huh?!"

"Sora," Toshiko called as she leaned into the kitchen with a worried look, "is everything all right in here?"

"Oh, I'm FINE!" Sora huffed as the childproof cap gave way and snapped off. She poured a healthy amount into the bowl, then grabbed a spoon and started tearing at the goop. "Why wouldn't I be?!"

"Well…" Toshiko said, walking in and picking up the bottle. "Did you mean to put orange extract in?" she asked.

Sora's spine almost snapped in two, and she slammed the bowl onto the table. "WHAT?!" she yelled, grabbing the bottle and looking at it, and then at her mother with a mortified expression. "I… I… I thought it was _vanilla_!" she tried to defend herself.

"You have to pay attention when you're baking," Toshiko reminded her. "Otherwise…"

Sora stared at the mess in the bowl for a tense few moments. "…Oh, _hell with this_!" she yelled, grabbed the bowl and headed for the trash can.

"Wait! _Wait_, Sora!" Toshiko shouted, grabbing her daughter's shoulder. When her daughter froze and turned to her, she saw that her eyes were beginning to water. Toshiko smiled sympathetically. "Don't do something you can't undo," she said in a softer tone.

Sora shuddered as she looked at the brown goop in the bowl. Yolei was right. She really wasn't feminine, and now she wouldn't be able to… She shook her head and sniffled once. "…I can't do this," she muttered.

"Don't say that yet," Toshiko said, sounding uncharacteristically optimistic. "Just like a damaged plant, messed-up recipes can be salvaged… and cookie dough is very forgiving."

Sora didn't look convinced. Toshiko put her finger in the bowl and scooped a little, then put it in her mouth. She tasted it for a moment, then shrugged. "That's not bad," she said. "It's kind of like chocolate, but also kind of like an orange."

"Really?..." Sora asked, then put her own finger in and tasted it. The two flavors mingled fairly well, neither one overpowering the other; it actually was pretty good. She looked at the mixture again, then grabbed her spoon. "…One more time," she said, plunging it into the bowl.

With her mom standing back and watching, Sora stirred the mixture into dough, then spooned it into lumps on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven. "Now we let that go for a few minutes…" she said, dropping the spoon back into the bowl and turning to her mom. "Thanks, mom…" she said with emotion. "Things just haven't been going my way lately…"

Toshiko smiled at her daughter. "That's what I'm here for," she replied gently.

Just then, the phone rang. "I'll get it; your hands have dough on them," Toshiko said. While Sora washed up, she picked up the phone and walked into the other room... but she came back almost immediately. "It's for you," she said, offering her daughter the phone. "Someone named Daisuke?"

Sora blinked, puzzled. What could Davis want right now?

* * *

The I-Mart door dinged and Mr. Inoue looked up, but what he saw made the smile fall off his face. In stumbled the cloaked Digimon, barely missing colliding with the newspaper rack. "Gatomon, be careful!" Patamon whispered. "You're terrible at this!"

"How many times do I have to tell you I can't see?" Gatomon snapped. "What do you want?!"

"Well, when I say 'tree,' I mean there's a tree, so go around it," he retorted, "not 'try to climb it!'"

"I thought you said 'three!'" Gatomon huffed.

"Relax, guys! We're here now!" Demiveemon said, making the stick arms wag around. "Let's find some presents!"

"Yes, yes…" Gatomon sighed. "Patamon, what do you see?"

As Gatomon took some more steps into the store, Patamon scooted left and right as far as he could without falling from his perch. He saw a lot of colorful candy bars and soft drinks—all of which he was sure the kids would eat—but he didn't see anything that jumped out at him as a super awesome gift. He also noticed a middle-aged man frowning at him from behind the counter. "Um… this guy's looking at me weird," he whispered down to the others.

"Oh, no! I think that's Yolei's dad!" Poromon gulped. "Be really careful; he doesn't like weirdoes in the store, and that's definitely us!"

"We're not weirdoes!" Upamon huffed. "We're Digimon!"

"That isn't going to help; trust me," Gatomon muttered. "Be quiet and let Patamon do the talking."

Nervously, the ambling figure made its way closer to the counter. Patamon tried not to lock eyes with Yolei's father, but the way Gatomon steered him, he just couldn't help it. "Uh… hi," he stuttered, managing a smile.

"Can I help you?" Yolei's dad asked in an imposing tone.

Patamon was suddenly glad he had no teeth to chatter. He thought only an angry Matt could scare him this badly. "I'm, uh… I'm, uh… I-I'm looking for a… p-p-present," he managed, looking around at the trinkets on the counter. "Uh… H-how about this?" he asked, pulling on Demiveemon's right ear. The coat's right arm reached up and felt around, finally touching a little turtle keychain.

Yolei's father raised an eyebrow. "You want that?" he asked. "It's a hundred yen."

"Oh! We… I could get some of those," Patamon said, starting to relax a little. "But… I don't know… TK might like it, but do you think Yolei would... ULP?!" His eyes bulged as he realized what he had just said.

Mr. Inoue's eyes narrowed at the stranger. "What did you say?!" he demanded. "Are you one of those Internet creeps?! How the hell do you know my daughter?!"

"Uh-oh!" Poromon gulped. "Let's get outta here!"

Patamon bit his lip, the sweat visibly pouring off his face. "Cheese it!" he yelped, yanking on Demiveemon's ears hard.

Demiveemon yelped and both arms shot upwards, knocking over two displays. "You little-!" Mr. Inoue shouted. "I'm calling the police!"

"No! I mean RUN!" Patamon huffed.

"Cheesesteak!" Demiveemon shouted as he stomped on Upamon's head.

"Cheesesteak?!" Upamon gasped, sniffing this way and that. "Where?! Find it, Gatomon! Find it!"

Gatomon could hear Mr. Inoue yelling and his fingers pushing on buttons and she drew her own conclusion. She whirled back towards the door and scampered as fast as she could, but she crashed into something hard and almost fell down. "We're trapped!" she reported.

"We're on the door that says 'pull!'" Patamon replied. "The other door! The other one!"

"Stop!" Mr. Inoue's voice boomed, but Gatomon wasn't about to do that willingly. She raced to the other door and shoved as hard as she could, and the Digimon totem pole raced down the street, making several businessmen yell as it almost crashed into them. Finally, Gatomon's feet gave out and she staggered into an alley, sagging against a wall and gasping for air.

"Wow, Gatomon! That was awesome!" Demiveemon chirped, clapping his stick arms together. "You're the best Digimon-jugglin' sprinter in the whole world!"

"I think… I'm going… to barf… my lungs…" the cat rasped.

"Did we get any presents?" Upamon asked. "I don't think we did."

"Sorry, guys…" Patamon apologized, his ears sagging. "I blew that one."

"It was a good try," Demiveemon said, "but maybe we oughta find a place nobody knows our partners at!"

"Once I'm sure my heart's not gonna pop…" Gatomon warned them.

Poromon thought for a moment, then pecked Demiveemon in the back. "I know!" he said. "Yolei usually asks her brother to go to Boss Bookstore and buy her stuff. Maybe there are things there that everyone would like!"

"What?... I don't know…" Gatomon said, suddenly forgetting her fatigue. "I mean… Yolei's hobbies are kinda…"

"Why not, Gatomon?" Patamon asked. "You can always trust big brothers; TK taught me that!"

"I don't hear any other suggestions," Poromon added.

"As long as we get to a food place soon," Upamon interjected. "I'm starving!"

Gatomon sighed. "All right, all right," she muttered. "We'll go."

She pushed herself off the wall and the covered mass regained its balance. "I think she said it was on Sixth Street," Poromon instructed, "between a hair stylist's and a 'croaky bar…'"

"Ooh! I like frogs!" Demiveemon chirped. "Can we see that, too? Can we?"

Gatomon groaned and started to walk. Why had she suggested this plan again?...

* * *

Davis pulled his jacket's zipper as high up as it could go, but the chilly wind on the beach still bit into his neck. He moved a little more onto the plastic green tarp the kids were guarding so the wind wouldn't blow it away. He hoped Tai and the others would get there soon. "You called 'em, right, TJ?" he asked TK.

"Yes, Davis," TK sighed, pulling his hat over his ears. "They should be here any minute now."

"Maybe we should have done this inside," Kari admitted. "I think winter got colder this year…"

"It's not so bad in here," Gomamon's muffled voice came from under the tarp. "It's kinda nice, actually!"

"Are you crazy?!" Biyomon huffed. "It's stuffy! I can hardly move!"

"Try wearing fur," Gabumon groused.

"C'mon, you guys," Davis huffed, a little offended they didn't like the tarp he found. "Ya got air holes, don'tcha?"

"Holes that were already there don't count!" Tentomon rebuked.

"I…" Kari started, then she noticed a familiar few people coming down the steps towards them. "Oh! Keep quiet; here they come!" she shushed the tarp.

The Digimon scrambled and grew quiet, though the kids could hear some giggling as the older Digidestined approached. "Hey!" Davis laughed. "How're you guys doing?"

Mimi was predictably absent from the group, but the other five had come, and they all looked puzzled. "Hi, Davis," Izzy said. "What did you need to see us about?"

Tai glanced at Sora, then quickly looked away as she looked at him. Kari thought she saw him fumbling in his pocket.

"Did something happen?" Joe asked. "Where're your Digimon?"

"They're, uh, busy right now," Cody improvised. "But we called you for something else."

"It better be quick," Matt grumbled. "I need to get back to practicing."

Davis smirked at the young musician. "Trust me, this ain't a waste of yer time," he said, stepping off the tarp. "Ready, guys?"

Davis and Kari yanked the tarp away, and the Digimon burst out in a run toward their friends. "Surprise!" Agumon cheered as he leaped at Tai.

Tai laughed as he caught the dinosaur. "Hey! You're back!" he exclaimed.

The other kids erupted with joy as they met their partners, too. Sora hugged Biyomon tightly. Izzy let Tentomon perch on his head. Gomamon knocked Joe over and the college student didn't seem to care. Even Matt cracked a smile as he clasped Gabumon's paws in his hands. "Just what I wanted!" Sora laughed, smiling at the new Digidestined. "How did you guys do it?"

"I bet Izzy was in on it," Joe chuckled as he sat up with Gomamon in his lap. "Good one; you had us all going!"

Izzy shook his head. "I'm just as surprised as you guys," he said, "though I did wonder if the Digital Gate could be bypassed… This proves it. But how?"

"It was easy!" Gomamon spoke up. "They just grabbed us and brought us through!"

"Seriously?" Izzy asked, his eyes widening. "It was that easy all along? Prodigious…"

"You don't know how long I've waited to hear that word," Tentomon laughed.

Sora smiled at her younger friends. "OK, so who set this up?" he asked. "Davis? Cody?"

Davis and Cody shook their heads. "Not our idea," Cody said.

"TK?" Matt asked.

"Sort of… but it was mostly…" TK said, then nodded towards Kari. She blushed and beamed at them.

Tai smiled back. "I should've known," he said. "You always have the best ideas for presents, Kari."

"I just didn't think it was fair that we had our Digimon for the holidays and you didn't," she replied, "so here you go!"

"Well… _almost_," Matt said, noticing the straggler behind Davis.

The others turned and looked. Palmon sadly looked up and down the beach, but there was no sign of Mimi at all. "Ohhh…" she sighed, her flower wilting even lower.

Joe smiled sadly at the plant. "Palmon, why don't you come with Gomamon and me?" he offered. "I'll make sure you get to Mimi."

Palmon looked at him hopefully, then scooted his way. "OK…" she said.

"Don't worry, Palmon," Izzy said, smiling wryly. "Joe's definitely going to run into her today."

"Man, this is great!" Tai laughed, swinging Agumon up onto his shoulders. "Thanks, Kari! And all of you!"

"It's a little early, but… Merry Christmas!" Kari replied.

Matt straightened up and lost his smile. "Sorry I have to leave so soon, but I need to get back to practice," he apologized. "I want that concert to be good."

"Yeah, I have to go, too," Sora remembered, "or I might burn… Uh…"

"Burn?" Biyomon asked. "Burn what?"

Sora had trailed off because Tai was looking right at her. Strangely, this made everyone quiet down and watch. "Hey, what's going on?" Agumon asked from Tai's hair.

Tai cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, Sora…" he ventured, "are you goin' to Matt's concert tomorrow?"

"I'd like to know that, too," Matt said with a wry smirk.

"Well, yeah, I—" Sora began, but suddenly she groaned and slapped her forehead. "Ohh, I forgot to get a ticket! Matt, have you got any more?"

Matt shook his head. "Talk to Davis; he's been selling them," he said.

Sora looked hopefully at Davis, who felt sick inside until he remembered what he had witnessed. "Oh! Uh… Sorry, Sora, I sold… every last one," he admitted, glancing at Tai.

Matt recoiled at the news. "ALL of them?!" he shouted excitedly. "That's!... Oh." He remembered Sora and stopped looking happy. "I'm sorry, Sora," he apologized.

Sora sagged. "It's OK…" she lied sulkily. "Ugh, it's just one thing after another…"

Tai hesitated for a few moments, then decided it was time to bite the bullet. His cheeks flaring, he pulled the two tickets out of his pocket. "You, uh… I, uh, I got an… extra," he muttered loudly. "Did you, uh… did you…" he swallowed and licked a part of his lip. "Did you want to come—err, would you like me to come—uhh…" He bit his lip, then shook his head. "You want it?" he managed.

"What's going on, Izzy?" Tentomon asked quietly.

"Keep watching," Izzy muttered. "This should be interesting…"

Sora stared at the tickets, then at Tai's red face, which burned the same color as her own. "Me?! I… um… w-well, if you're…" she stammered. "If you're not… um… if that's what…" then quickly nodded. "S-sure," she squeaked. "I'll... Y-yeah, I'll come!... Ah, I mean, I'll take it! The ticket! Yes! Thanks, Tai!"

Both of them sighed with happy relief, and the whole group seemed to sigh along with them. "I, uh… O-OK!" he spluttered, handing her the scrap of paper. "I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Y-yeah," she agreed, crunching the ticket in her glove like she thought a tornado would sweep it away. "I'll… I'll wait—err… I'll be there."

"Hey, can I come too, Tai?" Agumon asked, patting Tai's hair. "Do you have one for me?"

"What about me?" Biyomon asked. "You're not gonna leave me in your room already, are you?"

Sora smiled at her partner. "Of course you can come," she said.

"Yeah! We'll sneak you in under our jackets or something," Tai agreed.

"Well, I'd better go; I've got a delivery to make, don't I?" Joe chuckled, scooping up Gomamon and beckoning to Palmon.

"Yes, I should go, too…" Izzy said, turning and starting to leave. "I may need to clear the static out before you come in my room, Tentomon…"

As the older kids departed, TK felt someone squeeze his shoulder. He turned around and saw Kari pump her fist. "Yes!" she squealed. "Everything went perfectly!"

TK beamed and laughed. "I'm glad," he agreed. "You had a great plan!"

"Yeah… but you helped a lot, too," Kari said, then looked at him curiously. "So, what did you say to get Tai to make a move?" she asked.

TK thought for a moment. "Well… I told him it was OK to start slowly and ambiguously," he recalled, "and see where it goes from there."

"Slowly, huh?" Kari asked, suddenly taking an interest in TK's shoes. "That's good advice…"

"Yeah…" TK agreed, watching Kari's shoes in return. "Uh… Yeah, don't have to rush that stuff…"

There was a heavy silence as the two of them stood there, the waves splashing on the shore behind them. Finally, TK coughed awkwardly. "Err, well, I'd better go," he said. "Gotta get ready for Ken's party, huh?"

"Um, yeah," Kari agreed. "See you tomorrow."

TK and Kari also started for the steps.

Had Davis seen any of that discussion, he would have blown his top and ran between them howling obscenities, but as it stood, he had not; he was busy watching Cody stare at the water in the bay. "Yo, Cody," he finally said, "What're you lookin' at?"

"Hmm?" Cody asked, suddenly realizing he wasn't alone. He glanced between Davis and the water, then decided not to say anything; he didn't need another lecture. "…Nothing, Davis," he said. "Just thinking."

"Riiiight…" Davis chuckled. "So ya just like starin' at cold water."

"Uh, no, I just…" Cody spluttered. "I wasn't looking for anything!"

Davis laughed and slapped him on the back. "Geez, relax, kid; it's Christmas!" he said. "You've gotta chill out more! You oughta come to my place on a Sunday; we'll school ya good!"

Cody sighed. In trying to avoid a lecture, he ended up getting one anyway.

* * *

Moving more stiffly than before, the coated Digimon pile stumbled out of Boss Bookstore and slowly made its way down the street. "Hey, Patamon? You OK up there?" Demiveemon asked. "You sounded like you're having tummy trouble."

Patamon's eyes were as wide as saucers and he still shivered violently. He never wanted to go into a store like that again. Ever. "D-does anyone else wanna be the head now?!" he wheezed.

"I'm sorry," Poromon apologized again. "I knew Yolei liked that store, but I didn't know why…"

"I still don't get it," Demiveemon said. "What was that thing I picked up? Why did it shake like—"

"Stop! Please!" Patamon yelped.

Gatomon sighed from her place on the bottom. "Well, we learned something important from that…" she pointed out.

"No!" Patamon squeaked. "I wanna forget _everything_ I saw!"

"…Not that," Gatomon muttered. "We learned we don't have enough money for any _good_ presents."

"Yeah…" Poromon sighed. "I guess we needed more than couch money."

"We'd need to dig through every couch in the city before we have enough," Upamon muttered, "and hope they aren't like Cody's couch."

The Digimon all sighed at once, making the coat puff up and then fluff out. Demiveemon though for a second, then clapped his stick hands together. "I know!" he exclaimed. "I know what we can do!"

"What?" Gatomon asked, "and please don't say 'get a job…'"

"The bestest most awesome fun I have with Davis is when we put stuff together, like his airplanes," Demiveemon explained. "So let's _make_ some presents!"

Patamon's ears perked up again. "That's actually a good idea!" he exclaimed. "Good one!"

"Yeah, I like it, too!" Poromon agreed, "but what can we make?"

"We can make anything!" Demiveemon said. "We just need some glue! I bet we have enough for some glue!"

"OK, then I guess we'd better find a glue place," Gatomon said, pushing off the wall and starting the Digimon balancing act off again. "Where would they have that?"

"Yolei's store has glue," Poromon pointed out, "so maybe any little store would have it."

They hobbled around a corner (almost hitting the street light as they went) and Patamon tugged on Demiveemon's ears. Right on the opposite corner stood another convenience store, one he was sure didn't have Yolei's dad in it. "Let's go in there," he instructed.

"Can we get a snack now?" Upamon whined.

"Glue first, chew later!" Gatomon huffed as she started walking across the street. "How big is your stomach, anyway? It has to fit inside you!"

"Cody said I must be all stomach once," Upamon pointed out. "Maybe he's right!"

Gatomon just sighed and kept moving.

* * *

"So, how's your mom?" Biyomon asked as Sora finished climbing the stairs. "Does she still make flowers?"

"Yeah…" Sora said, though her mind was elsewhere. She was glad Tai asked her to the concert—indeed, it was something she had hoped for—but it would be the _first date_ she had ever been on! She didn't know what to wear, or how to react when things happened. Would she be able to pull it off? Or would it get too weird? As she contemplated the next night with both joy and terror, her body trembled and shook.

"Urk! Sora, you're squishing me!" Biyomon yelped.

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" Sora apologized, letting go of her partner. "I was just thinking about—"

Suddenly she remembered the cookies and yelped, then groaned sadly; with her luck, they would be burned to crisps now. "Guess I'd better start again…" she muttered. "Biyomon, would you fly around to my balcony? I don't want Mom to freak out just yet."

"Well, OK…" Biyomon said, "but don't forget I'm here!" She flapped her wings and disappeared around the side of the building.

Sora quickly pulled the door open. A smell greeted her, but it wasn't the stench of a burned-out oven like she had worried; it was a delicious scent with a pleasant mix of orange and chocolate. "Whoa…" she gasped, her mouth starting to water.

Toshiko stepped out of her plant room and smiled. "Welcome back," she said. "Don't worry; I took them out at just the right time."

"Really?!" Sora asked hopefully. She quickly pulled her shoes off and stuck her jacket in the closet, then rushed into the kitchen. A big plate of cookies was waiting for her, looking expertly baked and just the right size. "…Are they good?" she asked her mother.

"I thought so," Toshiko replied. "Oh, ah, that is, when I, uh… broke one. So I had to eat it."

Sora smiled at her mom, then picked a cookie up and took a bite. Her eyes lit up immediately and her chest swelled with zeal; they tasted just as good as they smelled! She really had made something great, and she knew Tai was going to love them! "Thanks, Mom!" she said with a half-full mouth, then grabbed another one and headed for her room; Biyomon would want to try this, too.

"Hey, weren't you going to give those to somebody?" Toshiko chuckled.

"Sure I am! I just have to find a box!" Sora agreed, opening her door. She couldn't wait to tell her mother the news. Suddenly things were a whole lot better!

* * *

Normally Mimi would be skipping home after a shopping trip as productive as she had just had, but today she plodded down the street with her bags, her face still knotted in a scowl. She was still seething from the night before. How could Miyako do that to her? She wasted so many hours of hair and clothing tips, helped clean her filthy room, taken her to the best bathhouses and stores... dared to think they were friends… and all along she was doing it to get the attention of the Digimon Emperor! She had never been stabbed in the back like this in her life! Even seeing Sora punch her in the face hadn't been enough! She should have hit Miyako herself! Well, maybe next time she saw her and wasn't wearing good nail polish, she would!

As she approached her apartment steps, she noticed someone standing there and almost screamed in frustration. It was Joe again, waving sheepishly. "Get lost, Joe!" she shouted at him. "I'm not in the mood!"

Joe visibly flinched from her shrill voice, but he stood his ground and swallowed. "Uh, hi, Mimi," he squeaked. "I, uh, I have something for you…"

"What did I just say?!" Mimi snapped as she got closer. "I'm sick of you trying to—"

Just then, she noticed something move behind Joe's legs, and Gomamon scooted out. "Wow, you haven't changed at all," he laughed. "Well, your voice, anyway."

Mimi froze in place, staring at the little aquatic Digimon, her trembling arms dropping her bags on the pavement. "Goma…?" she asked, then looked at Joe. "Then… Is…?"

Joe smiled and glanced behind him. "Go ahead," he said.

Palmon raced out from behind Joe's other leg. "Mimi!" she cried, rushing to her with arms outstretched.

Mimi sank to her knees and let Palmon hug her, all of her anger giving way to sobs of joy. "Pa... Palmon!" she cried, squeezing the little plant tightly. "You're… you're OK!"

"S-sure I am!" Palmon cried back. "I've always been OK!…"

"I was so scared!..." Mimi whimpered. "So scared!..."

Joe smiled and waited as the girls cried and hugged for several minutes. Finally, Mimi looked up at him. "How?..." she asked. "How did you…?"

"You can thank Kari and the others!" Gomamon blurted out. "They came up with it!"

"Really?..." she asked, looking at Palmon again. "The new kids?..."

"Yeah!" Palmon agreed. "Kari and Davis and the others… They're really nice, Mimi!"

Mimi sniffled, thinking of one of them she couldn't say that about… but still… "W-well… maybe…" she murmured. She looked up at Joe, her cheeks damp. "And you… you brought her to me…" she said. "Thanks…"

"Well, uh… I did have another reason," Joe admitted, his cheeks burning as he dug the tickets out of his pocket. "Mimi… w-would you come with me to Matt's jazz concert tomorrow?" he stammered, then smiled hopefully.

Mimi's smile faded as she looked at the sticks of paper, then she frowned at Joe and his smile fell off too. "You… you planned this!" she huffed scornfully. "I—"

"Oh, Mimi! Can we? Please?" Palmon asked hopefully. "Everyone else is going, too!"

Mimi hesitated, looking down at her partner and then back at Joe. She sucked in her breath and sighed crossly. "…All right," she surrendered. "But only this once… because you brought Palmon. Understand? Just once!"

Joe's smile returned. "That's enough for me," he said cheerfully. "I'll come again tomorrow at 6:30, OK?"

"Fine…" Mimi agreed, and Joe happily walked off with Gomamon in tow. Mimi sighed crossly after him, but then looked at Palmon and grabbed her again. Even if she had to go out with Joe now, at least he'd given her the best bribe she could imagine.

* * *

Poromon looked hard at the items on the ground: a tiny tube of glue, a small bag of six plastic googly eyes, and an empty popsicle box. "This is it?" he asked, not trying to hide his disappointment.

"Well, Upamon insisted on getting popsicles…" Patamon muttered.

"You mean he was whining so loud, he almost blew our cover," Gatomon growled, glaring at Upamon.

The yellow ball was splayed out on his side and groaning, his face smeared purple and used popsicle sticks littering the ground around him. "Ohhh…" he moaned as his belly gurgled loudly enough for everyone to hear, "I've got brain freeze…"

"You've got a brain in there?" Patamon asked crossly.

"Are you sure we don't have any more money?" Poromon asked.

Gatomon shook her head. "That was all of it," she admitted. "This did NOT turn out like I hoped."

"Yeah…" Poromon sighed, slumping against a bush. He had hoped to give Yolei something she would like so much, she would go back to being her old self… but this wouldn't work at all.

"So?" Patamon asked Demiveemon, who had been sitting quietly since they got back. "It was your suggestion; what do we do with glue and eyes?"

Demiveemon thought for a moment, then smiled and clapped his paws together. "I know!" he chirped, "but we need one more thing!"

He hopped over to Upamon and picked up one of the popsicle sticks, then opened the glue and squirted a little dab on the clean tip. Then he took an eye from the baggie and pressed it on. He held up the little thing with a happy laugh. "Ta-daaaa!~" he cheered. "A pilot for Davis's planes!"

The others looked at it strangely, then at Demiveemon even more strangely. "...That's your big idea?" Gatomon asked.

"Cyclops can fly planes?" Patamon mused.

Demiveemon didn't seem to mind their skepticism; he bounced around with his little stick man making whooshing airplane sounds. Poromon watched him for a moment, then grabbed a popsicle stick, too. "At least we can make _something_," he said, and took the glue bottle in his beak.

Gatomon and Patamon couldn't think of anything else, so they gave in and also made little popsicle Cyclops; even Upamon managed to roll over and make one. There were enough googly eyes that some of the sticks got two instead of one.

Gatomon looked at her little creation and her ears fell. What the heck could Kari do with this?

"Well, we tried," Patamon tried to justify it. "You can't say we didn't try."

Gatomon looked out at the orange sky. Even though it was only 4:30, the night was coming and the cold wind was starting to blow. "We'd better go," she said. "Well... thanks for humoring me, guys."

"Come on! They'll love these!" Demiveemon laughed, still making his stick man dance around. "They even smell like grapes!"

"I hope that's because of the popsicle…" Poromon sighed.

"Oogh… Can you carry me back, Patamon?..." Upamon gurgled, putting the stick in his mouth. "Just… don't squeeze too hard…"

"Believe me, I won't," Patamon grumbled as he scooped the sick ball up. "Poromon, can you help me?"

Poromon and Patamon slowly flew off with Upamon. Demiveemon beamed at Gatomon as he gathered up the raincoat. "They're gonna be so happy!" he chirped. "See ya later, Gatomon!"

Gatomon waved as Demiveemon skipped off, but then she looked at the popsicle stick again and shook her head. What a disappointing Christmas this was going to be…

* * *

"We're home!" Tai called as Kari and he scooted Agumon past the kitchen and quickly pushed him into his room.

"Hey, good timing!" Susumu said, looking up from the TV. "Dinner's just off the stove!"

"And since you didn't help make it, you two're on dish duty," Yuuko added.

"Uh… sure!" Kari laughed uncomfortably. "Just a second!"

They ducked inside Tai's room, where Agumon was checking things out. "Wow! It's so clean!" he exclaimed. "It's a lot different from last time!... Doesn't smell as good, though… Oh, you got a bigger bed, too! That's good, since you got, well, bigger…"

Tai chuckled. "Yeah, five years can change a lot," he replied, leaning against the wall and looking out the window. "A lot…" he repeated, sounding a little dreamy.

"It's a whole lot more Digimon years, that's for sure," Agumon replied, "and I can't even count how long a year is! Boy, I could spend weeks telling you about all the crazy stuff we went through, even before the Emperor showed up…"

"I'd love to hear it," Kari replied, "but it's time to eat. We'll bring you some dinner in a minute, OK?"

"A lot if it's another fungus dish…" Tai chuckled as he opened the door. "See you in a few."

"OK!" Agumon agreed, and they closed the door. He looked around the room and smiled warmly. Finally, he was back with Tai, just like he ought to be. He got up on Tai's bed and sat on it, enjoying the feeling much more than the damp grass of a jungle. He wondered how long he could stay in the real world before people started freaking out like before; he hoped it would be longer, since Myotismon and his thugs weren't an issue any more…

Just then, there were several taps on the balcony door, and he looked over to see Gatomon outside. "What the?!" he said out loud, and raced over to pull the door open. "Hi, Gatomon!" he greeted her.

Gatomon did a double take. "Agumon?!" she asked, then smiled. "Well, looks like Kari's idea worked! Welcome back!"

"Yeah, we all came through just fine!" Agumon said. Then he noticed the little popsicle stick in her paw. "…What's that?" he asked.

"This? Oh, uh…" she gulped, looking embarrassed. "Well… it's supposed to be a Christmas present for Kari."

"It is?..." he asked, looking it over. He poked it and the googly eye rattled around, which made him snicker. "That's really cool!" he chuckled.

Gatomon's eyes twitched. "Really?" she asked. "Uh, I mean, yeah, sure it is!"

"Yeah, the way that eye shakes around and makes the noise… It's awesome!" Agumon said, then suddenly looked downcast. "Oh… now I wish I had something for Tai…"

Gatomon smiled at the dinosaur and put her free paw on his shoulder. "Hey, _you're_ Tai's present," she pointed out, "and I bet he's thrilled to have you back. And I am, too; Miko can't talk, and he's scared of me anyway. It'll be good to have another 'mon around the house."

"Really?" he asked, the smile returning. "Thanks!... You know, I was never sure whether you liked me or not."

Gatomon shrugged. "Well, abstinence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess," she replied.

Agumon raised an eyebrow. "Absti… what?" he asked.

Gatomon flinched; she had been hanging around Davis too much. "So, uh, what's on the menu tonight?" she asked.

* * *

"I'm home, Ken!" Mrs. Ichijouji called as she placed a big sack of groceries on the kitchen table.

Ken walked out and did a double take at all the food she had bought. "That's all for the party?" he asked, surprised.

"Oh, is it not enough?" she asked. "I can go back and—"

"N-no, I think that's more than enough," Ken replied, looking through the sack. His mom had gone overboard on snacks. Nobody would be leaving his apartment with an empty stomach, that was for sure. Seeing all that food made his insides churn, and not because of hunger. He had only really wanted to have Davis over for dinner, and here was a sack of goodies enough for a small army. Suddenly he imagined the mess the others could make, or they might complain that none of this was what they liked, and he felt even sicker. Was this a good idea? Should he have called it off before it got this far?

His mom didn't seem to share his worries; she was humming cheerfully as she took paper plates and plastic cups from the bag. "This is going to be so much fun for you," she predicted cheerfully. "I'm so glad you've got so many friends now!"

"Err… Yeah…" Ken replied, blushing a bit. When he was the Emperor, he could write his mother's cheerful banter off as irrelevant noise… but now when she was in such a happy mood, it was hard for him to stay down. Maybe things would go all right after all. "Well, I should go clean my room," he said, excusing himself.

"OK! Dinner should be ready soon," she called after him.

Ken returned to his room and looked around; he kept his room fairly clean anyway, so there wasn't much to do. His eyes fell on the journal on his desk; he didn't really want anyone reading that, so he picked it up and opened the top drawer to put it away.

His eyes fell on his D3 inside, and its cracked screen. His good mood disappeared again as he thought of that sensation of being watched the previous night. He knew Arukenimon had visited his room once before… maybe she had come again. A hot flash shot through his spine as he wondered what she was planning. If she was working to bring the conflict to his side, then he was powerless to stop her; in the Digital World he could call upon his weaponry, but here he had no way to defend himself... or his parents.

He clenched the D3 and stared out the window at the sunset, imagining the horrible possibilities. How would he respond? How _could_ he respond?

* * *

The whole city seemed abuzz with holiday energy on Friday afternoon. Kids rushed home from school to suit up for their Christmas Eve plans of partying with friends and maybe even stealing kisses from the opposite sex. In the park in front of the TV station, Matt and his father helped a group of workmen set up a large red and white striped tent on the plaza. "So, how does that look?" Hiroaki asked as they stepped back and looked at what they had erected.

"It's… good colors for the holiday," Matt said, looking skeptical, "but are you sure it can hold a hundred people?"

"It ought to; they had seventy-five in there for the last event, so we'll just cram in a few more chairs!" Hiroaki chuckled, then looked at the workers. "Hey! You guys got the chairs, right?"

Matt looked at his father and couldn't help but smile. "I really appreciate this, Dad," he said.

"Well, I may be just a lowly TV station admin, but I love being able to pull my strings," Hiroaki said, dropping his cigarette and stepping on it. "And hey, here's a Christmas present for you: some of my guys are recording it, too. You'll have your first show on a CD."

"…Really?!" Matt asked, his eyes widening. "I… wow… Thanks."

"Yep!" Hiroaki said, slapping his son on the back. "Well, I've gotta get back to work inside, but I'm glad I could help somehow. Knock 'em dead tonight."

"Thanks, Dad," Matt replied.

His father turned and headed for the station door. Matt shuddered as he looked at the tent again. This had gotten way bigger than he had expected. Not only had the Motomiya siblings sold every one of the tickets, but also it was going to be recorded for posterity?! The pressure was on now…

"Hey, kid!" one of the workmen called. "Can ya get the chairs? They're over by yer music stuff!"

Matt nodded and walked over to several carts lined with metal folding chairs, which stood next to his band's audio equipment. He paused and looked around, and was glad to see nobody was there. "…Gabumon," he called.

One of the covered amps rustled, and Gabumon appeared. "Oogh! It's not very comfortable sitting here, Matt," he complained, rubbing at his back. "If it's gonna be like this, maybe I should stay home tonight…"

"What?!" Matt objected. "No way, you've gotta come! You're my special guest tonight."

"But if I'm hiding in the back, I won't hear you play," Gabumon pointed out.

Matt sighed and thought. If this show was going to be as big as it sounded, then he definitely wanted Gabumon there… but he also wanted the Digimon to enjoy the show. TK couldn't bring him; he was going to that other party… so there was only one option.

"Don't worry; you'll have a good spot," Matt said, pulling out his cell phone and dialing Tai's number. As much as he didn't want to cramp his friend's special evening, he wanted Gabumon to have a good time, too. Besides, he was sure Tai owed him for something…

* * *

Golden bells adorned with holly hung from light fixtures, tingling gently when the wind picked up. Even in the daylight, the red, green and white lights wrapped around the mall's columned entrance put on a flashy show. Children happily tugged their parents onward, laughing at the excitement of the day. "Oh, what a delightful scene!" Mummymon gushed as he hobbled along, his own eyes sparkling with wonder. "I do so love the holidays! Does it not move you deep inside, my dear?"

Arukenimon wore her usual disapproving sneer. "The deepest I'm moved is in my stomach; I could throw up," she snapped. "I loathe the entire display. What's the matter with you?!"

"I just love the atmosphere! The lights! The sounds!" Mummymon laughed, reaching up and tapping a bell with his cane and sighing as it shuddered with a hollow bong. "It brings my youth back to me!"

Arukenimon raised an eyebrow. "…_What_ youth?" she asked.

Something arrested Mummymon's attention, and with a happy cry he scooted over toward the mall doors. Arukenimon strutted over and scowled at what had grabbed him: a big sign on the mall door that read: _Meet Santa TODAY!_

"…You can't be serious," she snarled.

"He's really here? What a stroke of luck!" Mummymon cackled. "I'm going to pop in and ask him for a new jeep. I shan't be a minute."

"You imbecile! Come back here!" Arukenimon huffed, but Mummymon had already pushed through the revolving door and gone inside. Furiously she stamped her foot on the pavement, then calmed herself and took a few steps back. After all, he said he wouldn't be a minute…

…And he was right. Twenty seconds later, a protesting Mummymon was escorted out the same door by two cross-looking security guards. "Here now, you're being completely unreasonable!" he snapped. "I demand you let me—"

"Get outta here, ya sicko!" one of them barked, shoving him hard and almost making him trip before disappearing back inside the building.

Arukenimon folded her arms and shook her head. "Please explain to me, Mummymon," she mused, "how an Ultimate Digimon can be thrown out of a building by two wretched humans."

Mummymon shook his fist at the door. "Well, the joke's on you!" he huffed, thumping his cane on the ground. "Santa saw _everything! _I'm getting that jeep!"

She sighed and shook her head, then grabbed him and pulled him away. "…Come on," she grumbled.

* * *

Yolei looked out her balcony window at the darkening sky and straightened her hair one last time. She had changed out of her school clothes and wore her self-assembled Christmas outfit: a thin but warm white sweater; an emerald green skirt that went down to her knees; red thigh-length stockings; and a holly-shaped red hair clip. She had also given herself a generous but not overpowering spritz of peppermint-scented perfume. She smiled at what she saw in the mirror, then grabbed the newspaper-wrapped picture off her desk and placed it gingerly in her purse. It was almost time to meet the others and take the train to Tamachi… and the party… and Ken Ichijouji.

"Yolei, are you OK?" Poromon asked, hopping closer to her. "You're shaking."

She looked down and saw that her arms were visibly trembling. "I… I'm fine," she replied. "Just gotta relax…"

She sat on the bed and tried to breathe deeply; there were still a few minutes before TK and Cody were supposed to show up, and she wanted to steady herself. This was what everything had been leading up to. She paused and thought back on the past few months, remembering all the things she'd had to do to get here, and the adventures she had been on, and the friends she had made: exploring the bathhouse and the mall with Mimi, learning how to dress and build her self-confidence, being able to give fashion advice to her classmates, and then dazzling a group of Kyoto nerds.

She smiled at the happy memories, but then she slowly remembered the other ones. Her stomach churned as she remembered her father scolding her about skipping work… and Davis shouting at her, and then her screaming back… and then Sora's rock-hard punch after she had told her off... and finally Mimi fleeing her in tears. Yolei sighed sadly; this transformation and its reward had come at a price.

She looked over at the mirror again, and the beautiful girl staring back made her smile again. After tonight, it would all have been worth it… and it wasn't like she couldn't fix things afterwards. Her dad would understand; after all, he got married, didn't he? And she was sure Mimi would calm down once she got to know the real Ken; he could charm any girl into liking him. Davis, well, he could stay how he was, as far as she was concerned. He deserved the yelling; that was one bridge she didn't mind leaving busted. But Sora… Yolei shook her head. Now that she had cooled down, she saw she had really stepped out of line with what she said to Sora; no wonder her answer had been that punch. After tonight, Yolei vowed, she was going to make it up to her older friend. She wasn't sure how, but… that was a problem for December 26th, not December 24th.

She felt something tugging at her stocking, and she looked down to see Poromon with one of his wings behind his back. "Hey, Yolei, I know it's not Christmas yet, but…" he said, sounding a bit embarrassed, "but I wanted to—"

Just then, someone knocked on her door. "Miyako, your friends are here," her mother's voice came.

Yolei gave a little "eep" and picked Poromon up. "This is it!" she whispered. "Wish me luck!"

"Wait!" Poromon objected; her swift grab had made him drop his popsicle man. "I wanted to give you—"

"Later, Poromon!" she huffed, pulling her purse off the bed and slinging it over her shoulder.

She walked out of her room. Mantarou and Chizuru were watching TV before heading off to their own Christmas plans; Yolei had heard Momoe leave for Jun's earlier. Both of them looked her way and did double takes. "Holy spumoni!" Chizuru exclaimed. "Miyako, is that you?!"

"Yep!" Yolei replied, swishing her hair like Mimi had taught her. "Like it?"

Chizuru blinked a few more times, then smiled. "See, I always knew you could be pretty," she said. "You just had to try harder."

Mantarou was thoughtfully silent. He looked her over again, then went back to watching the show.

Yolei didn't pay him any mind; she turned to her mother, who looked her over and smiled. "It's so nice to see you enjoying the holiday," she said. "I hope you have a good time with your friends."

"Thanks, Mom," Yolei replied. "You and Dad have a good time, too!"

She skipped to the door and slipped into her purple boots and green coat, feeling like she was made of fluffy clouds stuffed with rainbows.

She opened the door to find TK and Cody standing outside with their partners in tow. TK also had a shopping bag with a bottle of soda in it. When the boys saw her, their eyes widened a bit. "Hi, Yolei!" Patamon said, and then he noticed how she looked, too. "Wow, you look really pretty tonight!"

"An' you smell like candy!" Upamon chirped, bouncing up and down in Cody's hands. "I like it!"

"Aww, thanks, guys!" Yolei laughed, then looked at her human friends. "And what do _you_ boys think?" she asked coyly.

"Uh, well…" TK tried, searching for words; Yolei thought he was blushing a little bit. "You look… very… nice."

Cody coughed and looked away, his grumpy eyebrows still knotted. "…Yes," he agreed quickly.

"Yolei, we'd better get to the station," Poromon pointed out. "We don't want to be late…"

"No, we don't!" Yolei replied excitedly. "Come on, you guys, let's go!"

She quickly headed for the apartment stairs. The boys hesitated for a moment, then followed after her.

* * *

"Oh, boy, Christmas is awesome, Davis!" Demiveemon gushed, jumping between Davis's shoulders and taking in all the sparkling lights the Odaiba residents had hung on their balconies. He paused and took a long, deep sniff. "Hey, it even smells like snow!" he announced.

"Aww, quit messin' around, Demiveemon; it ain't cold enough for that," Davis replied as they rounded a corner. He himself was in a particularly good mood, since he had told Kari he would walk with her to the train station; it would be just the two of them, and not a TK in sight. He beamed as he drank in the imagined scene; it must have been some divine reward for all the crap he had gone through lately. He had donned a nice blue sweater and gray khakis just for the walk, even though most of it was hidden under his bomber jacket. He hoped his breath smelled all right; he had brushed his teeth really hard right before they left.

They rounded the corner and reached the Yagamis' apartment building. Waiting for them on the sidewalk were Kari and Tai, along with their two partners and one more. "Hey!" Davis called, waving to them and sprinting the rest of the way.

"Hi, Davis!" Kari replied as he landed in front of her. "This is gonna be fun, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Davis agreed, grinning. Under her coat, maybe Kari had dressed up; she was wearing small, pink clip-on earrings.

"Hey, Agumon! And Gabumon!" Demiveemon yipped. "When did you guys get here?"

"Hi, Veemon!" Agumon answered.

"…You look smaller than usual," Gabumon remarked.

"Gabu…?" Davis asked, looking down at who was near Tai's legs. Agumon was there, and so was Matt's partner. "Hey, what're you doin' with Tai?" he asked. "You and Matt have a fight?"

"Oh, no," Gabumon answered, "but Matt thought I'd have more fun watching him play with everyone else."

"So I'm watching him, too," Tai said, smirking wryly. "This is going to be an interesting night, huh, Davis?"

"Gee… yeah…" Davis said, feeling bad for his mentor; how could anyone be asked to babysit on his first date? Tai even looked like he dressed up a bit; he had nice pants on, and his goggles gleamed in the lamplight. "…Did you shine up yer goggles, Coach?" he asked, pointing.

Tai chuckled and nodded, tugging at the eyewear. "You have to look good when you go to a concert, right?" he asked.

"I told him he ought to take them off…" Gatomon sighed.

"Nahh," Kari chuckled. "Sora wouldn't recognize him without them!"

"Yeah, keep 'em on, Coach!" Davis agreed. He knew how it felt to be without goggles.

"Thanks, guys," Tai chuckled, then glanced at his phone. "Well, time to get moving, I think." He looked hard at Davis for a moment. "You take care of my little sister, Davis," he instructed.

"Uh… Y-you got it, Coach!" Davis gulped, surprised by Tai's sudden severity.

Tai's glare disappeared and he laughed, slapping Davis on the shoulder. "Aww, get outta here, you guys!" he said. "Have a good time!"

"OK!" Kari answered. "And you have one, too!"

Davis and Kari waved goodbye as Tai and his two Digimon started off for the park, and then they started for the train station with their own partners in tow. "I sure hope he has a good time," Kari sighed.

"I still say he should've taken the goggles off," Gatomon muttered.

"He can take them off?" Demiveemon asked. "I thought they were stuck to his head!"

Davis could hardly contain himself. He was accompanying Kari to a Christmas party!... well, at least to the train station that would take the whole crew there. He had to take advantage of it while he had the chance. He thought hard; what would get her attention without creeping her out? He remembered seeing some movies where a gentleman would offer his arm to a lady; he would try that. He walked a little closer to her and raised his elbow towards her. "Uh, Kari…" he ventured.

"Ooh! I know this one!" Demiveemon yelped, and jumped into the opening. "Oooogh! Gurrrgh! Help! He's got me in a quarter nelson!" he feigned.

Kari looked over and burst out laughing. "You guys are always playing, aren't you?" she chuckled. "Go on, Demiveemon, break out and get him in a headlock!"

"…Or an earlock, at least," Gatomon commented.

Davis could have squashed Demiveemon like a grape at that moment, but seeing Kari's reaction robbed him of the urge. He sighed and shook his head. Oh, well; at least he could make her laugh.

* * *

"Well, uh… Heh heh…" Joe stammered as he tried to find something he could talk about with Mimi as they walked. "I hear Matt's been practicing for this for months. It's his first big show, you know," he tried.

Mimi didn't look in the mood for conversation, though; she walked beside him without looking at him, her mouth a flat line. Palmon sounded amazed, though. "Really?!" she asked. "But he played for us so many times! How's this his first show?"

"Well, his first show with his new instrument," Joe tried. "He's playing a saxophone now."

"Don'tcha talk into saxophones?" Gomamon objected from his spot on Joe's back. "What does he do, pick it up and make the buttons beep? I don't get music…"

"I think you talk into telephones," Palmon corrected him.

"Then what's a saxophone?" Gomamon asked. "It has to be similar; it's got the word 'phone' in it!"

Joe chuckled as the Digimon tried to piece together what a saxophone was, and felt a bit more at ease… and a little braver, too. He walked a bit closer to Mimi, hesitated, then offered his arm. "It's a little chilly tonight," he ventured, smiling hopefully.

Mimi glared at him and pushed his elbow away. "Let's get things straight right now, Joe," she spoke curtly. "I'm not taking your arm, I'm not holding hands, and if you put your arm across the back of my seat, I'm just going to leave. Oh, and if I'm hungry afterwards, you're paying for that too."

Joe slumped back and watched the pavement, his courage stomped as flat as a worm on a rain-drenched sidewalk. "Man!" Gomamon whispered. "What was the word Davis used?"

"But Mimi," Palmon objected, "what if _I_ want to stay?"

Mimi hesitated for a few moments, then sighed. "Then… we'll stay," she said, frowning at Joe again. She had forgotten how many catches having a Digimon in the real world came with… and she also wondered if Palmon and he were in cahoots.

She didn't have much time to wonder before someone called their names behind them. Joe and Mimi turned around to see Izzy racing up to them, Tentomon buzzing along behind. "Thanks for waiting, guys…" Izzy panted, his breath visible in the evening air.

"Whew! Your legs got a lot longer, Izzy!" Tentomon remarked. "I'm gonna have to work on my cardio!"

"Hi, Izzy. Hey, Tentomon," Joe greeted them. "Glad you made it."

"Yeeeah…" Mimi said hesitantly.

"We'd better keep moving, Joe," Gomamon urged, "or we'll be late!"

"Hey, give him a second!" Joe objected. "You can't just start moving again when you're out of breath!"

"I'm all right; let's go," Izzy said, straightening up and taking another gulp of air. "Sorry I'm late; I was a little busy. Oh, by the way, if you could drop by tomorrow after school, I'll have your Christmas presents ready."

"Cool!" Gomamon chuckled. "I can't wait to see what Joe got… so maybe I get to eat half of it!"

"Fat chance…" Joe replied, remembering Izzy's gift from the year before, "but sure, Izzy. I'll stop in tomorrow."

"See?" Tentomon said to Izzy. "I told you that would go better! He wanted to bring them all to the concert; can you believe that?"

"What? But how?" Palmon asked. "Were you gonna juggle them?"

"Hah! I'M a better juggler than this guy!" Gomamon cackled.

"Well, uh…" Izzy tried, but he just started chuckling with everyone else.

Mimi rolled her eyes and kept moving forward. At least she wasn't alone with Joe anymore…

* * *

"Oh, wow! Lots of people are here already!" Biyomon exclaimed as Sora and she stood near the entrance to the tent, which bustled with kids finding spots and chatting among themselves about holiday things. "I sure hope there are some seats left…"

A strange rumbling sound came from Sora. Biyomon looked up and saw that her partner was visibly shaking; the small, green box in her hands was rattling rather hard. Biyomon grabbed at her coat and tugged, and Sora jumped a bit. "Agh! What is it, Biyomon?" she squeaked.

"Sora, if you don't stop shaking the box, you'll be giving him cookie _crumbs_!" Biyomon pointed out.

"Oh… Yeah…" Sora muttered, and tried clamping one hand over the red ribbon on top of the box to steady herself. It didn't really help.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Biyomon asked, not at all understanding why Sora was so antsy. "Those cookies are great! You did a good job! Tai's gonna love them!"

Sora swallowed hard and her breath came a bit easier. Biyomon's naivety made her feel a little calmer. She was right: the cookies were darn good, and she knew Tai would chew through them like a wolf. For the moment, that was the important thing… not what would transpire once they were inside the tent listening to the music, or afterwards…

In a flash, Tai came around the side of the tent. "Hey!" he called to her.

"Hi, Sora!" Agumon chirped cheerfully.

For an instant Sora lost all power of her grip, and her arms smashed the box into her stomach to keep it from crashing to the ground. He was here. There was no turning back now. She pulled in a long, shuddering breath, then turned to greet him. "Hi, Tai…" she began, then noticed Gabumon beside Agumon. "…Gabumon? What're _you_ doing with Tai?" she asked.

Gabumon scratched at his ear, suddenly feeling very out of place. Tai looked embarrassed. "Well, Matt didn't want him to miss the show…" he said with a weak chuckle, "so, I… said I'd watch him."

"Oh…" Sora said, her stomach rippling with an odd mix of relief and irritation. "Well, that's… nice of you."

"Yeah…" Tai agreed.

The group was enveloped in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Finally, Agumon's nostrils twitched as the wind changed. "Mmm, something smells really good!" he remarked.

"Oh. Uh…" Sora stammered, clutching the slightly crumpled box tighter.

Tai suddenly noticed the little package and bit his lip. "Um… Sora, what's in that box?" he asked, his voice strained.

Sora's arms quivered again, and it felt like an eternity before she worked up enough courage to hold the box out to him. "W-well… these are for you," she managed. "I, uh… hope you like 'em."

Tai took the box and opened it, and the delicious mixture of chocolate and orange rose into the air. "Hey, cookies!" he exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face. "I wasn't expecting that! Thanks! Did you make them yourself?"

Sora nodded quietly, though she was still sweating; the real test would be when he ate one.

"Cookies?!" Agumon asked. "Ooh, can I have one, Tai?"

"Me too?" Gabumon asked. "I haven't had dinner yet…"

"Hey, come on, you two!" Biyomon huffed. "Sora gave those to Tai! At least let him eat _one_ before you start pestering him!"

Tai took a cookie out of the box and looked it over. As Sora watched hopefully, he bit into it and chewed. His eyes flashed like light bulbs. "Chocolate orange?! Wow!" he announced, spitting a few crumbs. "Oh, these are _great_, Sora! What a neat combo!"

Sora gulped, her heart fluttering. "You think so?" she asked.

"Yeah!" he repeated. "C'mon, you guys have to try these!"

He pulled two more out and handed them to Agumon and Gabumon, who chomped them down with the same thrilled expression. "Oh, yeah!" Agumon blurted. "This is amazing!"

"Thank you, Sora!" Gabumon said through stuffed cheeks.

"Yeah… thanks, Sora," Tai agreed, his cheeks flushed.

Biyomon tugged at Sora's coat and gave her what looked like a winged thumbs-up. "I knew they'd be a hit!" she said.

Sora's face was the color of a ripe strawberry as she smiled at them; all her worries fizzled away into the cool air. "You're welcome," she answered Tai. "M… Merry Christmas."

The noise in the tent seemed to settle down, and they could hear a few instruments warming up, including a saxophone. "Oh, looks like it's almost time," Tai suddenly said. "We'd better get our seats."

"Right, right!" Sora said, unzipping her coat. "Biyomon, you can walk between my legs until we find a seat."

Tai realized his coat wouldn't fit anything but himself, so he picked Agumon up. "Pretend you're a toy for a bit, OK?" he asked.

"As long as I get more of those cookies," Agumon chuckled, then went limp like a rag doll.

Tai hesitated for a moment, then decided to take the risk. He swallowed hard, then cleared his dry throat. "Sora, can you get Gabumon?" he asked, steeling himself.

"What? You can't get him yourself?" Sora asked, scooping up Gabumon. "He's not that heavy, and you only need one arm for…"

She quieted when she noticed Tai had offered his free arm to her. "…Oh," she said quietly her chest swelling. She smiled and weaved her free arm through his. Feeling that his arm was shaking as much as hers was comforting. Slowly, cheerfully, they started into the tent.

* * *

"Next stop: Tamachi. Tamachi," the announcer uttered as the train slowed. The five kids carried their Digimon out of the station, then began the trek to the Ichijouji apartment. "Let's see, here…" Davis muttered as he pulled out his D-Terminal and read over the directions Ken had e-mailed him. "Says we go two blocks south, then three blocks east, and it's 312 on the northeast corner."

"But we've been there before!" Upamon objected. "Why d'ya need directions?"

"That was months ago, Upamon," TK explained, "and we didn't actually get into the building, remember? There were all those police cars…"

Cody nodded. That was the day the Emperor had escaped into the Digital World, expecting to set up permanent residence. He wondered how the boy could abandon his family so callously; his home life couldn't have been so bad... At least he still had both of _his_ parents, he thought bitterly.

TK looked over at Kari. "Hey, did things work out?" he asked.

Kari beamed and nodded. "They're at the show with everyone else right now!" she reported.

Yolei scratched at her ear. "What're you guys talking about?" she asked. She had dealt with Davis's frigidity all the way there on the train, and now she wanted to be in on a conversation.

"Tai asked Sora to go to Matt's concert with him, and she said yes!" Patamon said cheerfully.

"If you had come this afternoon, you would have known that," Cody added curtly.

The others went on chuckling about how fidgety both Tai and Sora had been, but Yolei hung back, her stomach squelching with guilt. Now she _really_ felt awful about what she had said to Sora. She made up her mind, right then and there, to make it up to the girl when Christmas was over.

"…Yolei, we're falling behind," Poromon pointed out. "I don't want to get lost here!"

"Oh! R-right!" Yolei huffed, moving faster to catch up to the others.

Two blocks south and three blocks east later, the group arrived at the gray apartment building Ken had specified. Yolei made her way from the back of the pack to the front as they climbed the stairs and walked to apartment 312, but as soon as she reached out to knock, she found that she couldn't. Her hand shook and shuddered, but it couldn't make a fist. "Yolei, what's wrong?" Kari asked.

"Uh… I, uh…" she stammered, her heart racing at the thought of who was behind that door… but the rest of her was paralyzed.

Without saying anything, Davis walked up and rapped sharply on the door, making her jump back. The door opened and revealed Ken, who wore a midnight-blue sweater and tan khakis and looked very homey. "Hey, Ken!" Davis greeted him.

"Marty Christmas!" Demiveemon also chirped, waving his little arms excitedly.

"It's 'Merry Christmas,' Demiveemon," Gatomon sighed.

"Oh. That makes way more sense!" Demiveemon agreed. "I don't know a Marty Christmas!"

"Uh… hi, everyone," Ken replied nervously, looking at the group like he expected it to jump him and beat him senseless. "C… come on in."

The party moved inside and the kids removed their shoes. "Say, nice place!" Patamon said, looking around. "It looks like yours, TK! Well, and Kari's, and Davis's, and Cody's…"

"Patamon, I think every apartment is going to look like ours," TK chuckled.

Yolei stepped up from peeling off her shoes and almost collided with the boy of her dreams. It was as good a time as any to get the ball rolling. "H… hi, Ken!" she gurgled, smiling widely.

Ken shrank back, the peppermint smell overwhelming him for a moment. "Uh… hi," he returned the greeting.

"So, Ken, is this where you've always lived?" Kari asked. "Or did you move here?"

"No… We've always lived here," Ken replied. "We…"

"Ken?" his mother's voice came, and then she stepped around the corner, along with his father. She beamed with joy as she saw all of her son's friends. "Oh, did you all come at once?" she asked. "Hello! Thank you for coming!"

TK bowed politely. "Hello," he said. "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji."

"Nice to meet ya," Davis added, glad that finally one of his friends' mothers looked like a mom and not a model.

"Wow, you work fast, Ken," Mr. Ichijouji noted. "So, what're your names, kids?"

Ken decided he might as well get the introductions over with. "Mom, Dad," he said, "these are my friends from… uh…"

"…Um, from computer club," Kari said quickly. "I'm Kari."

"TK," TK said.

"Davis!" Davis boasted.

"Iori Hida," Cody stated quietly.

"Hi! I'm Miyako!" Yolei gushed, scooting up and flashing a smile for Mrs. Ichijouji. "Ken's told us all about you!"

"Oh, he's made so many nice friends!" Mrs. Ichijouji beamed, her smile getting even wider as she took Yolei's hand and shook it, then did the same with Kari's. "Well, you're all welcome to stay as long as you like!"

"Yeah, make yourselves at home!" Mr. Ichijouji chimed in, grabbing the boys' hands and shaking them so hard, he almost pulled Cody off of his feet. "There's some good eats in the kitchen, so come dig in!"

The kids walked into the kitchen area and immediately their mouths started drooling. Mrs. Ichijouji had laid out an amazing spread of snacks: several kinds of chips; twelve-packs of sodas and juices; heaps of cookies; and a big bowl of candies.

"Good gravy!" Davis exclaimed, feeling Demiveemon start to squirm in his arms.

"That's all for us?!" Kari asked. "I… wow!"

Cody thought he heard Upamon's stomach gurgle… but it may have been his own.

"Gee, guess I didn't have to bring this after all…" TK said, awkwardly holding up his own bottle of soda.

"Oh, that's so thoughtful of you, dear!" Mrs. Ichijouji chuckled, happily accepting the drink. "I don't think I got this kind, so it's good you brought it! Well, go ahead and take some plates, kids! Help yourselves!"

"Thanks, Mrs. Ichijouji!" Kari repeated, picking up a paper plate and starting to go over the junk food smorgasbord.

The other kids went to work on the spread, too. Davis went right for the candy and stocked up on as many chocolate things as he could find. TK took a fair amount of cookies and a few chips. Cody wondered what sort of eats Upamon would like… then he realized Upamon would like all of them, so he took a little of each food, as well as a can of juice for himself.

Yolei looked over the snacks, struck by dilemma. She longed to dive head first into the chips and cola like she usually would… but with Ken right there, she knew she had to behave better. Which of these things could she eat without making a mess or getting crumbs all over her outfit?

Ken took very little; seeing the extent to which his parents had gone for this party made him lose his appetite rather than gain it. His father, however, was making a mountain on his plate. "Hey, what about that diet you were planning?" Mrs. Ichijouji huffed.

Mr. Ichijouji grinned sheepishly. "Come on, dear," he tried, "it's Christmas!"

The kids were cheerfully chewing on some of their selections, but all of them realized their Digimon were running out of patience and might jump the table if they had to wait much longer… but Ken's parents didn't look like they were going anywhere. Ken thought for a moment, then got an idea. "Did you guys want to see my room?" he asked.

"Your… _room_?!" Yolei gulped, her cheeks burning. She almost dropped her plate, which almost made Poromon shout in alarm.

TK caught on and smiled. "Sure, Ken," he agreed, "that sounds fun."

"Hey, thanks for the food, Mrs. Ichijouji," Davis said, taking a handful of napkins. "We'll be careful with it."

"All right, dear," Ken's mom said, waving him off happily. "Go on and have fun!"

"It's this way," Ken said, motioning for them to follow him down the hall. "Come on."

The kids lugged their partners and their snacks down the hallway. "This is the bathroom," Ken said, motioning to the first door on his right, "and my room's the next one…"

Kari looked to the left and noticed a small table with a vase of dried flowers, as well as a framed photograph. She picked it up and looked it over curiously. "Hey, Ken," she spoke up, "when did you wear glasses?"

"I never…" Ken began as he turned around, then saw her holding the picture. "…Oh," he muttered, beginning to fidget.

"What the…?" Davis asked, looking at the picture, too. "Heh, I didn't know you could pull off Coach's haircut!" he chuckled. "Looks good on ya!"

"Yeah!" Demiveemon squeaked, confident the parents were out of earshot. "You look just like Davis's sister!"

"What?!" Davis huffed. "No way Jun and Coach have the same 'do! Take that back or no fudgy sticks!"

Yolei looked at the picture, then at Ken. "Um… I-I like it more now," she tried.

Ken took the picture and set it back on the table. "That's not me," he said quietly. "It's my older brother Sam."

"Older brother?" Patamon asked. "Hey, that's just like you, TK!"

"Yeah…" TK agreed, suddenly feeling a pang of kinship with Ken. "How much older is he?"

"Yeah, is he in high school? Or maybe college?" Kari asked.

Ken responded with awkward silence. He didn't want to answer that Sam was long dead; it would ruin the mood of the party. What could he say? His worried eyes darted around for some kind of distraction.

Fortunately, one came. "Hey, can we eat already?!" Upamon huffed. "I'm gonna turn myself inside out if I hafta just _look_ at that plate any more!"

"Upamon!" Cody hissed. "Very bad manners!"

Ken managed a smile. "No, it's fine," he said, moving to his door and pushing it open. "Come on in."

Cheerfully talking amongst themselves, the kids moved into Ken's room. He breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Joe muttered another apology as he crab-walked across someone's foot on his way through the crowded tent. Mimi, Izzy and he had been some of the last to arrive, meaning most of the seats were full and it was a pain trying to get to the empty ones. Why did people always sit on the edges of rows and not fill in the middle?

"Keep going, Joe; we're almost there," Izzy encouraged him from the rear of the pack. Mimi didn't utter a word, the pouty scowl on her face saying enough. The Digimon kept up their doll ruse well, though they weren't having fun being scraped against the backs of seats and thumped against other teens' coats.

Finally they came to three empty seats in the middle of an aisle. Joe flopped down into the farthest one and put Gomamon in his lap. "Whew…" he muttered, "and I thought being late to seminars was a bad thing."

"Look on the bright side; it means Matt might be popular," Gomamon pointed out. "First time for everything, right? Hah!"

Izzy noticed a familiar plume of chocolate brown hair in front of him. "Hey, down in front!" he joked, poking at the person's neck.

Tai turned around in surprise, then grinned. "Hey, you guys made it!" he exclaimed.

Sora turned and smiled. With her helmet off, Izzy could just make out a small plastic clip with a yellow flower in her hair. "Hi, Izzy! Joe!" Her smile dimmed a little. "…Hi, Mimi," she said.

"…Hello," Mimi replied stiffly, then took interest in her fingernails.

Izzy glanced at Sora, then back at Tai. "So? How's it going, you two?" he asked.

Tai thought for a moment, then nodded. "Pretty good so far," he reported.

"Well, there's one thing…" Sora objected, then motioned to the right… but Izzy didn't have to look to see her complaint firsthand. Jun, who sat right next to her, jammed her elbow into Sora's side. "Agh!" she hissed. "Come on, Jun!"

"Sorry!" Jun apologized again, then turned back to her friend in the other seat, her legs skittering around under her like they belonged in a tap dancing studio. "I'm just so excited!" she yipped. "Matt's first big show! And I'm here!"

"She's been doing this since we got here," Tai muttered to Izzy.

"I think she's gonna explode if we have to wait much longer," Sora remarked, then yelped as Jun's ankle smashed into hers. "Jun!" she complained.

"…Want me to peck her knee?" Biyomon offered.

Sora was considering it when the lights in the tent dimmed, and a hush fell over the crowd. With a lot of hollow thumping, Matt and the rest of the quintet walked onto the makeshift stage and each went to their instruments: a shiny trumpet, a keyboard, a drum set, and an impressive bass. Matt picked up his signature saxophone and slung the strap over his shoulder.

The audience gave polite applause and Jun whistled loudly, making Sora cringe. It was her own fault for picking where Tai and she sat, she sighed. She only hoped Jun would shut up once the music began… or maybe faint.

Matt picked up the front microphone, then peered into the audience hopefully. Once his eyes trained on Gabumon and the rest of his friends, his lips curled into a wry smile. "Hey, thanks everyone for comin' tonight; we're gonna give you a great show," he spoke; even though he looked cool enough, his voice had a slight waver to it. "We're gonna start off with a number to fit the season."

Matt gave a countdown with his hand, and the drummer started tapping his cymbals. The bass player plucked his strings, and the keyboarder and trumpeter started playing the counterpoint. Matt took a deep breath and blew into his sax, turning the tuneless rhythm into a silky smooth rendition of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas."

Tai's ears perked up as the music washed over him; it wasn't what he was used to, but he was liking what he was hearing. This _was_ going to be a good show.

Sora heard Jun whimper longingly in her seat, then fall back in a swoon. "Ohhh, he's so good with Bird!" she sighed. Sora wondered if Matt's voice alone would be all it took to send the spiky haired girl over the edge.

Biyomon looked at Jun, then at Sora. "…Bird?" she asked. "A bird wrote this?"

Sora smiled and put a finger to her lips. "Later," she whispered.

* * *

With a frenzied shout of "cowabunga!" Upamon pounced on the last cookie on the plate and inhaled it in an instant. "Oh, that was awesome!" he gurgled as he flopped onto his back. "I'm stuffed!"

Cody picked up the drool-covered paper plate with two fingers. "So you didn't want to finish this?" he asked dryly.

All of the kids' plates were fairly empty, so Demiveemon hopped into the ring the kids had made. "OK! OK! Now let's play!" he chirped, bouncing up and down.

"Yeah!" Patamon agreed. "What's there to play with, Ken?"

"Play?..." Yolei asked, looking around the room. Ken didn't have any video game consoles, or even a television for that matter. Her first reaction was disappointment, but she shook her head and banished the feeling; that wasn't her anymore.

"I bet we can find something if we just look around," Kari pointed out. "Is that OK, Ken?"

Ken hesitated and scratched his head, suddenly feeling dread; he hadn't thought of any games for this party, and he didn't want them to be annoyed with him... and he didn't have anything to hide, aside from his journal. "Um, well… sure," he managed, "but I don't think I have much…"

"Maybe there's a fun book we could read," TK said, getting up and walking to the bookshelf.

"A fun book?" Davis asked, smirking at TK's nerdish suggestion. "That's gotta be an oxygen moron!"

"'Oxymoron,'" Cody corrected him, "and no, that's not just combining the two words."

TK looked over the bookshelf, but all he found were thick academic volumes on science, computers and mathematics. "Wow… This is some heavy stuff," he said, not knowing what else to say. "Not even the Classics, Ken?"

"Oh. Uh… Sorry. I don't really read adventures," Ken tried, then sighed. "That's a bit silly, considering my own…"

TK looked at him. "Your own what?" he asked. "Are you writing a story?"

Ken blushed awkwardly. "…Yes," he replied, hanging his head. "I know it's not something a genius does, but…"

When he looked up, though, TK was smiling widely. "That's neat!" the boy said. "I write, too!... I mean, I'm not very good at it, but I have fun doing it!"

"Yeah, and then I have fun messing up the pages," Patamon snickered.

"Fun?..." Ken ruminated.

"Hey, we should read each other's stuff sometime," TK suggested. "Then we can each give feedback and improve it!"

Ken hesitated. He didn't know if what he had written was something he wanted to share with anyone, but hearing the kid he had beaten senseless on the Gigas offering to share hobbies with him made his innards warm up. "Well, maybe…" he began.

"TK!" Yolei huffed, pulling TK away. "Don't monopolize Ken!" she hissed in his ear.

"I was just—" TK tried, but Yolei had already let him go and was trying to take an interest in Ken's library. He just scratched his head.

"So, you study computers?" Yolei tried, pulling a book off the shelf and opening it… but the pages were dull walls of text without any diagrams or pictures; it must have been a book on computer _theory_ instead of actual specs and blueprints. She smiled awkwardly and put it back. "Well… I guess we knew that already," she tried.

Ken raised an eyebrow. She blushed and shrank back; that sure didn't work.

"How 'bout movies?" Davis ventured. "Ya got any cool flicks, Ken?"

"Or bad ones, even," Gatomon said.

Ken scratched at his head again. "I don't," he admitted. "Until recently, my only interest was studying…"

"Oh…" Patamon said, his ears drooping. "I guess you wouldn't have any board games, either."

"…How about something easy?" Poromon tried. "Like a ball?"

"We could play kick the can!" Demiveemon suggested, winding up to boot Cody's drink.

"Don't you dare!" Cody snapped, grabbing the beverage. "It's only half empty!"

Ken sighed and shook his head. He really should have anticipated they would want to do more than just eat; it felt like the bubble had burst on his party.

Bubble…? His flashing eyes darted to his closet. "Wait a second," he said, rushing over and opening the door. He jumped a few times and got his hands up to the top shelf, and down came a small, ratty-looking cardboard box. "Maybe…" he muttered as he put it on the ground.

"Hey, what's that?" Demiveemon asked, sniffing at it. "Smells as old as Davis's sister!"

Davis's cheeks puffed. "Man, I don't care how cute you are," he snickered, "she'd punt you to the moon for that!"

"These are some of… Sam's things," Ken explained as he undid the flaps on the top. "Maybe there's a game in here…"

Everyone but Cody crowded around as he pulled the box open, as if he were opening an ancient Inca treasure chest. Unfortunately, there wasn't too much in it to speak of: some metal jacks, a glasses case, a deck of playing cards, and a hard plastic cup. Ken's spine tingled as he picked up the cup. It was the same one Sam always mixed the soapy water in when they blew bubbles; he had wondered where it had gone. "Oh…" he murmured as he turned it around in his hands.

"What's that, Ken?" Demiveemon asked. "Is it a game?"

Ken smiled sadly. "Part of one," he said, "but it's better for the summertime… We can play with it then."

The others looked disappointed, but Davis noticed the card deck and snatched it up. "Sweet!" he exclaimed. "I clean my sister out in Egyptian War every time! You guys wanna learn it?"

"Yeah, sure!" Kari agreed.

"If we don't, it'll be a pretty short party," Gatomon sighed.

The others made noises of approval, so Davis proudly had everyone sit in a circle while he dealt facedown cards to the six kids and rattled off some simple rules. "So that's how you play," he finished. "Oh, one more thing: if two of the same cards—like two fours or two queens—get put down one after another, whoever slaps the deck gets all the cards… So if you're outta cards, ya get back in the game if you're fast enough."

"Slap it?" Demiveemon asked.

"Yeah," Davis said. "Now, I'll start and we'll go left, so it's Ken's turn next."

Davis pulled the first card off his stack, flipped it over and put it in the middle; it was a 3 of hearts. Ken pulled one from his stack and put a 5 of diamonds on top. Immediately Demiveemon jumped at the pile and slapped it. "Yeah!" he cheered happily.

"What the—no, Demiveemon!" Davis huffed. "You only slap when it's two of the same card!"

"They look the same to me," Demiveemon pointed out, flipping the cards upside-down and showing that the back pattern was the same.

"He's got you there," Cody pointed out wryly.

"I… But…" Davis stammered, then shook his head and turned the cards upright. "Forget it! Next player go!"

Yolei was uncomfortably close to Ken, so she put down the next card, which was a 6 of diamonds. Poromon immediately hopped in and slapped the pile with his wing. "Poromon!" Davis snapped. "That's not right either!"

"Both cards had diamonds," Poromon argued.

"It's the _number_!" Davis rebuked. "That's what has to be the same!"

"Hiya!" Upamon yelped as he bounced in and slapped the pile too. "King me!"

Davis was so angry he couldn't respond. Kari couldn't help giggling. "Upamon, why did you slap the deck?" she managed.

"Isn't that the game?" he asked. "I wasn't listening when Davis was doing all that talking."

"Sounds familiar," Gatomon chuckled.

"Wing slap!" Patamon shouted as he brought his ear wing down on the cards.

"Oh, not you too!" Davis growled. "TK, come on! Help me out here!"

TK was chortling with the others. "Nuh-uh, Patamon, I did it first!" Demiveemon argued, slapping the pile several more times. The other Digimon joined him in doing so, even Gatomon. Almost everybody was laughing now, and even Ken managed a humored smile.

Davis sighed and shook his head, then smiled at his little partner's antics. "Well, so much for that…" he admitted.

Back in the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji happily listened to the laughter coming from Ken's room. Mr. Ichijouji sighed. "It's a wonderful sound, the laughter of children," he noted.

"Yes…" Mrs. Ichijouji whimpered, wiping a tear from her eye. "Yes, it is…"

* * *

Even though the band was playing gentle, smooth jazz, music flowed from the tent into the chilly Tokyo night, pulling a thin blanket of relaxation over the metropolitan bustle.

Mummymon shivered as Arukenimon and he approached the tent, taking in the sound. "Ooh!" he crooned, "they're really laying down some phat beats in there!"

"Stop right now," Arukenimon snapped. "You're too old for that. FAR too old."

"Here now, you've been a Grinch ever since we got here," Mummymon grumbled, leaning hard on his cane as he frowned at her. "Have you no appreciation of human expression? Of whimsy? Of culture?"

"There's only one thing I appreciate," Arukenimon returned, casting her gaze at the bay, "and it should be starting any moment now."

Arukenimon and Mummymon did not have long to wait. The wind picked up and grew even colder, and suddenly, without any sound at all, a tall, obsidian control spire rose up in the center of the concrete plaza, glowing an eerie pale gray. Fog emanated from it and crept along the ground, quickly covering the whole area.

"…Very punctual," Mummymon remarked, swatting at the haze with his cane. "They know how to make an entrance, too."

Arukenimon smiled wickedly. It was time to see what their silent partners could do.

* * *

Inside a small room in the TV studio, Matt's concert had three more audience members; Hiroaki had put his least useful staff members on the task of recording his son's concert. "Man, he's good," Charlie breathed as he tugged at his red headband and balanced the audio levels again. "You think the boss can play an instrument that good, too?"

"Beats me," the unshaven editor replied, pulling down his baseball cap and double-checking the volume. "Somehow I don't think he's gonna serenade us any time soon."

"It could be one of those things that skips a generation," laid-back Jeremiah pointed out as he adjusted his thick glasses and watched the recorded sound waves scrawl across his screen… but suddenly a bunch of extra lines poured into the readout. "Hey, there's a bunch of…" he began.

The editor cursed loudly and pulled off his headphones, and the others could hear the crackling static from where they sat. "What the hell?!" he demanded.

"Oh, no!" Charlie freaked out. "But this is live! The boss's gonna kill us! Fix it! _Fix it!_"

The editor winced, then put the static-spitting headphones back on and grabbed at the control panel, trying to phase it out of the music. After a few minutes of knob twisting and switch tugging, his pained expression changed to a puzzled one. "It's changed," he announced.

"Whaddya mean, 'changed?!'" Charlie squeaked. "It's gotta be _gone!_"

"OK, then tell me how!" the editor snapped, pulled his headphones out of the system so the sound came out of the studio's speakers instead. The static's volume was undulating, going back and forth between being loud and soft.

"That's no good, either!" Charlie spazzed; he had never heard static do that before. "What did you do?!"

Jeremiah listened closely, then nodded. "It sounds like one of my relaxation tapes," he pointed out, looking nostalgic. "Like waves on the shore…"

"It sounds like _us getting_ _fired!_" Charlie yelled, throwing his bandana on the floor.

* * *

The technicians were only hearing the strange things going on; those in the tent were getting all five senses worth of them. Right in the middle of a Coltrane sax solo, the lights flickered on and off several times, and then dulled to the point that people could only see a few feet in front of them. At the same time, the microphones on stage stopped working too, and Matt's sax suddenly lost half of its roar.

"Yamato!" the boy at the keyboard called, banging his hands on now silent mock-ivories. "I'm not gettin' nothin'!"

Matt bared his teeth as he realized what was going on. "Uh… Bear with us, just a moment, please!" he spoke firmly to the audience, then rushed back to help his band mate.

"Awww, no!" Jun complained, sitting up in her chair. "He was just getting to the good part!"

"Oh, no…" Gabumon groaned from his place in the audience.

"Poor Matt," Sora sighed. "His first concert and this happens."

"Maybe it's using too much power?" Tai suggested. "The lights got dull, too…"

"Izzy, can you fix this?" Tentomon asked his partner.

Izzy shook his head. "Sorry," he apologized, "I can fix things with screens, but sound is a whole other world."

"Pwuggh!" Mimi spat, clamping a hand over her nose. "WHAT is THAT?!"

A pungent stench pervaded the air in the tent now, like someone had spilled a garbage bag full of rotting fish, moldy seaweed and other oceanic refuse. "Oh, _God!_" Tai gagged, mimicking Mimi's actions like most of the audience.

"I think my nose is burning off!" Agumon howled.

"Did the bay just spill over?!" Joe demanded. He looked down at the ground for any signs of water or… who knew what else. To his surprise, a thick haze was flowing through the tent, covering everyone up to their kneecaps.

A lot of the kids got up to either leave or vomit. Matt's heart crashed into his intestines as he smelled the funk, looked up and saw his audience jumping ship, uttering stinging comments like how they ought to have gone to the Teenage Werewolves' show. "…_Shit_!" he hissed, kicking at a loose cord.

"That's it! I'm done!" Mimi snapped, grabbing Palmon and pushing past Joe and Izzy on her way out of the aisle. "I'm NEVER doing anything with you guys agai—"

Her bitching died in her throat as she froze in place. Spindly-limbed black _things_ with gleaming yellow eyes blocked the aisle… and _every_ aisle. Others were slowly rising up from the mist, as if it were spawning them. It gurgled something and reached for her with its webbed fingers. Her reaction was swift: a bloodcurdling shriek that set off several more of them throughout the tent.

"Are those Digimon?!" Sora asked, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Nobody I know!" Biyomon whimpered.

The shadowy creatures hissed and gurgled some sort of language. Their bodies flowed together like smoke going back into a chimney, and then out of the black haze came a slew of wailing, ghostly Bakemon and a snarling Darktyranomon. The Bakemon immediately swept onto the crowd, while the Darktyranomon lumbered around searching for the best thing to smash. "Now THOSE guys we know!" Izzy yelped.

Kids scrambled for the exit, kicking over chairs and pushing each other in a frenzy to escape. Mimi tried to flee too, but someone shoved her hard in the back, and she ran right into a chair, lost her grip on Palmon and crashed to the hard cement. Something crunched, and then blazing pain consumed her leg and she bayed in agony.

Tai bared his teeth and whipped out his Digivice; he didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't about to let these Digimon run wild. "Agumon, let's go!" he urged.

Agumon strained and snarled, but he didn't change. Tai's Digivice didn't respond. "What the…?" Agumon asked, looking alarmed. "I can't, Tai!"

"Biyomon?" Sora asked, her Digivice clenched in her shaking hand.

"Me neither!" Biyomon reported.

Joe looked up and swallowed as Darktyranomon turned on the stragglers. "Outside! Now!" he shouted, pointing.

The Digidestined and their partners tore out of the tent just as the Darktyranomon whirled around and smashed its tail into one of the tent posts, collapsing the entire structure like a parachute. The situation outside wasn't any better; there were twice as many Bakemon and they weren't letting up on clawing and biting the crowd.

"What the hell's going on?!" Tai demanded.

"Mimi!" Joe called, looking around frantically. There was no sign of Palmon or her partner. Where had she gone?! This one time, he hoped she had bailed like she had said she would…

"Matt!" Gabumon yelled into the crowd. "Where are you?!"

Tai glared at his Digivice, furious at his unexplainable helplessness. "Why aren't you working?!" he shouted.

"Tai!" Izzy said, grabbing his elbow and pointing upwards. "I think that's our problem!"

Tai froze in his tracks, as did the others, as they saw the control spire in the plaza, looming smugly over the chaos. "_That's_ not supposed to be here!" Biyomon squawked.

As the Darktyranomon burst out of the tent's top and made his way into the fray, they raced to the spire. "We've gotta knock it down!" Tai urged. "That's why we can't Digivolve!"

"How?!" Tentomon asked. "We're not strong enough!"

Izzy thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Tai, do you remember?" he asked. "Your Digivice!"

Tai's eyes lit up. "Right!" he said, taking on his familiar air of leadership. "Agumon, you and the Digimon fend off any Bakemon coming this way. Sora, Izzy, Joe, use your Digivices and try to burn through it!"

The other kids did as they were told, and pressed their Digivices into the cold stone. I felt different from the spires they had destroyed before; its surface was rough and eroded instead of smooth. Tai didn't join them, however; he yanked out his cell phone and started punching buttons. "What are you doing, Tai?" Sora asked.

"Calling for backup," he replied, gritting his teeth and silently yelling for Kari to answer.

* * *

With a furrowed brow, Davis pored over the cards in his hand. Once the Digimon had tired of slapping the card deck, the kids had settled into a few rounds of "I doubt it" while their partners rested. As the others watched and waited, he slowly plucked one and placed it facedown on the pile. "Seven," he stated.

Kari started to reach for one of her cards, but Yolei jabbed her finger on the pile. "I doubt it!" she challenged Davis, scowling at him.

He scowled right back; of everyone playing, she only ever challenged the cards _he_ put down. "Callin' me a liar now?" he huffed.

The Digimon worriedly glanced over at their partners. "Uh… well, Davis?" TK said, trying to keep the game feeling like a game.

Davis smirked at Yolei unpleasantly, then flipped his card over; it was a seven. "That'll teach you," he said.

Yolei grunted and crossly took the pile of cards, dropping on top of her already large heap. She was sick of these card games; how long did she have to put up with them until she got her chance with Ken?

"OK, my turn!" Kari said, starting to pull another card.

Upamon's belly rumbled and he groaned. "Ohh, Cody! I'm hungry again!" he announced hopefully. "Can we get some more snacks?"

"…More?" Cody asked. "You had everything on my plate!"

His stomach rumbled, seemingly to make his point. Cody looked away in embarrassment. TK couldn't help but laugh at the scene, and one by one the others joined in. Finally, a chuckle escaped even Ken's mouth.

"Woah!" Davis exclaimed, looking at Ken. "So he _can_ laugh!"

The others turned and looked at him. Ken stopped abruptly, his cheeks burning. Kari smiled warmly. "It's OK, Ken," she said. "We've just never heard you laugh before."

Cody fumed at the boy. That wasn't true—he had laughed plenty when he was dressed as the Digimon Emperor—but he said nothing.

Ken felt Yolei lean closer to him. "You've… got a cute laugh!" she managed with her whole breath.

"Uh…" he replied, scooting a little further away.

"Well, I'm with Cody's guts," Demiveemon chirped. "Let's get more food!"

"All right, all right, we'll do a refill," TK agreed, scooping Patamon up. "Same stuff as last time?"

Kari and Cody also got up and collected their partners. "You guys coming?" Gatomon asked.

Ken shook his head. "I've had enough, thanks," he said.

"Uh… me too," Yolei repeated quickly, her fingers clenching into the carpeting.

Davis saw what was beginning and glared at Yolei. She glared right back hatefully. "Well…" he muttered, then pushed himself off the ground. "C'mon, Demiveemon, let's grab another soda."

"Oh, boy!" Demiveemon cheered as they walked out of the room. "I want that purple stuff!"

Ken got up and walked over to the shoebox, taking out the cup and looking it over, and his room became silent again. Poromon looked at Yolei, hoping they would get some more food too, but she didn't move that way. Her knees shook and shuddered as she got up and fumbled with her purse, taking the wrapped picture out. She swallowed several deep breaths to try to calm the waves of heat running through her body. This was her chance… and she was going to take it. She swallowed one more time. "K… Ken?" she squeaked.

Ken looked over at her. "Yes?" he asked.

Yolei bit her lip, then offered the gift. "M-Merry Christmas, Ken," she stuttered, the newspaper rustling in her trembling hands.

Ken blinked a few times, casting a wary eye on the strange girl. He took the package and opened it, then stared at the photograph for a long while as she waited anxiously for him to react. If he turned and smiled, all of her worries would melt away for good.

Ken did not smile. He raised an eyebrow at the picture. When had this been taken? How come he was smiling like that? Had she edited a photo? Looking at it, then at her expectant face, made him very uncomfortable. "Err… thank you," he ventured, then busied himself with neatly folding the newspaper up on his bed.

Yolei's brow glistened with panicking sweat. She worked hard on that picture, and he wasn't blown away by it? She had to come up with something else, and fast! She looked around for some kind of idea, and her eyes fell on the small window over the bed and the nightscape outside. "U-um, the stars!" she blurted. "Yeah, the stars look really nice tonight, don't they?"

Ken was again puzzled. "Really? I thought it was kind of cloudy tonight…" he said, unable to determine what she was thinking. "But my view isn't very good; the building across the street is in the way."

"I, uh… W-well, of course it is!" Yolei stuttered, grinning with embarrassment and quietly kicking herself. Of course he knew what the view from his room was! "Well, uh, w-where's a better place to… look at them?"

Poromon could sense how awkward things were getting in the room, and Yolei was looking more sickly by the moment. "Uh, Yolei, why don't we go get some food?" he tried. She didn't respond, her eyes fixed on Ken.

Ken was getting increasingly uncomfortable having the girl there. Why hadn't any of the others stayed behind? When would they be back from getting more food? "There's a balcony in my parents' room…" he started slowly, "but…"

"Oh? Then, then let's go there!" Yolei spluttered quickly, wondering whether to take his hand but deciding not to. "I bet they've got the best view!"

Ken shook his head quickly. Seeing her hand jerk towards his and then back put him on the defensive. What did she want? "I don't want to go through their room," he said. "That's… the only room they have to themselves tonight."

"Ohh…" Yolei whimpered, biting her lip in panic and frustration. He wasn't going for any of her suggestions! Mimi said this would work! Was she doing something wrong, or was she _not_ doing something, or was she doing all the right things but in the wrong order?! Why the heck wasn't he getting interested?!

Her whole body shuddered as she stared at his fidgeting feet. Maybe Ken was a boy who wanted it all up front right away. Maybe she had to pull out the big guns. To show him how intense she was… maybe she had to give him a physical sign. She took another half step toward him, hoping her breath was all right.

Suddenly, there was a great pounding of feet, and Kari and the others raced back into the room with worried looks. Cody cast an accusing glare at Ken, but said nothing. "What's wrong?" Poromon asked.

"We have to go, now!" Kari said, showing them her open cell phone. "Digimon are attacking Matt's concert!"

"WHAT?!" Ken hissed, his mind instantly racing to Arukenimon.

"C'mon!" Demiveemon chirped. "We gotta save Davis's sister!"

They raced out of his room and headed for the door. Ken leaped to his desk and pulled out his D3, but then he froze in terrible revelation. He had no artillery or any kinds of weapons in the real world. How could he respond to this threat?

"Yolei, c'mon!" Poromon urged. "We've got to go, too!"

Yolei panicked, too, and her hands mashed into her sides. Her chance was about to rush out the door, and it wasn't going to come back with Digimon running loose! She had to go for it right this instant! "K-ken!" she squeaked as she felt herself make her way up to him.

Ken turned around to say "what?" but the word died in his throat as Yolei's sweaty hands threw themselves over his shoulders and her overly minted teeth scraped against his as something wet tried to force its way down his throat. He roared with revulsion and shoved Yolei away. "WHAT the HELL?!" he shouted at her wild eyes.

Yolei was so horrified, she couldn't find her voice; she just stood there panting, like a child who broke a lamp in full view of her parents.

"What is the _matter_ with you?!" Ken snapped, angrily wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "You… I… Didn't you hear what Kari said?!"

"I… I… I love you!" Yolei gurgled, terrified at how the words dribbled out of her mouth.

Ken recoiled in shock. "W-what?!" he exclaimed. The room was shrouded in thick silence. Yolei's lips curled into a hopeful, desperate last smile.

Ken's face turned burning crimson, and he clenched his fists like he was squeezing coal into diamonds. "Are you _insane_?!" he demanded hotly. "We are in the middle of a _war_! How can you think of this now?!"

Yolei gasped; her heart popped like a water balloon. _That_ wasn't supposed to be his reaction! "B-b-but…" she panted, her eyes wavering, "K-Ken… I… I… D-don't you l-l-love me?!"

Ken barked a sound like he had stepped in a heap of wet horse manure. "'Love you?!'" he snapped, "I don't even _like_ you! No, I don't even KNOW you!" He advanced on her, his face going from red to purple, all of his frustration firing out at the offending target. "I only wanted Davis to come tonight, but then you butted in and invited EVERYBODY!" he shouted. "And why? Because you think I _love you_?! I don't even _know your name!_"

Yolei's pupils shrank to the size of pencil points, and she stopped breathing. She stood there like a statue, her mouth hanging open and her throat dry.

Ken angrily stuffed his D3 in his pocket. "Now pull your head out of wherever it is and back into reality!" he huffed. "I'm going!"

Ken raced off after Davis and the rest. Yolei stood like gelatin in a windstorm, shuddering and shaking as silent tears ran down her cheeks, her running mascara turning them puce.

"Yolei, we need to go, too!" Poromon urged, trying to get his partner's attention. "…Yolei? Yolei!"

Like an army man melting under a magnifying glass, Yolei slowly crumpled to her knees against Ken's bed, a high-pitched whine the only sound in her throat.

* * *

While most of the audience was fleeing the scene, two girls rushed back towards the collapsed tent, hoping the ghosts kept busy terrorizing others. "Jun, stop!" Momoe pleaded as she chased after her friend. "This is crazy!"

Jun ignored her and made for the far end of the tent, where she could see the shapes of the stage and a lot of the equipment under the canvas. "Matt?!" she called as she got onto the fallen structure and raced around. "Are you under there?! Say something!"

She could hear several groans under the fabric; none of the band members must have escaped. "O-OK, just relax; I'll get you out!" she urged, looking around. "Momoe! Tell me you have something sharp!"

"U-um, yes!" Momoe replied and produced her favorite tool, a small and pointed metal nail file. It wasn't ideal for cutting, but it would have to do.

Jun grabbed it and stabbed the polyester tent several times, then ripped the holes wider with her hands and made a human-sized gap. "Come on! Out here!" she shouted as she pulled the opening up and shook it.

The jazz band members crawled out one by one, thanking the girls enthusiastically before running for their lives. Matt was the last to emerge, dragging his saxophone out with him. "You're OK!" Jun cried happily, grabbing his arm and squeezing. "Thank God!"

Matt felt like jerking away, but then he realized she had risked getting attacked by the Digimon to get him out of there. She might have been a loony, but that had its perks. "…Thanks, Jun," he said quietly.

"OK, so he's fine, that's good," Momoe affirmed hastily, looking back nervously, "now can we _please_ get outta here?!"

The Darktyranomon roared angrily as it stomped after a group of fleeing teenagers. Matt gnashed his teeth as he glared at up it. "You jackass!" he bellowed at it. "You ruined my concert!"

"Hey, you're alive, aren't you?!" Jun objected, letting go of his arm. "Hello!"

"Not so loud!" Momoe urged.

The Darktyranomon locked onto the trio, roared and stomped towards them. "Oh, crap!" Jun gulped.

Matt's fingers clamped the Digivice in his pocket, and he looked past the menace to see Gabumon with the others by the… control spire? Something more was going on here than just his concert getting trashed. "Run! Now!" he urged Jun, pushing her towards Momoe.

"What?! But what about you?!" she asked.

"I'll be fine! Now get outta here!" Matt yelled.

For a split-second, Jun saw him take something shiny out of his pocket, but then whatever it was became hidden in his clenched fist. "But—" she objected.

"For God's sake!" Momoe huffed, grabbing Jun and pulling her away. "There's boy crazy, Jun, and then there's REAL crazy!"

Momoe hauled Jun off toward the plaza's exit, and Matt ran at the approaching monster looking for an opening to rush past and regroup with the others.

As Momoe dragged her towards the buildings for shelter, Jun cast a helpless look back at Matt. Just what was he going to do?

* * *

Raidramon saw the oncoming lights and heard the blaring horn, but he kept racing ahead, waiting for the right moment. Finally, the train on the track to his left passed, and he shifted over as another train tore over the track he had just been on. "Whew!" Davis whooped. "You sure like cutting it close!"

"Sorry," Raidramon apologized.

"We should have picked a low-frequency track!" Cody huffed from his place behind Davis.

"This one goes right by the TV station!" Davis argued, then glanced back at his passengers. "Still got dry pants, Ken?" he asked.

"…Barely," Ken admitted, his eyes focused straight ahead and his hands digging into Raidramon's middle.

"Maybe we shoulda rode with TK…" Armadillomon whimpered as he held onto Cody for dear life. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon soared over the bay alongside the massive train bridge, flying low enough that the riders saw them every so often.

"You wouldn't be havin' as much fun!" Raidramon chuckled.

Davis peered ahead and saw the turn coming up; that was where he always saw the TV station and the plaza beneath it. "Here's our stop," he said to Raidramon. "Get us outta here!"

He shifted to one track, then another, and then to the farthest one. "OK, just say when, Davis!" he instructed.

A train horn blew, and Davis suddenly realized a bright light was growing behind them; the express was coming up fast! "NOW!" he shouted.

"Hold on to yer shorts!" Raidramon snarled, and leaped off of the bridge. For five amazing, horrible seconds, they were flying and witnessing the Digimon attack on the plaza in panoramic view, and then Raidramon slammed down onto the concrete and sped towards the control spire. Davis let out an excited war whoop; Raidramon couldn't fly, but he could still make a damn good entrance.

Tai and the older kids looked up at the cry. At the same time, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon appeared overhead and started firing at the Bakemon. "Thank God!" Tai breathed. "OK, guys, away from the spire!"

Sora, Matt, Joe and Izzy pulled away and Raidramon lobbed a scimitar of lightning through the black obelisk, finishing the job the Digivices had begun. As the spire tumbled backwards into the water, Cody leaped off of Raidramon and raised his own Digivice. "DigiArmor Energize!" he shouted, and Armadillomon became Digmon and leaped into the ghostly fray.

"Good hustle, Davis!" Tai praised his student. "Now give us a hand!"

"I'll give ya more than that!" Davis cackled as Raidramon shrank back down to Veemon. He raised his D3 and Veemon turned into Exveemon and took to the sky.

The spire gone, Sora raised her Digivice high. "Biyomon!" she called. "It's time to Digivolve!"

Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon and Gomamon all strained and tried to Digivolve, but nothing happened. "What?!" Matt snarled. "Is there another one somewhere?!"

"No, it's not that…" Gabumon admitted, clutching at his stomach. "We just used up our energy on the Bakemon…"

Tai bit his lip, then heard eerie laughter and looked up. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were trying their hardest, but the Bakemon were dodging most of their shots and even landing hits on the armored Digimon. They had to help!... but how could he give the Digimon more energy?...

Then he remembered Sora's gift and looked at the box in his hands. He knew what he had to do. "Everyone!" he shouted, pulling the top off and grabbing a fistful of cookies. "Eat! Now!"

He hurled all of the cookies at the five Digimon, who scrambled to gobble them up. "Whew! That's better!" Gomamon laughed.

"Try it now, Sora!" Biyomon urged.

Sora nodded and raised her Digivice. It was time to get back in the game. "Biyomon! Digivolve!" she growled.

Tai, Matt, Izzy and Joe also lifted their Digivices, and the little gizmos glistened and shone with the bright green light they remembered from so long ago. In brilliant flashes, Agumon and the rest became their mightier Champion forms. "Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!" Kabuterimon laughed, his wings buzzing wildly and sending waves of wind across the concrete.

Birdramon screeched happily and shot into the sky, her wings flicking fireballs every which way.

"Hang on, guys!" Ikkakumon bellowed at Pegasusmon as he galloped along, making the whole plaza shake with each leap. "I'm comin' to help!"

"Woah, take it easy!" Digmon yelped as he jumped away from Ikkakumon. "Don't smush what you're tryin' ta save!"

Matt and Tai glanced at each other. "You want him?" Tai asked, jerking his thumb at Darktyranomon. "He wrecked your concert."

"He wrecked _your_ date," Matt pointed out.

They grinned at each other and nodded. "Greymon!" Tai shouted. "Go get him!"

"You too, Garurumon!" Matt urged.

Darktyranomon turned to find two newcomers charging at him, and he roared and readied his claws. "Like that scares us!" Greymon rumbled. "Ready, partner?!"

"Just like old times…" Garurumon cackled, then leaped at the enemy with a roar.

Three Bakemon dove at Kari and Nefertimon, but Exveemon intercepted them and kicked them away. "Yeah!" Davis cheered from the ground. "You show 'em!"

Ken turned to Tai. "Where did they come from?!" he demanded. "Was it before or after the spire appeared?!"

Tai shook his head. "I don't know!" he admitted. "We were all in the tent and then…"

He stopped short as several dozen more of those spindly creatures suddenly rose up from the mist that still covered the plaza, emanating that horrible smell. "…THAT happened," he finished.

"What ARE they?!" Davis yelled, clamping his nose. "They stink!"

The creatures wavered and shook, then oozed together in a black mass. It burst open to reveal a floating, hooded specter with a nasty-looking scythe, several black winged dragons, and a fiendish furry Warumonzaemon like the new Digidestined had fought in the ruins of the Gigas.

"Phantomon!" Matt snarled at the reaper.

"Devidramon?!" Joe asked, looking at the dragons. "What is going _on_ here?!"

The Devidramon roared and took to the sky to chase down the flying heroes, while Phantomon and Warumonzaemon advanced on the kids. "Crap! Those guys're Ultimates!" Izzy swore.

Davis bared his teeth. "Exveemon!" he shouted upwards.

"Digmon!" Cody called.

Exveemon flew down and landed between the creatures and the kids, and Digmon rushed up next to him with his drills whirring. "Whoo! Lotta ugly people in this neighborhood!" Digmon mused.

"Davis, what do we do when we've pounded 'em?" Exveemon asked. "We can't let 'em run off somewhere else!"

Davis snarled and ground his teeth. His partner had a point: when they stopped the attack, what were they supposed to do with all of these Digimon in their world?

* * *

"Boss! Boss!" Charlie shouted as Jeremiah, the editor and he tore up the steps to the studio's main hall. Surprisingly, Hiroaki was there, along with the rest of the staff, looking out the window. "Boss!... Ugh…" he wheezed as he sagged in front of Hiroaki. "Concert… Static… Can't fix…"

"We tried everything!" the editor said. "It just wouldn't go away!"

"It almost sounds like the ocean…" Jeremiah observed.

Hiroaki looked at the flustered lackeys, then pointed out the window. "It's not your fault," he said darkly. "Look."

The three looked outside at the rampaging monsters and Charlie screamed again. "When did THAT start?!" he shouted.

"Good grief!" the editor yelped. "Now I wish I'd taken a job back home!"

Jeremiah blinked. "Didn't this happen a few years ago, too?..." he asked.

Hiroaki's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. "You three," he snapped, "get a camera and get down there… but for God's sake, play it safe!"

The editor and Jeremiah flinched. Charlie turned the same color as a jade sculpture… but then he realized that maybe this would make up for not recording his boss's son's concert. "Y-y-yes, sir!" he stammered. "C'mon, guys!"

"Do we have to…?" the editor groaned.

"At least it's not a giant, building-crushing dinosaur," Jeremiah pointed out calmly. "Now that would be dangerous to cover…"

"Shut up and move it!" Charlie yelled, and the other two took off back down the stairs for the equipment room.

Hiroaki scowled down at the fight and looked around for some particular creatures… and as he saw them, his fists instinctively clenched. "Matt… TK…" he muttered.

* * *

Pegasusmon fired another Equis Beam, but the Bakemon zipped away from it at the last second. "These guys are faster than usual!" TK remarked.

Pegasusmon glanced at the ground and saw the Devidramon flying up, heading straight for Nefertimon. "More coming!" he warned, "and they look even stronger!"

"Kari! Nefertimon!" TK shouted to Nefertimon. "Look out!"

As Kari saw the approaching dragons, her mind flipped into paralyzing overdrive. She knew what was behind this attack. In her mind's ear she could hear the waves of that horrible ocean, and those _things… _They were coming into their world to take her again. Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe, her hands went numb, and her whole body trembled like gelatin in a windstorm, feeling both hot and cold at the same time. Her vision clouded over and went black.

Nefertimon heard her partner's squeaky breaths. "Kari? What's the matter?!" she asked.

"N-no…" Kari gasped. "They're… They're!..."

Nefertimon saw she was on her own; she had to get Kari somewhere safe. She flew as fast as she could to Pegasusmon. "Take her! Quickly!" she urged TK. "I'll hold them off!"

TK yanked his friend off of Nefertimon and sat her in front of him. The Devidramon screamed and flew at Pegasusmon, but Nefertimon intercepted them and fired off pink blasts every which way.

Pegasusmon sped around the plaza's airspace firing at incoming Bakemon. "Where's Yolei?!" he demanded. "We could really use Aquilamon about now!"

TK was busy trying to snap Kari out of her panic attack. "Kari! Get it together!" he urged, grabbing her shoulders and giving her a firm shake.

Kari's blurry eyes looked back at him. "TK…?" she whimpered. "They want me…"

"This time, everyone's here," he said, looking down towards the ground, "and remember, we _know_ how to deal with these creeps!"

Whether it was his grip or his words, Kari slowly regained her sight, and she stopped shaking. "…R-right…" she agreed softly.

TK looked back at the Devidramon, who were outmaneuvering Nefertimon and starting after them again. "But Armor Digimon aren't enough," he growled. "Pegasusmon! Down to the ground! Gotta change our tactics!"

"You've got it!" Pegasusmon agreed, diving for the concrete.

He landed near the other kids, let TK and Kari off and shrank back down to Patamon. TK helped Kari over to her shocked brother. "Kari! What happened?!" Tai asked.

"What'd you do, TJ?!" Davis demanded, grabbing Kari's free arm.

"N-no…" Kari tried. "It's…!"

"We'll explain later!" TK said, handing her off and grabbing his Digivice. "Just keep her safe!"

"How?" Cody asked, wincing as he saw Digmon get smashed in the head by a Bakemon's mysteriously appearing muscular blue arm. "These things don't have any rings or spirals on them! How do we make them stop?!"

TK took a deep breath, then looked at his friends' Digimon partners. "Listen!" he shouted at them, "you have to destroy these things!"

Exveemon and Digmon wheeled around in surprise, and the kids did, too. "Say what?!" Exveemon asked.

"Are you crazy?!" Cody huffed. "They're _Digimon_!"

Ken watched TK carefully. What could cause a soft touch like TK, the one who bawled _him_ out for killing Digimon, to suggest that?

TK shook his head. "Trust me," he urged, looking at Tai and the other kids expectantly.

Tai regarded TK for a moment, then nodded. "You heard him!" he yelled to the Digimon. "Don't hold back!"

The older kids' Digimon roared and resumed their fights with renewed vigor, but the new ones seemed less than enthusiastic. "Uh… right…" Exveemon ventured nervously as he flew back at Phantomon.

"This ain't gonna do me much good…" Digmon muttered, his drills whirring as he glared down Warumonzaemon.

"Ready, Patamon?" TK asked, raising his D3. "Let's end this!"

The Digivice shuddered and glowed, and Patamon became the glorious Angemon and shot up into the sky to help Nefertimon confront the Devidramon. The unholy creatures shrank back and hissed as he appeared, his fists pulsing with divine light.

"Kari, c'mon! Get it together!" Davis urged the limp girl between Tai and himself. He had hoped he'd end up with Kari in his arms on Christmas Eve, but certainly not like this.

Ken suddenly felt very out of place. Without his weapons he couldn't participate in the combat, and just standing there while the Digimon risked their lives injected him with a sickening sense of uselessness. He chewed his lip and looked around at the brawlers. When it came down to it, he was no more powerful in this world than he had been when he was the Emperor…

Just then, though, he saw a corner of the collapsed tent twitch and bulge; somebody was still in there! Looking around to make sure all of the brutes were occupied, he sprinted across the plaza towards the canvas. "What the…?!" Davis gasped, looking up from Kari for a moment. "Ken, where're ya goin'?!"

"I'm coming!" he called, arriving at the moving sheet and pulling it up.

Palmon looked up at him in surprise. "Oh! You!" she exclaimed.

Ken recognized her immediately. "Are you hurt?" he asked. "Where's your partner?!"

"N-no, but…" Palmon said, then reached behind her and yanked at someone's arm.

Ken reached down and helped her pull a whimpering Mimi out of the mess. "P-Palmon! Don't leave me!" she cried, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"It's all right; you're out now," Ken said, throwing one of her arms over his shoulder and starting to help her up. "Is she hurt anywhere?" he asked Palmon.

"She screams when she puts her left foot on the ground," she said.

"Right," he muttered, shifting her weight over to her right leg. "We'd better get her to a doctor."

"Joe's a doctor!" Palmon pointed out.

Mimi opened her eyes, looked at Ken and screamed. "YOU!" she shouted, swatting at him with her free arm. "Let go! _Don't touch me! _Palmon!"

Her palm mashed against his chest and his face, but Ken held on tightly and started to make his way back across the concrete. Just as the others came in sight, though, three Bakemon swooped down on them. Mimi forgot about slapping him and started screaming. "NO! NO! Not again!" she wailed. "Stop! STOP!"

Ken gritted his teeth, unable to defend himself or Mimi. Fortunately, with a sudden cry Birdramon's tremendous talons crashed down on the ghosts and mashed them into the concrete. To Ken's surprise, they didn't burst into pixels like dead Digimon usually did; they dissolved into black smoke, leaving a foul stench in the air. They weren't real Digimon!

"Birdramon! Thanks!" Palmon thanked her old friend.

"You're clear! Go!" Birdramon squawked, and flapped back into the night sky. Ken took the edge and pulled the sobbing Mimi along as quickly as he could.

Joe raced out to meet them, having witnessed the almost-attack. "Is she hurt?!" he asked.

"Something about her left foot," Ken repeated.

"Right," Joe said, grabbing Mimi's other arm and lifting. "Let's get her somewhere safe."

"Joe, those things…" Ken said as he looked at the flying ghosts and devil dragons, "what _are_ they?!"

Joe looked at him strangely. "You don't know either?" he asked. Now he _really_ felt sick!

* * *

Greymon snarled as his claws dug into Darktyranomon's, and the roaring black dinosaur's claws sank into his. They pushed each other back and forth, neither side giving an inch. Garurumon wasn't having much luck either; every time he leaped to attack, Darktyranomon blew fire in his face and made him back off… and to add to that, Bakemon kept floating down to harass them as well. "He's got his bases covered!" Garurumon grumbled as he raced around the wrestling duo and nipped away another ghost.

"C'mon, pal, can'tcha cut us a break? It's Christmas!" Greymon huffed as he shoved.

Darktyranomon's answer was a volley of fire breath, which Greymon answered with a Nova Blast of his own. The searing heat forced them to break apart, but as soon as it cleared Greymon saw Darktyranomon coming at him again. Garurumon faked out another Bakemon, then clamped onto the brute's tail with his mouth, pulling it backwards. "Now!" he shouted.

Greymon stomped up, slugged Darktyranomon twice and knocked it to the ground, then spewed another Nova Blast across its front. The monster roared and howled, but even that didn't keep it from trying to get back up. Remembering Tai's order not to hold back, Garurumon lunged, got his teeth on Darktyranomon's throat and tore into it. Darktyranomon gurgled, then fell silent.

"What the hell?!" Davis yelled, horrified by the scene; he had been so busy with Kari, he hadn't heard TK's declaration. "Matt! Your wolf's rabid!"

"No he hasn't," Matt growled.

"He just _killed_ that one!" Davis shouted. "You lousy—"

"Davis…" Kari said softly, putting her hand up. "Stop… It's OK…"

"What?! Kari, no it isn't!" he protested.

"It's because…" Kari began, but then Davis saw it for himself. Darktyranomon melted into a patch of black ooze, venting plumes of smoke. From what he remembered, that wasn't how Digimon died. "Holy shit!" he gasped. "They ain't Digimon?!"

Cody saw it, too, and both boys turned to their partners with renewed determination. "Give it everything you have!" Cody shouted to Digmon.

Digmon's eyes narrowed at the menacing teddy bear. "Awright, fluffy," he snarled, his drills spinning wildly, "let's you and me dance!"

The airborne Digimon had enough of the Bakemon outmaneuvering them. "OK, guys, let's try something new!" Kabuterimon ordered. "Back-to-back! Now!"

Birdramon, Nefertimon and Kabuterimon floated with their backs against each other and spun around in the air like a Catherine wheel, firing off their strongest attacks. The Bakemon had no direction to flee in as pink lasers, fireballs and electric blasts tore through the air, disintegrating them both alone and in groups. The Devidramon screeched and dove at the impertinent trio, but Angemon intercepted them and let fly with his Hand of Fate, and its divine light started dissolving them before it even connected. Black ash and smoke rained down on the plaza, along with the stench of rotten fish.

The remaining Ultimate-level enemies weren't about to go as quietly. Exveemon dodged Phantomon's scythe easily enough, but his V-Laser didn't do a thing against the specter, nor did his punches and kicks connect. "It's like I'm fightin' a ghost!" Exveemon huffed. "…Wait, I AM fightin' a ghost!"

Phantomon pulled its sickle away and instead hurled a chain that lassoed Exveemon by the neck. As it was about to decapitate him, though, Ikkakumon crashed down from behind and plunged his horn into its back. It didn't hurt Phantomon, but it startled it enough to lose its grip on Exveemon. Ikkakumon followed up with a salvo of Harpoon Torpedoes, driving it back. "Stick to cutting wheat!" he growled.

Phantomon was not amused. It flew at Ikkakumon with its scythe spinning like a buzzsaw and caught the big walrus right in the forehead. With a pained roar, he reverted to Gomamon and crashed to the ground. Phantomon swung his scythe for Gomamon's head, but Exveemon grabbed his friend and flew away before it could land. "Nuts!" was all he could grunt.

Digmon was doing far worse with Warumonzaemon. Despite looking like a worn-out teddy bear, Digmon couldn't plunge his drills in anywhere. "Geez! What're you stuffed with? Diamonds?!" he snarled as he tried again. Warumonzaemon laughed, brought its claw up and swatted Digmon so hard not only did he revert to Armadillomon, he went flying out over the bay.

"Digmon!" Cody yelled, and quickly pulled out his D-Terminal and mashed the buttons; he was right to have hauled it along. As he raised his D3 and shouted "DigiArmor Energize!" he just hoped Armadillomon could become Submarimon at such a distance away.

Warumonzaemon cackled and raced off to join Phantomon in tackling the next set of opponents: Greymon and Garurumon. "This might be a bit much…" Greymon admitted as the two Ultimates approached.

"Then we'll do it one at a time, Greymon!" Garurumon snarled, and charged at Warumonzaemon spewing blue fire. Unfortunately, teamwork was something the enemies knew, too; Phantomon's scythe intercepted Garurumon and sank into his back, and the white wolf reverted to Gabumon.

"Shit! No!" Matt yelled.

"Greymon!" Tai cried. "Get away from them!"

Greymon tried to back away, but Phantomon zipped around behind him and cut off his escape. Warumonzaemon picked the lizard up like a rag doll and threw him to the ground, then stabbed at him with his claw. Greymon howled as the claw tore into his side.

"We have to help!" Birdramon urged, and the four flying Digimon descended on the scene launching their attacks… but Phantomon again got in the way and deflected all of it with his scythe, then shot up and tried to plunge it into Nefertimon.

"No!..." Kari gasped, and almost collapsed again; it took both Tai and Davis to keep her upright.

Davis turned an evil eye on Warumonzaemon. These wannabe Digimon were upsetting Kari, beating up Tai's partner and wrecking everybody's Christmas Eve… and that pissed him off royally. "Awright, you overgrown chew toy!" he yelled, raising his D3. "This is over! Now!"

His D3 sputtered and sparked, and Exveemon shuddered and became Paildramon. "W-woah!" Gomamon gasped, still in his arms. "Did you just eat spinach or something?!"

"Here!" Paildramon declared, swooping down and dropping Gomamon into Sora's arms before speeding up and stabbing at Phantomon with his wire claws. Phantomon forgot all about the lower-level opponents and gave chase to the newcomer. Paildramon was wickedly fast, and Phantomon snarled as he wove in and out of each of its slices, then retaliated with a claw in its face.

"Woah!..." Sora exclaimed as she watched. She had never seen Paildramon fight before, and it was amazing how fast he was.

"Continuously fighting Blackwargreymon must have been exemplary training," Izzy remarked.

"OK, but now what?" Matt growled. "It's two against one!"

Davis grinned. "So we fight twice as hard!" he declared. "Paildramon! Get 'im down by the bear!"

Paildramon rocketed down and buzzed Warumonzaemon, drawing its attention from stomping Greymon. As it rushed at him flailing its claw, he looked into the air and waved at Phantomon. "Hey, Grim Weeper!" he taunted, "where're yer legs? The way you fight, I bet you cut 'em off yourself!"

Phantomon's green eyes flashed red, and he dove at Paildramon with his scythe swinging. Paildramon heard Warumonzaemon coming up from behind, then zipped out of the way at the last second. The reaper's scythe found the teddy bear's chest, and Warumonzaemon screamed and howled, rotting fluff spilling out into the air. Phantomon panicked and tried to dislodge the weapon, but it was stuck tight.

Paildramon flew over the two scrambling Digimon, pulled out his Desperado Blasters and emptied round after round into them, destroying them in a horrible-smelling explosion. Silence settled over the plaza, leaving nothing of the fight but a collapsed tent, a toppled spire and clouds of black smoke drifting away on the wind.

"HELL YEAH!" Davis laughed, raising his free hand. "We did it, coach!"

Tai smiled and slapped palms with the boy. "They'll think twice about coming back here!" he declared.

Izzy scratched his chin as he looked at the spire, frowning darkly as he ruminated.

* * *

From her vantage point on the bridge, Arukenimon looked away from the battlefield and laughed, in spite of the loss. "Incredible!" she cackled. "Did you see how the humans fled? How they screamed? Honey to my ears."

Mummymon sagged against the railing, looking deflated. "Guess I won't be getting that jeep…" he sighed. "I'm definitely on the naughty list now."

"It's the place to be, Mummymon," she said, swishing her hair back as the wind started to blow. "With this, we're guaranteed to win."

The wind turned frigid, and the two felt a third presence on the bridge. Even in the dark of the night, a shadow blacker than shadows ought to be fell over both of them. Arukenimon smiled. "I figured you were nearby," she reasoned.

"Your spires perform as expected; it shall be far easier to move the Deadmon into this world now," Devimon remarked. "The master is pleased that you held your end of the bargain."

"But of course," Arukenimon smirked. "Unlike other parties who shall remain nameless… we deliver on our promises."

Devimon smiled unpleasantly. "Don't be facetious, my dear," he said quietly. "Once the girl is in our hands, the Digital World shall be yours for the taking."

Mummymon blinked a few times, lost from the conversation. "Good," Arukenimon replied. "I look forward to watching this little invasion."

Devimon bowed mockingly, then evaporated into the air. The wind's chill eased. "Come on," Arukenimon motioned to her partner, and started walking.

"The Digital World?" Mummymon asked his partner, scratching at his head. "Is that part of the plan?"

Arukenimon smiled like a hungry serpent. "It is…" she mused, "as far as _they_ know."

* * *

The water at the edge of the plaza's stone drop-off frothed, and Submarimon emerged. Cody was there, waiting to pull him back onto dry land. "Whew! Good thinking, Cody!" he remarked as he shrank back to Upamon. "That's the last time I swim after eating, though…"

"Sure it is," Cody replied dryly, then walked back to where the others were waiting. All the other Digimon had shrank down to their Rookie forms (save Gatomon), and Paildramon had gone all the way back to Chibomon. "Thanks for coming so fast, you guys," Sora thanked Davis and Cody. "You really saved the day!"

"Aww, it was nothin'…" Davis chuckled. Any chance to save Kari, he would take.

"But what was that all about?" Cody asked, looking at the wrecked spire. "Control spires aren't supposed to appear in our world… and those Digimon weren't real, and they weren't Spire-born either…"

Tai and Davis felt Kari shivering between them. "Those things…" she said slowly, "they didn't come from the Digital World…"

The others looked at her, astounded. "Say what now?!" Biyomon asked.

"She's right," TK agreed. "It may be a control spire, but Arukenimon didn't send those monsters."

"Wha… But then, who did?" Gabumon asked.

TK looked at Tai and Agumon. "Remember the Dark World Azulongmon talked about?" he asked.

Tai's eyes hardened. "…Izzy, I think we'd better have another group meeting," he told his friend.

"I agree," Izzy said, "and I'm writing Gennai as soon as I get home; this is more than I can deduce myself."

"OK," Sora said, "let's get Joe and Ken, and—"

"Matt! TK!" Hiroaki shouted. Everyone turned to see Mr. Ishida running towards them, his camera crew behind him. The Digimon immediately played dead or hid behind their partners. He stopped in front of them and gasped madly for a few moments. "Is everyone all right?!" he demanded.

"Yeah, Dad, we're fine," Matt assured him. "Everyone got out safely."

"Can't say the same for the tent, though…" TK chuckled weakly, glancing back at the toppled mess.

"That's not important," Hiroaki replied, a smile coming to his panting mouth. "Everyone's safe… Good… good." Davis thought he saw him look at Gabumon for a moment, but he didn't give much of a reaction.

The low wail of police sirens came into everyone's ears, and two squad cars pulled up near the TV station's doors. "Boss, the cops!" Charlie yelped. "What are we gonna tell them?!"

"Leave that to me; you guys take the stuff inside," Hiroaki replied, then turned to the kids. "Looks like I've got some things to clear up… You all should head home and show your parents you're all right." He glanced at TK. "You know how your mother worries," he said, then turned and walked towards the flashing lights.

"Oh, he's right," Izzy conceded. "Really, we should all go home and rest for tonight. There are going to be a lot of police around here, and they're already going to be hearing a lot about monsters…"

"Yeah, let's meet up after school tomorrow," Tai agreed. "I think we could all use a good rest…"

Matt caught Gabumon looking at the wrecked tent. "So," he ventured, "what did you think of the concert? Aside from the last part."

Gabumon looked at him apologetically. "Um… Well, it was OK…" he said haltingly, "but I like your harmonica better."

Matt's stony face managed a quiet smile. "When we get home, I'll give you a private concert," he said, patting him on the head.

"Joe!" Gomamon called as he scampered over to his partner, who was busy feeling Mimi's leg as she whimpered on a park bench. Palmon and Ken stood to the side, looking on awkwardly. "Joe, we've got another meeting tomorrow!"

"In a minute, Gomamon," Joe said, then went back to poking at the foot. Finally, he stood up and nodded. "It's not broken," he told Mimi, "it's just a sprained ankle, and not very badly; you'll just need a brace and a few days' rest. It should be back to normal in two weeks, at least…"

"Whew! That's good!" Palmon sighed. "The way she was screaming, I thought it was gonna fall off!"

Joe chuckled, then noticed Mimi was looking at him more closely, with a different expression than usual. "…What?" he asked.

Mimi shook her head. "I… You just really sound like a doctor right now," she replied.

Joe's cheeks went pink. "Err, uh…" he stammered, losing the professionalism immediately, "well, you're going to need some help home. Did you want to call your dad? Or, uh, I could take you back, too…"

Mimi looked at all the police cars parked around the plaza. "I think we're better walking," she said, holding out her arms to him.

"All right," he said, pulling her off the bench. "We need to keep your foot off the ground…"

"Oh, I know!" Gomamon said, running under Mimi's leg and waiting. "She can rest it on me!"

Palmon wrapped her vine fingers around Mimi's bent knee, securing her leg in place. "I've got it, Gomamon," she said. "You can watch for potholes and broken glass."

"Err… I was thinking something a little less conspicuous," Joe said, and knelt down with his back to Mimi. She hesitated, then put her arms around his neck and let him clutch her thighs and stand up. He took a few steps with Mimi piggybacking and seemed satisfied. "Ken, thanks for your help," he said, turning to the boy. "I really appreciate it, and I'm sure Mimi does too. Don't you, Mimi?"

Ken looked uncomfortable, but when he looked at Mimi, he saw she no longer glared at him or had any malice left in her eyes. She simply nodded to him, and then Joe started off across the concrete, the Digimon following swiftly behind. Ken sighed and started for the rest of the kids.

Tai looked at the smashed tent, then noticed Sora was watching him. He scratched at his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Some night, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," she agreed, adjusting her helmet.

"I bet that's a record for the craziest first…" he began, but clammed up before he could say "date."

"First what?" Agumon asked. "Tai, what's first?"

Sora smiled, her cheeks tinged with a little pink. "Did you want to get something to eat before we go home?" she offered.

Tai blinked, then smiled at her, his own cheeks red. "Sure," he answered. "Kari, how're you feeling?" he asked his sister.

Kari took a few deep breaths, then nodded. "I'm fine now," she said.

"Don't worry, Coach," Davis assured Tai, "I'll walk her home!"

"Yeah, and I'll walk Davis home!" Chibomon chirped.

"I guess everyone's walking everyone home," Gatomon muttered. "Go on, Tai; we'll be fine."

"Ooh! Can we get food too?!" Agumon pleaded with Tai.

"Yeah, I'm thirsty!" Biyomon spoke up. "Those cookies needed milk!"

"Oh!... Nuts!" Tai suddenly remembered, then looked even more uncomfortable. "Sorry I had to feed your cookies to the Digimon," he apologized, looking down at the empty box in his hands. "I mean, the one I did get was really good."

Sora giggled and picked Biyomon up. "I'll make some more for New Year's," she promised.

Tai grinned from ear to ear. "Can't wait!" he chuckled as they walked off.

The older kids gone from the scene, Davis turned to his friends. "Awright, so we all heard?" he asked the others. "Meetin' tomorrow after school?"

"Wait, we're missing someone," Patamon piped up, looking around. "Where's Yolei? And Poromon?"

The others looked around, but Yolei was nowhere to be seen. "Did she even come with us?" Gatomon asked.

"She was at the party, but I don't remember Halsemon or Aquilamon during the fight…" Cody observed.

"Yeah, she's not here!" TK said. "What happened to her?!"

Davis folded his arms and scowled, vindictive rage boiling in his guts. She hated him, he could swallow that much, but taking it out on everybody by not coming to the fight? "That's the last straw!" he growled.

"Straws?" Upamon asked. "Ooh, have you got soda, Davis?"

Davis gave him a dry look. "You can make anything about food, can't you?..." he muttered.

Upamon looked confused. "What else is there?" he asked.

"…I guess I'll call her place later," TK sighed. "She needs to know about the meeting."

"I'm curious what there is to say," Cody said, wondering just who else could have raised that spire and sent those monsters if not Arukenimon… and then his mind immediately pointed an accusing finger at the raven-haired boy walking up to the group.

"Ken!" Davis said. "Didn't get hurt, did ya?"

"No," Ken replied, shaking his head, "but I want to come to the meeting tomorrow."

"How come?" Upamon asked.

Ken took a deep breath. "Because I know Arukenimon had something to do with this," he said, "and I want to help stop it."

"How was she involved?" Cody asked, sounding like a cross-examiner in a courtroom. "Those were not Spire-Born."

Ken returned the frown, but didn't get angry. "I'm not sure exactly how, but I know she has a hand in it," he said. "I want to help come up with a plan."

The kids were silent for a moment, then Davis sighed angrily. "Dammit, attackin' on Christmas Eve? That's low!" he grunted. "These guys got no scrunchies!"

"'Scruples,' Davis," TK corrected him.

"No, they don't," Ken agreed, then decided it was time to lay it all out. "Davis," he spoke, "even after we defeat Arukenimon… I'm going to keep helping you."

Davis looked up in surprise. "You were gonna bail on us after Arukenimon?" he asked, puzzled.

Ken's face flushed; that was a poor choice of words. "W-well, what I mean," he continued, "is that I'm going to keep fighting alongside you and the others. I want to help protect the Digital World as much as the rest of you. So… please?"

Davis's surprised look curled into a playful smirk. "Ahh, I'm just messin' with ya!" he laughed, then playfully punched Ken in the shoulder. "Welcome to the team! Officially!"

"Yeah!" Chibomon chirped. "Ken's here for good now!"

Kari sighed with relief. "I'm so glad," she said. "You've come a long way, and we're happy to have you."

"We'll have to give you our e-mail addresses," TK thought out loud. "We'll have them when you come to the meeting tomorrow."

Cody, however, was not pleased at all to hear the others' joyful responses. This was the worst thing that could happen to the team. How could everyone else buy into that liar?!

Ken smiled at his new friends, then looked up at the cloudy sky. "Boy, it must be late now," he said. "I should get home."

"You want us to give you a ride?" Davis asked, grinning.

"Err, thanks, but I'll take the train," Ken said quickly. "No offense, but Raidramon's… not a very safe driver."

"Aww," Chibomon pouted.

"Well, let's see you to the station, then," TK said, motioning for them to start moving. "I hope the trains are running on time."

"Yeah…" Ken agreed, then sighed sadly. "I'm sorry my party was such a bust," he apologized.

Davis grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. "Well, we're sure gonna remember it!" he laughed. "We gotta do it again next year!... minus the monster bashin', anyway."

Ken smiled at him. It felt great to have a real friend.

* * *

The Inoue household door drifted open, and in shambled the sniffling, moaning zombie that was Yolei. The lights were off—everyone else was still out—but she didn't bother to turn them on. She just stumbled into her room and flopped onto the bed, her sniffles given way to full-blown sobs and wails.

Poromon nudged the door shut and then fluttered into Yolei's room. She lay staring up at the ceiling, her eyes running red and purple with tears, and her nose running white with snot, her body heaving with gurgling cries and moans. The sight of her broke his little heart, but he couldn't think of anything he could say to her.

"I t-tried…" she whimpered to him, "I triiied… All that w-work… all the cha-changes… a-all the m-m-moneyyy… and f-for… nothing!... Nothing! N-no… J-just re… re… reJECTION!" She howled again. "Total r-rejection!"

Poromon flapped there, still unsure of what this thing meant to humans. "But Yolei," he tried, "it was only Ken. You have a lot of friends already: there's Kari, and TK, and Cody, and…"

If he was going to mention Davis, it wouldn't have been heard; Yolei's sobs doubled in volume. "You don't get it! You'll never get it!" she screamed at him. "_Leave me alone!_"

"Yolei!" Poromon objected. She threw her pillow and it smashed into the desk next to him, sending lipsticks, blush cases and little perfume bottles clattering to the floor. She rolled onto her side, scrunched into the fetal position, and quietly cried.

Poromon watched her for a few moments more, then sadly fluttered over to his little bed. If this was what Christmas was about, he thought, he didn't see why anyone would look forward to it.

* * *

Taking the utmost care to only tug gently, Joe finished wrapping the gauze around the brace on Mimi's leg. He was glad Mimi's parents were out, which saved him a barrage of frenzied questions about how she ended up like that in his company. "There we are…" he said, stepping back and looking at his work. "Now, stay off it for a couple of days and keep it elevated. It needs some ice on it for twenty minutes a day to keep down swelling. If you don't have an ice pack, you can use a bag of frozen peas."

"Peas, nothin'!" Gomamon huffed, sticking his tongue out. "How 'bout frozen chicken wings instead? That sounds way better!"

"What about ice cream?" Palmon suggested. "That's better than both!"

Joe chuckled at the Digimon and their antics, but then he heard Mimi sniffle. She was wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Sorry… is the gauze too tight?" he asked.

"No…" she whispered, shaking her head, "it's fine."

He smiled at her sadly and stood up. "Sorry it was such a lousy date, Mimi," he apologized. "Palmon, keep an eye on her and remember my instructions."

Palmon mock-saluted and grinned. "Nurse Palmon's on the job!" she agreed. "Ooh, I'll have to make a neat hat!"

Joe threw on his jacket and picked Gomamon up. "Well, Merry Christmas, I guess…" he said to the girls, and started to leave.

"Joe, wait," Mimi blurted out. He turned and looked at her, and she managed a shy little smile. "…Thanks," she said, "and… I'm sorry about the other times…"

Joe smiled and patted her on the shoulder, and her cheeks flushed a little. "Goodnight," he said, and walked out the door.

"Wow, Joe's really different," Palmon pointed out. "He used to be scared of his own shadow, but now he's cool!"

Mimi smiled at her little friend. "Yeah…" she agreed quietly, looking at the closed door.

* * *

"Whew… Well, this's it," Davis remarked, looking up at the apartment building the Yagamis lived in, then at Kari and Gatomon. "See ya tomorrow, Kari."

"Thanks, Davis," Kari replied. "Goodnight."

"Hey, Chibomon," Gatomon spoke up, "did you give it to him yet?..."

Chibomon thought for a second, then almost jumped. "Oh, no!" he yelped. "I will, though! Thanks!"

Davis waved to Kari as she walked up the stairs and disappeared around the corner, then started home… and halfway there, he stopped and smacked himself in the head. After all the crap that had gone down tonight, he had never had a chance to get together with Kari! No quiet moment between them, no mistletoe, no nothing! "FUCK!" he shouted to the empty street.

"Davis? What's wrong?" Chibomon asked.

"_I'm_ what's wrong!" Davis huffed. "Tai hooked up with Sora, and Joe somehow got Mimi to go to the concert with him… but what about me?! Where's MY piece of the pie?!"

"I don't think there was any pie, Davis…" Chibomon tried to answer.

Davis groaned and thumped his fists against a lamppost. "Is anyone out there having a shittier Christmas Eve than me?!" he growled. "I swear! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Chibomon blinked a few times, then smiled happily. "But it was really fun!" he said. "We got to meet Ken's mom and dad, and they were really nice, and we ate a lot of good food, and played new games, and then we even got to Digivolve in the real world and save everybody!"

Davis looked at the little blue sock ball on his shoulder thoughtfully, then found a smile. "Yeah… I guess it was pretty good after all," he admitted. "And hey, at least TK didn't get to kiss Kari either… Yeah, you're right, Chibomon. Thanks."

Chibomon laughed, but then jerked back as something cold and wet stung his nose. "Ooh!" he exclaimed, looking up. "Is that…?"

Davis looked up and felt cold wet spots on his cheeks, too. Slowly, gently, it was beginning to snow in downtown Odaiba. "Well, how about that!" he smirked at Chibomon. "How did you know that was gonna happen?"

"I didn't," Chibomon chuckled. "I just hoped it would!"

"You're really something," Davis chuckled. They walked the rest of the way home with their tongues out, seeing who could catch the most flakes.

He arrived home to a surprisingly loud argument between Jun and their parents. "That's what happened!" she insisted. "Monsters attacked the concert!"

"Don't even joke about that stuff!" Mrs. Motomiya huffed. "It's not funny!"

"Come on, dear, don't get so upset," Mr. Motomiya said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure she's just having us on."

"But I'm NOT!" Jun snapped. "Just watch the news! It was right next to the TV station! They have to have caught it!"

"That's enough," Mrs. Motomiya said with a wave of her hand. "We're going to bed. Turn the lights off before you go into your room, OK? You left them on last night."

"But… but…!" Jun stammered, but her parents went into their room and shut the door. She groaned in frustration and crashed onto the couch.

Davis chuckled as he kicked his shoes off. "Rough night?" he asked as he peered over the couch at his sister.

She opened one eye and frowned at him. "And how was _yours_?" she muttered.

"Meh," Davis said with a shrug. "Not as exciting as yours, sounds like."

"I can't believe it!" she huffed, jumping up and balling her fists. "It started off so great, but then the monsters showed up and then I lost track of Matt! And Mom and Dad don't believe me!" She stopped and scowled at him. "And now you're gonna make fun of me too, aren't you?!"

Davis hesitated. Should he say he believed her and make her feel better?... or should he enjoy himself? "Well, you know jazz makes people freak out," he replied slyly.

"You little!..." Jun panted, then just ran to her room and slammed the door. Davis chuckled to himself, turned off the light and went back to his own room. It wasn't often he was the one making Jun run away in frustration, and it felt awesome.

As he stepped into his room, though, he noticed the plastic bag in the corner and groaned. Those were the little presents he had meant to give all his friends at the party, and he had completely forgotten them! "Aww, crap!" he growled. "Tonight sucks!"

"Hey, Davis! Wait a minute!" Chibomon piped up, hopping off his shoulder and scooting under the bed.

"What're you doin'?" Davis asked. "You're gonna get all dusty!"

Demiveemon hopped back out with something in his mouth; it was a popsicle stick with a plastic googly eye stuck to it. "Here! It's a pilot for your planes!" Chibomon chirped, dropping it at Davis's feet. "Merry Christmas, Davis!"

Davis stooped down and picked it up, caught totally by surprise. He shook it and the eye rattled around with little clicks.

Chibomon suddenly looked alarmed. "Oops! I've gotta use the little boys' room!" he announced. "I'll be quiet!" He bounced between Davis's legs and rushed out the door.

Davis watched him disappear into the dark, then looked at the little thing in his hand. He rattled it again and smiled. "…Best damn Christmas ever," he sighed happily.

* * *

"Oh, Ken! Where did you all run off to?" Mrs. Ichijouji asked as Ken walked back into the apartment.

Ken had spent the whole train ride and the walk home going over his options for real-world combat, and the fact that he didn't have any left him rather morose. How could he be part of the Digidestined when he couldn't fight alongside them? "Oh, uh… nothing," he replied blankly. "Just some Christmas thing."

"Did everyone have fun?" Mr. Ichijouji asked, looking up from his third plate of goodies.

Ken hesitated, remembering the mess they had just gone through at the plaza… but then he remembered Davis's words and everyone's happy faces as they played and ate. "Yes," he said, managing a tired smile. "They said they enjoyed themselves a lot."

"Good!" Mrs. Ichijouji said, then looked concerned. "Oh, but what about that girl who left after the rest of you did?"

"Girl…?" Ken asked, sounding puzzled. Then he knew who she meant.

"She was sniffling a lot," Mrs. Ichijouji went on. "Left about ten minutes after the rest of you, didn't even say goodbye."

"That wasn't anything," Ken replied quickly, his mood souring. "Excuse me, Mom; I have something I need to do."

He took his shoes and jacket off, went to his room and closed the door. Mrs. Ichijouji watched him go with a puzzled expression. "What do you think could have happened?" she asked. "She looked so upset, the poor thing…"

Mr. Ichijouji grinned. "Just some girl trouble, I'd wager; nothing to worry about," he proposed, then nodded toward Ken's room. "He's taking it really well. I remember my first breakup was awful…"

"Yes, I remember," Mrs. Ichijouji said with a wry smile. "You cried like a baby, begged me to come back and said you'd build me a mansion in the sky."

Mr. Ichijouji smirked. "It worked, didn't it?" he pointed out.

Safe in his room, Ken looked out his small window at the peaceful falling snow… but its beauty didn't reach his calculating mind. Arukenimon had to be behind this somehow. She had appeared in his room once, which meant she could go between the worlds… Most likely, Mummymon could too. But something didn't add up: what was her angle? Hadn't she said she wanted to destroy the Digital World? Why would she bother attacking the real one?... He stood watching the snow, wishing he knew the answer.

* * *

The Yagami door creaked open and Tai and Agumon started to sneak in, but Kari and Gatomon were still up. "Hi!" Kari said, making her brother jump in surprise.

"Geez, don't do that!" he huffed. "Gonna give me a heart attack!..." Then in a softer tone, he added: "how're you doing?"

"I'm fine now," Kari said, then smiled wryly. "So? How did things go?" she asked, putting her hands behind her back and looking expectant.

"Nothing major," Tai admitted as he hung up his coat. "The only place open was a noodle cart, so that's where we ate… then we watched the snow fall for a bit, talked about some things…"

"Yeah, that was the boring part," Agumon muttered. "At least Biyomon wanted to play."

"Eat and play, huh?" Gatomon asked, rolling her eyes. "Your worldview's pretty simple, isn't it?..."

Kari wasn't satisfied with the answer. "So did you like it?" she pressed. "Did SHE like it?"

Tai smiled at his little sister. "She enjoyed herself so much, she asked me to a movie next week," he reported. "I guess this is one time I've gotta thank you for not minding your own business."

Kari beamed. "That's what I'm here for," she pointed out. "But really, all I did was a little nudging, and…"

She was interrupted by a loud yawn from Agumon. "Guoooh! No more talking… I'm worn out," he complained. "Can we go to bed now?"

Tai patted his partner on the head. "I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present than you. You can sleep on my bed tonight," he said, then smiled at Kari. "Thanks again, Kari."

"Can you tell me a Christmas bedtime story?" Agumon asked as they started towards Tai's room.

"Gee… I don't really know any," Tai admitted.

"Hey, I know one," Kari ventured, quickly remembering things she had seen from TV specials. "See, one time this elk found a magic hat, and then he had to save Christmas from a giant yeti and this Russian guy who built robot horses… and I think there's a kid with a drum in there somewhere… and there was lots of singing that hurt your ears… oh, and a train with a magic hobo…"

Gatomon rolled her eyes. "Don't quit your day job, Kari…" she muttered.

* * *

Davis's fun-filled dream rudely popped in his face as his door knocked, and then his mother peered in. "Hey, Daisuke, good news!" she said to the lump in the sheets, "whatever happened in town last night, they cancelled school today!"

Unlike any other day off, Davis jerked out of bed with a zealous "hot damn! Thanks, Mom!"

She shut the door and he started throwing on clothes, grinning from ear to ear. So he finally got Christmas Day off, just like kids in other countries! He knew exactly what he was going to do: he would take those presents over to his friends, and then he'd finally get that holiday smooch from Kari! He wondered if his mom might have any mistletoe in the herb cabinet. "C'mon, buddy, let's get goin'!" he urged as he grabbed Demiveemon, who was sprawled out on the pillow, having Digivolved in the night.

"Guh… Bacon, Davis?..." he slurred. "I want gravy…"

He rushed out to check in the kitchen for himself, but just as he emerged from his room, he heard a scream from Jun. He turned to see her sitting on the couch, watching the television with a horrified look. Their parents were also watching with similar expressions. "What's wrong?" he asked crossly. "Matt broadcasting he dumped you on TV?"

"Look!" she yelled, pointing at the screen. "See?! I was right!"

Davis did look, and his eyes almost burst from their sockets. The twenty-four-hour news station was broadcasting footage of the Digimon battle in the plaza the night before. Jun's eyes narrowed as the screen showed Exveemon kicking and swinging at Phantomon. "Hey…" she said, glancing between the TV and Demiveemon. "That kind of—"

Davis panicked and grabbed the remote. "Shuddap! I wanna hear this!" he huffed, mashing the volume button.

"The footage comes from our partners at the TV station next to the scene," the newscaster spoke in a clearly distressed voice, "and it clearly shows several monsters engaged in combat, as well as the ruins of a mysterious tower not unlike the others..."

Demiveemon struggled to stay quiet in Davis's arms.

"Wait, whaddya mean _others?!_" Davis yelled at the TV.

"That's right, Amada-san," a female newscaster spoke, "and to recap, our top story today is the seemingly overnight appearance of mysterious black obelisks in several major cities around the globe." Still pictures started to flash across the screen, showing control spires next to global landmarks, like the Sphinx, the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. There were also pictures of spires near places Davis actually knew, near home! "Officials have no explanation for the obelisks, nor has any organization come forth to claim responsibility. Still, if they are connected to the mysterious creatures seen in Odaiba last night, all concerned governments have warned their citizens to stay as far away from them as possible. The military has already scrambled to monitor the obelisks appearing in Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo…"

The newscaster kept talking, but Davis heard no more. His head swam with fear, shock and anger. What the hell was happening now?!


	44. Day Of The Dead

**CHAPTER 44**

**DAY OF THE DEAD**

Yolei didn't remember falling asleep, but before she knew it, she was kicked back into the glum morning light by her D-Terminal's loud beep. "Hey!" Poromon chirped, flapping up onto the desk and opening the gizmo. "Yolei, there's an e-mail!" he announced. "It says 'come to Izzy's ASAP, Kari.' Oh! It must be about last night! Let's go!" he exclaimed, fluttering over to the bed.

"Unngh," Yolei groaned sickly, then shivered and rolled over. After last night, the last people she wanted to see were the ones she had been humiliated in front of… not to mention Davis… and Ken.

Poromon nudged her again. "Come on, Yolei!" he urged. "We missed something important, I just know it! I want to find out!"

"Then go…" she rasped.

"No, you have to come, too," Poromon objected. "Didn't you hear Kari before they all ran off? Digimon showed up in the real world! I want to… no, _we need_ to find out what's happening!"

"No," Yolei choked out.

Poromon hesitated for a minute, then growled and fluffed his feathers; he didn't like it when she was changing around Mimi, and he _really_ didn't like this! It was time to act! "Get up this instant!" he snapped, flying over and landing on her rump. "We're a part of the team, and I'm not going to let you lie here being gloomy when something terrible is happening!"

Yolei's answer was a deflated groan, and she didn't move. "…Right, then!" Poromon snapped, and jammed his beak into her soft middle.

Yolei yelped—that nose was sharper than it looked!—and feebly swatted at him. "Leave me alone!" she moaned.

"I will not!" Poromon huffed, easily flitting away from her arm and spiking her in the ribs. When she swung again, he flew above her pillow and pecked incessantly at her ear. "Get up!" He chirped. "Get up! Get up! Get up!"

"Auuugh! OK! OK!" she wailed, sluggishly rolling away and pushing herself off the mattress. "You win…"

"Good," Poromon replied curtly. "Now get cleaned up and let's go!"

Feeling like cement blocks were chained to her eye bags, Yolei dragged herself over to her mirror, picked up her comb and started to straighten her hair… but then she remembered last night and dropped it with a shuddering sigh. What was the point? She discarded her dream outfit and pulled on a baggy sweater and rumpled jeans, then just picked Poromon up and pushed her way out of her room, not bothering to pick up.

Something exciting must have been on TV, because she heard all three of her siblings gasping as they watched, along with utterances of "oh, my God!" and "Not again!" She didn't look; she just hobbled to the front door, haphazardly jammed her feet into her shoes and pulled her jacket off of its hanger in the closet. Throwing it half on and picking up Poromon again, she quietly opened the door and stumbled out into the cold.

"Oh, good!" TK's voice made her jump in surprise. She looked up to see the boy walking up, as well as Patamon, Cody and Upamon. "We didn't know if you were home," he said with a smile. "Going to Izzy's too?"

Cody was not smiling. "You didn't come with us last night," he said crossly. "Didn't you hear Kari?!"

Yolei's depressed face twisted into red anger. "Back off!" she snapped, making him lurch back, as well as everyone else.

"Yolei!" Poromon scolded. "These are your friends!"

"_Friends_… Ugh!" she spat, then grew silent again.

"Gee, Yolei, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Patamon asked.

"Patamon," TK shushed him.

"Wow!" Upamon exclaimed. "There's a _wrong_ side of the bed?! Why didn't you warn me, Cody?"

"That's enough," Cody replied, then looked at Yolei. "We have to hurry. Everyone's waiting."

"Why?" she mumbled, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "What's the problem?"

"If you had come like you were supposed to, you would know," Cody muttered.

"I am NOT in the mood," she snapped. "Just tell me what happened!"

TK pointed over the cement corridor. "_That's_ what happened," he said somberly.

Yolei looked where TK's finger pointed and her mouth dropped open. Rising up into the gray sky from near her school was a jet-black control spire. It wasn't the only one, either; as she looked at the skyline, she could make out at least two others hiding among the buildings. "Wha… what?!" she whimpered, looking back at the boys. "Why? _How?!_"

TK shook his head. "We're hoping Izzy knows," he said. "Come on, let's hurry!"

Yolei felt sick and shook all over, but now she knew Poromon had been right. She clenched her fists and nodded, and followed the others down the stairs.

* * *

Sighing wearily, Hiroaki Ishida lumbered into his apartment and hung up his coat. It was a long, difficult night trying to sort out the confusion at the TV studio, and his staff had insisted he take a day off. While he didn't like to be idle, he finally decided it would be best to yield to his stomach, which screamed for food, and his eyelids, which pleaded for sleep. "Matt?" he called as he stepped into the kitchen area.

"All right, I'll be there…" Matt was muttering into the phone when he saw his father, and then he quickly hung up. Gabumon stood nearby, looking anxious. "Uh, hey, Dad," Matt said, then quickly moved for the closet.

"Morning, boys," he replied.

Gabumon blinked a few times, then managed an awkward smile. "Um… Good morning, Mr. Ishida," he replied.

He smiled, but then he saw Matt grabbing his jacket. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I've gotta go meet TK and the others," Matt replied, jamming on his shoes, picking up Gabumon and opening the door. "Breakfast's on the stove. See you later." With that, the door shut.

Hiroaki sighed, got up and went to the stove. He picked a hunk of crispy bacon off the frying pan and chewed it tiredly. Matt may have been grouchy, but he always made enough food in case his father turned up. Hiroaki wondered where his son learned to cook so well; it sure didn't come from his example.

He had just began to search for the newspaper when the phone rang. Immediately, he grabbed it; maybe the TV station needed him back after all. "…Yeah?" he spoke.

"Come on, Hiroaki," a familiar voice scolded. "You know to say 'hello' when you pick up the phone!"

"Nancy?" he asked, genuinely surprised. His ex-wife and he weren't on bad terms, but it was rare for her to call him. "I… What is it?"

"You can guess!" she said, sounding upset and angry. "I want to know everything you know about last night! What were those monsters?! What are those things out there now?!"

"OK, Nancy, calm down; you sound like you're gonna explode," he replied. "Now, I just spent the whole night answering questions like that for the cops. Why do _you_ want to know this stuff? Did something happen?"

There was a pause, then Nancy exhaled. "Yes, something happened," she replied. "Yesterday I was approached by a man named Yukio Oikawa, who sent a ton of crackpot letters to my paper ten years ago about the Highton View Terrace incident."

Hiroaki stiffened, and his grip on the phone tightened. "…Yeah?" he asked.

"Anyway, he said he'd been researching the Odaiba Fog incident from five years ago and wanted to share his findings with me," Nancy went on. "When I said no, he told me I should be careful about who my sons play with… and then he said that he knew 'everything,' and left." She paused and sighed. "It was creepy enough on its own, but then to have _this_ happen at Matt's concert… Look, I want to know if you know something about it! For TK's sake! And Matt's!"

Hiroaki lowered the phone and stared out the window at the gray morning, his eyes hard and thoughtful. "Hiroaki?" Nancy's voice came. "Hey! Hiroaki!"

"Sorry, Nancy," he apologized as he raised the device again. "I need to go and check something out. I'll call you this evening, so please, stay calm until then."

"Stay _calm_?!" she snapped. "What's wrong with you?! Don't start this with me again, Hiroaki!"

"I _will_ tell you; I promise," he retorted, "but I have to be _sure_ first. I need you to trust me, only until tonight. All right?"

"But…" she tried to object.

"Come on, Nancy," he pressed, "I'm not doing this to be a dick; you know that."

The phone was silent for a few moments. "…All right," she surrendered. "I'll wait… just until tonight."

"Thanks," Hiroaki said, finding a smirk. "Check in with ya later."

He hung the phone up, stuffed the rest of the bacon into his mouth and went to collect his jacket again; there would be no sleep for him today.

* * *

"Oh, hi, Taichi," Masami Izumi greeted the boy at his door, his little sister in tow and also a white cat and a little orange dinosaur. "Are, uh, those your Christmas presents?"

"Hi, Mr. Izumi," Tai returned the greeting. "May we come in? Izzy—er, Koushiro's expecting us."

"Well, come on in, then," Masami said, moving aside. Tai and Kari came in and took off their shoes. Izzy was watching the news reports on the TV in the living room with his worried-looking mother, and Tentomon flitting around nervously. Davis and Sora had already arrived and sat on the couch with them. Demiveemon sat on the coffee table, nibbling on a cookie. Biyomon stared out the nearby porch doors, seemingly trying to pinpoint the spires' locations. "Hey, guys," Kari greeted them.

"Hi, Kari!" Davis returned, beaming brightly. "I figured we'd be meetin' early when I saw the news, so I was the first one here!"

"Really? Great!" Tai chuckled. "I want to see that kind of hustle on the field, Davis."

"Hello, Tai, Kari," Izzy said. "We're still waiting for the others."

Sora stared hard at the spires flashing across the screen. "All across the world…" she murmured. "What do you think it means, Izzy?"

"I'll explain when everyone is here," Izzy promised.

Yoshie looked at the other kids, then at the Digimon, then at her son. "Koushiro, does this have to do with what happened last night? And these weird buildings?" she asked, motioning at the screen.

His father came closer to listen to the answer, too. Izzy nodded somberly. "I'm afraid it does," he admitted. "Somehow, the Digital World is bleeding into our own again."

"Does that mean you'll have to leave and fight monsters again?!" she pressed, the panic starting to mount in her voice.

"It's all right, Mrs. Izumi," Sora reassured her with a hand on her shoulder. "We're only meeting to talk about what's happened."

"Yeah, it's fine! There's nothing to fight… eh heh," Tai chimed in, managing to stop his mouth before the word "yet" came out.

"Well, if that's all it is…" Yoshie sighed with relief even though her hands still trembled, "I'll make some tea."

She got up and headed for the kitchen just as the door knocked again. Masami opened it to reveal Matt and Joe with their partners. Joe also had a brown notebook in his hands. "Hi, Mr. Izumi," Joe greeted him. "May we come in?"

Mr. Izumi stepped aside and they came in. "Hi, guys," Kari greeted them.

"Gee, Joe, you had to cut class?" Tai asked, looking at the notebook. "Man, college doesn't stop for anything!"

"Err, no, I only have an evening class today," Joe replied, "but I figured I'd write everything down so Mimi will know what we talked about, too."

Davis raised an eyebrow. "What, she got nice all of a sudden?" he asked.

"I don't know, Joe," Biyomon pointed out, "she might not take a notebook that isn't pink."

"That's what I said," Gomamon chuckled. "See? I told you!"

"They don't make these in pink!" Joe huffed.

"Relax, Joe," Matt muttered. "You'd think you could tell when they're yanking your chain by now…" He paused and looked around. "TK's not here yet?"

His answer was the doorbell, and again Masami opened the door. "Hi, Mr. Izumi," TK's voice came. "Um, may we come in, please? Koushiro's expecting us."

"It's a lot more than Koushiro who's expecting you," Masami said, motioning to the others. TK and Cody walked in with their partners, and Yolei slowly shuffled along behind them, gripping Poromon tightly in front of her like a shield and avoiding everyone's gazes.

"Hey TK, Cody…" Davis started, then saw Yolei and scowled darkly. "And where the hell were YOU last night?!" he demanded. Yolei just stared at the floor.

Sora's eyes narrowed at the girl, her fists instinctively balling. "We were in a lot of trouble; we needed _everyone_," she scolded. "Even Ken came along, and he couldn't use his weapons, but he found a way to help!"

Everyone turned and looked at her, but Yolei remained sulkily silent. Poromon felt her fingers clench even tighter. "Erm, yes, well," he tried, wincing. "You see, what happened was—"

"Be quiet. Nothing you say is going to help," Matt stated icily, then looked past him into Yolei's hollow face. "You're a Digidestined, albeit a lousy one," he growled, "and you'd better start _acting_ like one. That means you _show up_ when there's trouble."

Yolei took a shuddering breath, but did not reply. Matt snorted and shook his head.

A thick, oppressive silence hung over the crowd until Kari tried to clear it. "OK! Um, so, is everyone here?" she asked, looking around.

Patamon looked around from his perch on TK's hat. "Well, almost," he said. "Was Ken supposed to come?"

Yolei gave a quiet whimper. Davis watched her for a moment, then smirked unpleasantly. So _that_ was it.

"Yeah, I sent him an e-mail," Kari said, "but it takes a while to get here from Tamachi."

"Well, why don't we start?" Joe asked, opening his notebook. "We can fill him in later."

"All right," Izzy agreed, and quickly grabbed his laptop from his room. He put it on the coffee table and pulled the screen as far back as he could, showing everyone a map of the downtown area. Several black dots flashed at different points on the map. "I threw this together this morning," Izzy said. "I was able to pinpoint a number of spires in Tokyo. They seem to have popped up without much rhyme or reason."

Cody noticed one black dot flashing in the river, close to the bridge near the school. "I knew it!" he exclaimed, pointing at the dot. "See, Tai? I _knew_ I saw a spire in the water!"

"That was there before today?!" TK asked. "Then does that mean they were hiding underground?"

"I'm not sure," Izzy admitted. "There's still a lot we don't know about these things. All I can say for sure is that there are five control spires in the immediate area, not to mention the ones appearing in other parts of Japan, and the rest of the world…"

"Yeah, why is Arukenimon doing that?" Agumon asked, scratching his head. "Is it just because she knows we can't get that far?"

"More importantly, HOW is she doing it?" Joe pointed out. "TK, you said Mummymon or she have to BE there when they make new spires, right? How did they get all around the world in one night?"

"Oh, no!" Demiveemon yelped. "They mugged Santa Claus and took his sleigh!"

TK shook his head. "I don't think this is Arukenimon," he said.

"Yeah…" Kari agreed, looking bothered, "those… _things_… were from somewhere else."

"But they were using her spires?" Gatomon asked. "How does that work?"

"And how did _she_ even get _here_ in the first place?!" Tentomon buzzed. "She couldn't just leave the Digital World!... Can she?"

"Ugh, there're way too many questions here," Cody grumbled, shaking his head; too many unknowns in a situation always made him irritable.

"Ken thinks Arukenimon was in on it somehow," Davis recalled. "Maybe we'd better wait 'til he shows up."

Izzy sighed and looked out the window. "I guess that's the best option," he admitted. "He probably knows the most about Arukenimon. In the meantime…" He turned up the volume on the television and sat back down as the news feeds ran.

"Confirmation is coming in from numerous sources," the anchorman spoke, looking at a sheet of paper in his hand. "The mysterious towers have appeared in several major cities. In Europe: Rome, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, London. In America: New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro…"

The kids' jaws clenched as they listened to the announcer list off the world's big cities. So far all was quiet, but if last night was any indication, Digimon could swarm out of the spires at a moment's notice. How would the rest of the world fare against this invasion?

* * *

Ken bit his lip and looked out the window again, wishing the train would go faster. Almost every school had been cancelled that day, but the adult world pretended to go on as usual, which meant tons of commuters and dozens of stops.

The train rumbled as it started onto the bridge that spanned the river. Ken racked his brain over the disturbing events of the night before. He was sure Arukenimon had some sort of hand in things, but there had to be something more sinister involved, too. After all, those may have been control spires, but he had never seen her make them emit fog and bleed shadowy Digimon… He shook his head and leaned back in the seat, staring out at the gray sky. Why had she come to the real world again? Did she finally realize that he was defenseless here and wanted to finish him off? Or was it just to cause more trouble? Or maybe some other scenario…?

Suddenly he realized everyone in the car was gasping and looking out the window he faced. He stood up for a better look and his eyes widened. A control spire was sticking out of the river just before a highway bridge, a thick, smoky fog pooling around its base. He had to get to Izzy's, and fast.

* * *

"Stay back, please! Return to your homes!" a policeman with a megaphone shouted at the curious crowd as his fellow officers lassoed streetlights with yellow tape and threw down orange barriers around the mysterious black tower, which had appeared right in the middle of the street. "I repeat: stay away from the structure!"

The throng of civilians backed a few yards away, but few of them left. Two remaining figures stood on the corner, watching the cops try to maintain order. "This is a bother," Arukenimon sighed, stroking her hair. "I was hoping for a panic-driven riot by now."

"It's still ominous, just dropping it right in the middle of the road; the humans just need a little time for the fear to grow in them," Mummymon pointed out, then shook his head. "Oh, but I feel rather out of sorts; it doesn't feel right to let others play with our spires, does it?"

"If they're using it for chaos, it's fine by me," she replied, smirking at the worried-looking humans in the crowd, then down at her gloved hand. "I just wish they'd hurry up; I was hoping for a few days off. I want to try one of those 'pedicures' I've heard so much about."

"Oh, that would look lovely on you!" Mummymon cackled, then stopped. "Ah, but the whole city's likely to be shut down when our friends get underway."

Arukenimon scowled at him. "Can't even let me daydream, can you?" she muttered.

Suddenly, the crowd started to shift and at least a dozen people cried out. Arukenimon and Mummymon looked up to see a soupy gray mist oozing out from the base of the spire, quickly enveloping everything around it, and a horrid aquatic smell wafted in along with damp gurgling noises. The police scrambled for their guns and riot shields, though they looked as terrified as the civilians. "Clear the area!" the one with the megaphone shouted at the mob. "Clear the area NOW!"

The crowds shifted and quickly began to disperse, quickly fleeing down all the connecting streets and leaving only a few curious stragglers for the cops to scream at. Arukenimon pulled her hat down over her eyes. "We should follow suit, Mummymon," she warned him, and began to walk away.

"Oh, but don't you want to see?" Mummymon asked, hobbling after. "The show's about to begin!"

"True… but I'd rather be a bit further away," she replied. "Somehow I don't think our 'allies' are very discriminating."

* * *

"Ugh, I can't take this any more!" Tai huffed as he turned the TV's volume down. "Let's at least figure out how we're breaking these spires! We don't need Ken here for that!"

"Whaddya mean?" Upamon asked. "Let's just blow 'em down like we always do!"

"No, Upamon," Izzy disagreed, looking at his map again. "Most of these spires have appeared in busy parts of town, so we shouldn't carelessly knock them down; they'd fall on occupied buildings and hurt somebody."

"We should direct which way they're going to fall," TK agreed, "like lumberjacks direct how trees come down so they don't hit their friends."

"Can I yell 'timber?'" Agumon asked. "I'm great at yelling 'timber!'"

Davis sighed and shook his head. "Too bad we can't just blow the damn things to pieces," he muttered. "You know, vaporize 'em."

"Yeah…" Sora agreed, "but I don't think any of our Digimon have an attack that powerful."

"If we did, it'd be easy!" Demiveemon piped up. "Then we wouldn't hafta worry about clatter-all damage!"

Upamon and Patamon looked at him oddly. "What's that?" Upamon asked.

Demiveemon scratched his head for a second. "Um… all the noise it would make when it fell!" he quickly deduced. "That can hurt your ears!"

"I'm all for not hurting my ears…" Patamon admitted, folding his ear wings down.

"We'll definitely need to control the fall," Izzy spoke again. "We have Nefertimon and Pegasusmon in the air, and six Armor choices on the ground. Let's determine what would be the best combination…"

"Right…" Sora sighed, looking sadly out the window.

Matt folded his arms and pouted. "We still can't do a damn thing," he grumbled, "and they're in our own neighborhood."

Tai, Joe and Izzy also looked depressed at that. Davis slammed his fist into his palm. "Hey, relax!" he announced. "We'll trash those spires and make sure nobody gets hurt!"

"Yeah!" Upamon agreed, bouncing up and down. "Leave it to us! We can do it!"

"We don't have a choice," Matt growled, not looking at all reassured.

"Um, I think he means 'good luck,'" Gabumon tried.

"I'm sure you can, guys," Joe said, "but this is still hard to handle…"

"We've got bits of all the Crests now, right?" Tai asked Izzy. "We should go see Gennai! He told us to come back when we did, right?"

"You're right," Izzy agreed. "Maybe while Davis and the others knock down the spires, we can convince Ken to—"

Almost on cue, the door flew open and Ken raced into the apartment, not even stopping to take his shoes off. His whole body heaved, and his face burned like a hot iron. "Izzy!..." he panted, the word just barely coherent in his gasps.

Everybody turned and looked at him, except for Yolei, who turned the other way so she didn't have to see him. "What the… What happened to you?!" Davis asked.

"Did you run all the way here?!" Joe asked. "That can't be good for your heart!"

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Gatomon remarked.

"Not… yet…" Ken managed, then sagged against the wall and took a few heavy breaths, unintentionally keeping everybody in suspense. Finally, he swallowed a few times and managed to speak again. "The spires… There's mist coming up around them," he reported.

Sora bit her lip; that sounded just like what happened at Matt's concert.

"We'd better start knockin' 'em over now," Davis said, pushing off the back of the couch, "or Arukenimon might make Spire-Born right in the middle of town!"

"I don't know… I still don't think Arukenimon's doing this," TK replied, looking out the window.

"Whaddya mean?!" Davis huffed. "They're spires! Of COURSE she's doin' this!"

"But if she was going to make Spire-Born, why put them so far away from each other?" TK went on. "You heard the news; they've got them in America and Europe, even!"

"Yeah, she can't throw her hair _that_ far," Upamon pointed out, "can she?"

"How'd they get around the world, anyway?" Patamon asked. "It's really big… and besides, we broke the jeep."

Ken looked hard at the others. "Arukenimon is involved," he stated darkly. "I don't know how, but she _has_ to be."

Everyone but Yolei looked at him again. "You sound certain," Izzy said, scratching his head. "Care to elaborate, Ken?"

"She can come into our world," Ken said. "She appeared in my bedroom once, trying to steal my Digivice."

"Uh huh…" Matt grumbled, folding his arms. "And you didn't just—"

"I was wide awake!" Ken snapped, pouncing on the skepticism so quickly he made Matt jerk back a little. "Do you think I hadn't thought of that?!"

"Easy, Ken, we believe you," Tai said. "But how does she do it?"

"Mummymon can probably do it, too," Kari reasoned. "They're probably somewhere in the city right now…"

"Great," Gatomon growled, her angry tail slapping both Demiveemon and Upamon in the sides. "Coming onto our home turf… The kitten gloves are off!"

"Why would she come here, anyway?" Poromon asked.

"Easy; to go after us," Davis growled. "Why else would they come here? Prolly wants to sneak in while we're sleeping and… crrrrrrch!" He drew his finger across his throat.

"Oh, no! Not crrrrrrch!" Patamon yelped, mimicking Davis's movement.

Cody scratched at his chin for a second and paced around. "Davis and Poromon both have points," he said. "Attacking sneakily sounds like something she would do… but instead, there are spires in the streets. And remember, Arukenimon said she wanted to destroy the _Digital_ World, not ours…" He stopped and glared at Ken, who returned in kind. "It doesn't add up," he finished. "She doesn't have a reason to do this. I think you're trying to misdirect—"

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling shriek burst from the TV's speakers, and everyone whirled around. The screen was flashing with the words "BREAKING NEWS" and a shaky camera was wavering on the haze at the base of a spire, which now danced with an array of glowing yellow lights.

"What are they?!" someone yelled.

"Get back!" a policeman with a megaphone yelled as dozens of officers pulled their guns and stood ready behind their barriers. "GET BACK NOW!"

Shuffling slowly with a doleful splattering rhythm of wet feet came a line of twenty spindly, black, smoke-like creatures with fin-like protrusions on their heads and limbs and glowing golden eyes. They clutched gnarled-looking black weapons resembling spears, claws and pistols. Behind them came another wave of twenty. And behind those came another, with a rumbling black tank in the middle of the marchers. And behind those came another set of the same.

The police yelled and started firing, the cacophony making the TV's speakers buzz with static. The invaders, unhurt by the hail of bullets, raised their own pistols. Tar-black lasers pierced the police cars, and six officers fell immediately. The remaining police kept firing, but the new army just kept coming, engulfing the force and finishing off the screaming men with the spears and claws. The ones with pistols changed their targets to the fleeing civilians and shot them down with cold precision. "Oh my God!" someone shouted as one of them pointed its weapon right at the camera and fired. "OH MY G—"

The TV screen exploded with static. The kids' mouths hung open in silence for several terrible moments; even Yolei had been watching. "…Holy shit," Davis finally said.

"Awful…" Upamon murmured.

Kari's entire body shivered and trembled. "It's them…" she whimpered. "From the ocean…"

"What _are_ they?" Joe whispered.

TK stared into the static on the screen. "Deadmon…" he uttered. "And the weapons they were making…"

"De… Deadmon?..." Yolei repeated.

The TV flickered and showed the anchorman again, who now looked over several sheets of paper with panicked eyes. "We're… getting reports that large groups of dangerous… _things_ are appearing from each of the structures… and the police are being overwhelmed," he spoke with a shaking voice. "Everyone is advised to stay indoors and… prepare to defend himself. This station will stay on the air… and provide information for as long as it can." He grew silent and visibly shuddered.

Demiveemon looked up at his petrified partner. "Davis!" he chirped. "We've gotta do something!"

Davis's face was frozen in horror like the rest of the kids, but it quickly contorted into anger. "Screw plans!" he huffed, yanking out his D3. "We're takin' spires down NOW!"

"For once, we agree," Cody said, producing his D3 too; those police officers needed help.

Tai slowly nodded. "You're right," he said, fingering his old Digivice. "There's no time to lose."

"What?!" Joe gulped. "Tai, we can't do anything!"

"What about the spires?" Gabumon asked.

"If Davis and the rest can break them, we can help clean up those monsters," Tai pointed out. "This's gonna take _all_ of us!"

Agumon grinned and raised his claw. "Yeah! I'm game!" he chirped.

"You guys are crazy!" Gomamon panted. "…But I guess that's how we have to be. Count me in!"

"What about Gennai's?" Matt asked.

Izzy nodded and looked at the map on his laptop. "He'll just have to wait, Matt," he decided. "Now—"

His laptop suddenly beeped. "What's this about me having to wait?" a familiar old voice came from the speakers. Izzy recoiled as an e-mail opened by itself and he found himself looking at Gennai's aged face.

"Woah!" Tentomon exclaimed. "I heard about 'voice mail,' but this…!"

"Gennai!" Izzy said. "Maybe you can enlighten us. We've acquired pieces of all eight Crests, but now control spires and strange Digimon have appeared in _our_ world…"

"Are they connected somehow?" Sora asked, leaning over Izzy's shoulder.

"What're we supposed to do?!" Joe demanded, almost shoving Izzy's face into the table with his hand.

"All right, calm down," Gennai spoke. "What's important is that you managed to recover the Crests, and it's equally important that each Digidestined now carry his fragment on him."

"Crests?!" Matt shouted. "People are _dying_ out there!"

"Yes, I know," Gennai said, sounding more tired; his smile faded and he slouched a little. "I would love to tell you more, but as you say, you have bigger problems at the moment… Once you've secured your city, I'll call back."

"You got it!" Biyomon chirped.

"Yeah, we'll kick these guys out and be back before you know it!" Gatomon promised.

Gennai's wrinkled face suddenly looked grave and concerned, an expression that the kids had not often seen; it made him look even older than usual. "Use caution," he advised in a lower tone. "There's far more to this than you know." With that, his image fizzled out, leaving the city map.

"I hate it when he says things like that…" Joe sighed. "It always means something really bad."

"Thanks, Joe," Matt growled. "We really need that right now."

Ken looked at TK. "You said 'Deadmon,'" he recalled. "Do you know what they are?"

TK nodded gravely. "They're definitely not something Arukenimon made," he said. "They're something way worse…"

"Totally," Patamon agreed. "We're talking, like, two-week-old-wet-sock-under-the-bed worse!"

Kari's whole body shook now, and she leaned on the couch to steady herself. TK watched her for a moment, then made a decision. "No more talking, Tai," he said to her brother. "Let's get out there!"

Tai set his jaw and nodded. "Yeah," he agreed.

Izzy looked at his map again. "According to this, there are five control spires in the city limits," he reported. "North, south, west, east, and southeast by the school."

"You should split up, one new and one old, and knock them down as quickly as you can," Ken suggested. "After that, the older kids can Digivolve and help fight the Deadmon."

"Sweet plan, Ken!" Davis cackled. "OK, Coach, let me show you how awesome we are!"

Demiveemon threw a few punches and jumped up and down. "Yeah, we'll drop 'em like a bad rabbit!" he declared.

Tai grinned. "You're on, you two," he said.

"Just save some for me!" Agumon added.

Cody picked up Upamon and looked at Joe. "Will you help me, Joe?" he asked. "Ikkakumon should be handy against those tanks."

"Me?" Joe asked, surprised that the boy had asked him instead of Izzy. "Well, uh, sure!"

"'Tanks' a lot, Cody!" Gomamon snickered. "OK, that's all I've got. Let's rock!"

Izzy glanced at his worried mother and father. "Err… I'll stay here and keep an eye on new information," he said. "Ken, you can help me."

"Whatever you need me to do," Ken replied with a nod.

"Whew!" Tentomon panted. "That's a relief… Uh, I mean, what a shame I don't get to fight!... Hmm."

"I bet you want Matt to come along," Patamon said to TK.

TK smiled and nodded. "You know me pretty well," he agreed. "Matt, want to work together?"

Matt managed a smirking smile. "You didn't even have to ask," he said. "Gabumon?"

"We're ready!" Gabumon agreed.

"OK, so…" TK said, looking at who remained. Yolei stared gloomily out the window. Sora looked at Yolei, then frowned and turned towards Kari. Kari still visibly trembled in place, but she watched TK expectantly. He looked at Kari again; those Deadmon wanted her for some wicked plot, and bringing her right to them didn't sound like a good idea. Besides… she looked like a nervous wreck. It would be better if she stayed safe. "Sora, could you go with Yolei?" he asked.

Yolei sucked in air and looked at Sora drearily. Sora's lips curled back and she looked ready to say something, but then she shook her head. "…Fine," she grumbled.

Kari looked at TK again. "TK, what about me?" she asked, sounding a little hurt.

"Yeah!" Gatomon objected, looking miffed. "What are we, kitty litter?!"

TK blinked, surprised. "I… what?" he asked. "I thought you didn't want to deal with them."

Kari still trembled, but she shook her head. "That's… it's not important," she replied. "Tai said it would take all of us." She bit her lip and gave him a determined glare. "I'm coming."

TK hesitated again. He really didn't want Kari involved in this, but he could tell she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. "…All right," he agreed quietly.

Davis looked between TK and Kari. Something was going on here that he didn't understand, and that made him angry. "Hey, what's the deal here?" he butted in. "It's like you know these guys!"

Kari and TK looked at him, then at each other. Davis had a point; nobody else really knew anything about the Deadmon. "Sorry, Davis," Kari apologized. "Once we save the city, I'll tell you everything."

"Kari…" Tai murmured, then looked at Sora. "Sora, instead of Yolei, can you go with Kari?"

Sora's expression brightened considerably. "No problem!" she said.

Yolei just exhaled, looking obliviously depressed. "So what about us, then?!" Poromon objected. "We can't go out there alone!"

Izzy glanced at his mother, who had just finished pouring cups of tea and was looking at him worriedly. His father also watched him. Izzy bit his lip and eyed Ken. "You can take care of surveillance on your own, right?" he asked.

"I… yes," Ken replied, a little surprised.

"Prodigious," Izzy said, turning to Tentomon. "Then we'll go with Yolei."

"Koushiro!" his mother gasped. "You just said…" She stopped and looked out the window, then shook her head sadly. "You have to do this again, don't you?" she sighed.

"Yes," Izzy replied, "it's the only way to keep you safe." He paused and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"It's OK," Masami replied, motioning for the door. "Just come back safely." He looked at the other kids. "That goes for all of you; don't make me have to call your families with bad news."

Cody bowed. "Thank you, Mr. Izumi," he said.

"The only bad news is gonna be what WE give THEM!" Demiveemon yipped, hopping on Davis's shoulder. "Let's go, Davis!"

Tai looked at all of his assembled friends. Despite the dire situation, he suddenly felt more like himself than he had in years. "Is everyone ready?" he asked, making a courageous fist. "Then let's go show these guys who's boss!"

"Yeahhh!" Agumon cheered, pumping his claw. The others made similar noises and charged out of the apartment.

Izzy and Tentomon started to go, but Ken put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll protect your parents," Ken stated. "I promise."

Izzy smiled at him. "Thanks, Ken," he answered, then raced after the others.

The Digidestined made their way down to the street, where Demiveemon, Poromon and Upamon all Digivolved to their Rookie forms. "OK, who's going where?!" Joe asked as he almost dropped his Digivice.

Davis raised his D3 and Veemon became Raidramon. "We call west!" he shouted as Tai, Agumon and he got onto his reptilian steed and clattered off down the concrete.

"East is ours!" TK declared, raising his D3. Patamon transformed into Pegasusmon and spirited Gabumon and the Ishida brothers into the gray sky.

"Let's go north," Sora suggested, and Kari nodded and lifted her Digivice. Gatomon changed into Nefertimon and took off with the girls.

Cody and Joe looked at each other and nodded. Cody raised his D3 and Armadillomon became Digmon, and the four of them raced off southward.

Izzy watched his friends go, then looked at Yolei, who lingered quietly, staring at the ground. "It appears we're taking care of the spire near the school, Yolei," he said. "Shall we?"

"Oh… Um…" she muttered, uncertainly clenching her fingers together.

Izzy scratched his head. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, you seem a little off…" Tentomon remarked.

"N-no, I'm OK," she said quickly, and took out her D3. In a flash, Hawkmon was Halsemon. "Halsemon, let's go southwest," she said as she got on his back along with Izzy.

"…Wasn't it southeast?" Halsemon rumbled.

"I… Whatever," Yolei muttered, shaking her head. "You can see it, can't you?"

Halsemon started to say something, then stayed quiet and took to the air. Izzy eyed his friend and her tired, withdrawn expression. Were they going to be all right?

* * *

Hiroaki took a long drag of his cigarette as he looked at the card in his hand, and then up at the gray Tamachi apartment complex in front of him. This was the last known address. It made sense; this was the old neighborhood. He walked through the gates and up the stairs to the third floor, then made his away to apartment 319. He pressed the doorbell and waited, but nobody came. He loudly rapped his knuckles on the door and waited again, but still there was no answer. He scowled and raised his hand to knock again.

"Looking for me, Hiroaki?"

The low voice came from behind him, and he spun around to see the gaunt man his ex-wife had encountered towering over him, a mischievous smirk on his lips. "…Hi, Yukio," Hiroaki greeted the man, looking him over and taking another drag of his cigarette. "…You're taller than I remember."

The smirk spread across Yukio's entire mouth. "I would hope so, after this long." He glanced at the cigarette and shook his head. "You really should quit smoking," he remarked. "Filthy habit, you know."

Hiroaki watched him for a moment, then looked over the balcony at the dark gray river and the buildings that flanked it. "There's been some weird stuff going on in town," he said. "Seen anything?"

"Indeed I have," Yukio replied, the smirk still fixed on his face as he stared out at the water too. "Mysterious creatures appearing, the wild, frenzied news reports, the widespread panic in the streets…" He took a breath and sighed nostalgically. "It brings back a lot of memories."

Hiroaki scowled at him. "They're not supposed to be _good_ memories," he grumbled.

Yukio said nothing, but continued to smile unpleasantly. Hiroaki angrily sucked his cigarette down to the stub. "I'll cut right to the chase," he said, dropping it on the ground and crushing it with his foot. "I want answers, Yukio, and I want them now."

Yukio gave a disappointed groan and feigned sadness. "How upsetting," he mused. "Rough, tough, loyal Hiroaki, threatening one of his oldest friends?..."

Hiroaki remained stone-faced. "Maybe at one point," he said, "but after Mitsuo and Chidori…"

"Ah…" Yukio sighed, still maintaining his sad look. "A tragedy, to be sure… I still take fresh flowers to the site."

Hiroaki's fists clenched and his chest swelled. "What's your game, Yukio?!" he growled.

Yukio's sad face twisted into one of repugnance. "I never understood that about you," he replied harshly. "You're always saying 'game' as if it were something to be loathed."

"I'm sick of this, Yukio," Hiroaki huffed, jabbing at him with his finger. "I'm warning you right now: this isn't gonna end well!"

Suddenly, the sounds of gunshots, explosions and screams drifted into Hiroaki's ears. Yukio just smirked again and looked up at the sky. "_I'm_ not who you should worry about right now…" he chuckled.

Hiroaki looked where Yukio looked and saw the golden Pegasusmon soaring over the buildings, both Matt and TK riding on its back. "Damn!" he snarled, gritting his teeth. "You stay away from—"

He found himself talking to empty air. He frantically looked this way and that, but there was no sign of the man. He huffed a cuss word, then clattered back down the stairs.

* * *

"Pedal to the metal, Raidramon!" Davis shouted, slapping his partner's shoulder. The wind rushed through his hair and the scenery blew past like he was in a racecar. If he hadn't been thinking about the legions of Deadmon, he would have been psyched to be tearing through downtown on Raidramon's back.

Raidramon pounded the pavement so hard, his toenails made sparks when they hit the concrete. He rounded a corner just in time to see a line of Deadmon raising their guns against group of cowering citizens, and he leaped in and released his Thunder Blast, making them collapse into puddles of black filth. As they raced on, Davis could hear the humans screaming in terror. He couldn't understand why; they were heroes coming to save the day!

Tai looked ahead and pointed. The control spire loomed dead ahead, smack in the middle of a park surrounded by police cars. "There," he growled.

Raidramon skidded to a halt, sending several millimeters of road scattering. They had stopped at a much more gruesome scene. Though it looked like there hadn't been many civilians in the park, the Deadmon army had made quick work of the police; the cars were riddled with holes and smears, and none of their windows were intact. A pungent burnt odor hung in the air. Davis wrinkled his nose and tried not to think about what it might be coming from.

"This's awful…" Tai murmured, looking around. "They're fast!"

"Things just got real, didn't they, Davis?..." Raidramon asked solemnly.

Agumon peered into the hazy park and the Deadmon surrounding the spire. There were at least six rows of creatures, as well as four tanks placed at its base. One of the creatures gave a gurgling hiss, and the whole unit started shuffling towards the Digidestined. "They really don't want it knocked down," he exclaimed.

"Tough," Davis huffed. "Coach, you and Agumon get off here."

"Right; this is your play," Tai said as he grabbed Agumon and slid off. "What's your plan?"

"Same thing I do in soccer: go straight for the goal!" Davis cackled, then slapped Raidramon on the haunch. "C'mon!"

Raidramon roared with excitement and tore off across the gray grass. The Deadmon with firearms immediately started shooting, but Raidramon was too fast; he dodged some shots and ran right over the Deadmon in front of him, cringing as their goopy insides squirmed between his toes. "Ugh, nasty! Gimme some space, will ya?!" he snapped as he impaled one on his horn and then shot a lightning bolt into the crowd ahead, sending Deadmon splattering into each other.

The four tanks turned to face the intruder and fired dark-colored blobs the size of motorcycles, and Davis thought they were homing in on them. "Holy crap!" he yelled. "Left! LEFT!"

Raidramon skidded and lunged left just as the blasts devoured the ground they had been on. The tanks swiveled and locked onto them again. "They're bringin' their A game!" Davis panted. "Fry that spire, NOW!"

Raidramon's horn sparked just as the tanks fired again. He waited, then leaped over the explosions and shot the cold electric light right into the control spire, making it light up like a blue Christmas tree as it wobbled back and forth. The Deadmon hissed and turned their guns on Raidramon, but he dove down behind the spire and gave it a swift kick with his hind legs. It groaned, then toppled forward, smashing two tanks and a gaggle of Deadmon as it came to rest.

"Nice one, Davis!" Tai yelled, raising his Digivice.

"Now let _me_ have a turn!" Agumon roared and transformed into Greymon, stomping into the park and incinerating as many Deadmon as he could. Despite that two enemies were on different sides, the Deadmon showed no fear or confusion and continued to fire on both. Greymon snarled as several shots hit his shoulder, then he retaliated with a Nova Blast. "They're not strong, but there's a lot of 'em!" he boomed.

The Deadmon with melee weapons advanced on Greymon and stabbed at his knees, driving him backwards. Raidramon raced along the top of the fallen spire and landed next to the dinosaur, his horn sparking brightly as he vaporized a dozen more Deadmon. "You guys want both of us at once?!" he asked. "Must be feelin' lucky!"

Suddenly, the Deadmon stopped attacking. Their hands fell to their sides and their weapons clattered to the ground. "HAH!" Davis laughed, pumping his fist. "We did it, Coach! They're surrendering!"

The Digimon weren't so sure. "This doesn't smell right…" Greymon rumbled.

"Uh… Didn't this happen before, Davis?" Raidramon asked. "Kinda looks like those Mekanorimon…"

The Deadmon shuddered and trembled like licorice jelly. Davis's mind suddenly flashed back to the ruined Gigas and his smile fell off. "…Shit!" he swore.

"Get back! Now!" Raidramon urged his partner.

Davis hopped off and ran to the perimeter of broken cop cars, where Tai was waiting. "What's going on?!" Tai asked.

"…They ain't surrendering," Davis muttered.

As Greymon and Raidramon waited, the remaining fifty or so Deadmon melted down into a vile-smelling black puddle, which surged and oozed up into a new form. The boys found themselves looking at a gigantic green bird monster with a metallic cranium and beak, and a set of sharp-clawed arms in addition to his wings.

Tai's eyes narrowed. "This clown again," he huffed.

"You know this guy?!" Davis asked.

"Parrotmon," Tai replied. "He's an Ultimate."

"Say what?!" Davis yelled. "Those jackasses!"

Parrotmon screeched at the two Digimon and its wings flapped wildly, blowing them back. Greymon roared and lunged, and the two pushed and pulled at each other like angry wrestlers. Hankering for a piece of the action, Raidramon leaped and bit into Parrotmon's leg. The big bird emitted a piercing shriek that made Greymon fall back in pain, and then Parrotmon pulled Raidramon off and threw him without incident. He crashed to the ground in front of Davis and Tai and reverted to Veemon. "Ugh… I thought that would work…" the little lizard groaned.

Davis bared his teeth and pulled out his D3 again; it was time to kick things up a notch. "Get up, Veemon! Time for a sub!" he announced, and raised the device.

Veemon scrambled to his feet and raced back to Greymon's side, this time Digivolving into Exveemon. "Let's try something with range," Greymon suggested.

"I'm all for that," Exveemon agreed, rubbing at his jaw. Greymon sucked in air and spewed mighty fireballs, and Exveemon fired his V-Laser as rapidly as he could. Parrotmon recoiled from the blasts, but it wasn't anywhere near defeat. Its head feathers sparked, and then it let loose with a burning yellow electric wave, sending Greymon flying and forcing Exveemon to take to the air. Parrotmon then belted out another bloodcurdling shriek, which uprooted several trees and filled the air with police car fragments. "Look out!" Tai yelled, yanking Davis away as a vehicle buried itself in the ground nearby.

"OK, now it's personal!" Davis huffed, his D3 starting to spark. "Kick his ass, Paildramon!"

Exveemon fizzled and wavered for a moment, then transformed into the tougher Paildramon. "_Nobody_ squashes my pals!" he shouted, flying at Parrotmon and planting a kick across its face. Parrotmon staggered backwards, then furiously chased after the newcomer firing lightning blasts.

"You forgot about me!" Greymon roared, grabbing onto Parrotmon's wings as it ran past and torching its face with his fire breath. As it flailed and tried to break free, Paildramon doubled back and slammed both feet into its chest, knocking it to the ground. It opened its mouth to shriek again, but Paildramon's Desperado Blasters were already out. In a storm of bullets, the creature writhed and twisted into nothing but black smoke and a few patches of ooze in the grass.

Greymon let off a celebratory roar. "That's how we do it!" he boomed.

"YEAH!" Davis cheered, high-fiving Tai. "Digidestined one, freaks zip! Awesome work, Paildramon!"

"Yeah… but we got off easy here," Tai said, still looking somber. "This was a park; not a lot of buildings to damage here, like in other spots…"

Davis's smile faded, too. Tai was right, as usual… not to mention however many police officers who had fallen to the Deadmon. This was no time to be jumping for joy like a lunatic.

"Hey, Davis!" Paildramon broke into his worries. "If we got an easy one, then we've still got enough juice for a hard one!"

Davis looked at his partner and his grin came back. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed. "C'mon, Tai, let's go help the others!"

"That's just what I was thinking," Tai said with a nod, and then he climbed onto Greymon's shoulder. "Let's go south; somehow I can see Joe and Cody having trouble."

"Heh, tell me about it!" Davis cackled as he let Paildramon pick him up. "OK, Paildramon, start lookin' for the next spire!"

"We won't be seeing it for long!" Paildramon declared as he took to the air and flew south, Greymon stomping along behind him.

* * *

The financial district of Tamachi was emitting so much black smoke, it could have been a heavy industrial area instead. Pegasusmon flew over a discordant scene of the remaining police trying to evacuate panicking businessmen, who raced around like screaming toddlers only to be gunned down by the plodding, methodical Deadmon army. The streets were already littered with papers, briefcases, corpses and spatter. "This's sick," Matt growled as he looked down. "It's like they knew these white-collar guys would be sitting ducks."

"This's worse than Myotismon!" Gabumon shuddered.

TK's fists clenched tightly on Pegasusmon's mane. Somehow Devimon had a hand in these creatures and this carnage, and he was going to pay for it.

"TK," Pegasusmon's voice came, and he saw the horse watching him. "Let's focus on the rescue," he said. "We can worry about Devimon later."

TK nodded; his partner knew him well. "Where's that spire?" he asked, looking around the skyline.

The obsidian tower stood in the middle of a street with tall buildings on three sides and a busy a highway overpass behind it. Vehicles tore past as fast as they could go, but the Deadmon on the bridge didn't let all of them through. Gabumon cringed as a car smashed into a few Deadmon and flipped over, its bottom bursting into flame. "Hurry, Pegasusmon!" he urged.

"Which way do I strike it?" Pegasusmon asked, looking at the spire's tricky position. "It's going to land on something no matter how it falls!"

Matt bared his teeth in frustration, but then he remembered the first spire he had encountered. "You don't have to knock it down," he recalled. "Just break it!"

"Yeah!" TK said, remembering what had happened. "Smash the top in; that should do it!"

Pegasusmon soared above the spire, then dove down and mashed all four of his hooves into the black stone. The cracks sparked violently for a few moments, and then the spire fell silent. The Deadmon all turned from their human hunting and instead fired on Pegasusmon. "Was that really a good idea?!" he demanded.

The screen on Matt's Digivice glowed a familiar green. Matt looked at it and his mouth curled into a smirk. "…Yes," he replied. "Gabumon!"

"Let's go!" Gabumon declared, raising a claw.

Pegasusmon flew low to the ground and Gabumon leaped off, Digivolving into the white-furred Garurumon as he hit the ground. Matt hopped onto his back and they tore off through the dark hordes, firing off his blue Howling Blaster and incinerating dozens on each breath. "Take that! And THAT!" Garurumon roared. "Ha ha… This's just like old times!"

The smile on Matt's face showed that he agreed in no uncertain terms.

The tanks on the street raised their guns to the sky and started firing black blobs at Pegasusmon. "Woah!" the horse whinnied as he jerked away from one explosion, then dove beneath another. "So those aren't just for show!"

"They'll try anything," TK growled, then looked down at the ground to see Garurumon headed right for the machines. His brother would take care of it.

Matt pointed at the lead tank, and Garurumon leaped at the artillery and belched his Howling Blaster. The tank's upper half turned as blue as the flames, then sagged and caved into the lower half. "Wow!" Garurumon exclaimed, surprised at the damage. "Am I that strong, or are they that cheap?"

"There're more!" Matt reminded him as the three other tanks shifted focus to the wolf. Garurumon zipped away from the explosions, then ran circles around the tanks and melted them into slag. "Clear!" Matt shouted, waving at the sky as Garurumon lunged back into the Deadmon throng.

No longer threatened by the tanks, Pegasusmon raced through the sky blasting every throng of Deadmon he saw, with TK pointing out a new cluster almost as soon as he had fired on the first one. As he flew, TK's mind raced through everything he knew about the Deadmon and their plans: they had a god, they wanted Kari, and this was the army they had been building. Was Kari so important to their god that they would try to slaughter a whole city to get to her? And why was Devimon working with them? He gnashed his teeth as Pegasusmon veered right and vaporized another group; when were they going to get answers instead of more questions?!

Soon almost all the Deadmon on the streets had been vanquished, and Pegasusmon flew behind some buildings to take care of any ones in hiding. "Looks like we got 'em all," Garurumon growled triumphantly.

Matt looked up at the elevated highway behind the spire and frowned; he could see more Deadmon up there. "Let's end this," he growled. "Get up there, Garurumon!"

Garurumon raced down a side street and up the entry ramp. Among the burning remnants of smashed cars and vile odor were at least five dozen more Deadmon, all silently staring right at them, unmoving. "What're they waiting for?" Garurumon asked. "Think they know when they're beat?"

The Deadmon shuddered and shook, then slimed together into a giant mass. It rose into the air and fell apart, revealing a massive gray, buzzing Okuwamon. Garurumon reeled back, snarling. Matt scowled and felt sweat beading on his brow. "…TK!" he yelled at the sky.

TK heard his brother's cry just as Pegasusmon launched a flashing Star Shower onto the last of the Deadmon just before they fired on a barricade flanked by police officers. "Do a 180, Pegasusmon!" he urged as his partner landed for a breath. "We have to—"

"Stop!" a police officer yelled through a megaphone, pointing at him. "You! Kid! Step away from the monster!"

"It's OK," TK called to him, patting Pegasusmon's mane, "he's a good one!"

The officer shouted something else, but Pegasusmon took off and it was lost in the wind. "Hmph! Monster… Really!" Pegasusmon grumbled.

"Don't worry about it," TK assured him. "Right now let's worry about Matt and Garurumon."

Pegasusmon reached the highway just as Garurumon spat a Howling Blaster in Okuwamon's face… but the giant bug looked about as hurt as if the wolf had thrown a wet napkin. "They're playing dirty now," Matt growled as Pegasusmon landed.

"You again?!" TK growled at Okuwamon, then looked at his partner. "We're going to have to switch!"

"Are you sure?" Pegasusmon asked, looking worried. "It didn't go well last time…"

"It's the only chance we've got!" TK huffed. "Hurry!"

Pegasusmon nodded, then reverted to Patamon. TK pulled out his D3 and the little critter changed into the gleaming Angemon. "Time for a rematch," he rumbled, pointing his golden rod at the bug. "Come on, Garurumon!"

Garurumon roared and leaped at Okuwamon's legs, but Okuwamon's wild wings propelled him upward and blew both Digimon backwards in a hail of debris. Matt had to take a hand off Garurumon's back to shield his face from the stinging dust and pebbles. At the exact moment, Okuwamon dove right at Garurumon with a buzzing hiss.

"Matt! Look out!" TK yelled, but the insect was too fast; it slammed into Garurumon and grabbed Matt in its scissor-sharp claw. Garurumon rolled backwards and crashed into a wrecked car, stunned. "Angemon, do something!" TK shouted at his partner, remembering what those claws were capable of.

Angemon swooped up and bashed at the claw with his rod, but Okuwamon's exoskeleton felt as hard as a boulder. He flew at Okuwamon's face with a glowing fist, but Okuwamon swatted him to the ground with its free arm. "No!" TK yelled. "Matt!"

Something sharp began to cut into Matt's back, and he could feel the claw squeezing in his front, pushing him into it. He squirmed and struggled, but there was no way he could get out of the bug's steely grip. Garurumon got up and raced at Okuwamon and belched his blue fire again, but the bug flew higher and gave a crackly laugh. The cutting sensation got sharper, cleaving into his back and heading for his spine like a deranged nutcracker, and he cried out in pain.

Suddenly, he realized that his shirt pocket was glowing a bright, gentle blue, and he forgot all about the pain. That was a color he hadn't seen in years but recognized immediately; that piece of the Crest of Friendship was glowing like a diamond. "Garurumon!" he yelled.

"Now you're in for it!" Garurumon snarled as he glowed blue, too, and reared up on his hind legs. In a blinding flash, he grew muscular and bipedal, sporting torn jeans on his haunches and a leather gauntlet on his left arm. The Ultimate-level Weregarurumon announced his rebirth with a bone-chilling howl.

Okuwamon buzzed angrily at the newcomer and moved to finish slicing Matt in half. Weregarurumon leaped straight up, landed on its head and tore into it with his razor-sharp claws. Okuwamon screeched as bits of itself flew in every direction, and its claws snapped open. Matt tumbled for the ground, but Angemon caught him and deposited him safely next to his little brother. "Now that was _too_ close," Matt sighed.

Angemon looked down and saw his gloves were smeared with blood. "Matt! Are you all right?" he asked.

Matt looked over his shoulder and turned around, and TK gasped; a wet red line trailed across the back of Matt's shirt. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed.

Matt winced a little, but he shook himself off and stretched. "It's not as bad as it looks," he assured TK. "I'm fine…" He paused and looked back at the battle. "Which is more than I can say for that."

Okuwamon flailed and swung at the top of its body, but Weregarurumon held fast, mixing his slashes up with sharp punches and stomps. "I could still use some help, here!" he growled back at Angemon.

"Right!" Angemon said, and he flew back to Okuwamon with his fist glowing. "Nobody hurts my friends!"

Weregarurumon leaped out of the way and Angemon lobbed a golden Hand of Fate at the flabbergasted bug. It burned through its right claw and kept going, taking its right set of wings as well in a plume of black smoke. "Yeah!" TK laughed, pumping his fist; he knew anything made from Deadmon wouldn't be able to handle Angemon's attacks!

Hissing and clicking its death throes, Okuwamon listed, then in a last ditch effort to take them with it, dove at the bridge as fast as it could go. It slammed down and the supports gave way, and the concrete structure tumbled down towards earth. Weregarurumon and Angemon grabbed their partners before they could be caught up in the collapse and got them to safety. What was left of Okuwamon melted into tar and dribbled off of the wrecked bridge. "It's done…" Angemon muttered, looking around at the destruction.

"I wish we'd gotten here sooner…" TK admitted, shivering at the scent of blood still hanging in the air.

"But think of all the people we _saved_, TK," Weregarurumon pointed out.

"And now we'll save a lot more," Matt agreed, sounding strangely upbeat. Despite his injury, he felt invigorated; finally, he was fighting with all his strength again.

"Yeah… but that was tough…" TK started, then looked up with alarm. "If we needed Weregarurumon, the others are in trouble! We have to help!"

Matt's smirk faded into his usual scowl. "Let's find the gamer girl," he said. "She'll need help."

TK nodded. His brother wasn't sympathetic, but he was right; Yolei might be in big trouble. "Let's go, Angemon!" he said to his partner.

Angemon nodded, then picked up both boys and flew westward. "Hey, wait for me!" Weregarurumon huffed, bounding onto the nearest building and scrambling for the roof. "I haven't been on two legs in forever!"

They flew back over the police barricade, where most of the surviving cops and civilians had crowded together and watched the whole battle; most of them ducked and screamed as the angel and the werewolf raced by. Hiroaki Ishida, though, who had joined the crowd, looked up and smiled with quiet pride. When they had disappeared, though, he looked back at the devastation and scowled. "What're you after now?..." he murmured.

* * *

Without a flying or riding Digimon on hand, it took Joe and Cody a fair amount of time to reach the university district in the south. When they got there, they found a small army of both city and campus police officers surrounding a mist-flanked control spire in the middle of a greenspace. "Cool! The Deadmon haven't emerged yet here," Digmon said, looking around. "We're early!"

"Oh, great!" Joe yelped as he saw where the spire was. "That's right next to my school! If they destroy it, how will I graduate on time?!"

"Jeez, Joe, can ya put the books down for one invasion?..." Gomamon grumbled.

Cody sweat too, but for a different reason: he was afraid for the police officers. His father had been one, after all, and had died in the line of duty… and the thought of any of these brave men dying in the same way made him sick to his stomach. "We need a plan," he said to Joe. "You know this place. What—"

"They're coming!" one of the officers yelled, and everyone turned. In their slow, solemn lines, Deadmon slunk out of the mist firing their weapons. The police immediately ducked behind their squad cars and returned fire, but the Deadmon advanced without delay. "It's like shooting clouds!" another officer shouted as an energy blast tore through a windshield. "Call HQ! We need backup!"

"No!" Cody rasped, his fists balled; those officers were going to lose their lives trying to bring down the monsters. "Joe, we have to hurry!" he urged.

"You mean YOU have to hurry, Cody," Gomamon pointed out. "We can't do anything 'til that spire's broken."

"He's right…" Joe admitted, looking sad. "Digmon has to do that alone."

Cody looked at his metallic mole partner, feeling more panicky but trying to think. "Right… We have to break the spire and protect the police…" he said, "but which should be first? You can't fight all those Deadmon alone, so maybe we should head right for the spire, but then some officers might be shot… but we can't get to the spire without defeating some Deadmon… but if we don't hurry…!" He gnashed his teeth and shook his head.

Digmon hated seeing Cody get upset, but as he heard the Deadmon energy weapons peppering the squad cars with holes, he knew there wasn't time to think hard. If he could just get to the spire without a big fight, maybe he could… His blue eyes lit up. "Hey, Joe!" he exclaimed, pointing at the greenspace. "What's under that place? Some holes? A subway?"

"Uh… Not a lot," Joe replied. "There might be some walking tunnels that go between buildings, though."

"…I'll make it work," Digmon said. "Cody, I'm gonna do both!" With that, he drilled into the concrete and disappeared underground, leaving a trail of elevated earth wherever he burrowed, zigzagging under the greenspace like a deranged rabbit.

"What's he doing?" Gomamon asked. "They're up HERE!"

As the dirt trail skittered around the field, some officers shouted that they were out of ammunition. More energy shots struck the squad cars and several burst into flame, their sirens dying in doleful wails. Cody watched the earth nervously; whatever Digmon was doing, he had better hurry up.

From out of the mist behind the Deadmon rumbled four black tanks. "Oh, geez!" Joe yelped.

"Come on!" Gomamon yelled. "Don't you jerks have enough firepower already?!"

One of the tanks' guns swiveled and fired, and a horrible explosion of black energy launched two squad cars into the air and several officers onto the pavement. The other tanks started to take aim with their cannons, too. "Fall back!" an officer screeched. "FALL BACK!"

The spiraling, snaking dirt heap was almost at the control spire. Cody's knuckles were completely white, and his arms shook. "Hurry, Digmon!" he yelled at the hole.

The earth beside the spire erupted, and two shining drills plunged into the side of the black tower. It sparked and hissed for a moment, then shut off. "All RIGHT!" Gomamon laughed. "Toss me over the cars, Joe!"

"All right, go get 'em!" Joe cheered, pulling out his Digivice and tossing Gomamon as far as he could. The titanic Ikkakumon crashed down onto the field with a joyful roar. The police yelled in alarm and scrambled away from the walrus monster. The Deadmon apathetically switched their fire to the newcomer, though their energy shots didn't do much to his shaggy, blubbered body.

"You guys wanna throw down?!" Ikkakumon snarled. "Bring it!"

"Ikkakumon!" Digmon yelled, waving to him as he popped out of the ground. "Show these guys the new basement!"

Ikkakumon hesitated for a second, then grinned and launched a volley of Harpoon Torpedoes into the throng of Deadmon. Cody and Joe felt the ground shudder as the missiles landed, and then the entire greenspace caved into a giant crater, burying the Deadmon and their tanks. Cody finally managed to smile. "They're safe… Thank God," he breathed.

"YEAH!" Joe laughed, pumping his fist. "Now I'll still get my diploma!"

One of the officers turned around, noticed the boys, stood up and ran towards them… but one look at his face told Cody and Joe that he wasn't there to thank them. "Hey! What're you doing here?!" he demanded sharply.

Joe went white. "Oh, uh… W-well…" he stammered.

"You and the other officers have to evacuate," Cody started sternly. "We'll—"

"This is a restricted area!" the officer barked at him, then turned on Joe. "What do you mean by bringing a kid here?! Can't you see it's dangerous?!"

The walkie talkie strapped to the officer's vest crackled loudly. "Chief!" a man's voice came from it. "What do we do? They're just standing there now!"

The chief picked it up. "I need three men to escort some kids out of the danger zone. All other units, fire on the new monsters!"

Cody's mouth fell open. "What?!" he demanded.

"N-now, wait a minute, officer," Joe tried, "there's been a misunderstanding!"

One of the other cops signaled, and a hail of bullets flew at Ikkakumon and Digmon. "Hey, what the heck?!" Ikkakumon rumbled as he felt the sharp pings on his toes. "Ow! Quit it!"

"What're you guys doin'?" Digmon asked as bullets bounced off of his metal frame. "We just saved you!"

"No, stop!" Cody urged the chief. "Those are _good_ monsters! They beat the other ones!"

"We're not taking any chances, kid," the chief growled, then picked up his walkie talkie again. "Will someone get over here and move these kids?!" he yelled.

The other officers were still firing everything they had at Ikkakumon and Digmon. Ikkakumon hopped around as much as he could to try and get away, but Digmon just stood there as the bullets deflected off of his face and arms. "Hey, just shoot me, OK?" Digmon asked. "I can't feel it, but you're really hurting' my buddy!"

Cody scowled at the chief. "Stop this right now!" he snapped. "You don't have any right!"

"All right, that's enough!" the chief huffed, grabbing both of them by the arm. "I'll escort you out myself! Let's go!"

"Let me go!" Cody shouted, struggling hard. When did the police turn into such bullies?!

Joe put a hand on Cody's shoulder and shook his head. "They're scared, Cody," he explained. "This is the natural reaction. He's not going to listen."

"What?!" Cody huffed. "Then what are we gonna do?!"

As the chief started to push them away, his walkie talkie crackled again. "Chief!" a panicked voice came. "The black ones are back!"

The chief, Cody and Joe whirled around in alarm. Surely enough, oozing out of the rubble were several dozen Deadmon arms, pulling their hissing owners out behind them. "Crap!" Joe huffed.

"What're you waiting for?!" the chief shouted into his communicator. "Fire! FIRE!"

The police again sprayed the dark shapes with bullets, and again they did nothing to the Deadmon. "These boys don't learn fast, huh?" Digmon asked Ikkakumon, his drills whirring. "C'mon!"

"Did you mean the Deadmon or the cops?" Ikkakumon asked as he lumbered behind. "Or both?"

Completely ignoring the officers, the formless shadows quivered and shook as they turned and faced their Digimon opponents. "Hey, what's with the jigglin'?" Digmon asked. "Some kinda dance?"

The Deadmon broke down and slimed together into a giant black ball, which burst open with a sickening squelch. Into the sky shot a creature that Cody recognized immediately: the sleek and intimidating Hippogriffomon. Both Digmon and Ikkakumon jumped back as it buzzed them with an ear-piercing screech. The police immediately peppered the bird creature with bullets, but Hippogriffomon shot up into the air far past their range.

"What just happened?!" Joe yelped.

"No!" Cody hissed. "They can combine!"

"All right, show's over!" the chief shouted, pushing at both boys. "You're coming with me right now!"

"No! Stop!" Joe argued. "You can't!"

"Let us go!" Cody demanded, fighting to wrench himself free of the adult. "We have to be here!"

"The only place you're going is—" the chief started, but a scream from Hippogriffomon drowned out the rest. The boys looked back to see Hippogriffomon soar down and lash its mighty wings like fans, and then they were airborne along with Ikkakumon, Digmon, heaps of rubble, squad cars and dozens of screaming officers. Cody lost all sense of direction as he spun around, his arms and legs swinging for any kind of landing point.

In a second that felt like a hundred years, he crashed onto something soft and heard a belching howl. Cody opened his eyes to find himself splayed out on top of Joe amid a scene of devastation: concrete and squad cars were embedded in second and third floor windows of the surrounding buildings, none of which any longer had glass. He looked around frantically for other signs of life, but only a fraction of the police force remained in the street, dazed and groaning. Ikkakumon and Digmon, less wounded than the humans, were picking themselves up to face their opponent again. "Joe!" he said, scrambling off the college boy. "Are you OK?!"

Joe's glasses had vanished in the storm, and his beady eyes looked unsteady and terrified. He coughed several times and tried to make his limbs work. He held out his arm and Cody helped him back on his wobbly feet. "I… I'll live," he managed, squinting hard at the boy and rubbing at his back. "Where's Ikkakumon?"

"Joe! Cody!" Ikkakumon rumbled as Hippogriffomon soared overhead. "This guy's too strong! You've gotta get outta here!"

Cody looked at Joe, then at the writhing police officers, and he glared up at Hippogriffomon. "No," he growled. "We have to protect these people. Digmon!"

"But Cody…" Digmon tried, but the look on his partner's face told him arguing was pointless. He braced himself and ran back towards the bird monster. "C'mon, featherbrain! Let's mix it up!" he shouted, and launched his drills.

"Get lost!" Ikkakumon roared, and added Harpoon Torpedoes to the salvo.

Shrieking wildly, Hippogriffomon flew around and around in a speedy circle. The rubble beneath it quaked and shifted, then rose into the air and spun around in the mighty tornado. Digmon's drills and Ikkakumon's torpedoes flew in and joined the dancing debris, useless. "Aww, d'oh!" Digmon yelled nasally, and then he lost his footing and was pulled in, too.

"No!" Cody shouted, starting to feel the tornado's pull on his own body.

Joe couldn't see very well, but he could feel what was going on. "Come on, Cody!" he urged, grabbing the boy and running. "Find something to grab onto!"

As smaller chunks of rubble started rolling and the flying towards the vortex, Cody's eyes frantically searched for something stable. The only thing they could find was a nearby streetlight. "There!" he pointed it out for Joe, and both boys lashed their arms to it.

Ikkakumon dug his claws into the cement as much as he could, but it wasn't long before he too was sailing through the air. "Put me down!" he shouted. "I get… urp… I get airsick!"

The tornado was so strong now, Cody's and Joe's legs floated off the ground and their bodies flapped in the wind like flags. The cop cars that had been launched into the buildings were jutting back out and sailing around like ships in a whirlpool, along with dozens of screaming policemen. Hippogriffomon's squawking sounded like cruel laughter as the tornado began to move towards the boys. Cody held onto the streetlight as tightly as he could, but he could feel his grip starting to slip. It wouldn't be long before he was sailing around with everything else. He shut his eyes and hoped he wouldn't hit anything hard right away…

A flash of red exploded in his darkened vision, he heard Hippogriffomon shriek in pain amid dozens of crashes and smashes, and then he was on the cement. His eyes popped open to see Hippogriffomon glaring daggers at Greymon, whose mouth still burned with flames. The tornado was gone, and the rubble littered the streets. Ikkakumon sagged dazed against a building and Digmon was flat on his back on the street. "I… Greymon?..." he managed.

"Greymon's here?!" Joe asked, peering around wildly. "Tai! Hey, Tai!"

Paildramon sailed over the western building, Davis on his back and his guns at the ready. "If you think that was bad, wait'll you see what I'M shooting!" he boomed.

Hippogriffomon screamed and started to fly in a circle again, but the Desperado Blasters found their mark. Dozens of rounds flew into the white beast and it tumbled to earth, dulling to a moldy gray color and splattering on the pavement as little more than a stinking black patch. "Whoo!" Davis crooned from his perch. "Chalk up another one!"

As Cody picked himself up, he saw Tai climb down from Greymon and run his way. "Cody! Joe! You guys OK?!" he asked.

"Y-yeah… we're fine…" Cody breathed.

"Guoo…" Digmon groaned as he rolled onto his belly and got up. "I kept wantin' to shout 'Auntie Em.'"

"Looks like you took care of the spire all right," Paildramon remarked as he floated down, "but they squished together on ya, didn't they?"

"Who knew they could do that?!" Ikkakumon huffed as he wobbled over. "Total surprise, wasn't it, Joe?"

Joe was busy fumbling in each of his pockets. Finally he pulled out a second pair of glasses, although one lens was missing. "My backup pair needs a backup pair," he sighed, putting a finger through the empty frame. "Well, it's better than nothing…"

"Two spires down, three to go!" Davis laughed from his perch on Paildramon. "Let's keep movin'!"

"Wait," Cody argued, "we need to make sure the police are safe."

"FREEZE!" a voice yelled, and the click of guns made everyone look up. The officers on the street had their guns trained on the Digimon, and other policemen were slowly climbing out of the buildings. The chief looked especially furious. "Do NOT come any closer to those children!" he shouted at Greymon. "This is your only warning!"

"Err… I think it's time to go, Tai," Greymon remarked.

"No kidding," Tai replied, hopping on Greymon's back despite the chief shouting. "There's a clean street a block north. Go that way!"

Paildramon rose back into the air, Digmon grabbed Cody and Joe scrambled up the bounding Ikkakumon as they made their slow escape. The chief yelled something and the popping of police artillery rang in their ears. "Ow!" Ikkakumon winced as shots bounced off of his backside. "I wish they'd stop doing that!"

Cody looked back at the angry officers and sighed crossly, shaking his head. "Why didn't they see our Digimon were good?" he asked.

"This city doesn't have a good track record with monsters," Tai chuckled. "Don't let it get to you."

"But we were protecting them!" Cody protested.

"Cody, if the first Digimon you ever saw were the Deadmon, wouldn't other monsters suddenly appearing scare you, too?" Joe asked, holding one hand over his broken glasses and almost looking comical. "Wouldn't you think you had to defend yourself?"

Cody hesitated, then quietly stared ahead as the monster pack headed north. Suddenly Joe's remark made him see why the Resistance had come into being.

* * *

"Hurry up, Nefertimon!" Sora urged the cat creature. "We're late already!"

"I'm going as fast as I can," Nefertimon huffed as she flew around a building, "but I've never been in this part of town; it's confusing!"

"What's confusing?" Biyomon asked. "Just look for the spire!"

"It's all those monsters down there," Nefertimon grunted. "Just seeing them puts me on edge…"

Kari glanced at the chaos in the streets below; the Deadmon had already overrun the police force in the arts district and were shuffling through the streets, firing their energy guns at any remaining civilians. She shivered sickly, a feeling squatting in her stomach that this carnage was somehow her fault.

"That's why we have to break the spire," Sora reasoned, keeping her cool. "Then Biyomon can Digivolve and take care of them."

Biyomon climbed up on Nefertimon's head and peered around, then she pointed to the left. "There!" she exclaimed. "It's there!"

Nefertimon veered left and headed for the black tower. As they got closer, Sora and Kari both sucked in their breath; the spire was on the grounds of a familiar apartment complex. "Highton View Terrace…" Kari murmured.

"…Seriously?!" Nefertimon asked. "We just keep coming back here, don't we?"

"I wonder if they did that on purpose?" Biyomon asked.

"It's been years since we've been back," Sora said, ruminating about the time when Garudamon had fought a Mammothmon there in the early days of Myotismon's invasion… and then thinking about what was happening now. "Who would have thought…" she finished.

"Let's just break the thing and clean house!" Nefertimon said, flapping her wings and speeding towards the obelisk on the lawn… but as she got closer, she noticed something else; two figures stood in front of the control spire as if they were guarding it. "Hey, who're they?" she asked, nodding downward. "Arukenimon and Mummymon? No…"

The others looked, too. The figures were decidedly not the troublemakers they had gotten used to: one was shrouded in red, white and purple robes with long white horns on its head and black bat wings jutting out of its back; and the other was a tall, lanky skeleton with torn bat wings and a wicked-looking glowing staff. As soon as she saw them, Kari lost her breath and shook all over. Something felt wrong about those two Digimon: _very_ wrong. "Wha…" she stammered, "what… what do you want?!"

"Kari? You OK?" Biyomon asked.

Sora could see Kari was turning pale. "Kari, it's OK," she assured her, grabbing one of her hands. "Let's stick to the plan and break the spire."

Kari still shuddered, but she screwed up her courage and nodded. "R-right," she said. "Nefertimon, shoot it!"

Nefertimon swooped in and launched three Rosetta stones at the spire… but it never got there. The skeletal Digimon shot upwards and smashed them into pebbles with his staff before any of them could blink. "What the?!" Biyomon yelped.

Sora swallowed hard. Suddenly, they were in trouble.

The robed figure pointed a purple finger at Nefertimon, and the skeleton flew at them like a missile. Before Kari knew it, she was staring into its empty black eye sockets and froze up completely. "Good afternoon!" he cackled, grabbing the paralyzed girl and throwing her over his shoulder. "I'll take that, thank you!"

"Wha—NO!" Kari screamed, managing to retake her lungs. "SORA!"

"You lousy…!" Sora shouted, and grabbed at Kari's legs.

"Get away!" Biyomon yelled, and flapped in his face, scratching at him with her talons.

"Let her go!" Nefertimon hissed, craning her neck and trying to shoot her pink lasers at him.

The skeleton Digimon laughed at the ineffectual attacks, then floated out of range. "Sorry, ladies, but I'm spoken for!" he cackled, then kicked Sora in the chest before she even saw it coming, knocking her off Nefertimon and into the air.

"Sora, no!" Biyomon yelled, diving after her partner and grabbing onto her jacket, flapping as hard as she could.

Nefertimon turned to fight the monster, but a smack of his staff made her feel like all of her limbs had frozen in place, and she tumbled haplessly towards earth. She could hear Kari screaming her name, but the creature zipped back towards the other Digimon and her voice was lost in the chaos.

Biyomon's flapping didn't soften the impact much as Sora fell to the concrete, and Nefertimon smashed down right beside her and reverted to Gatomon. She groaned and pulled herself up, her tail swishing around madly. "It's… it's got Kari!" she shouted, her composure gone.

"Oh, no!" Biyomon whimpered. "Sora, what do we do?!"

Sora felt sick to her stomach as she looked at the spire in the distance. Tai had charged her with taking care of his sister, just like on their first adventure… but now... She shook her head and balled her fists. This was no time to get upset; they had to get help! "Let's get to Izzy's," she told the Digimon. "Maybe the others will be back, and—"

A shot burst the gravel at their feet, and the three suddenly remembered they had fallen into the swarm of Deadmon, many of which had turned around and were advancing on them. "OK… so how?!" Biyomon demanded.

Gatomon's fur stood up as she glared at the approaching Deadmon, who was raising its jagged spear. "You… give her back!" she snarled. Before Sora and Biyomon could stop her, she leaped at the monster. As soon as her claws touched its wet flesh, the creature screeched and disintegrated into smoke.

Sora's mouth dropped open. "What the…?" she asked.

Gatomon's eyes narrowed; these things were just like the creatures in the Gigas! "Sora! Biyomon!" she called to the others. "Follow me!"

She leaped onto another monster and destroyed it, then hopped onto another, and then another, making a trail through the Deadmon as the others nearby reeled back in pain. Sora and Biyomon weren't sure what was going on, but they weren't going to stand there and wait. They rushed after Gatomon as she hopped her way south.

* * *

Halsemon had never seen Yolei's school from above, but even he knew it wasn't supposed to be surrounded by a throng of blackness. Deadmon were swarming around the building, breaking down the doors and windows as they tried to get inside. "It's a good thing they canceled school today," he rumbled.

Oddly enough, the bridge across the nearby river was jam-packed with honking cars as people tried to flee, but the Deadmon weren't making any advances on it. The control spire in the water looked on ominously. "So why are they attacking it?" Tentomon asked, scratching his head. "Everybody's on that bridge!"

"Good point…" Izzy said, scratching his chin. "If they're after Kari, then maybe they can sense this is a place she frequents… But then why waste time attacking the other humans? Why not come straight for Kari? We know virtually nothing about these guys…"

"We know we have to destroy that spire," Halsemon said, "and I'll do just that!"

"We have to be careful," Izzy remarked. "Between the river current and the direction in which we shoot it, it could fall on top of the bridge."

The armored bird veered left and flew around the obelisk. "Just tell me where to shoot it, Yolei!"

Yolei was silent as she looked miserably at the control spire. "Yolei?" Izzy pressed. "Yolei, answer us."

Yolei did not reply; her mind was rolling around in a rut of bad memories. The spire reminded her of the Digimon Emperor, which reminded her of Ken, which reminded her of the night before. Her whole body shook and trembled again at the thought of his sharp voice of rejection, and how she had been reduced to ashes in moments.

"Tentomon to Yolei-mon!" Tentomon buzzed. "Huh… Not the same ring to that…"

Izzy glanced down at the spire again and did a quick calculation. Judging by the river's flow and also the wind, if they shot the spire from this direction, it would certainly crash down on the bridge; they had to move. "Halsemon, we should—" he began.

"Yolei!" Halsemon barked. "Focus!"

"Ngh! All right!" Yolei shouted, irate from being snapped out of her own thoughts. "Then shoot!"

"No, wait!" Izzy shouted, but Halsemon's Hawk Eye Beam had already bored into the spire's base. The black obelisk wobbled, then started to teeter towards the bridge.

Yolei whimpered as she realized her mistake. Halsemon was alarmed as well. "No!" he growled, flying around and shooting at other parts to make it change directions, but it was well on its way to toppling.

"Izzy!" Tentomon urged his partner.

Izzy held up his Digivice, which now glowed. "Do it!" he yelled.

Tentomon hopped off of Halsemon and transformed into Kabuterimon. As people on the bridge screamed and honked louder, the massive bug intercepted the falling spire and shoved it back the other way, where it fell into the river with a titanic splash. "Do I yell 'timber' or 'cannonball?'" he asked.

Izzy frowned at Yolei, who silently stared at her hands. "I'm sorry, Izzy," Halsemon rumbled beneath them, "I should have let you speak."

"Both of you need to focus," Izzy spoke sternly. "We have to stop these Deadmon before anyone gets hurt."

"OK, OK!" Yolei huffed, going from morose to angry in two seconds. "It'll be easy; they're all just sitting there!"

Just then, several energy blasts flew past them, and the humans started screaming again. They looked back at the school and saw the Deadmon had turned and started for the bridge; some were even wading into the water and climbing up the supports. "Well, we finally got their attention…" Kabuterimon grumbled.

"Kabuterimon!" Izzy shouted, "try to disable the tanks!"

Halsemon waited for some sort of instruction from Yolei, but none came. "I'll pick off the climbers," he decided, and flew lower.

As the Deadmon advanced on the stranded citizens, Kabuterimon flew over the thickest hordes and lobbed Electro Shocker balls, blowing dozens into smoke with each impact and sending others flying. Three Deadmon tanks took aim at him, but he was faster on the draw and flipped them all on their tops with one blast. "Lightning always beats metal!" he cheered.

Halsemon weaved through the bridge's legs, sniping the climbers and sending them back into the water. There weren't as many there as there were on land, but they moved fast in the water and just as fast going up the metal. "For fish, they sure know how to climb," he remarked.

"It's a good thing they're fairly weak," Izzy agreed, "or this could be a major predicament."

Yolei was still quiet and shaking as they flew around, struggling to focus but still trapped in her own mind, half-truths and emotions mashing themselves together into a twisted viewpoint. Ken had rejected her. Now these things had come, and the world was ending. What could they really do against so many Deadmon? A quiet whimper escaped her as Halsemon sent another Deadmon back into the water; this was absolutely pointless.

"Leave that school alone!" Kabuterimon roared as he blasted another pack of Deadmon. The remaining creatures all leered up at him, then drifted together beneath him and formed a giant goopy ball, which shaped itself into a familiar figure. "Uh… Izzy, I think we've got a problem," Kabuterimon shouted.

"What?! Halsemon!" Izzy ordered.

Halsemon had sensed something was wrong when the remaining Deadmon had drifted away like smoke in the wind, and he shot back up to see what Kabuterimon was shouting about. Standing on the street beneath them was Weregarurumon, but something was different about him; his fur was black instead of white, and bloodlust glistened in his golden eyes. "…Oh, dear," Izzy muttered.

Yolei completely froze, and her miserably mixed mind immediately threw in memories of her first encounter with Matt's partner. Under Ken's control, Weregarurumon had almost killed Hawkmon. Ken had rejected her, and now he was back to kill Hawkmon! Her whole body locked up and she couldn't even manage a gasp.

Izzy saw her petrified look and knew something was wrong. "Yolei!" he urged, clamping a hand around her shoulder. "Get your head in the game!"

"Get back, you guys," Kabuterimon buzzed as he started flying circles around the werewolf, his arms sparking with a fresh Electro Shocker. "I'll take care of it!"

Kabuterimon lobbed his sparking payload, but the new Weregarurumon was just as fast as the original and sped beneath the blast, then before Kabuterimon could launch another blast, he scaled the side of the bridge and vaulted at the purple bug with his claws out. Kabuterimon shrieked as the werewolf slashed into him again and again, then sent him earthward with a roundhouse kick. Kabuterimon crashed to the ground and skidded into the side of the school, his impact shattering almost every window.

"No!" Izzy shouted.

Weregarurumon landed on the ground without a single scratch and smirked at Halsemon. Halsemon looked at the wreckage, then glared at Weregarurumon and came down for a landing. "Yolei, Izzy, get off and take cover," he requested.

Yolei's mouth hung open. "What?! No!" she blurted. "You can't! Not now!"

"If I don't, he'll attack the people on the bridge," Halsemon said. "I have to!"

"But—" Yolei tried again.

"Sorry, Yolei, he's right," Izzy said, pulling her off of the griffin's back without much effort. "Good luck, Halsemon!"

Halsemon took to the air and confronted the black Weregarurumon. "Ready for round two?" he asked. Weregarurumon howled in response, and then he lunged at his prey.

Halsemon flew up to a safe height and spun out a Tempest Wing tornado, but Weregarurumon raced away towards the bridge. "Don't you dare!" Halsemon snarled, firing Hawk Eye Beams as rapidly as he could, but each one only hit the spot Weregarurumon had last put his feet.

As Halsemon chased Weregarurumon closer and closer to the bridge, Izzy suddenly realized what the wolf was doing. "Wait, Halsemon!" he yelled. "Don't get near the bridge!"

Halsemon fired another beam just as Weregarurumon scaled the bridge's side again, and he realized the trap. He flew away as fast as he could, but Weregarurumon's long leaping legs put him right on the bird's back, smashing him down into the concrete before kicking him around like a rag doll. "No… no no no no no!" Yolei hyperventilated, sagging to her knees.

Kabuterimon struggled to get up, but Weregarurumon kicked Halsemon right into his face, knocking them both down again. Weregarurumon bared his teeth in an evil grin as he started towards Yolei and Izzy. The boy genius clenched his fists and bit his lip, suddenly afraid. Neither of their partners could beat an Ultimate! What had he been thinking?! They needed a miracle!

Almost as if his thoughts were given physical form, a second howl shook the air, and the black Weregarurumon looked up angrily. A Weregarurumon with white fur—Matt's Weregarurumon—leaped off a car on the bridge and landed between the kids and the dark wolf. "How about chewing on someone your own size?!" he snarled at the impostor.

The black Weregarurumon bared his teeth and rushed. The two lycanthropes met in a frenzied feral kung-fu brawl on the street, snarling and snapping like rabid Rottweilers. Yolei watched them with an open mouth, unable to process it. Izzy looked toward the bridge and waved excitedly as Angemon flew towards them, Matt and TK under his arms. "Izzy!" TK yelled. "Are you guys OK?!"

"Thank goodness!" Izzy exclaimed. "You couldn't have timed it better!"

"Stay with Izzy, boys," Angemon urged as he let them go, then flew towards the brawl.

"Yolei!" TK exclaimed, running and helping her back to her feet. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No…" she muttered, shaking her head and finally able to register something besides her own wallowing. "It's just… all of it…"

Matt frowned at the tussling werewolves. "Weregarurumon!" he shouted. "Show him how it's done!"

Both Digimon were getting worn out; they panted and wheezed as they traded blows. Tired of the standstill, the black Weregarurumon ducked a punch and sank his fangs into Weregarurumon's leg. Matt's partner braved the pain, grabbed his enemy's shoulders and somersaulted backwards, smashing him onto the pavement and making him dislodge his mouthful. Before the black Weregarurumon could recover, Matt's Weregarurumon grabbed both his arms and yanked him up onto his feet. "Angemon!" he roared as his captive struggled and spat.

Angemon nodded and flew at the black Weregarurumon with his fist glowing gold. The moment the Hand of Fate touched the impostor's face, there was nothing left of him but smoke in the air and sludge on the pavement… and on Weregarurumon's pants. "Ugggh," Weregarurumon grunted good-naturedly, "good thing these disappear when I de-Digivolve…"

Yolei's eyes bugged at the remains. "I… wha… wha?!" she gurgled, a fresh rush of horrifying memories flooding in. "That… That was Kyoto!"

"Yes…" Izzy agreed with a stern nod, "exactly like what you said about Kyoto…"

Weregarurumon and Angemon raced over to their downed allies and helped them back up. "Thanks for coming," Kabuterimon buzzed. "Who knew they could do that?!"

"It surprised us, too," Angemon said. "But at least nobody got hurt here."

"Well, no_body, _but…" Halsemon said, looking up at the damage to the school building.

The kids walked over and looked at the mess, and immediately both TK and Yolei felt very sorry. They could tell some of the damaged windows belonged to the computer lab they had used so often. "You think it's still OK?" TK asked. "I mean, computers are pretty fragile…"

Yolei stared at the pavement, silent again. Things just got worse and worse.

"Save it for later," Matt growled. "The city isn't safe yet."

"Right," Izzy agreed. "Everyone, let's go back to Ken and see if there are any new developments."

"Yeah…" TK said. "Come on, you guys."

Yolei groaned as her whole body convulsed. Now she had to see Ken again…

* * *

A crowd of survivors had gathered around the Izumis' apartment building, but as soon as they saw a tyrannosaurus and three more monsters coming from one direction and a werewolf and three others from the opposite direction, they fled down the streets like roaches from a flashlight. "Hey, guys!" Tai called to the others. "West and south are safe!"

"Hell yeah!" Davis cackled as Paildramon put him on the ground. "Paildramon cleaned house!"

"We kicked names and took ass!" Paildramon agreed.

"…Close enough," Joe said with a shrug.

"The east is secure, and so is the river…" TK agreed, "but the school got a little messed up."

"Err, sorry," Kabuterimon grunted, one of his arms scratching at his head.

"It's not your fault, Kabuterimon," Izzy assured him.

Yolei hung her head quietly. Matt looked icy as usual.

"Man, we sent those fish-asses packin'!" Davis laughed, pumping his fist. "You shoulda seen it, Kari! Coach an' me just…"

He trailed off as he looked around for Kari, but didn't see her. "…Kari?" he tried again.

TK looked around, too. So did Tai, and then everybody else. "Hey, where is she?" Digmon asked.

"Where's Sora, for that matter?" Izzy asked. "And their Digimon?"

"Everyone!" Ken's voice burst as he clattered down the apartment staircase, Izzy's mother and father close behind. He stopped in front of them with troubled eyes. "I've been watching the news… and look at this," he reported, shoving Izzy's open laptop at him. "The northern part of the city is overrun with Deadmon!"

A wave of hot fear shot through the kids and their partners; even Yolei looked up in alarm. "But… but they could get away, right?" Halsemon ventured. "They have Nefertimon, and…"

"Just Nefertimon against that many Deadmon?..." Matt asked, gravely shaking his head.

Cody felt sick to his stomach. "You don't think they…" he started.

Tai turned a panicked glare on the boy. "Don't even say it, Cody!" he snapped. "Don't even _think_ it!"

"But, Tai…" Greymon began.

Weregarurumon's ears perked up. "How'd you do that, Greymon?" he asked.

"…Do what?" Greymon asked.

"You said 'Tai' in two voices at once," Weregarurumon said.

Greymon began to say he hadn't when they heard a familiar voice shout Tai's name. Around the corner of the building came Gatomon, and then Biyomon and Sora. "Tai!" Gatomon called again, racing towards them. "Everyone!"

"Sora! Guys!" Tai exclaimed, running up and meeting them halfway. Sora's winter coat was soaked through and she panted hard, and Gatomon and Biyomon had similar breathing problems. "What happened? Are you OK?!" Tai pressed, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"We heard there're Deadmon everywhere up north!" Ikkakumon rumbled. "How'd you get away?"

"We're fine… really…" Sora managed between pants. "But… a Digimon grabbed Kari…"

"What?!" TK shouted, his fists instantly balling.

"A Deadmon?" Angemon asked.

"No," Biyomon chirped, "a really creepy-looking one! A skeleton!"

"And it's worse than a Deadmon," Gatomon hissed. "This one _talked_."

Tai and TK exchanged dark glances. Joe, Matt, Izzy and all their partners also looked grim. Yolei didn't look like she understood. Cody scratched his head. "Would you explain how that's important, Gatomon?" he asked.

Ken also wondered that, though he remained silent. What did the Digimon speaking have to do with anything?

"Who cares?! I'm going up there!" Davis roared; all he knew was that Kari was in trouble, and he was going to save her. "Paildramon!"

"You got it, Davis!" Paildramon said, snatching his partner up. "Let's go!"

Tai snapped out of it and looked determined again. "…He's right," he said to the older kids. "Come on!"

"No, wait!" Yoshie cried. "There're too many of those things!"

"We've got ten super-strong Digimon, Mrs. Izumi," Joe reassured her. "That's a lot more than just two."

"Don't worry, we'll keep them safe!" Kabuterimon buzzed as Izzy shut his laptop and scrambled up his back.

All the Digimon who could give their partners a ride took off for the northern part of town. "C'mon, Sora!" Biyomon urged her partner. "Let's try to help!"

"Right," Sora agreed, and started to run after the others.

"Sora, wait," Ken called, running up to her. "I want to come, too."

"But you don't have… your weapons!" Sora protested, thinking fast to avoid mentioning his lack of a partner.

"I know, but I want to understand…" he said, looking at Gatomon, "why everyone looked so somber just then."

Gatomon's tail flicked pensively as she looked him over. "…All right," she agreed. "Don't worry, Sora; I'll keep an eye on him."

Sora nodded. "Let's hurry and catch up," she urged, grabbing Biyomon and breaking into a sprint. Gatomon and Ken chased closely after.

* * *

Considering how badly she shook, Kari didn't know whether opening her mouth would yield vomit or a scream. She just sat in the gray grass with the cold spire pressing into her back, staring up at her netherworldly captors. The hooded one gave a hollow, raspy laugh. "There's no need to be scared, human; we won't hurt you," he growled. "Our god would not approve of that."

Kari almost swallowed her tongue at the mention of a god. "Who… who are you?!" she squeaked. "And who's your god?! Is it…?!"

"Oh, good, she talks!" the skeleton sneered. "For a while I thought I'd grabbed somebody's dolly!"

The hooded one's eyes narrowed as he chuckled again. "He is Skullsatamon, soldier of the Daemon Corps," he said, motioning to his bony counterpart, and then he bowed to her mockingly. "And I am Daemon, the leader of said Corps, and loyal servant of the Great Old One."

"Great… Old…?" she managed.

"It took us quite a bit of time, but we finally managed to cross into this world," Daemon recounted. "You've been quite difficult to track, jumping between worlds at the drop of a hat; if you had stayed in the Digital World more often, it would have been easier… but that's not important any more. We have come to bring you to our god, who desires to make your acquaintance."

Kari's eyes shrank down to pinpricks and her whole body jerked around of its own accord. "No way!" she yelped, failing miserably at trying to sound tough. "I'm not going there again!"

"Oh, sure, just because you had one lousy trip," Skullsatamon mused, his toothy smile persisting. "It's not ALL like that!... Some of it's _worse_."

"I promise you'll enjoy his company once you're there," Daemon went on, unmoved. "He has much to offer you."

Kari's panicked breathing had eased, and she was starting to feel more defiant. "I… I'm not interested," she repeated. "Now… let me go!"

Daemon's eyes narrowed. "You seem to think you have a choice in the matter," he growled.

"This is stupid, Daemon! All this yapping!" Skullsatamon grumped, thumping his staff on the ground. "Let's just take her and be done with it!"

"Silence!" Daemon snapped at his subordinate, his jagged claws making Skullsatamon pause. "You know the order. We will not be followed."

Skullsatamon's toothy jaw clenched. "Well, they'd better hurry up," he growled. "I don't want to think the Deadmon actually got them; I wanna do it myself!"

Kari's heart leaped into her throat. They could take her back to that place any time, but they were waiting for the rest of the Digidestined to show up so they could…?!

Suddenly, explosions sounded in the distance, and Greymon's familiar roar came to Kari's ears. Daemon made a harrumphing noise and grabbed Kari around the neck. "You have your wish, Skullsatamon," he mused. "Leave none alive."

"Finally!" Skullsatamon cackled, shooting up into the air and spinning his staff like a baton. "Time to party!"

Kari trembled as Daemon's icy fingers pressed into her throat. What were these two capable of? Would her friends be safe? Or…?!

* * *

Greymon belched another fireball into the throng of Deadmon, reducing at least ten to smoke. "Next!" he growled, letting Paildramon and Weregarurumon through to tackle the next batch.

Tai looked around somberly, sometimes putting a hand over his nose. With all of the Digimon working together, they had made quick work of clearing out street after street in the north, but the damage to the area and its people was already done. Vanquishing the Deadmon revealed the horrible sites where police and civilians alike had been overtaken, and the pungent odor of putridity hung thick in the air. "These guys don't know when to stop," he grumbled.

Cody looked at one grisly scene beside a fire hydrant and almost threw up. "They didn't stand a chance…" he whispered sadly.

"All the more reason to send 'em packin'!" Digmon grunted, his drills whirring. "Hey, lemme have a swing at 'em, Angemon!"

Digmon launched his drills through five Deadmon at once, and then Halsemon blew six into a black haze, revealing a clear path to the Highton View Terrace and the spire squatting beside it. "Wow… Here we go again, huh?" Matt muttered.

"Still… it's curious that we always seem to come back to this place," Izzy remarked. "Do you suppose it has a strong connection to the Digital World?"

"I guess…" Joe sighed, "but does it always have to get so violent?"

"Oh, yeah, this's where you guys all lived at one point, wasn't it?" Davis recalled. "Looks kinda dumpy…"

"A control spire's always a sign the neighborhood's gone downhill," Kabuterimon buzzed. "Let's fix that!"

The kids dismounted and the Digimon rushed out of the narrow street towards the apartment building, but suddenly almost all of them were enveloped in yellow light and shrank back down to Rookie levels; only Digmon and Halsemon retained their forms. "What the… aww, Crap!" Tai huffed, smacking his forehead. "The spire! Duh!"

"Shoot! I was just too gung-ho!" Agumon griped.

"Don't worry about it!" Digmon said, rushing to the front of the pack with Halsemon. "We'll take care of this!"

"Tai!" Kari's voice caught their ears. The Digidestined looked ahead and saw their friend near the base of the spire, caught by the throat by a winged and hooded Digimon.

"Kari!" Davis called. "Get your hands off her, ya jackass!"

"We're coming, Kari!" TK shouted. "Digmon, Halsemon, hurry!"

"No!" Kari yelled, struggling to break from Daemon's grip. "No, wait! Stop!"

Digmon and Halsemon started towards the spire when Kari's cries were drowned out by wild laughter. Out of the sky dropped the cackling, clattering Skullsatamon. "Well, if it isn't every Digidestined all at once! Perfect!" he sneered. "I'm in the mood for a massacre!"

Cody's eyes narrowed at the creature. "You've already had one," he snarled, pointing back at the bloodied streets.

Skullsatamon cocked his head to one side. "One?!" he snorted. "Oh, you can never have just _one!_"

"Run!" Kari shrieked as she grabbed at Daemon's claw. "These guys are too strong!"

"Like hell I'll run!" Davis huffed, whipping out his D-Terminal and mashing a button, then holding up his D3. "DigiArmor Energize!"

Veemon jumped up and transformed into Flamedramon. "Let her go or I'll burn your bones black!" he threatened.

TK raised his D3, too, and in a flash Patamon became Pegasusmon. "We're taking our friend back," he declared. "Get out of the way."

"Good!" Skullsatamon cackled nastily, leaping into the air. "I love it when they think they can win! Bring it on!"

"Charge!" Flamedramon yelled, and Digmon, Halsemon, Pegasusmon and he rushed towards Skullsatamon firing their strongest projectiles. Just before the beams, fireballs and stars hit, Skullsatamon became a brown blur in the air. Pegasusmon blinked once, and then the bony fiend's orb-tipped staff had connected with his forehead. He sailed straight to the right and smashed into the nearest building, shattering several windows before reverting to Patamon.

"What the…?!" TK gasped. "No!"

In the time it took TK to utter those three words, Flamedramon and Digmon had also been sent skyward and into concrete walls, where they shrank into their lesser forms. Halsemon looked at his comrades in alarm and then spun this way and that in the air. "Where'd he go?!" he demanded.

His answer was a swat on the back, and he rocketed straight down into the pavement with a pained squawk and became Hawkmon again. "That's a birdie for this hole! Hee hee hee hee!" Skullsatamon cackled.

"No!" Yolei wailed, unable to process most of what happened.

"Well, now what do we do?!" Gabumon asked. "We can't beat him like this!"

"He has to be an Ultimate, at least," Izzy concluded. "We need to get Paildramon, and for that…"

"We've gotta break the spire! Ugh!" Davis huffed. "Total catch-20-20!"

"Not quite," Sora broke in. "We can break it with our Digivices!"

"Right," Tai agreed. "If some of us distract him, and the rest of us go down a side street—"

"That's what YOU think!" Skullsatamon broke in, landing in front of the kids and swinging his staff. "Nail Bone!"

The yellow orb flashed, and suddenly the kids all stopped moving. Davis tried to kick his legs, but his muscles just would not respond, as if his bones were nailed into place. "Dammit!" he swore.

"No!..." Matt grunted as he strained to break free. "You gutless bone sack!"

Kari squirmed and struggled, but Daemon's grip was absolute. "Stop!" she yelled at Skullsatamon. "Don't!"

"So much for your awesome plan," Skullsatamon snickered as he approached the paralyzed humans. "Now, who should I disembowel first? You all look so juicy!"

"Nobody!" Agumon snarled as he ran in front of Tai. The other Rookie Digimon did the same, forming a line between Skullsatamon and the kids.

"Agumon, what're you doing?!" Tai demanded.

"You can't beat him!" Sora argued.

"So we're supposed to let him kill you guys?!" Gomamon growled. "No way!"

"Back off," Gabumon warned Skullsatamon, "or you'll be sorry!"

"Oh, I'll show you sorry!" Skullsatamon snapped, and with one swing of his staff, six of the seven Digimon were splattered against the pavement. TK forgot to yell.

Cody bit his lip. Was this how it would end? How shameful it was, he thought bitterly, to be finished off by a laughing, moral-less, cop-killing fiend.

Gatomon was the only Digimon left standing, her ears folded back and her eyes gleaming with rage. "Give Kari back, or else!" she hissed.

"Or else what?" Skullsatamon sneered. "You'll cute me to death?"

"I destroyed your Deadmon with my bare claws," Gatomon snarled, her tail twitching as she readied herself. "You want to risk the same?!"

"I don't need to!" Skullsatamon cackled, swinging his staff again and sending Gatomon flying. "Forgot about that, did you?!"

"Gatomon! Nooo!" Kari screamed, panicked tears streaming down her face. Her partner, her friends and her brother were all about to be slaughtered, and she could only watch.

"Well, that was entertaining... NOT!" Skullsatamon snorted. "I thought you guys were supposed to be tough! Oh, well. Now, where was I?" He jammed his staff in the ground and flexed his sharp, bony hands, then started towards Izzy, who instantly went white.

Daemon looked the frozen kids over triumphantly… but then he hesitated, his eyes narrowing as he regarded Ken. "Wait," he boomed at Skullsatamon.

Skullsatamon's claws stopped inches from Izzy's guts. "What? Want to take a picture first?!" he huffed.

Daemon's free hand pointed at Ken. "Him first," he ordered, "but bring me his head. _Intact_."

"Ohh, I hate it when you give me orders like that!" Skullsatamon huffed, backing away from Izzy and grabbing his staff. "It stifles my creativity!" Muttering to himself, he tramped over to the paralyzed Ken.

"Hey! Leave him outta this!" Davis snarled, trying hard to make his body move. "He ain't got a Digimon fighting you!"

Sweat raced down Ken's forehead as Skullsatamon looked him over, then glowered wickedly. "Ohhh, I see!" he sneered as he put his hands on the sides of Ken's head. "Count yourself lucky, kid; you're getting off easier than your pals!"

The hollow sensation of despair squatted inside of Kari's stomach, and her throat tightened without the aid of Daemon's grip. This couldn't be the end! It couldn't be! If she could just get free… if she could only do something!

Suddenly, she felt something else welling up inside… something familiar, but completely overwhelming, like she was about to burst open. She jerked and convulsed, and Daemon looked at her strangely. "What are you doing?!" he snarled. "Don't—"

Kari screamed, and her body gleamed with unearthly light. Daemon dropped her like a hot plate, hissing angrily. "Urgh… Not _now_!" he snarled, and melted away into the spire's shadow.

"Eh?!" Skullsatamon grunted, turning around to see the glowing girl. "Ugh! What a wretched leader you are, Daemon!" he howled. "At least _I_ have a backbone!"

Kari wobbled around, her whole body gleaming with pulsing light. Davis's mouth fell open; what was happening to her?! "Kari!" he shouted, trying to will his body back into motion.

"What's wrong with her?" Cody asked. "TK! What is that?!"

Gatomon pulled herself up and watched her partner intently. "Kari…" she whispered.

Sora's and TK's eyes widened. They had seen this happen to Kari once before. If the same thing was happening again…

Skullsatamon furiously grabbed his staff. "I don't care WHAT you are!" he snarled, and dove at her.

Kari teetered, and then the blinding light gushed out of her like a tornado in reverse. TK felt his muscles ease and he fell to the concrete. His eyes reopened to a world of black silhouettes in an ocean of white light, and Skullsatamon screaming in rage. The control spire didn't just break apart; it _dissolved_, melting into molecules and leaving Kari's shape in his line of vision. On either side of her, their Digimon got up roaring, and transformed into their Champion forms, and Veemon went even further, changing to Paildramon. Then the light faded and they were back in the gray-skied ruined metropolis, and Kari collapsed to the ground.

"Good gravy!" Ankylomon yelped, looking himself over. "That was some power nap!"

"All right, payback time!" Ikkakumon snarled, looking at Skullsatamon and lowering his horn. "Ready, bonehead?!"

All the Digimon surrounded Skullsatamon, growling or charging up their best projectiles. Skullsatamon looked around nervously, but quickly seized the upper hand again; he landed over Kari and held his staff to her head. "All of you back off, or I bash her brains in!" he threatened.

"What?! SHIT!" Davis shouted, waving frantically at the Digimon. "Get back, you guys!"

"Don't!" TK shouted at the Digimon. "He's bluffing! Stand your ground!"

"What the hell, TK?!" Davis snapped at him. "He's gonna hurt Kari!"

The Digimon hesitated, not knowing whether to follow TK or Davis. "Well?!" Skullsatamon snapped, raising his staff for the blow. "I'm waiting!"

Suddenly Tai slammed into the bony monster, knocking the staff out of his hands; Matt, Izzy and he had run in from the side and surprised him completely. "Don't touch my sister!" Tai yelled, mashing his shining Digivice into Skullsatamon's face.

Smoke fumed up from the place it touched, and Skullsatamon howled and angrily kicked Tai away. Matt and Izzy managed to catch him as Skullsatamon reared up, the left side of his skull burned black. "Fine! I'll touch YOU!" he shrieked, raising his staff again.

This time Davis tackled him, trying hard to pull the staff away. "Not Kari, not Ken, not Coach!" Davis snarled, yanking at the staff as hard as he could. "Gimme that!"

"What is _wrong_ with you people?!" Skullsatamon demanded, then he kicked Davis into the grass without much effort. "Your Digimon must be pathetic if you have to step in like this!"

Tai suddenly realized that something was glowing orange in his pocket, and he smirked at the skeleton monster. "Greymon!" he called, pulling out the fragment of his Crest of Courage.

"Now we're talking!" Greymon roared, and glowed with bright orange light. Skullsatamon whirled around to see the tyrannosaurus become the massive, mechanical Metalgreymon, the earth shaking as his massive feet touched down. His jagged metal wings threw a Swiss-cheese shadow over the spectacle as he towered over Skullsatamon, now his true orange color instead of the sickly purple he wore in the Emperor's service. "Now what did you just call me?" he growled at the skeleton.

"Awesome!" Davis laughed. "Now THAT'S how he's supposed to look!"

Ken nodded solemnly. "Yeah…" he agreed.

Tai glared stonily at Skullsatamon. "You've got once chance to get out of here," he warned him, "or else."

Skullsatamon clearly looked worried at the prospect of dealing with both Paildramon and Metalgreymon… but he quickly blew it off. "Like I could do that now!" he snapped, grinning psychotically. "I don't care HOW many of you Digivolve! I'll skin you alive!"

"That's our cue, boys!" Birdramon shrieked.

The Digimon all threw their mightiest attacks at Skullsatamon, but he shot up and dodged them all. He came down hard on Ankylomon's back and kicked him over onto Ikkakumon, then caught Aquilamon in the head with his staff and sent him crashing down onto Garurumon. Birdramon and Kabuterimon both charged their projectiles and fired, but he sped away and each one's blast hit the other. "He's still too strong for the Champions…" Izzy growled as the fliers met the concrete.

"Paildramon!" Davis yelled into the air. "This one's all you and Metalgreymon!"

Paildramon nodded and whipped out his guns. "Everyone else get back!" he warned.

"How are we supposed to subdue him?" Cody asked TK. "He won't surrender, even when he's outnumbered!"

TK gave him a somber look. Cody jerked back in alarm. "…You're not serious?!" he huffed. "We can't!"

Paildramon caught up to Skullsatamon just as he grabbed Angemon, whirled him around and threw him on top of Gatomon. "Freeze!" he warned, pointing both guns at the skeleton. "Give up, or else!"

Skullsatamon grinned at him horribly. "Or else what?!" he snarked, then charged at Paildramon.

Paildramon scowled and opened fire. Bullet after bullet tore into Skullsatamon, driving the fiend down to the ground, twitching and convulsing with each shot. "AGH! You little twerps!" he screeched. "This isn't over!"

"Yes it is!" Metalgreymon thundered, launching his steel claw. Davis, Cody and Yolei watched in shock and horror as Skullsatamon's grinning head separated from his body and rolled down the street, and then his whole body exploded in a burst of pixels.

"Oh… Oh…" Yolei choked, sagging to her knees, unable to process what had just happened.

With the threat gone, Tai rushed to his sister's side. TK and Davis raced ahead of the pack and reached her as he gently shook her. "Kari! C'mon…" he urged.

After a few tense moments, the girl groaned and slowly opened her eyes. "Thank God!" TK panted.

"What _was_ that?!" Davis asked. "Well, not that I'm complainin'; it saved our asses big time!... but what'd you do?"

Dazed and confused, Kari slowly moved her head around, taking in the scene. "Are… are they gone?..." she asked weakly.

Tai smiled sadly. "Yeah… they're gone," he assured her.

Their task completed, the Digimon reverted to lower forms again. Metalgreymon lowered his arm and shrank back down to his In-Training form, a little white ball with paper-thin ears and red eyes. "Whew… That was hard," he sighed in a cute little voice as he hopped over to them. "I need to get back in shape, Tai!"

"Koromon…" Kari said, smiling and reaching out to pat him on his ears. "Thank you…"

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" Chibomon huffed, hopping over and giving an exasperated shrug with his head tail.

Kari weakly tried to push herself up, but only stood with Tai's help. "Thanks, everyone," she said. "I'm glad everything worked out…"

The Digidestined and their Digimon alike all breathed with relief… but Koromon realized Cody was scowling at him. "Wh… what?" he asked, a little taken aback.

"You… _killed_ him!" Cody whispered, shaking his head in horror.

Koromon's ears drooped. "…But he was gonna kill you guys…" he objected sadly.

"It's OK, Koromon," TK said, then looked at his little friend uncertainly. "Cody…" he began.

"He was a real Digimon!" Cody repeated, angrily turning on TK, "and Metalgreymon _killed_ him! We could have stopped him without doing _that_!"

"I don't think so, Cody," TK reasoned, pointing back at the carnage they had come through. "He wasn't here to negotiate. You said so yourself; those people didn't stand a chance."

"But… but…!" Cody objected, his little face burning red as he balled his fists. "Then we're no better! We're _murderers_ now!"

TK shook his head. "Cody… this is what Digidestined have to do sometimes," he said.

"I… but…" Cody growled, but he found he had no more words. He just stared at the ground, gnashing his teeth.

Davis bit his lip and looked to Tai. His coach hadn't lost his look of grim determination… but suddenly Davis felt different when he saw it. Something told him that was a look he had to be able to wear himself from now on.

As if it meant to cut into the tense scene, Izzy's laptop beeped. "What amazing timing…" he muttered, reaching for the computer. "That's Gennai..."

Gatomon's ears perked up at the sound of incoming sirens. "The police are coming!" she announced.

"Crap," Matt growled. "We can't let them catch us with our Digimon…"

"Let's get back to your place, Izzy," Tai instructed as he propped Kari up on his back. "Then we can all hear what he's got to say."

Izzy nodded. "All right, hurry, everyone!" he urged. "We'll take the side streets back."

The kids and their partners followed Izzy into a nearby alley. Yolei lingered behind, still staring at the horrible mess left in front of Highton View Terrace, Skullsatamon's beheading replaying itself in her mind's eye. First Ken's rejection and now… Cody was right; they were murderers now. This was no longer fun and games. She didn't want to be part of it any more.

"Yolei!" Hawkmon urged, yanking on her arm. "If we don't follow the others, we may be in danger!"

"Danger…" she murmured. "We're in danger…"

The sirens wailed louder, and the first squad car appeared at the end of the street. Hawkmon pulled Yolei's arm hard and forced her to follow him into the alley.

* * *

"Breaking news: while the rest of the world fights on, the monster attacks seem to have stopped in Tokyo," the fidgety news announcer spoke as he read from the papers dropped on the desk. "The remainder of creatures in the north have vanished, leaving countless wounded… and many more dead. We don't have an exact count yet, but the estimate is over two hundred deaths, most of which come from the police force…"

Mimi heard both her parents gasp in terror at the number and tried not to look at the television; she made herself stare out the window at the gray afternoon. With her leg propped up and Palmon taking refuge in her room, though, it was hard to tune it all out. "Ohhh, Keisuke!" her mother cried, grabbing at her husband. "It's all happening again!"

"(URK) I can't breathe, honey!..." her father gurgled. "Don't worry, don't worry! We're all OK. This time, we're all safe… Our little girl isn't involved this time."

Satoe Tachikawa sniffled a little, then looked back at Mimi with a teary smile. "You're right…" she agreed. "We don't have to worry… Right, Mimi?"

"Um… right…" Mimi murmured, managing to smile back at her parents until the TV changed to footage of the gruesome earlier scenes. This time she joined her parents in watching helicopter-view scenes of monsters duking it out: Garurumon vaporized hordes of the shadowy creatures with its blue fiery breath; a griffin blew a yellow mole and Ikkakumon around in a tornado; and Metalgreymon decapitated a skeleton. As the clips ran over and over, a dark cloud of guilt settled over her. Her parents were right; it was all happening again… and she wasn't involved.

* * *

Izzy found himself walking right into a bear hug from his mother as he arrived back at his apartment. "Thank God!" she cried, squeezing him tightly. "It's over and you're safe!"

"Sorry to worry you, Mom…" Izzy replied quietly.

"He wasn't in trouble for a second! Honest!" Tentomon chirped. "Well, maybe a minute, but not a second…"

"Is everybody all right?" Masami asked, looking the other kids over.

"We're fine, Mr. Izumi," Joe assured him. "Nothing more than a few cuts and bruises… and shock."

"Hey, _we_ got beat up!" Gomamon huffed. "Don't play us off!"

"Yeah, but you heal a lot faster than we do," Matt replied, "and you've got more bodies, too…"

"Well, you should all go home right away," Masami pressed. "Show your folks you're all right! They're probably wondering where the heck you are!"

"We will, Mr. Izumi," Kari promised, "but there's one more thing we have to do before we go. Izzy?"

Izzy managed to get out of his mother's grip and motioned for the door to his room. The kids and their partners all piled in, and Izzy turned on his desktop computer. "I hope Gennai notices I've got two of these now," he said, setting his old laptop aside.

"Of course I did," Gennai's raspy voice came from the speakers almost before the computer had finished booting up. "I always stay on the cutting edge of your technology."

"Boy, that's helpful!" Koromon exclaimed, "and... kinda creepy, too."

"Thank you, Koromon," Gennai's voice grumbled. "Now, please come to my house as quickly as you can. There's plenty to discuss."

"He sure likes to drag it out," Davis grumbled. "This'd better be good."

"Yeah…" Cody agreed. He didn't want to think this old man was trivializing all the police officers that had paid the ultimate price today.

Izzy opened the Digital Gate program and set the coordinates for Gennai's waterlogged home. "I'm sure he'll explain things…" he said, pulling out his Digivice. "…I hope."

The kids grabbed their partners and held up their Digivices. In a bright flash, they warped right to the marshland. Gennai's lake was already open, so they headed down the staircase. "Must be urgent if he's skipping the water show," Gatomon remarked.

Tai pulled the door open and the kids filed inside. The joy and whimsy they had felt on earlier visits had moved on from Gennai's home; all of the toys and games were still there, but they didn't seem as bright or colorful as before. Gennai stood at the end of the entrance hall. "Ah, punctual as ever," he said, forcing a smile. "Please, come into the dining room."

"Oh, boy!" Armadillomon exclaimed, bouncing a little. "There's gonna be food?!"

"No, but it's the biggest room and we need the space," Gennai replied, motioning to the left doorway before walking through it, the kids quickly following behind. Out the windows, they saw fish swimming out in the Japanese garden, but they didn't move as quickly as before.

"Wow, it's like the whole house is kind of depressed," Joe admitted, looking around.

"Forget about that," Matt said, scowling at Gennai. "What the hell was all that about today?! Was that what would happen when we got the Crests back?!"

"Yeah, why didn't you say something?!" Biyomon asked. "We almost got killed out there!"

"And a lot of innocent people _did_…" Cody growled.

Gennai bowed his aged head. "I'm sorry about that," he answered. "The truth is, this invasion was related to finding your Crests… but at the same time, it wasn't."

"It was… wasn't… huh?" Veemon asked, cocking his head to one side.

Davis immediately got up, stomped over to Gennai and grabbed him by the collar. "Lissen up, you prune!" he snapped, shaking him like a dead branch, "we just spent all day gettin' shot at, and we almost lost Kari to a bunch of Halloween rejects! Don't give me no damn fortune cookie! What the hell is going on?! In English!"

"Davis!" Sora exclaimed. "Put him down!"

"All right, all right!" Gennai surrendered, holding up a hand. "I'll get right to the point!"

Davis snorted again and put him back on his feet, then sat back down. Gennai shakily pulled down the projection screen and a map of Tokyo appeared on it, with red dots indicating the places the control spires had been. "This force has been working against your finding the Crests," he explained as his breath returned, "but that was just its side operation; this invasion of your world was its intent from the beginning, and now it's fully underway."

Ken's eyes narrowed. "So there really was someone besides Arukenimon and Mummymon?!" he asked. Cody scowled at Ken and his suspicious outburst, but said nothing.

"That's correct," Gennai said, flicking his paper fan to reveal a map of the planet, with hundreds of blinking red lights on each continent, and even some in the oceans. "I'm afraid that reactivating the Crests must be put on hold until your world is safe enough to be left alone again."

The blinking of all those red lights infuriated Davis even more. "Who are they?!" he demanded. "What do they want?!"

"Davis, do you remember what Azulongmon talked about?" TK asked him. "These things are from that other world… the Dark World."

"This is that 'bitter, unhappy life,' then?" Tai asked.

"They certainly fit that description," Hawkmon muttered.

"So how come they can turn into other Digimon?" Sora asked. "I've never seen a shape-shifting Digimon before…"

"The Deadmon can transform because of how they come to be," Gennai said, flicking his fan. The projection screen flipped to an image of the spindly, golden-eyed creature, and Kari shuddered on instinct. "You see, when Digimon are deleted… that is, when they die… their computer code is supposed to return to the flow of data in the Digital World… but as often as not, their data becomes part of the runoff that goes into the Dark World instead. There, the remnants of the deleted files pool together and create the Deadmon. Each one is a walking pile of broken, incomplete codes, none whole enough to make them a Digimon of any kind… They are mere shadows of creatures."

"Huh… so they're like a pile of all-left socks," Agumon suggested.

"They're certainly more dangerous than socks," Izzy muttered.

"A single Deadmon would be weak and ineffective," Gennai went on, "but all the runoff guarantees that Deadmon are created continuously. In groups, they're extremely dangerous, especially now that they can construct weapons… but their main power isn't that of foot soldiers; they're able to pool their data and connect up their broken programs, transforming themselves into powerful Digimon… as you've seen today, and even before today."

Davis looked confused, which looked a lot like when he was angry. "Before?" he asked. "When was that?"

Ken's eyes lit up. "On the Gigas," he realized. "Those Mekanorimon weren't zombies; they were transformed Deadmon."

"OK, but what do they _want_?" Matt asked.

"If they're like the evil Digimon from before, wouldn't they be happy just taking over the Digital World?" Gabumon asked. "Why come to the real world?"

Gatomon gave them all a spiteful look. "Did you guys forget why Myotismon came to the real world?!" she asked, then glanced over at Kari.

Everybody looked at her and she started to shake. "They…" she whimpered, forcing every syllable out, "they want _me_."

The older kids all looked as sad and solemn as Yolei did, and so did their Digimon. Davis looked around and got angrier. "That's bullshit, man!" he huffed, banging his fist on Gennai's table. "They can't just wanna hurt Kari; they shot up our whole town!"

"They don't want to kill her, Davis," Patamon pointed out.

"But you said Myotismon did," Armadillomon said.

"Myotismon did… but these guys don't," TK said, remembering the scene on the dark beach. "It's more like they need her for something… but I can't think of what, or why."

"If you think about everything you know, it should become clear," Gennai said, folding his hands behind his back.

"You can't just tell us?" Matt grumbled. "We're sick of this, Gennai!"

Izzy had been lost in thought, piecing together what each person had said... but suddenly he jumped up and startled the group before Gennai could answer Matt. "The Deadmon wanted Kari," he recited his thought process. "Myotismon wanted to kill Kari. Azulongmon said that evil Digimon came from the Dark World… so Myotismon came from the Dark World. Deadmon were from the Dark World, too… and so were Daemon and Skullsatamon… but they didn't want to kill Kari; they needed her for something… They need her… because… because…"

"Yeah? What?!" Davis huffed. "Spit it out!"

"Wait for it…" Tentomon urged. "He's almost got it!"

"They need her because… because…" Izzy stuttered, his eyebrows squeezing down so hard Tai thought his eyes might pop out. Suddenly, the red-haired boy looked up in triumph. "The newest evil Digimon wants her power!" he blurted out.

The kids' mouths fell in shock. Gennai smiled wryly. "You're right, as always," he mused. "The new ruler of Darkness wants to obtain her power of Light… It's the Dark World's newest venture in trying to conquer the Digital World."

"The Dark World's?" Sora asked. "You make it sound like it's alive, Gennai."

Gennai raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it?" he asked. "I hope you remember the story I told you long ago, about the creature that came from behind the Wall of Fire…"

"Yeah, the 'original Digidestined' destroyed it," Tai remembered.

"Who are those guys, anyway? Can't we get in touch with 'em?" Matt asked. "If this shit's going to be worse than it was today, we need all the help we can get."

Gennai scratched at his moustache for a moment, as if debating something with himself. After a moment more, though, he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Moving on, I'm sure you remember the Dark Masters," he said, flicking his fan. The image of the four Mega-level evil Digimon appeared on the screen. "Centuries after the first creature was destroyed, those four fiends came from behind the Wall of Fire and sought to conquer the Digital World. Now, Azulongmon and his three fellow god Digimon worked to keep them occupied while the Order worked to deal with the threat. With one small hitch, we were able to stall them long enough to assemble a stronger team of Digidestined to fight the invasion—you older kids. Once that was finished, we devoted all our energies to keeping them contained, and succeeded."

"A small hitch…" Gatomon grumbled, folding her arms. "It's not my fault Piedmon caught you guys with your pants down."

"If I can continue…" Gennai muttered. "Now, to break the power deadlock between the gods and the Dark Masters, the Dark World sent more evil Digimon, albeit weaker ones since it had exhausted much of its energy: Devimon, Etemon and Myotismon, to name the chief offenders. They worked to pick you off while you were still inexperienced and vulnerable. Fortunately, you weathered the trouble, and when the Dark Masters finally overwhelmed the gods, you even managed to destroy them… and then the Dark World mashed all of those defeated enemies together and challenged you with Apocalymon, which you also were able to best." He paused and looked at the imposing frame of Apocalymon on the screen. "The Dark World is as alive as any world is, and much like the natural world it evolves and grows," he finished, "but its growth is always geared towards conquest… and when its creations are destroyed, it makes something even stronger."

The kids and their partners all looked uncomfortable. "So whatever wants Kari is going to be worse than Apocalymon?!" Agumon gulped. "Oh, boy…"

"But… what could it be?" Tai asked. "I mean, Apocalymon was pretty… well… apocalyptic. What could top that?"

Kari shook her head. "All I know is that they call it their god," she remembered. "Daemon also called it 'The Great Old One…'"

"The Dark World knows about your unique power of Light," Gennai went on, eyeing Kari intently. "It will do anything to get that power, and that includes dragging your world into the battle between Digital and Dark. Thanks to those spires, the Deadmon are invading your world."

"Let 'em try!" Veemon chirped. "We can whoop 'em every time!"

"That may be so, but you're only protecting your own city," Gennai pointed out, the image on the screen switching back to the globe with the red dots. "The Deadmon have assaulted towns near every spire, and while the locals have put up good fights, there are simply too many Deadmon, with weaponry beyond what humans can protect against. If the invasion isn't stopped soon, the nations of your world will fall."

The kids all looked grave; in the heat of their own battles, they had forgotten that the Deadmon were appearing all over the planet. It wasn't a simple venture to grab Kari; it was a declaration of world war. "Great! How do we deal with hearing that?!" Matt huffed.

"Calm down, Matt; there has to be a solution," Gabumon urged his friend, then looked hopefully at Izzy.

The answer, however, came from Davis. "Sure there is!" he said. "We just break all the spires, like we did around town! Then those fish jerks can't come in!" He waited expectantly, but nobody looked very cheered up. "What?! It's a great plan!" he argued.

"Well, yeah, that would work…" Joe tried, "but those spires are all over the world, Davis; _our_ world, which is a lot bigger than the Digital World. How would you get to them?"

"You can't expect us to fly that far," Hawkmon muttered. "Just our usual Digital World excursions leave me in need of rest."

"Anybody have an uncle in the travel biz?" Tai tried jokingly.

"No, globetrotting and breaking the spires would be a futile venture," Gennai sighed. "Your race would be annihilated long before you could finish."

"Not to mention new spires will probably pop up in their place," Patamon pointed out.

Ken growled and shook his head. "If Arukenimon taught the Deadmon how to erect spires, then that's very possible," he grumbled. "If we break these, then new ones will pop up like weeds."

"So now what?" Biyomon asked. "You make it sound like we've already lost!"

"Weeds…" Sora murmured, thinking back to all her time around her mother's plants. "To get rid of a weed, you can't just cut off the part above ground; you have to dig down and pull out the root," she reasoned.

Gennai smiled and nodded. "And that's exactly what must be done here, Sora," he said. "You shouldn't destroy the spires, but the source creating them and sending them up into your world."

"OK, then we'll do that!" Davis said. "So where is it?!"

"Izzy, can you make a program to look for it?" Tentomon asked.

"I could if we got home and got started," Izzy replied, starting to get up.

"You won't find it with your Digital World map, Izzy," Gennai spoke, and Izzy sat back down. Davis rolled his eyes and blew his breath angrily. "If they're sending as many Deadmon as they are, that can mean only one thing."

Even Tai understood what Gennai meant by that. "You think the source is in the Dark World?" he asked nervously.

"Deep inside of it," Gennai said, folding his arms behind him again. "This new enemy has learned that battles are better fought where it has the advantage."

"Wonderful," Gatomon grumbled, her tail swatting at the ground.

"Whoever it is, he ain't makin' this easy," Armadillomon muttered.

"Well, look on the bright side: we can kill two birds with one stone," TK pointed out. "We can destroy the source of the spires and defeat this new enemy while we're at it—GYAGH!"

TK gasped for air as Gennai almost strangled him. "Put that thought out of your head right now, boy!" Gennai snapped. "You must only destroy the source, and then get out! You wouldn't last ten seconds against the ruler of the Dark World without your Crests!"

Despite the dire warning, Tai couldn't help but smile, remembering Gennai's reaction when he said something dumb like that. "Good to see you haven't slowed down, Gennai," he chuckled.

"If that's true, shouldn't we restore our Crests first?" Sora asked.

"That doesn't seem very practical, either," Izzy admitted. "I haven't been able to find any path to those temples yet…"

Gennai stroked at his moustache. "I would suggest you take care of the spire problem first, and only that," he said. "After all, your world is being destroyed as we speak."

"You really know how to motivate people," Gomamon muttered.

Cody got up and balled his fists; he knew what had to be done and was through sitting around. "How do we get to the Dark World, Gennai?" he asked.

"The easiest way is to go through the Wall of Fire itself," Gennai replied. "Fortunately, recent events in the Digital World have left the path to it easy to enter. You'll find it here…"

Gennai flicked his fan and the projection screen switched to a familiar spot in the Digital World: the ruins of the Asp Mountains. "Hey!" Veemon exclaimed, jumping up. "That's where Blackwargreymon handed us our butts!... I mean, the first time."

"It's also the place where he first appeared," Ken recalled bitterly. "Did he come out of that place?"

TK's eyes narrowed. "The 'master' he talked about… It must have been this 'Great Old One,'" he reasoned.

"That explains why he was so adamant about destroying Crests," Hawkmon concluded. "It must have been his mission."

"Or was it to distract you so they could launch this invasion?..." Izzy ruminated.

"Either way, we can't get there with our Digivices," Joe sighed sadly. "Looks like we're sitting this one out…"

"…Again," Matt grumbled.

Gatomon felt Kari shudder behind her and turned around. "Kari? Are you OK?" she asked.

Everybody turned and looked at her; even Gennai watched her intently. Kari was very pale and shaky, as she had been all day… but she took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm… I'm fine," she said. "We… should go as soon as we can… We can't waste another minute."

"What?!" Gabumon exclaimed. "But Kari, are you sure you want to go?"

"Kari! No frickin' way!" Davis huffed, shaking his head. "If these guys want to grab you, you shouldn't go jumpin' into their backyard! No! You ain't goin'!"

"I have to agree with Davis," Cody added, looking grave. "It would be safer if you stayed behind."

"Tai, back me up on this!" Davis huffed. "She's your little sister! You don't want to see her getting hurt!"

"No, I don't…" Tai agreed, then looked at the worried-looking girl, "but I know she's strong, and determined. It's not my call, Davis. It's your group's… and more importantly, it's hers."

"I… but…" Davis stammered. "Dangerous!..."

Kari hung her head, suddenly gripped with a fear of being left behind. Davis was right about it being dangerous and maybe even downright stupid, and the thought of going back to that dark beach scared her half to death… but she also wanted to protect her world as much as the others did. "I… I want to go," she stated.

"Kari, no!" Davis argued.

"Shut up, Davis!" Gatomon huffed. "She wants to come, and you can't stop her!"

"Come on, guys, say I'm right!" Davis exclaimed to the others.

Kari looked worriedly at Ken, Yolei and TK, who hadn't weighed in yet. What would they say?

"Yolei, what do you think?" Hawkmon asked, trying to get Yolei to speak. "Do you think Kari should come with us, or not?"

Still mentally trapped in the confines of Ken's rejection, Yolei just kept staring mournfully at the wall. "…I'm sorry, Kari," Hawkmon sighed, shaking his head.

"C'mon, Ken, you know I'm right," Davis pushed. "Whatever that place is, it's no place for Kari! Look how scared she is!"

Ken looked at Davis for a moment, then looked at Kari. "If she stays away, the fear will only get worse," he said. "…If this scares her that much, then she should face it head on."

Kari blinked in surprise; she didn't expect him to say she should go.

"Wow…" Veemon murmured. "Hey, he's got a point, Davith…"

Davis was so taken aback, he couldn't respond. TK set his jaw and looked at Kari. "I think she should come, too," he stated.

Kari's eyes lit up. Davis's, however, almost looked demonic. "What the hell, TJ?!" he shouted. "It's too fucking dangerous! Don't you care?!"

"That's exactly why she _should_ come," TK argued, getting on his feet. "We've got stronger Digimon than Tai and the others right now. We'd also move in a tight group, so we can all protect her. It'd be a lot safer to bring her with us than leave her in a city full of scared people."

"…All very good points, TK," Izzy remarked. "Impressive."

Cody glared sideways at Ken and wondered if any of them would really be safe with him coming along.

"Well, I guess that's settled," Sora figured. "Sounds like you're going with them, Kari,"

For the first time all day, Kari managed a smile. "…Thanks, TK," she said.

That was the final straw for Davis. He leaped up and threw his fist just inches past the surprised TK's cheek. "You jackass!" he yelled, swinging again and then grabbing the straw-haired boy in an attempted headlock. "Goddamn jackass!"

"Agh! Davis!" TK yelled. "Stop it!"

TK broke loose and Davis swung at him again, but this time he grabbed Davis's arm, and the two grappled and stamped around the room, each trying to knock the other to the floor as everyone else scrambled to the sides. "Woah, watch it!" Agumon yelped as he barely missed having his tail stomped.

"Davis, stop it!" Kari yelled.

"What're ya doin'?!" Armadillomon asked.

"Fish dinner says TK pins him in ten seconds," Gomamon said. "Anyone? Huh?"

TK tried to grab Davis's leg with his free hand, but Davis was too fast for him; the foul-mouthed boy kicked him in the stomach and then threw him onto the floor. Davis started to pounce, but two sets of hands grabbed him and pulled him back. "Quit it, Davith!" Veemon shouted. "TK's your friend!"

"Stop it right now!" Tai thundered.

Davis huffed and wheezed, then eased his muscles. TK slowly got back on his feet, a little dazed but unhurt.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Tai demanded. "That's no way for a Digidestined to treat his friends!"

"Especially the one with _my_ Crest," Matt growled. "Disgusting."

"You're the disgusting ones!" Davis snarled. "We can't take Kari there! Don't you get it?!"

"But Davis, TK's right," Izzy tried. "There's only so much we older kids can do on this end."

"But… but…!" Davis fumed.

"Davis," Kari said, standing up. Davis looked at her with terror in his eyes, expecting her to scream at him for clobbering TK and ruin his chances forever. Instead, though, she gave him a sad smile. "I… I'm glad you want to protect me this much," she said. "Thanks… You're a great friend… but… I want to go, too."

"But Kari!..." he huffed.

"I know it's going to be dangerous, but Ken is right," she went on. "This 'god' wants me, and I need to know why. It'll also be safer for the world; if I go, maybe the invasion will ease off as they go back to the Dark World looking for me…"

"But what about you?!" Davis asked in a sharp whisper.

Kari took one of his hands in both of hers and squeezed it. "I'm scared… but if I know you're this ready to protect me, then I'll be fine," she said.

Davis's cheeks started to burn. "Kari…" he muttered.

Kari smiled down at Veemon, too. "And Paildramon's the strongest Digimon we have right now," she said. "I know he can keep us all safe."

Veemon grinned and pumped his fists. "Yeah!" he agreed. "C'mon, Davith! I'll keep away the creeps from the deep! Whaddya say?!"

Davis looked around at the others, who either watched him or scowled at him, and then at Kari's hopeful face. Deep down, he knew taking her was the right thing to do; he just hated to hear her (and almost everyone else) agreeing with TK instead of him. "…Fine," he grudgingly agreed.

She squeezed his hand again. "Thank you, Davis," she told him.

Everyone relaxed. "Whew!" Biyomon peeped. "I was worried we were gonna have a mutiny!"

"As always, Kari tames the savage beast," Hawkmon quipped.

"You think her powers only work on Digimon?" Joe mused. "I'm not so sure…"

"Well, I'm glad we settled that without breaking anything," Gennai said as he approached Kari and Davis. "I figured you would decide to go into the Dark World, Kari… and so I have a little present for you… or more specifically, Gatomon."

Gatomon's ears perked up and her tail twitched. "You don't mean…" she asked hopefully.

Gennai grinned and pulled a small, golden cylinder out of his pocket: Gatomon's tail ring. "It's as good as new," he said, dropping it in her trembling paws, "and I even shined it up for you!"

"Thanks, Gennai!" Gatomon almost screamed, eagerly slipping the ring back onto her tail and waving it around; even in the subdued light of the dining room, it seemed to glow. "Now I'll use those Deadmon as scratching posts!"

"Well, looks like things are shaping up now!" Tai said. "You guys will take care of this before we know it!"

"I don't know…" Sora sighed. "This is going to be different from what you're used to."

"You can't just hop in and out of the computers whenever you feel like it," Matt pointed out sternly. "You have no idea what the Dark World's like, or how long you'll be gone…"

"So we'll just do like we did when we took down the Emperor," Armadillomon suggested. "Y'know, pack bags and stay in 'til the job's done."

"This is different," Matt rebuked. "Before, you had a clear goal and you knew where it was. This time, you don't know what it is, or where."

"What're you getting at, Matt?" Gabumon asked.

"You need to be more organized," Matt finished. "You need a leader to make the decisions."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Wow, did that come out of YOUR mouth, Matt?" he mused. "…But he's right, you guys; a leader would make the group a lot more focused."

"Yeah! Tai's a great leader!" Agumon agreed. "He keeps everyone safe and moving!"

"Well, it can't be Tai this time," Patamon said. "It'll have to be one of us."

Davis grinned widely, emboldened by Kari's words. "Then that'll be me!" he announced. "After all, I've got the strongest Digimon!"

"That's not all there is to it, Davis," TK pointed out. "You have to be aware of the strengths of everyone in the party, and also their needs."

"I'm aware!" Davis huffed. "I'm always watching you guys!"

Hawkmon looked at Yolei hopefully, waiting for her to say something snarky like Davis was always watching Kari… but nothing came.

"How about you, Ken?" Veemon asked. "Did you wanna be leader?"

Ken shook his head. "I'm not fit to be one," he said glumly. "It should be one of you."

Glad to hear that from the Emperor's mouth, Cody turned to Izzy. "I think you older Digidestined should make the decision," he said. "You've had experience with this kind of adventure… not to mention you're unbiased."

"Hey!" Davis huffed. "I'm totally bias-free!"

"Do you even know what bias is?" Hawkmon asked.

"Uh… That's the… stuff that gives you heartburn?" he tried.

Kari looked at her big brother. "Tai, you and the others pick for us," she said. "It's like Cody said."

"Well, OK, if that's what you want…" Tai replied, looking at his older friends. "C'mon, guys."

Tai, Sora, Matt, Izzy and Joe, along with their Digimon, went to the other side of the room and talked in hushed tones for a few minutes. TK walked over to Davis and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, are we OK now?" he asked, looking concerned. "I don't want any bad blood going into the Dark World…"

"Well, Mister High-And-Mighty!" Davis snorted, but then he sighed and shook his head. "Oh, forget it. Yeah, we're fine…" he grumbled.

The older kids quieted and walked back. "OK, we've made our decision," Sora said.

"Oh, boy! It's like movie awards!" Veemon laughed.

The younger kids waited expectantly. Davis crossed his fingers.

"We talked about it, and we all agreed…" Tai said soberly, "that your leader should be TK."

Davis's mouth almost propelled itself into the floor. "WHAT?!" he roared.

TK was just as surprised as Davis was. "M-me?!" he yelped, pulling his hat off and scrunching it in his hands.

"Holy crap!" Patamon exclaimed. "Does that make me vice leader or first Digimon?"

Kari smiled at him. "Congratulations!" she said. "I think that's a great choice!"

Cody nodded. "I agree," he said.

Davis's face burned with indignation. "I… I… I want a recount!" he snapped.

"It was unanimous, Davis; we all agreed," Joe said. "Sorry."

"But WHY?!" Davis demanded. "Why'd you pick HIM?! I'VE got Paildramon!"

"Two reasons," Matt said stonily. "One: TK has a lot more experience. And two: he uses his brain instead of his temper."

Davis went as red as a bloody strawberry. "My boot's goin' right up your ass, Blondie!" he shouted. He tried to run at Matt, but Veemon and Cody grabbed his legs and he fell on all fours.

Matt rolled his eyes. "My point exactly," he growled.

TK didn't look very happy to be named leader. "I… I don't know about this," he admitted. "I'm no leader…"

"TK, you went through our entire adventure," Sora pointed out. "You've seen what it takes to lead a group… and you know what all of your new friends can do."

"Yeah, you've got the best of both groups!" Biyomon chirped.

"You're the best one for the job," Tai agreed, and Davis's ears perked up in horror.

"I…" TK stammered. He had been a crybaby little kid on the first adventure, and up until now he had felt like a plant for the older kids; that didn't sound like much of a leader. He was still uncertain… and the fact that Davis appeared to be foaming at the mouth didn't give him any confidence… but then he looked at his other friends' approving faces, and also at Patamon's, and Kari's. He swallowed hard. "…OK," he said. "Then I accept."

"Good," Tai said, nodding. "I know you'll stop these guys… all of you."

"Now, you must hurry to the Dark World," he urged. "There's no telling when more spires will appear in your city, not to mention how long the rest of the world can hold out."

"Right, but our Digimon are worn out," Cody said, looking at Upamon. "We should try to get some rest and set out in the morning."

"Don't worry, Gennai; we'll do it!" Patamon chirped. "We'll be back before you know it!"

"Let's all go home and get ready," Kari said. "We have to tell our parents we're taking a trip…"

"Yeah…" Ken said, looking dark; he was not looking forward to breaking this news.

The kids thanked Gennai and said goodbye, then filed out for the door. Yolei and Hawkmon were the last to leave. As Hawkmon led her out, he saw Gennai tugging thoughtfully at his moustache again.

They found a TV warp and returned to Izzy's crowded room. "Right… You know what you have to do," he said to the new kids. "I also think it's time we came clean about the Digimon."

"Really?" Upamon asked. "But I was gettin' so good at sneaking around!"

"Everyone's seen the news reports about the 'monsters,'" Izzy went on. "If a bunch of children just vanished out of the blue…"

Ken nodded darkly, remembering his own parents' sorrowful faces on news reports. "We shouldn't put our parents through that kind of agony," he said.

"OK, we'll tell 'em," Davis muttered. "Sheesh, _that's_ gonna be a fun dinner talk…"

TK looked at all of his friends and decided it was time to make his first leader speech. "I'm… I'm going to be counting on every one of you tomorrow," he said, looking around. "Get plenty of rest, and think hard about what to bring with you."

"Yes, don't forget about food, extra clothes, flashlights…" Joe broke in, listing things off. "Oh, and batteries! You want extra batteries!"

Davis hardly heard the blue-haired college student. He was still fuming over the fact that TK was going to be the leader. How could the older kids, even his coach, choose _him_ to lead them into the Dark World?! Was everyone in this city going insane except for him?! Well, he would show them, he decided; he was going to kick so much Deadmon ass that Kari would be _begging_ him, and only him, to protect her!

"…And some plastic bags for your dirty clothes, so they don't get mixed up with your clean ones," Joe finished. "There, I think that covers everything."

"Yeah, thanks, Joe; we'll remember all that," Gatomon sighed, "especially if we can rent a pack mule."

"I… I'm just being thorough!" Joe stammered.

Tai looked at TK and smiled. "You can leave the city to us," he told him. "We'll do what we can."

"Thanks, Tai," TK said. "OK, everybody, let's all go home and get ready."

The kids said goodnight to the Izumis and filed out of the apartment. Davis slowly trudged down the stairs, one of the last to leave. The only one behind him was Yolei, still shuffling along like a zombie with a miserable face. He suddenly had a burning, nasty little thought, something that sprung from his desire to feel good after all the rejection dumped on him that day. He stopped on the landing and glowered up at her.

Yolei stopped moving. "Um… What is it, Davis?" Poromon asked.

His lips curled into a wicked smirk. "He shot you down, didn't he?" he asked. "Just threw it all back in your face?!"

Yolei started to shake again. "Davis, stop," Poromon pleaded. "She's still very upset."

"Davis…" Demiveemon tried.

"You know, someone should've told you that was gonna happen," Davis snickered, walking up an extra step so he could get right in her face. "Oh, wait, I did! I was frickin' right! Wasn't I?!"

"Davis, stop!" Poromon said again.

Yolei's eyes watered over as Davis almost put his forehead against hers, her unbrushed teeth suddenly smelling like victory. "Well, you know what?" he mused. "I think you had it comin'. You got exactly what you deserved!"

Yolei tore away and raced down the stairs, wailing. "Yeah, suck on it!" Davis shouted after her. "_Suck on it!_" He took a few deep breaths to get her scent out of his nostrils, then sighed crossly. That had felt good.

Demiveemon looked up at him sadly. "Davis…" he asked, "wasn't that really mean?"

Davis looked at him for a moment, then scowled and zipped up his jacket. "You rip what you sue, pal," he grunted, and started down the stairs.

* * *

Night was overtaking the city as Cody returned to his apartment. "You think your mom'll be upset?" Upamon asked.

"Probably…" Cody reasoned as he opened the door, "but she's never flown off the handle. I'm sure she'll understand—"

"WHERE have you been, young man?!" Fumiko Hida's thunderous shout almost made him fall back outside; she towered over him in the entryway, her mouth pulled down almost as much as the mouth on a furious shogun's mask. "I've been hearing reports about monsters, and you've been gone all day! You could have been hurt!"

Cody looked nervously at his grandfather, who watched him quietly from the dinner table, his arms folded and his expression unreadable. "I… I'm sorry, Mom," he apologized with a low bow. "I was with my friends, and—"

"I don't believe that for a second!" Fumiko huffed. "You're too smart to be out when the police are telling everyone to evacuate! Don't lie to me; where were you?!"

"I wasn't lying; I was…" Cody tried, then looked down at Upamon, who smiled and nodded. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed; as Izzy had said, it was time to tell them. "Mom, Grandpa," he said, holding Upamon up, "this is Upamon, one of the monsters that fought in the city today. Say hello, Upamon."

"Well, OK," Upamon said, then grinned happily at Fumiko and Chakara. "Hi, Cody's mom! Hi, Cody's grampa!... What's for dinner?"

Chakara raised both eyebrows in surprise. Fumiko screamed and stumbled backwards, grabbing a chair for support. "Wha…?!" she gasped. "That… that's not a toy?! How long has it been alive?!"

"…As long as food's been disappearing from the fridge," Cody grumbled.

Upamon's cheeks reddened. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's just that I'm always soooo hungry!"

Cody looked at his trembling mother and his shocked grandfather and continued. "I'm afraid there's more to it," he admitted. "Those attacks today are part of an invasion, and Upamon and I have to go on a journey to try and stop it. If we don't, then the entire world might—"

"No!" Fumiko snapped hotly, recovering her motherly rage. "No, you're not! I forbid you from leaving the house!"

"But Mom, it's to keep everybody safe," he tried. "So many police officers died today because of the monsters… I have to put a stop to it before any more—"

"Absolutely not!" Fumiko shouted. "You're not going near any more monsters, Iori! As a matter of fact, get rid of the one in your hands this instant; it could attract more!"

Cody's heart sank as dilemma took hold. He had hoped that she would understand the situation and give him her blessing to go, but she hadn't… in fact, she had forbidden it, and even wanted him to throw Upamon away! He bit his lip; he had never gone against her wishes before. What could he do?

"Hey, wait a second, Cody's mom; you don't get it!" Upamon tried. "You can't make Cody stay here! If we don't go, then more Deadmon could show up, and—"

"That's enough out of you!" Fumiko snapped, pulling the ball out of Cody's hands and heading for the door.

"No, wait!" Cody pleaded, trying to grab Upamon back. "Mom, stop!"

"Y-yeah!" Upamon yelped in a lisping voice. "Ya gotcher thumb in mah mouth!"

Fearing he was the worst son on record for raising his fists against his mother, Cody jumped around in front of her, trying to knock Upamon out of her hands… but she angrily brushed him aside and reached for the doorknob. Just as she was about to chuck Upamon out onto the porch, Chakara rose from his seat. "Fumiko," he spoke sternly, "let him go."

His declaration seemed to stop time in the room; both Cody and his mother froze in their tracks, then looked at him in surprise. "…Grandpa?" Cody asked.

Cody's grandfather had a far-off expression and didn't seem to be looking at them. "I don't claim to understand, this, myself," he said thoughtfully, "but Iori seems determined to undertake this. I have a feeling that this is something he is meant to experience… something he _must_ do. Let him go, Fumiko."

Fumiko's mouth hung open as she looked at her father-in-law, then hopelessly down at Cody. Then she burst into tears and loud sobs and raced off, the sound of a slamming door rocking the apartment. "Wow!" Upamon exclaimed. "I've never seen her do that before!"

Cody felt horrible. His mother didn't cry easily, but now he was guilty of making her do it. He wanted to go and talk to her more, but his grandfather's hand landed gently on his shoulder. "Don't worry about her," Chakara said. "In time, she'll understand."

Cody shook his head. "I… I don't understand, Grandpa," he said. "Why did you say I should go? A dangerous quest like this… it's hardly a sane idea. Why would you want me to do it?"

Chakara hesitated. "You…" he began, but then he thought a bit longer, grew quiet shook his head. "We can talk about it later… when you return safely," he answered. "Now, if you're leaving tomorrow, you must pack. Go tend to your clothing, and I'll prepare some food."

A smile finally came to Cody's face. "I'll come back," he said, nodding. "I promise."

"Me, too!" Upamon piped up. "You can count on me, Cody's grampa!"

"Thank you, Grandfather!" Cody said with a bow, and he took Upamon into his room to start packing.

Chakara watched them go, then glanced somberly towards the little shrine where his late son's photograph stood.

* * *

"Good grief! TK!" Nancy exclaimed as her son came through the door and right into her vice-strength hug. "What were you thinking, being out on a day like this?! What if the monsters had gotten you?!"

TK only wheezed; how his mother thought he could answer questions when he couldn't breathe was beyond him.

"It's OK!" Patamon broke in, flying up from TK's feet. "I kept an eye on him!"

Nancy broke the hug and jumped back. "You?!" she cried.

Patamon beamed. "Oh, you remember me!" he laughed. "I'm so happy! See, I told you she would, TK!"

"Yeah, that's great…" TK muttered.

"How long as he been here?!" Nancy asked. "Is… is this what the monsters are?! Again?!"

TK nodded sadly. "Yeah… The Digital World isn't done with us yet, Mom," he said. "That's why I have to leave tomorrow."

"What?! Leave?!" Nancy half-yelped. "But why?!"

"Do you remember what happened five years ago, Mom?" he asked, keeping his head low so he didn't have to see her face. "How that world was messing up ours? It's… Well, it's something like that again. Patamon and I have to go with our friends and set things right… I'm sorry."

Nancy's eyes looked him over fearfully, then they grew sad and pensive. "So that's what he meant…" she mumbled.

TK looked up, puzzled.

"…What who meant?" Patamon asked, perching on TK's hat.

"Oh… It's just that I ran into a man yesterday…" she recalled. "He told me I should be careful of who I let my sons play with… Oh!" She grabbed TK's shoulders. "What about Matt?!" she demanded. "Is he going, too?!"

"N-no," TK stammered, "it's just my new friends and me!"

Her grip loosened, and her hands slid off of him. "W-well… I guess that's good; he's not in danger… but then he won't be there to watch out for you…" she waffled out loud, then she sighed and shook her head. "You… you'd better get ready, then…" She turned and slowly started for the kitchen, her hand dragging along the wall for support. "Now I'll have to call your father and apologize for yelling at him…" she muttered.

TK leaned against the wall, curious about what his mother had said, and also a little scared. Who was this man who had warned his mother?... Indeed, who even knew who his mother was? "Mummymon?" he asked out loud.

"Huh?" Patamon asked, looking down at him from his perch. "What're you thinking about, TK?"

"Just… who could have talked to Mom," he said, making his thoughts louder. "But now… No, it couldn't have been Mummymon; you couldn't mistake him for a human being…"

Patamon scratched his ear with his other ear. "Then… who was it?" he asked.

TK folded his arms and scowled. "I don't know, Patamon…" he admitted. "I just don't know…"

Suddenly he heard a metallic crash from the kitchen. "Mom?" he asked, quickly walking in.

Nancy had dropped a pot in the sink as she tried to fill it with water. "Sorry, TK," she said in a quaking voice. "I… I figured you'd want some food for the trip… was going to make some soup."

Between her voice and her trembling hands, TK could see his mother was trying very hard not to break down. He smiled sadly and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you, Mom," he said.

"Yeah, me too!" Patamon agreed, fluttering around the room. "So, how do you make soup?"

Nancy took a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "…Get some celery out of the fridge," she said.

* * *

With the strength of the hug his mother had caught him in, Ken was certain he would hear his spine snap any second. "Ohhh, thank goodness you're OK!" she cried.

"My God, Ken, you should've seen it!" his father exclaimed, waving his hands as he tried to get his words out. "This whole army of black things came out of the mist, and then… Well, I'm just glad my building was one of the first to get evacuated!"

"As soon as I heard what was going on, I looked and you weren't in your room…" his mom wept. "I called the neighbors and nobody had seen you! I was afraid you'd disappeared again…"

"It's OK, Mom," Ken choked, squirming enough that his mother released him; why did everything he do end up hurting them? "I'm fine… really. I just had to meet some friends about something…"

His parents looked at each other, conflicted in what their response would be. "W-well, yes, we're happy you have friends now," his dad said, "but please, next time, tell one of us, or leave a note or something!"

"OK…" Ken agreed. He lingered near his mother a few moments, but said nothing.

"Let's all have a nice dinner," Ken's mom said, wiping her eyes. "I'm just glad things have calmed down now…"

Ken felt like the biggest pile of scum on Earth; after that entire scene, he had to spring the news on them about the trip into the Dark World… but he knew there was no use putting it off, or it would only hurt them more. He sighed and looked at them. "Mom, Dad…" he began, "to… tomorrow I have to go on a… a trip with my friends. I… I don't know how long it'll take, or when I'll be back…"

His parents fell silent and watched him anxiously. Ken wanted to say he was making it all up, but there was no use backing out now. "I know you're scared because of what happened today, and you're probably mad that I want to run off again… but I just want you to know that it's a very important trip," he went on. "The safety of the city's at stake, and really, so is the whole world." He hung his head. "I'm going because I want to help my friends, and I want to protect you… Please understand."

His parents looked at each other, then at him, and then at each other again. When they turned to Ken again, much to his shock, they smiled at him. "Oh, Ken, of course you can go tomorrow!" his mother said. "But just stay away from the messy parts of town, OK?"

"It's really great you have friends you can play with and act your age around," his father said. "What is it, really? Helping with repairs? Collecting for a food shelf?"

Ken was stunned. His parents didn't seem to realize what he was saying. "N-no, it's not…" he started to explain again, but then he trailed off and stopped. Unlike the others, he had no Digimon to give merit to what he would say about monsters… and between Sam dying and his own messes, his poor, trusting parents had been through enough anguish; maybe it was better that they didn't understand. "…It's nothing," he tapered off. "But I might be gone for a while; a few days, maybe a week… or more."

"That's OK, Ken," his dad said. "I think the city's going to need lots of time to get back on its feet… Just make sure you come home sometimes."

"I'll make you some sandwiches," his mom volunteered, "oh, and we still have plenty of food from the party; you can share that with your friends."

Ken managed a sad smile. "Thanks, Mom," he said. "I'm going to go pack, and then I'll come back and eat, OK?"

"Don't take too long, or it'll get cold!" his mother warned him gently.

Ken walked into his room, emptied out his school bag and opened his closet. As he looked over his choices of clothing, he sadly lamented how naïve his parents were; who was going to be organizing a food drive in the middle of a monster attack? It felt just like when he was the Digimon Emperor; they still seemed to think he was an angelic demigod. Old habits die hard, he guessed…

"Die hard…" Remembering that phrase, he stopped and thought about what had happened that day, and how dangerous their new opponents were. The Deadmon were menacing in the numbers they had, and if there were more fiends like Skullsatamon… He shivered as he remembered the sharp, bony fingers sinking into his neck flesh.

He left the clothes on the floor and went to his desk, pulled out his notebook and tore several sheets out of the back. He took a pen and began to write the words that horrified him to imagine, yet simply had to be written. He had to be prepared.

* * *

"Wow… You can see the stars really well tonight…" Agumon remarked.

"That's because so many lights are out," Gatomon muttered. "You can feel the city is wounded."

Tai and Kari were silent as they joined them in looking at the night skyline from Tai's balcony window. Both Digimon were right; the starts twinkled with cold beauty over a city awash in ruin and grief. From the other room, they could hear their parents groaning softly as the news replayed the reports and gave new numbers. "At this hour, the current casualty rate is 235 dead, and 112 wounded, with several more sections of rubble to sift through," the anchorman's voice came muffled beneath the door. "At least six city blocks and a dozen major buildings are in ruins; damage estimates are estimated to have moved into the billions. Several blocks of the city are without power in an attempt to conserve it for emergency crews. Specialists are being called in to assess the crisis and also try to determine exactly what happened…"

Kari sighed and shook her head. "Some Christmas this turned out to be…" she muttered. She paused and looked at her brother. "What made you guys say we needed a leader?" she asked.

Tai's eyes were hard and his expression was dark; he suddenly looked much older than a tenth grader. "Kari," he said, "do you think Davis and the new kids know what they're going up against?"

Kari hesitated, then looked back at the skyline. "I don't know…" she admitted. "I hope so…"

"I knew they were up to the job of breaking spires and rings, and saving Digimon…" Tai admitted, "but can they make the tough decisions we had to?"

Kari looked down at the street. "Like Skullsatamon today?..." she asked. "Well… they're good at beating Spire-Born…"

"But it's not the same, Kari; you know that," Agumon spoke up. "Spire-Born are fake Digimon. These Dark World guys have hearts and they think for themselves."

Tai shook his head. "After watching them today, how horrified they all looked," he muttered, "well, now I'm starting to understand what Sora was saying… I wonder if they really can take that next step."

Kari put a hand on the glass and shivered at its cold touch. "They're just kids, Tai," she tried. "We're all just kids…"

"We're _not_ just kids; we're Digidestined," Tai corrected her sharply. "We all have to be able to win, no matter what we're fighting. After all…" he paused and waved his hand at the skyline, "this is how dangerous it just got."

Gatomon's tail ring tapped on the glass with a hollow ping. "Nuts!" she grumbled, swishing her tail around awkwardly. "I have to get used to that extra weight again."

"Will you be OK, Gatomon?" Tai asked.

"Sure I will!" she replied. "Don't you worry, Tai; I'll do my best, and I know Veemon and the other Digimon will too!"

"Yeah, those new guys are something else," Agumon agreed. "They can smash those Deadmon easy!"

Kari sighed and looked back at the stars. At least they wouldn't have to worry about the Digimon's resolve…

* * *

"In other parts of the world, higher casualty reports are being posted," the anchorman continued, reading off of his notes. "The death toll has reached thousands in Europe and the Americas. Some cities have been able to hold their own against the invaders as armed civilians took to the streets and fought alongside police officers and army soldiers…"

Yolei heard the blaring reports as her siblings and parents ogled the news, but she didn't really process them. All she knew was it as a welcome distraction from her grabbing fistfuls of snacks from the cupboards and hauling them back to the waiting orange duffel bag in her room. As she threw the treats in on top of some ratty clothes, Poromon watched anxiously from her pillow. "…Aren't you going to tell them you're leaving tomorrow?" he asked.

"No," she replied mechanically. She threw another wad of underwear on top of the snacks. "They wouldn't care, anyway."

"What?! That's not true!" Poromon objected hotly. "Yolei, you have to lose this attitude right now!"

She looked at him for a moment, and her blank face sagged into misery again. "Why should I?" she moaned, pulling one of the yellowed pillows off of her bed and jamming it in, ignoring the crunching noises. "It's not like I'm the golden child… Besides, kids run away all the time."

Poromon's mouth hung open for a moment, then he ruffled his feathers angrily. "I can't believe you're acting like this!" he snapped. "It's worse then when you were trying to be like Mimi!"

She glared murderously at him. "Oh, you didn't like that either?" she growled. "You think I deserved to get rejected, too?!"

"Um, uh…" Poromon gulped, wishing Davis hadn't thrown things in his partner's face today; he wasn't the one who had to live with her afterwards, after all. He had to get her back on the subject. "But Yolei, don't you care how your family would feel if they thought you ran away?" he asked.

Yolei zipped the duffel bag shut and dropped it next to the bed, then closed her door. "No," she replied bluntly, putting her glasses on the desk and turning off the light. "Now goodnight."

She curled up on her bed, not even bothering to take off her clothes or pull up the blankets. Poromon looked her over despairingly, without any idea of how to handle her any more. What had happened to the Yolei he knew?

* * *

"Hey, guys! Hey! Guys!" Davis huffed, but his parents and Jun didn't respond; they were glued to the news reports. Davis fumed, then went for a low blow. "I just ate all the ice cream!" he announced.

All of them immediately turned on him. "What?!" Jun yelled.

"I wanted some of that!" his dad objected.

"What about your weight?" his mother warned.

Davis grinned. "Well, now that I've got your attention, I've got somethin' to say," he said.

"…But the ice cream's still there?" his dad asked.

"What's your problem, Daisuke?" Jun huffed. "Can't you see we're watching the news? Don't you know what happened today?!"

"Yeah, I do, and that's what it's about," Davis said, his smirk dropping off. It wasn't easy to be serious with his family, but now was as good a reason to try as he could think of. "Listen, guys, starting tomorrow, I've gotta go away for a while. I don't know how long, but it's to make sure the monsters don't come back here."

Davis's mother and father stared at him. "What do you mean?" his dad asked.

"This isn't a day for jokes, Daisuke," his mom huffed.

"Did you get hit in the head?" Jun grumbled.

"I'm serious!" Davis snapped. "My friends and I are the only ones who can stop the monsters from comin' back!"

His dad looked clueless, as usual. His mom frowned, thinking he was simply lying. Jun looked at him like he was a street performer blowing his act. "OK, fine! I'll prove it!" he snarled, pulling Demiveemon out from behind his back. "Say hi, Demiveemon!"

Demiveemon blinked, then smiled. "Hi, Demiveemon!" he chirped. "What else you want me to say, Davis? Ooh, I know! Gottle of geer! Gottle of geer!"

"See?!" Davis said. "I'm tellin' the truth! I—"

Two thuds made him look up to see that both his parents had fainted dead away. Jun's mouth hung open and her eyes bugged at Demiveemon; Davis thought she was about to pass out, too. "Ooh…" Demiveemon gulped. "Was it something I said?"

Instead of collapsing, though, she squealed like a preschooler and grabbed Demiveemon out of his shocked hands. "I knew it!" she cheered, bouncing around the room. "I knew he was real! He's too cute to just be a doll! Why didn't you say something earlier?! We could have had the sweetest pet!"

"Wheee!" Demiveemon cheered. "Hey, Davis, I'm a plane!"

"Gimme that!" Davis snapped, angrily snatching his partner back. "He's not a pet! He's a DIGIMON! And we're gonna go make sure the creepy-crawlies don't come back!"

"What?!" Jun shrieked, yanking Demiveemon back and rocking him like a baby. "You're making this little guy fight those THINGS?! You're so mean!"

"Oh, it's OK," Demiveemon piped up. "I get paid in pork chops."

Davis narrowed his eyes. "Gee, thanks for worryin' about _me_, sis," he grumbled.

Jun opened her mouth to retort, but she suddenly became aware of what he meant and her anger subsided. "…Daisuke, you shouldn't!" she objected. "Didn't you hear how many people got _killed_ today?"

"I know; we were out there tryin' to save folks… but we couldn't get everyone…" he answered, looking solemn. "But that's why I've gotta do this, Jun; if I don't go with everyone else an' stop 'em on their turf, there could be way more of what happened today and last night."

"Everyone else?... Last night?" Jun murmured. She thought back to the hullabaloo at Matt's concert, the dark shapes and the flying ghosts, and how Matt had told Momoe and her to run while he stared down the black dinosaur. "…Does Matt have some kind of monster, too?" she guessed.

"Yep!" Demiveemon spoke up. "His name's Gabumon, and he's a big blue wolf!"

"Uh… yeah," Davis said, not even taking time to roll his eyes. "But he ain't goin'; it's just me, Kari, Matt's brother, Ken, and two more. Matt's stayin' behind with Coach and some others, just in case."

"Oh…" Jun said soberly, unable to come up with any other response.

"Yeah… We're leavin' tomorrow," Davis said, then looked at his unconscious parents. "That could've gone better," he admitted.

"I know!" Demiveemon exclaimed. "They went down like nun pins!"

Jun chuckled. "Don't worry; I'll explain it to them when they wake up… You'd better go pack or something."

Davis nodded and started for his room. "Hey, Daisuke?" she asked, making him stop and turn around. She nervously played with her fingers. "Well… Be careful," she said quietly.

Davis grinned wryly. "Woah," he mused, "did I just hear YOU tell ME to be _careful_?"

Jun smirked. "Well, duh!" she snapped back. "You've gotta be in good shape so I can pound on you when you get home!"

"Pshh…" Davis spat, "just couldn't keep quiet, could ya?" He turned and started to open his door.

"Oh, one other thing," Jun interjected, starting towards him. "If you're leaving tomorrow…"

"What, you gonna give me a hug now?" Davis snarked, but then Jun plucked Demiveemon out of his hands again. "HEY!" he shouted.

"Then that means Demiveemon can spend the night with me!" she giggled. "C'mon, cutie pie, let's take a bath!"

"Oh, boy!" Demiveemon cheered, waving his little hands in the air. "Wait'll you see me blow bubbles!"

"And when you come back, you can play with me all the time!" Jun went on, starting for her room.

"Hell no, Jun!" Davis yelled. "He's MY Digimon!"

"Like you're any good with pets," Jun teased, sticking her tongue out at him. "Remember the goldfish?"

"I was SIX, dammit!" Davis roared, but Jun shut her door and left him fuming in the living room.

* * *

"…So that's what's happening," Matt finished, taking another sip of his drink. "All we can do is keep watch."

"I see…" Hiroaki grumbled as he crushed one cigarette's butt in the ashtray and lit a fresh one. "Have you said goodbye to TK yet?"

"I figure we'll meet up tomorrow, beforehand," Matt replied, folding his arms. "They'd better be up to this…"

"It's OK, Matt," Gabumon spoke up. "TK'll be a great leader!"

"It's not him I'm worried about," Matt replied. "It's those other three."

The men were silent for a few minutes, then Matt sighed and finished his drink. "Well, I'd better hit the sack; big day tomorrow," he said, picking up Hiroaki's and his plates and dropping them in the sink. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Right… Goodnight," Hiroaki replied, half lost in his own thoughts.

"Goodnight, Mr. Ishida," Gabumon said, then followed Matt to his room.

Hiroaki heard Matt's door shut, then he waited for a few moments. When he was sure Matt wasn't coming back out, he took out his cell phone and pushed a few buttons. He held it up and waited, and the other end picked up with a low "hello?"

"Hey, it's me," he said, getting up and looking out the window. "We've gotta talk…"


	45. At The End Of The Tunnel

**CHAPTER 45**

**AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL**

Davis adjusted the duffel bag's strap on his shoulder as he scowled at the half dozen flashing squad cars parked around his school's entrance, which was sealed in all directions by reams upon reams of yellow police tape. "C'mon, it's Sunday!" he groused. "Nobody's s'posed to work on Sunday!"

"Giant bugs aren't supposed to crash into schools, either," Gomamon remarked.

"I don't think you're getting in that way, guys," Sora muttered.

"I think the lab is messed up anyway," Poromon spoke from Yolei's limp arms. "Kabuterimon got knocked right into it."

Upamon looked up at Cody sadly. "Will we ever be able to go in again, Cody?" he asked. "I left half a bag of chips in the closet."

Cody looked at Izzy. "What do you think?" he asked.

Izzy shook his head as he looked down at his old laptop. "I don't know," he admitted, "but I anticipated this. Will you all follow me to the soccer field? I don't think we'll be seen there."

The party quietly made its way around the side of the school and reached the gray-grassed field. In wake of the monster attacks, nobody had repainted the goal lines, and it looked sad and abandoned. Davis felt something tug at his insides as he looked it over; this was one more reason to send those Dark World guys packing.

Izzy opened his laptop and turned it on. "Just like when we went camping, I'll have you all warp in through this," he explained. "When you're ready to come home, send me an e-mail and I'll turn it back on."

"Hey, good idea!" Patamon exclaimed.

"I just hope it's not when you're asleep," Kari said.

"…And that you can get somewhere with more space than your room," Gatomon said. "It gets cramped in a hurry."

"Right. Now—" Izzy began, but he looked down at the screen and jumped. "Oh! Hello, Gennai," he said, and turned the screen so everyone could see Gennai's bulb-eyed old face stared out at the posse. "We were just about to send them on their way."

"Ah, good," Gennai said, "but I called to warn you: the Wall of Fire is a dangerous barrier that can't be crossed easily. Evil Digimon can force their way through, but that's not going to work for you. I'll meet you at there and lend a hand."

"Really? Thanks, Gennai!" TK said.

Gennai nodded and vanished, leaving behind the usual desktop screen. "Hey, lucky you guys!" Agumon exclaimed. "We never had Gennai's help like that!"

"We never _needed_ it like that…" Matt grumbled.

"Come on, Matt," Tai said, "if we'd had to go to this place, I'm sure we would have."

Cody suddenly had a thought. "Izzy, could you give us Gennai's e-mail address?" he asked the older boy. "We may have to talk to him while we're in the Dark World."

"Yeah, that's a—" Izzy started to say, but then his enthusiastic smile faded. "Oh, that's right… I don't think I can, Cody; Gennai always contacts _me_, and he doesn't use conventional means… but it's a good idea; you should ask him yourself today."

Cody nodded. There was a quiet, almost solemn silence as the group realized that there was no more to be said, and that it was time to begin the dangerous campaign. "Well, you guys know what you have to do," Tai said, smiling bravely at his young friends. "Take care, and good luck!"

Davis made a fist and looked cocky. "Heh… Just you watch, Coach," he smirked, "we'll break that spire-making doohickey before you even remember we left!"

"Yeah!" Demiveemon chirped. "We'll make it doo-doohickey!"

TK stared nervously at the open laptop, wondering if their trust in him was placed properly. Just then, his brother's hand clenched his shoulder, and he looked up. "You'll do fine," Matt said, managing a slight smile. "They won't know what hit them."

TK managed to smile back. "Thanks, Matt," he said.

Kari, Cody and Ken put on their most confident looks. Yolei, however, just stared at the ground like an unposed mannequin, trying not to look at either Davis or Ken.

"We'll be waiting for you," Biyomon said. "Don't get too reckless!"

"Give my best to Gennai," Izzy said, opening the Digital Gate program and setting the laptop on the grass.

TK, Davis, Kari, Cody, Ken and Yolei quietly took out their D3s and pointed them at the screen. In a bright flash, they were gone. A cold wind blew across the field, carrying with it the noises of a demolition crew somewhere nearby. "…Good luck, you guys," Gabumon muttered.

Joe glanced around, then looked down at his watch, then looked at the others again. "So… what now?" he asked.

"I think we should start patrolling the city," Tai said. "If any more spires pop up, we need to be super fast."

"Right," Matt agreed. "Let's split up and start looking."

The five older kids and their Digimon walked off the school property. They were unaware, however, that the whole scene had been watched. On the roof of the school, Mummymon leaned heavily on his cane and cracked his neck. "Ohh, I wonder if things will work out," he remarked. "Do you suppose our allies can handle those brats?"

Arukenimon just snorted and shrugged. "Who cares?" she replied. "Besides, their absence just means we can work without interruption."

"True, but we can't simply ignore this," Mummymon objected. "It could come back to bite us in the bum."

Arukenimon scowled at him; she hated it when he had a point. "Fine," she grumbled. "Let's go report."

She swatted at her hair and walked towards the rooftop door. "Can we take the elevator this time?" Mummymon asked as he hobbled after her. "I'm not built for stairs."

* * *

Once more, a sickeningly hot wind was all that greeted the Digidestined upon their arrival. "Phloagh!" Armadillomon spat and spluttered to get the sand out of his maw, "why can't we get wind in flavors besides hot sand?!"

"I would enjoy it if I were you," Hawkmon pointed out. "I doubt this Dark World is going to have much heat in it."

TK glanced around at the landscape, which had changed every time they had come to this area. Visible from the ruined mountains, the ravaged Sky Train lay splayed out where it had crashed, now half buried in the sand and torn into a metallic skeleton by Resistance soldiers. In the distance, Spaghetti Junction now looked like a citadel, its high wooden fences replaced with higher metal walls and searchlights. Seeing how ferocious Gargomon and his men had made it, he decided that maybe it was better if they stayed away from the Digital World for a while. "…Let's go," he said, looking at Patamon and pointing at the mounds.

The kids and their partners started walking, hauling all of their baggage with them. "Whoo… Tell me why we couldn't just warp to the crater again?" Veemon huffed as he shoved Davis's duffel bag out of his face.

"Because there's no TV up there," Gatomon replied. "If there was one, Blackwargreymon vaporized it with the mountains." Aside from that banter, the procession was silent; no one felt calm enough to talk.

After a good fifteen minutes' walk, they arrived at the crater where Blackwargreymon had made himself known. Just like before, the area was devoid of color; even the cloudless sky seemed more gray than blue. As TK reached the lip of the crater, he froze. A strange figure stood at the epicenter, like it was waiting for them. "What's that?..." he asked, peering at the creature. A lone Mekanorimon stood there silently, its eye fixed on the group, as if it were waiting for them.

"What's a Mekanorimon doing out here?" Patamon asked.

"It could be guarding the entrance," Ken growled. "Remember the ones inside the Gigas?..."

"Awright, then we'll do what we did then!" Davis huffed, whipping out his D3. "Veemon, let's get 'im!"

"Yeah! Charrrrge!" Veemon cheered.

Davis and Veemon rushed forward. "No, wait!" TK shouted sharply.

Davis jerked around and looked at him angrily. "What?!" he snapped impatiently.

"Don't," TK replied, shaking his head. "There's something different about that Mekanorimon."

"Are you kidding me?!" Davis huffed, whirling around in a dust plume. "Those things're always—"

"Please, Davis," TK urged, trying his best to sound authoritative. "I don't think it'll hurt us."

"But—" Veemon began to protest.

"Remember who's in charge, you two," Cody pointed out bitingly.

Veemon's ears sagged. Davis gnashed his teeth for a few seconds, then dropped his fists. "Fff…" he hissed. "Have it your way, 'boss.'"

TK and Patamon walked ahead of Davis. "Hello!" he shouted at the Mekanorimon. "Hello there!"

To Davis's shock, the Mekanorimon raised one arm in a friendly wave, then beckoned for them to come closer. "What the?!" he spluttered.

"How'd ya know it was friendly?" Armadillomon asked TK.

"I think I know who's inside," TK replied. "Come on, guys."

The Digidestined raced over to the Mekanorimon. Its blue dome top popped open, and Gennai crawled halfway out and grinned at them. "I was wondering why you didn't come over," he said. "Maybe I should paint this thing a friendlier color."

TK smiled. "I kind of figured it might be you," he said.

"Wow!" Veemon exclaimed, looking over the machine creature. "Where'd you get that Mekanorimon?"

"It didn't come from my ship… Not recently, anyway," Ken remarked.

"Army surplus store," Gennai replied. "You'd be amazed what you can find in those."

"Hey, wait a second!" Patamon objected. "You said you stole that back when—"

"Hey, now, let an old man spin his yarns," Gennai cut him off. "Now, thanks for coming so quickly. This's where you can find a cave that will take you to the Wall of Fire, and then into the Dark World. As you can see…" he made a sweeping motion with his arm, "the Dark World kind of bleeds into this crater."

"Is that what it is?" Gatomon asked, her tail twitching as she looked around. "I thought it was because of Blackwargreymon."

"Anywhere two worlds intersect, there's bound to be a little mixing, like how you can't get two colors of clay completely separated once they've been stuck together," Gennai replied. "I'll open the pathway for you, but be careful; I suspect that the Dark World's forces know you're coming and have an ambush ready."

"We'll sort them out, I'm sure," Hawkmon said. "Please, Gennai, do so."

"I already did," Gennai said, nodding towards the center of the crater. "Look."

The kids turned and looked. The ground seemed to start bleeding a pitch-black shade into the dirt, the wind picked up around it, spinning around in a gentle black whirlwind. Again, Kari hugged herself and shivered. "It… certainly looks like a path there…" she admitted.

"We're _all_ going this time, Kari," Gatomon assured her.

TK stared at the swirling darkness for a moment, then looked at his friends. "Is everyone ready?" he asked.

"You bet!" Patamon agreed.

Kari nodded. "Let's do it," she said.

"You even hafta ask?" Davis said, smacking his fist into his palm.

Veemon did the same thing, then winced and yelped. "G'heek!.. Right behind ya, Davith…" he managed.

"Ain't nobody gonna mess up our town and get away with it," Armadillomon growled. Cody simply nodded.

Yolei was, as she often was lately, silent. "Erm… We'll do our best, too," Hawkmon spoke for her.

Ken adjusted his weapons and hit a few buttons. "Don't worry," he assured them, "I won't be just a useless bystander this time."

Gennai smiled. "Good," he said. "You can leave your bags here for the time being; I'll keep an eye on them. When you reach the Wall of Fire, contact Izzy, and I'll come and open it for you."

Cody decided it was time to ask his question. "Erm… Not to complain, Mr. Gennai, but that seems a little complicated," he said. "Couldn't we send you an e-mail ourselves?"

"Oh, well, I don't have your address," Gennai replied.

Cody pulled his D-Terminal out of his pocket. "I can give it to you right now," he offered.

"Sorry, but there isn't time," Gennai said, shaking his head. "I'll let Izzy know to expect you."

Cody blinked a few times. Did they really have to hurry to the Dark World this quickly? Or did Gennai not _want_ his address?...

"OK, you fish-ass freaks!" Davis huffed, tossing his bag in the dirt and balling his fists at the portal. "Watch out, 'cuz Davis is comin' for ya! Veemon!"

"You got it, Davith!" Veemon cheered. "Let's goooo!"

Davis and Veemon rushed for the whirlwind. "Wait, Davis!" Patamon shouted. "TK's the leader! He should go—"

"Geronidoooon!" Davis roared, and Veemon and he leaped and planted their feet in the blackened soil before Patamon could say "first."

To everyone's surprise, their legs went halfway into the darkness and they were pulled down like they had stepped in quicksand. "Oh, no!" Kari cried.

"Don't worry; that's how you enter it," Gennai assured them. "They're waiting for the rest of you in the tunnel. Good luck."

"Never bats an eyelash, does he?" Armadillomon remarked to Cody.

TK sighed. In a way he was grateful to Davis for defusing the tense situation, but now it was his turn. With Patamon perched on his hat, he bravely walked over to the ebony patch and sank down into the earth. Kari grabbed Gatomon tightly and followed the boys. Cody and Armadillomon walked into the void without another word.

Ken watched Hawkmon drag his partner down into the portal, then took a deep breath. Everything was ready, and so was he. He started towards the opening, thinking of his parents back home.

"Ken," Gennai's voice made him turn around. The old man's smile had faded. "You especially should take care," he said. "The Dark World is a dangerous place even with a Digimon partner."

Ken smiled quietly. "Thank you, Gennai," he said, then turned and vanished. Gennai stared down at the kids' discarded bags and thoughtfully pulled at his moustache.

* * *

The next thing Davis knew, he was at the bottom of a heap of his friends, and since the person directly on top of him wasn't Kari, he didn't waste any time in yelling "D'aggh! Get off! GET OFF!"

Everybody scrambled out of the pile and got on their feet. "Ugh… I thought we were done with that," Armadillomon grumbled.

"Maybe we're all just fated to end up in piles," TK tried to joke.

Hawkmon almost mentioned he had seen that in one of Yolei's books, but decided that now was not the time. "Erm… So, where are we?" he asked instead.

They stood at the start of a narrow tunnel without much light and even less color; all of the rock that they could see was a dull gray. The air was warm and thick like a day in late spring, with a smell like burning candles. The only source of light was a small, faint glowing off in the distance. "Look at that, TK; I bet that's where we have to go," Patamon piped up.

"Yeah…" TK agreed. "Let's go. Everybody stay together."

The procession made its way towards the light, but it wasn't long before things went completely black. "Hey! Where'd it go?!" Davis huffed.

"We must be in a ditch or something," Cody reasoned. "At least that means the ceiling's higher now."

"Can you see anything, Gatomon?" Kari asked.

Gatomon looked around, but this darkness wasn't something she could see through; maybe it was because they had entered a different world, or maybe it was something more sinister. "I wish we had Agumon here," she muttered. "His fire breath would be really handy."

"Well, we can't keep wandering like this," Hawkmon objected as he felt Yolei tighten her grip on his wing. "For all we know, there's a bottomless pit between us and the exit."

Everybody stopped walking. "Oh, thanks; now I'm gonna be imaginin' that," Veemon sighed.

"Doesn't anybody have a light?" Ken asked crossly.

"…I do," Cody replied curtly to Ken, and he rummaged in his pocket. Thankfully, the clothes switching of the Digital World had left the contents intact, and he produced a key-sized flashlight.

"That's m'boy!" Armadillomon laughed. "Always thinkin' ahead!"

TK groaned. He was the leader; he should have thought to take his flashlight out of his bag.

Cody pushed the button and an amazingly bright beam shot from the little light. As soon as it came on, however, the caves rang with screeches and shrieks. Cody's light suddenly revealed that they were surrounded by a gaggle of gray little imps with big red mouths full of razor-sharp teeth. They jumped and danced around the group, swinging their claws and snarling.

"Good grief!" Davis yelled. "Turn it off! I like it better dark!"

TK and Kari recognized the creatures from their previous adventure. They were Vilemon, evil little Champion-level troublemakers. "I knew this wasn't gonna be easy…" Gatomon snarled.

"Outta the way, toothy!" Davis shouted and whipped out his D3.

Veemon changed into Exveemon and rushed at the Vilemon, swinging and kicking. For every one he hit, though, two more jumped onto him, and then they sank their teeth into his knees and arms. "Yeowww!" he yelled. "Get off! You're not ticks!"

The Vilemon kept on biting and scratching. "You heard the lizard!" Gatomon hissed, pouncing on one and yanking it off of Exveemon's ankle like it was a mere bean bag; the power of her tail ring was apparent almost immediately. She was surprised for a minute—she had forgotten how strong she used to be—but then she leaped back into the fray.

Ken glared at the Vilemon, then shot at one's side with his laser. The little gremlin shrieked and hopped back, and Ken kept firing.

Cody looked around the narrow tunnel and decided Ankylomon was too big for this place. "Digi-Armor, Energize!" he shouted, raising his D3. Armadillomon transformed into the yellow mole bug and whirred his drills.

"Yolei, turn me into Shurimon," Hawkmon advised. "That should do nicely."

"Oh, um… OK," Yolei spluttered, fumbling with her Digivice. "Digi-Armor Energize!"

Hawkmon changed into Shurimon and joined Digmon in charging at the Vilemon… but almost as soon as they threw their first attacks, their movement slowed to a halt and their bodies discolored and pixilated, like the startup screen of a dusty video game cartridge. "Shurimon?!" Yolei asked. "What…?!"

"Rggh…" Shurimon grunted, though his voice was choppy and strange as well. "Yo-yo-yo-yorrrrlllll…"

"What's going on?!" Cody huffed.

TK bit his lip. He didn't understand, but he knew he had to help instead. "Patamon, are you ready?" he asked, raising his D3.

"Lemme at 'em, TK!" Patamon chirped, and Digivolved into Angemon. He clanged his golden rod on the ground and the Vilemon looked up at him, screamed and scampered off into the darkness.

"Hey, get back here!" Davis yelled, then motioned at Exveemon. "C'mon, let's finish 'em off!"

"It's all right, Davis," Angemon said, holding up a hand to stop the boy. "Those were actual Digimon, not Deadmon."

Davis stopped and looked at him. "How d'ya know that?" he asked.

"Because they ran away," Ken answered. "Unlike Deadmon, they valued their lives."

"Digimon live down here?" Exveemon asked. "I shoulda wiped my feet before I came in!"

The incapacitated Digmon and Shurimon shuddered, then shrank back down to Armadillomon and Hawkmon. "What happened to you two?" Kari asked. "Are you sick?"

Armadillomon shook his head. "Well, I feel fine now," he said, "but after I Digivolved I felt funny, an' then I just couldn't move no more."

"Yes, the moment I became Shurimon, I felt tingly," Hawkmon added, "like when one of my wings fell asleep… except over my entire body."

The kids looked at each other. "What do you think it means?" Ken asked.

"I don't know…" TK admitted. "Maybe you guys aren't going to be able to fight on this trip?"

"What?!" Cody huffed. "That can't be true! You're fine right now, Armadillomon!"

"Yeah, but…" Armadillomon tried, then shook his head. "I don't know 'bout this place, Cody…"

Hawkmon looked at Yolei for some sort of comment, but she just stared forlornly at the floor.

Davis looked at them, then grinned in Kari's direction. "Hey, chillax, you guys," he said. "Exveemon can take of these creeps!"

"You mean Exveemon, Angemon and me," Gatomon corrected him.

"…Yeah, sure," Davis grumbled. "Let's get movin'!"

"Just be careful," TK warned. "We don't know what else is in this cave…"

Davis snorted and started walking alongside Exveemon. The others followed behind him with Cody, Yolei and their partners bringing up the rear. TK didn't like how things were shaping up. Davis doing what he wanted? Armadillomon and Hawkmon froze up while Digivolving? How would Tai deal with these things?

* * *

Tentomon groaned with boredom as he stared out of Izzy's window. "I sure wish we had gone with the others," he complained. "It's boring just sitting here!"

Izzy was glued to his desktop computer, typing away like a concert pianist. "Our work is important, too, Tentomon," he said. While Tai and the others were out scouting for possible new control spires, he was doubling his efforts to locate the temple entrances that Azulongmon had hinted at.

"But we don't know when TK and the rest will be back!" Tentomon protested. "Can't it wait?"

"I want to have it ready when they return," Izzy replied. "After all, everybody really wants the Crests recharged… We won't waste any time on my account."

Tentomon's antennae sagged. "Can't you at least get me an exercise wheel or something?" he asked.

Izzy was about to ask what good that would do for a Digimon who mostly got around with his wings when Gennai appeared on his screen. "Oh, hello, Gennai," he said, "did they get off all right?"

"Yes, they're on their way through the tunnel as we speak," Gennai replied. "You should expect an e-mail from them when they reach the Wall of Fire. I'll be standing by for a response."

"All right, I… wait," Izzy stopped, looking confused. "How do _I_ get in contact with _you_, Gennai?"

"It's not a problem," Gennai assured him, "I'll just monitor your e-mail program for the letter myself. You won't have to do a thing."

Izzy's mouth dropped open. "You'll read my mail?!" he huffed. "That's rather rude, Gennai…"

"No, no, it's not like that!" Gennai said quickly. "No, I can only tell if you received an e-mail. I can't read them. I'm a weird old man, but I don't go poking into young folks' personal stuff."

"Oh, good…" Izzy sighed. While he had Gennai on the line, though, he decided to ask him about the temples. "By the way, Gennai, I'm looking for the temple entrances that Azulongmon told the others about, but I haven't had any luck; I can't seem to find anything like that in the Digital World. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Hmm… Nowhere in the Digital World, eh?… Interesting…" Gennai mused, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, he looked up in surprise, like he had remembered something. "Oh, yes, I have to put something together for the trip to the Dark World. Excuse me, Izzy; keep up the good work."

"Huh? Wait a second, Gennai!" Izzy protested, but the old man vanished from his screen. Izzy stared at in pure befuddlement. "Why didn't he give me some sort of advice?!" he asked Tentomon crossly.

"Maybe he was busy," Tentomon suggested.

"He's never been too busy before," Izzy muttered. "Why start now?"

"Come on, Izzy, you're just frustrated," Tentomon tried. "Let's take a break and go find the others, OK?"

Izzy set his jaw and kept typing. "Sorry, Tentomon," he said, "but I'm not taking a break after just half an hour."

Tentomon groaned and pressed his forehead against the window.

* * *

The dark, cramped tunnel opened up a little bit as the Digidestined move ahead, and the burning smell also intensified. "Where'd those little buggers go?" Exveemon asked, peering this way and that in the dark.

Davis wasn't sure; those Vilemon seemed to have vanished into thin air. Fortunately, the light was getting stronger up ahead. "Hey, we're almost out!" he announced as the ground started to climb upwards.

"Davis, don't get too far ahead!" Gatomon shouted.

"I'm serious!" Davis said, pointing. "Look! It's just up…"

What his finger was pointing at, though, was still a tunnel. However, this segment was far more open than what they had come through, and much better lit; every few moments, several patches on the walls glowed with pale light. "…Crap," Davis grumbled.

"It's never that easy," Cody sighed.

"But what are they, Cody?" Armadillomon asked, waddling up to a glowing patch. As he got closer, something made his ears perk up, and he pressed his head against the patch. "Lissen to that…" he said with surprise.

The others put their ears to other patches and listened. There was a rushing kind of sound; it was almost like there was a steady wind blowing just beyond the wall. "What's that?" Kari asked. "It's like we're riding the subway."

"Wind, maybe?" Hawkmon asked. "And that light; could it be the sun?"

"Can't be daylight; we're underground," Cody pointed out.

Ken thought for a moment. "This is a path between the worlds," he recalled, running his hand along the smooth rock, "and these walls feel thin..."

"Then maybe… that light and that wind are… what's between the worlds?" TK suggested. "The void?"

"It could be," Angemon agreed.

"What's a 'void?'" Armadillomon asked. "Doesn't sound like food…"

"It's a whole lot of nothin'," Davis replied.

Armadillomon still looked confused. "You know… like outer space," TK tried.

"Ooh! I wanna see!" Exveemon exclaimed, picking a rock off the ground and starting to bang on a patch.

"STOP!" Cody shouted, louder than anyone knew he could be, and Exveemon turned around in surprise. "If this void is anything like outer space, then it'll be a vacuum; it'll suck us all in," he growled.

Exveemon raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound too bad…" he admitted.

Cody still looked grave. "Imagine running out of air, then turning inside out, then exploding," he said.

Exveemon blinked with wide eyes, then quickly tossed the rock over his shoulder into the dark.

An angry hiss came from where the rock clattered. Everyone whirled that way to see a gaggle of Deadmon rising up from the ground, armed with guns and spears just like in town. They started firing, making the kids scramble for some sort of cover. "Crap!" Davis huffed, running behind Exveemon. "They snuck up!"

"Look out!" Cody shouted, grabbing Armadillomon and trying to make himself small.

"Don't worry; we'll get them!" Angemon declared, flying in and swinging his rod as Exveemon blasted away with his V-Laser. Gatomon leaped onto the scene and sank her claws into the nearest Deadmon, dissolving it in an instant.

Cody pulled out his D3. "Armadillomon, get ready!" he announced.

"What?" Armadillomon asked, looking panicked. "But it didn't work before, Cody!"

"I'm trying Ankylomon this time," Cody replied, starting to raise the device. "He's stronger anyway."

"Cody, wait!" TK protested. "Ankylomon's too big! He'd crush us!"

Cody hesitated, then grudgingly lowered the D3. The cramped tunnel was grating on his nerves.

Yolei decided to try Digivolving again, too. "Come on, Hawkmon…" she said uncertainly.

"Yolei, don't," Hawkmon protested. "We don't know what will—"

"DigiArmor Energize!" she urged, raising her D3.

Hawkmon became Shurimon again, but within seconds he froze in place and distorted like before, leaving him wide open to a Deadmon's blast, which shrank him back to Hawkmon. Flustered and stunned, she could only grab him and try to squish herself into a corner.

Ken pumped the Deadmon full of ammunition, but it had no effect; the lead bullets just sank into the ooze-like monsters and fell out the other side. The grenades still too risky to use, he fired his laser instead. As the red beam tore into a Deadmon, its body bubbled and boiled, then evaporated into nothing but stench. Not taking time to be relieved, he turned and fired at another one.

Between the Digimon and Ken's laser, the Deadmon were vanquished before they could shape into a real threat. "Is everyone OK?" TK asked, looking around at his friends.

"I think so," Kari said, pushing off of the wall. "Fighting in here is really dangerous!"

"Not a problem for me," Gatomon said, stretching her claws. "I've still got plenty of room to move."

"Whew…" Exveemon panted, leaning on the wall. "Those guys really take it out of you!"

"At least we know we're on the right track," Angemon said, looking ahead. "Let's continue on."

Cody frowned at the distant tube of darkness, then glumly down at Armadillomon. "I wish we could be more useful," he muttered.

Armadillomon shook his head and gave his partner a smile. "Don't you worry, Cody; we'll get our chance," he assured him. "Let's mosey!"

"Yeah, c'mon; Gennai's waiting for us," TK said, waving his friends onward. "Exveemon, you and the others go first."

"You see any more Deadmon, melt 'em before they get moldy!" Davis urged.

Exveemon, Angemon, Gatomon and Ken stood in as much of a row as they could and pressed on down the tunnel, the others following behind.

* * *

Sora peered down the narrow alley next to the building that housed the Motomiyas, but thankfully there was no control spire. "Nope, it's still safe," she said to Matt and their partners.

"Good," Biyomon piped up; since there were few people around, the Digimon were comfortable being chatty. "If they were that fast at making new ones, I'd be worried…"

"Don't get lazy," Matt warned, double-checking the alley. "TK said the spider woman could bring them up just by snapping her fingers. We're not going to sleep much anytime soon."

"All right, all right," Sora surrendered, frowning. "Take it easy!"

Matt sighed and shook his head. "…Sorry," he grumbled. "I wasn't trying to bite your head off."

"Just remember, Matt, we're all in this together," Gabumon said. "Nobody wants another yesterday."

Matt nodded, and they started to walk past the building. "…So, how did things go with Tai?" he asked Sora, trying to disperse the cloud of irritation; there hadn't been much time for conversation since Christmas Eve.

"Pretty well," Sora admitted, smiling. "We had a great time!... aside from the whole, y'know, Deadmon thing."

Matt sighed and shook his head. "At least it was a good night for _someone_," he said bitterly. "My dad's been buried in police interviews when he isn't running off on his own somewhere, and my bandmates are all spooked. I don't know when we'll get another gig… provided we haven't broken up first."

"Geez, Matt," Gabumon said with a wince, "you need some refreshers in casual conversation."

Sora shook her head and gave him a smile. "Cheer up, Matt. Just keep doing what you're doing," she urged. "I mean, you guys sounded great up there! It'd be a shame if you stopped now…"

Matt smirked. "Maybe I should hang around Tai more, too," he grumbled. "It's done wonders for your optimism."

"Err, well…" Sora stammered, her cheeks pinking a little.

He shifted his weight and kicked at a rock on the sidewalk. "I can't bring myself to think like that," he grumbled. "Between those new kids and this, it's been one disaster after another since fall… What the hell's next?"

As if on cue, a shrill voice called his name from up above, and he froze in place, his teeth biting into his lower lip. The Digimon quickly made like rag dolls and stayed behind their partners. Sora looked up and saw a girl with spiky red hair waving frantically at them for a few seconds, and then she was gone. "Hey," she started, "wasn't that—"

Before Sora could say her name, Jun was down on the sidewalk; Sora wondered if the building had a fireman's pole. "Matt! Hi!" Jun gushed.

Matt stiffly looked down at her. "Hello, Jun," he said through gritted teeth.

"What's… huh?!" She stopped short and looked at Sora with both panic and rage. "What're you guys doing?" she demanded, her bubbliness boiling over.

"Um, hi, Jun," Sora said, nervously. "We were just passing by…"

"Oh, yeah?!" Jun huffed, biting her lip angrily. "Weren't you with Daisuke's coach just a few days ago?!"

"What? I…" Sora began, but then she realized what the angry girl was getting at. "OH! N-no, Jun, we're just friends! Really!"

Jun kept glaring, then looked at Matt sadly. "Honest?" she asked.

"Ugh…" Matt grumbled, then shook his head. "There's nothing going on," he assured her.

Jun looked between Matt and Sora a few times. "Well… OK…" she said, her voice telling them she hadn't completely bought it… but she quickly dropped it for a more serious look. "Matt, is it true? What Daisuke said about the monsters? Have you got one like Demiveemon?!"

Before she knew what was going on, Matt grabbed her and dragged her to the side of the building. "Keep it down!" he hissed, looking around the sidewalk and hoping nobody had heard, then letting go of her arm. "Are you trying to start another panic?!"

"Woah, take it easy!" Sora yelped.

Jun was frozen in fear for a moment, then her eyes became sad and she sighed. "…I'm sorry…" she whimpered. "It's just… Daisuke said there could be more trouble, and now he's left, and…"

Matt's glare faded. Jun may have been nuts, but she cared about her little brother; he could relate to that. Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't seen the Digimon herself. "…Yes, it's true," he answered quietly, then waved for his partner. "Gabumon, come over here."

Gabumon's eyes looked around, then he got up off the pavement and scooted over. "Uh… is this OK, Matt?" he asked.

Matt nodded. "This is Gabumon," he told Jun. "He's my partner, like Veemon is Davis's. Say hi, Gabumon."

"Uh… hi, Jun," Gabumon said, unsurely nodding politely to the stunned girl.

Jun squealed like a sugarcoated toddler and grabbed Gabumon. "Omigod omigod omigod, he's adorable!" she cheered, squeezing him. "Are you wearing a fur coat? What's under there? Can I try it on?"

"Err, n-no, I—" Gabumon tried, but Jun already had half of his blue fur skin in her grip, and he had to grab on tightly to keep it in place. "Stop! Matt, tell her to stop! I need this!" he pleaded.

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?!" Biyomon huffed, getting up and trotting over, jealous of the attention.

Sora chuckled and shook her head. "Sorry, Biyomon. For most girls, fuzz trumps feathers…" she admitted.

"It's so fluffy!" Jun cheered, nuzzling her face on Gabumon's coat. "How did you guys get these cuties?!"

"It's because we're Digidestined," Sora replied. "We were chosen to protect the Digital World from evil Digimon… and now this world needs protecting, too."

Jun sobered up and looked at her. "You mean…" she started, looking down the street. "Those things from yesterday?..."

"…Yeah," Matt nodded. "These guys aren't pets. We've fought for a long time to keep the peace."

Jun looked scared for a second, then she looked at Matt. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

He blinked a few times. "What?" he asked. "No."

Jun dropped Gabumon's fur. "But…!" she started.

"It's nice to ask, Jun, but you don't have a Digimon partner," Biyomon pointed out.

"The police weren't any good against the Deadmon," Sora said, "and we don't want you to put yourself in danger…"

"Look, 'coach,'" Jun huffed at Sora, "both Matt and my brother are in this mess. I want to help!" She looked at Matt again pleadingly. "Isn't there anything?..." she asked again.

Matt started to rebuke her again, but her eyes showed genuine worry and resolution. He remembered how she had rescued his bandmates and him on Christmas Eve. For being a pain in the ass, she had plenty of guts; it must have been a Motomiya trait. He sighed heavily. "If I think of something, I'll give you a call," he grumbled.

"Thank you, Matt!" she squealed, beaming and almost pulling his arm off in a bear hug. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it!"

"Wow, is she really Davis's sister?" Gabumon asked.

"Yeah, she's way more eager to help," Biyomon chuckled.

"Just come by any time!" Jun said, letting go of Matt's arm and flashing her best smile. "I can at least feed you guys! I'll make sandwiches! Ooh, and trail mix! I make great trail mix! Call me!" With that, she raced back into the building.

Matt sighed and shook his head, suddenly exhausted. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he saw that Sora was grinning. "…What?" he growled.

"Well, maybe… it hasn't been _that_ much of a disaster, huh?" she asked, glancing up at the apartment building.

Matt rolled his eyes, but Sora could see his mouth starting to smirk. "…Let's go," he said.

* * *

The tunnels were widening even more, but there was still no sign of the Wall of Fire. In fact, the tunnel was becoming more twisted, with lots of left and right turns amid the climbs and drops. "How far apart are these worlds, anyway?!" Exveemon huffed.

"When we came back the first time, it didn't take this long…" Gatomon grumbled.

"I guess that was just a shortcut," Kari admitted. "We didn't really take the right—"

A series of shrieks from the turn ahead cut her off. Exveemon, Angemon, Gatomon and Ken raced ahead to see what was the matter. As they rounded the corner, they saw the group of Vilemon they had scared off earlier, now flitting this way and that, trying to avoid the weapons of a swarm of Deadmon. The Vilemon flew in all directions and screamed with pain, unable to protect themselves from the guns and tridents. "What the…?" Gatomon asked.

"Who do we go after?" Exveemon asked.

"Who do you think?" Angemon growled, and flew at the nearest Deadmon.

Ken and Exveemon blew through the fish monsters with their lasers, and Gatomon helped Angemon pick off the stragglers. The Vilemon all landed and looked at the intruders. "Who're you guys?!" one of them asked.

"It's OK," Kari said, walking up to the one that had spoke. "The enemies are gone now."

"For real?!" the Vilemon asked. "Thanks! But who're you?"

"We're the guys you attacked earlier," Davis grunted. "What was that for, anyway?! Aren't you bums on the same side?!"

"We don't know what's going on!" the Vilemon protested. "We just wanted you to put that light out, and then _they_ showed up! We were trying to protect our home!"

"Take it easy, Davis," TK said, and approached the Vilemon. "We won't stay very long. Do you know where the Wall of Fire is?"

"Yeah, it's just above the falls," the Vilemon said, jerking its thumb at the tunnel. "Can't miss it!"

"Thanks," TK said. "Good luck to you."

The Vilemon flapped their wings and flew back into the darkness they had come from. "I guess they're not very effective when it's this bright," Cody thought out loud.

"But why would Deadmon attack evil Digimon like Vilemon?" Hawkmon asked. "Are they not evil themselves?"

"I don't think they care…" Kari said sadly.

"No honor among jerks, huh?" Davis grumbled.

As they moved onward through the tunnel, the Digidestined started to hear a low rumble, and the ceiling got higher and higher. Finally, they turned a corner and reached a large, high chamber where three huge waterfalls thundered down into an underground lake of misty gray bubbling water. A steamy, rancid smell mixed with the burnt air. "Euugh!" Armadillomon gurgled, clamping his paws over his nose. "What's that funk?!"

"Davis, are you ripping 'em again?" Exveemon asked, looking back at his partner.

Davis's cheeks burned as he imagined Kari looking at him. "No, I'm NOT!" he snapped.

"Smells like _everyone's_ ripping them," Hawkmon complained. Even Yolei had to clamp her nose shut.

"That's sulfur," Cody observed. "It's a hot gas that comes from inside the earth."

Gatomon walked to the edge of the lake and sniffed at it, then reeled back. "Eww, it's the water!" she announced. "Nobody drink it!"

"Really?" TK asked. He walked to the edge and put his hand over the water; it was almost as warm as when he drew a bath. "It's hot… There must be magma under the water," he said.

"Right… so nobody drink it," Exveemon repeated. "Now it stinks AND you'll burn your tongue."

"But the rest of the cave doesn't seem very hot," Kari said. "Maybe it's got something to do with the Wall of Fire instead?"

"Speaking of which…" Cody said, glancing to the left and pointing. A rocky path wound up and around the falls like a spiral staircase, going upwards until it vanished from view. "I think we're almost there," he finished.

"Sweet!" Davis cackled, racing up the ramp. "Let's get outta this stinkin' cave! C'mon, Exveemon!"

"Davis, stop!" TK yelled, exasperated. "You can't just go off on your own!"

Davis turned around and glared at him. "Maybe _you_ don't wanna save Kari fast, but I sure as hell do!" he snapped. "Get a move on!"

The ground beneath Davis darkened into ebony. Ken noticed it before the others did. "Davis! Run! NOW!" he barked.

Davis looked down in surprise, and then up from the earth shot Daemon, sending him crashing onto his back. "Holy shit!" he yelled.

"You!" Exveemon snarled, leaping in front of Davis. Angemon, Gatomon and Ken also scrambled in front of the boy and bared their weapons, and the rest of the group raced up and pulled Davis to his feet.

"I knew you were going to come this way," the demon cackled inside his robes. "Now you'll pay for humiliating me before."

"The only one who humiliated you is _you_," Ken snarled. "You left your subordinate to fight while you ran away."

"Yeah!" Davis huffed, fully out of his shock. "You're nothin' but a big, bat-winged chicken!"

"Maybe you shouldn't make fun of the _Mega-level_ Digimon, Davis…" Cody growled.

Daemon just cackled darkly, then flapped his wings and flew out above the lake. "I'm fine with you calling me a chicken, boy," he sneered, "so long as I get to call _you_ seafood." He knelt and thrust his arm down at the water, revealing his purple, wiry claw of a hand. "Come out!" he shouted.

The whole cave shuddered, and the lake splashed and sloshed, foaming and intensifying the magmatic odor. The kids froze in place as a dark blob appeared in the water, then burst to the surface and rose two stories high. They found themselves in the shadow of a black-bodied giant of a demonic-looking Digimon with four cruel white tentacles and a breathing apparatus. TK thought it looked like Devimon, if he had decided to get squid implants. "What the fudge is THAT?!" Exveemon declared.

"Marinedevimon!" Daemon boomed, pointing at the Digidestined as he evaporated into smoke, "kill them!"

"Running again?!" Angemon asked. "This won't make us fear you!"

One of the tentacles smashed into the wall a few feet from Angemon, and Marinedevimon made a noise like it was trying to laugh and vomit at the same time. "I don't think Daemon's the one to be scared of…" Hawkmon growled.

The Digidestined raced back down to the floor as Marinedevimon's other three tentacles tried to impale them. "Protect the kids!" Exveemon shouted as Angemon and he flew at the monster's face. Marinedevimon hissed at Angemon and tried to grab him with its claws, but the angel quickly dove downward and came back with a gleaming uppercut, followed by a laser from Exveemon. Marinedevimon dribbled a gurgling scream and tried to grab at them again, but that only gave them another chance to sucker-punch it.

With a more solid target in front of him, Ken switched to his minigun and peppered the nearest tentacle with bullets. Gatomon leaped on another and slashed away as fast as she could as it jerked and flailed angrily; just like the Deadmon, this thing hated anything holy. What was Daemon thinking, sending a fish to deal with a cat? "This is too easy!" she declared.

Kari's stomach clenched. Her partner was right: this _was_ too easy. There had to be a catch to this monster. "Be careful!" she called to the Digimon. "We don't know what—"

Before she could finish, Marinedevimon's rubbery cheeks contorted and bulged like a squirrel hiding polluted nuts. He sprayed Angemon and Exveemon with thick black glop, and their coated forms plummeted into the hot water below. "Angemon!" TK yelled.

The other two tentacles came to their brethren's aid and snared Ken and Gatomon from behind, crushing them like angry pythons. Her claws pinned, Gatomon instead bit into her captor, and it resentfully hurled her into the wall. Ken fired in the direction his arms were forced and struck the tentacle lower down, and it flung him at the rest of the group. Davis, TK and Kari scrambled to catch him, but his heavy weaponry made him way heavier than the average 13-year-old. Davis screamed like a kicked dog as Ken's laser came down hard on his shoulder and dragged him to the floor. "You couldn't make this stuff lighter?!" he demanded.

Cody's eyes narrowed. "It's our turn, Armadillomon," he growled, mashing the buttons on his D-Terminal. "Get the others out of there! DigiArmor Energize!"

"Gotcha!" Armadillomon huffed, and leaped at the water. He splashed down as Submarimon, but before he could dive, the same pixilation and paralysis that had frozen Digmon overtook him. "C… C… Cod…" he rasped, bobbling helplessly in the bubbling water.

Cody almost smashed his D3 on the ground. Why couldn't his partner Digivolve?! He raced over as Submarimon de-Digivolved and pulled him out of the hot mess. "Why?!" was all he could manage.

"Yolei, we need to help them!" Hawkmon declared.

"Y-yeah…" Yolei murmured, and started to raise her D3 again. "Digi—"

"No, NOT Shurimon! That doesn't work!" Hawkmon squawked. "Try something else! Maybe Halsemon would be better; he can—"

Yolei fumbled with her D-Terminal and dropped it, but her D3 glowed all the same, and Hawkmon changed into the horned Aquilamon instead. "Yolei! What are you—" he started to scold, but then he realized something important: he wasn't freezing up like before. "…Right!" he growled, and flew at Marinedevimon. He flew in circles around the aquatic demon's head, pelting it with his Blast Rings.

Gatomon groaned as she felt someone pick her up, and she looked up to see Kari. "Are you all right?" the girl asked.

"I feel like you could mail me in an envelope…" Gatomon replied.

"Gatomon!" Ken called as he raced up. "Aquilamon distracting it! Can you still fight?"

Gatomon blinked, then her ears swiveled back. "Yeah," she agreed. "Back me up, Ken!"

Gatomon leaped out of Kari's arms and raced at the nearest tentacle, but it jerked away and another swung at her before she could land a slash. Ken blasted at the second one with his laser, but a third tentacle slammed down behind him, almost knocking him into the water. The fourth one, undeterred by Aquilamon's distracting blasts, reached up and swatted the bird into the wall with pinpoint accuracy. "Good grief!" Gatomon huffed. "It's like they can think for themselves!"

As the others danced with the tentacles, Angemon and Exveemon resurfaced and scrambled for shore, burned pink from the water in the few places they weren't still coated in tar. TK and Davis ran and pulled them onto dry land. "Are you OK?!" TK asked.

"Oogh… I don't know what's worse: getting dirty or getting clean!" Exveemon huffed, rubbing at his burnt chest.

"…I'll live," Angemon coughed. "Ugh… He doesn't need his legs to be dangerous."

Two of Marinedevimon's tentacles slammed down around Gatomon, Ken, Kari and Aquilamon, smashing them together like hot dogs between buns. The other two reared up and flung themselves at Angemon and Exveemon, whipping them backwards without any chance to retaliate. As Kari and the others cried out, Marinedevimon gave its gurgling laugh and spewed them with its ooze. "Arrrgh! It got in my mouth!" Aquilamon shouted.

TK's eyes hardened as he looked at the creature. "We can't get past," he growled. "It's not going to let us."

"Then what do we do?" Cody asked, then he saw the answer in the older boy's face. "You're not going to…" he tried. "Can't we just subdue it?"

TK shook his head. "It's just like Skullsatamon: it's not going to stop until we're all dead," he said. "There's only one way to handle that." He looked at Davis. "We need Paildramon, Davis!" he urged.

Davis smirked. "All that, an' you need _me_ to clean up, huh?" he mocked. "You got it, 'leader.'"

Marinedevimon's tentacles lifted their four captors up towards its gaping maw. "Exveemon!" Davis yelled, and raised his D3. The device sparked and sputtered, and Exveemon glowed brilliantly through the dissolving slime. Marinedevimon looked down and screamed in shock as Paildramon shot upwards, and one of its tentacles detached from its body seemingly on its own, and its load tumbled out.

Aquilamon grabbed Kari and Gatomon in his talons and flew to safety as Angemon caught Ken, then rounded the monster and, with a quick Hand of Fate, melted the second tentacle down to a stump. "…You're pretty strong for a Champion," Ken remarked.

"Not strong enough alone; help me finish this," Angemon replied as Marinedevimon's second set of tentacles rose up. "Paildramon! Give me some cover!" he called.

"You got it!" Paildramon laughed, whipping out his Desperado Blasters and firing away. The tentacles danced in the bullet storm like arm-flailing tube men, and Marinedevimon staggered back, angrily howling. His cheeks filled for another deluge, but Angemon wasn't about to let that happen: he flew at the beast's head with Ken firing at his mouth, and thrust his glowing rod through Marinedevimon's skull. A soul-scrunching screech escaped Marinedevimon's cheeks before the dark ooze dribbled down over its chin and chest. Its remaining tentacles twitching skyward like a last prayer for salvation, Marinedevimon shuddered, staggered, and then tumbled backwards into one of the waterfalls, vanishing in a stream of pixels.

Just like when they defeated Skullsatamon, a heavy silence fell over the Digidestined. Angemon landed, dropped Ken and reverted to Patamon. Aquilamon shrank back down to Hawkmon. Paildramon reverted to Chibomon and looked up at Davis uncertainly. "…Did I do good, Davis?" he asked.

Cody was silent, glaring disapprovingly at the others. Yolei gaped at the place Marinedevimon had fallen with all the response of a zombie, but her haunted eyes told everything.

Davis's chest swelled sickly, and his palms sweat. He still wasn't used to the way real Digimon died… but he looked at his little friend and nodded. "Kari, are you OK?" he asked, trying to take his mind off of it.

Like Ken and Gatomon, Kari was covered with the black ooze. Her chocolate brown hair was now ebony, and hardly a trace of pink could be seen in her outfit; it almost looked like she was having a gothic phase… but she didn't seem too upset. "I'll be fine," she said, looking down and picking up her camera. "I just hope this still works…"

"Ohh, this is gonna take a week to clean off!" Gatomon complained, looking at her grungy fur.

Ken looked pretty dark as well; he had caught the blast in his face, so all that most of them could see were the whites of his eyes. "I don't suppose anyone brought a towel?" he asked.

"Gennai has 'em," Armadillomon pointed out.

Kari's eyes lit up. "Hey! We're almost there!" she announced, pointing to the path. "Let's hurry."

"Yeah…" TK agreed.

They made their way up the walkway, which went up at least four stories, to another narrow tunnel. As they started into it, a searing heat blew over them, like a sudden fever. A bright orange-brown wall of flames loomed in the corridor, blocking their path. "That's got to be it!" Cody exclaimed.

Kari took out her D-Terminal and pressed the buttons for a few moments. "OK, I just e-mailed Izzy," she said. "Now we just have to wait."

"Err, maybe I should have done that," TK suggested. "Look."

Kari looked down at her D-Terminal and saw it was coated with black gunk. "Whoops," she chuckled nervously.

* * *

"No spires!" Gomamon announced, pulling his head away from a sewer grate. "But it wouldn't kill 'em to throw some air fresheners down there…"

"It wouldn't do much good," Tai chuckled, then looked at Joe. "Ready for the next block?" he asked.

Joe quietly stared up at the apartment building on the corner. Tai recognized the place, too: it was where Mimi and her family lived. "…How's she doing, anyway?" he asked.

"I haven't seen her since Christmas Eve," Joe replied, shaking his head. "I hope Palmon's following my instructions…"

"Why?" Agumon asked. "Did you give her something to build?"

"Something to fix, more like," Tai replied.

Joe blinked a few times, then gave Tai a hopeful glance. "Before we move on, can we see how she's doing?" he asked.

Tai grinned. "Why not?" he asked. "After all, there aren't any spires in the sewers; we can take a quick break."

The boys and their partners made their way up to the Tachikawa apartment and Joe gently knocked on the door. Mimi's mother appeared, and if there was any smile on her face earlier, their arrival pulled the rest of it down. "OH!" she yelped, and tried to slam the door.

Tai's soccer instincts kicked in and he jammed his foot into the doorframe. He yelped as the wood connected, but didn't pull back. He hadn't expected a welcome like this; had Mimi poisoned her parents against them, or was that already in place?

Mrs. Tachikawa stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. "…What… what do you kids want?!" she asked like a high-strung violin.

"Err, hi, Mrs. Tachikawa," Tai tried, "we were just in the neighborhood…"

"We wanted to see how Mimi was doing," Joe said, sounding bolder than usual. "May we come in, please?"

Mrs. Tachikawa fervently shook her head. "N-no. She's sick," she replied quickly. "She can't have—"

"Mom, who is it?" they heard Mimi shout from inside.

Mrs. Tachikawa visibly flinched, and she didn't answer until Mimi called again. "…It's some kids from school, sweetie," she replied. "I'll just—"

"Let them in, Mom!" Mimi yelled.

Mrs. Tachikawa set her jaw, but opened the door and stepped aside. "…Just make it quick," she muttered. "I don't want…" She trailed off and just stood there biting her lip.

Joe and Tai nervously took their shoes off and carried their Digimon to Mimi's room. Mimi was sitting on her pink bed looking forlorn and out of place, with what looked like three thick towels wrapped around her leg, holding several ice packs. As they walked in, Palmon appeared from behind the door and closed it. "Hey, guys," she greeted them.

"Uh… hi, Palmon. Hi, Mimi," Tai said with a sheepish wave.

"…Hi," she replied quietly. "Sorry about that. Since yesterday Mom's been…"

"On the warpath?" Gomamon asked.

"Gomamon!" Joe scolded.

"Well, it's true!" Gomamon huffed.

"Is your leg OK?" Tai asked, looking at all the towels. "Joe said it wasn't that bad…"

"It's not, but, well…" Mimi said, motioning toward her door. "Nothing but the best."

Agumon went up and sniffed at the dressings, marveling at the pouches full of shiny blue liquid. "Wow, what kind of vegetables are those?" he asked.

"Real ice packs," Mimi sighed. "They didn't want a 'hack job' with frozen veggies."

"Plus they didn't have any," Palmon replied. "They order out almost every meal."

"OK, so it's been tended to; good," Joe said, looking over her leg before turning to her face. "How does it feel?"

Mimi shrugged. "A little better, I guess… but I still can't walk on it," she said. "If I have to go… somewhere… I have to hop, and hold onto stuff."

"Then it's a good thing school's been cancelled," Tai joked. "You'd be laughed off the cheerleading squad with a move like that."

Joe frowned at him and shook his head. "Knock it off, Tai," he scolded.

Mimi just sighed. "What's going on out there?" she asked. "I saw the news… yesterday…"

"Oh, a lot!" Agumon exclaimed. "It's crazy what went on! See, first, all these control spires showed up in the morning, and…"

Agumon, Gomamon, Tai and Joe took turns filling Mimi in on the horrific events of the previous day, and the dangerous undertaking that the new Digidestined had just begun. As she listened, her mouth sagged lower and lower and her eyes drooped and got more watery, as if they were all melting off of her face. "…So that's where we are now," Tai finished. "Izzy's waiting for an e-mail. That's when we know they've gone through."

Mimi stared at her feet, lost in silence. "…Mimi? Are you OK?" Joe asked.

She shuddered. "It's… just like before…" she murmured, sounding like a record player covered by a wet blanket. "No… worse…"

"Mimi…" Palmon sighed, as if she had heard it before.

Tai and Joe exchanged worried glances. "Don't worry about it!" Gomamon chirped. "Once TK and the others break the source of the spires, everything'll be fine!"

Mimi shook her head and turned away, staring out the window at cold December. Everyone was frozen for a few moments before Joe coughed awkwardly. "Um… I think it's time to go," he said.

"Yeah…" Tai agreed. "Take care of yourself, Mimi."

"We'll come visit again!" Agumon promised.

"I know _we_ will," Gomamon chuckled, throwing a smirking glance at Joe.

Joe ignored it and picked Gomamon up. "See you later," he said softly.

The group walked out of Mimi's room and out of the apartment, and the door slammed shut so loudly they all jumped and looked back at it. "Well… that went well," Tai concluded.

Joe blinked. "How?" he asked. "She was miserable."

"Yeah," Tai agreed, "but the last time it was just us talking to her, we ended up in jail."

Joe thought for a moment, then gave a halfhearted chuckle. "Well, let's keep moving," he said, and started for the stairs.

* * *

"Ahh, feel that breeze!" Tentomon laughed as his antennae twitched in the breeze. "Smells way better than your room, doesn't it?"

"That's a matter of opinion," Izzy muttered as they crossed the street. "And keep your voice down!" He was annoyed that he had finally caved to Tentomon's pestering for a walk, but in all honesty, he knew he needed one, too; with all the brick walls he had hit in his search for those temples, he needed some time to cool down.

"I know, let's go to the park," Tentomon suggested. "I could find some nice trees to perch in! How about that?"

Izzy didn't respond. In spite of knowing he needed to relax, he was thinking crossly of Gennai; why couldn't he have given him some help? The old man had become even more cryptic than usual since this whole mess began… He shook his head and tried to put it out of his head for a while.

"Izzy? Hello?" Tentomon asked, poking at his hand. "Did you hear me? Park?"

"Oh… Right," Izzy answered, but suddenly his stomach needled him louder than Tentomon had, and he remembered he had skipped both breakfast and lunch. "Actually, why don't we get some sustenance first?" he asked. "We'll go to Yolei's store."

"I like how you're thinking now," Tentomon said as they turned. "Just nothing with honey in it; that's like drinking my cousin's spit!"

"All right, no honey," Izzy chuckled, starting to relax. He had forgotten the company of a Digimon and how therapeutic it was.

They rounded the corner and walked into the I-Mart. Yolei's father leaned on the counter, looking darkly at nothing in particular. "Hello, Mr. Inoue," Izzy said. "Can you suggest—"

Mr. Inoue looked up like he'd been stuck with a needle. "YOU!" he announced loudly, making Izzy jump. He raced around the counter and almost backed the boy into the postcard rack. "You, you're one of Miyako's friends, aren't you?!" he demanded wildly.

"Err… Y-yes, I am," Izzy replied. "What—"

"Please!" Mr. Inoue shouted, grabbing Izzy's shoulders and shaking him. "Where is she?!"

Now it was Izzy's turn to look shocked. "What?!" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"She just disappeared this morning!" Mr. Inoue huffed, his breathing loud and irregular and his eyes panicked; he looked like he was about to collapse. "She hasn't called or anything! Have you seen her?!"

"I… w-well…" Izzy stammered, at a loss for words. He knew Yolei had been out of sorts the day before, but hadn't she told her parents where she had gone? "She didn't say _anything_?!" he asked.

Mr. Inoue's mouth twitched downward a few times, then he angrily shoved Izzy away. "Forget it!" he cried, racing for his office. "I'm calling the police!"

The office door slammed, and silence enveloped the little store. "Izzy, what was that about?" Tentomon asked, looking up. "I was afraid he'd squish me!"

"She didn't tell her parents she was leaving," Izzy said, frowning. "She didn't say a thing, and now they're worried sick."

"Oh, dear…" Tentomon murmured. "Is that bad?"

"Maybe…" Izzy said as he turned and pushed his way out of the I-Mart. "If the police start asking questions, we might… eh?!" He paused and stared across the street, his confused mouth half open.

"OK, now _you're_ acting weird!" Tentomon complained. "What is it, Izzy?!"

"Wasn't there someone over there?" Izzy asked, pointing near a street light.

"What?" Tentomon asked, looking. "No, I… Well, I wasn't paying attention…"

Izzy stared at the lamp. He could have sworn someone had been standing there when he pushed the door open—a tall, pale man—but now the sidewalk had only moving pedestrians. He watched a moment longer, then shook his head. "I've been looking at screens too long," he grumbled. "Come on, let's find the others."

* * *

With another disgusting noise, Gatomon spat into the black pool in front of her, then resumed licking at her haunches. In spite of the coating of Marinedevimon's ooze, she had managed to work her blackened fur into a dull gray in relatively short time. "That tongue of yours is really something," TK said as he watched.

"Can you do me next?" Kari asked, trying to scratch some of the gunk off of her upper arm. "I'm getting really itchy."

Gatomon spat again. "I don't know," she replied, "it might take a few layers of skin off, too."

"We'd better just wait for some towels," Ken said.

"Here, Kari!" Davis said loudly, pulling off his bomber jacket, "you can use this!"

"Uh, thanks, Davis, but I don't think it's a good material," Kari replied, handing it back. Davis gave TK a look as if to ask where _his_ offer of a jacket was, and tramped back to the wall. TK just sighed.

Hawkmon just stood next to Yolei, thankful that his de-Digivolving had cleansed him of the inky goop, but not wanting to be boastful of it.

"Ya think I can help, Cody?" Armadillomon asked. "I reckon I can lick that stuff off, too. Might even taste good!"

"It doesn't," Gatomon interrupted.

"I don't think your tongue is right for the job, either," Cody admitted.

"Whaddya mean?" Armadillomon asked, sticking it out. "You seen m'tung, Cody; izz the bane o' soup e'erwhere!" He waggled it around with a strange pride.

Cody was about to explain how cat tongues were rougher than armadillo tongues, but suddenly everyone's attention was arrested by various clunking and whooshing noises from the way they had come. A Mekanorimon flew up from below, landed on the path with a thud and stomped towards them as its top popped open. "Hello there!" Gennai called as he emerged and waved.

"Wow! That was fast!" Veemon exclaimed.

"This baby can move when it wants to," Gennai said, gunning the jets on its back for effect.

Davis's eyes widened with joy. "My gramma would love one of those," he murmured. "Hell, so would I!"

"Good work on clearing the cave," Gennai said. "I hope here wasn't too much trouble."

Cody and Ken looked grim. TK shook his head. "Nothing we couldn't handle, Gennai," he asserted.

"Good… good," Gennai replied. "And now it's time to begin your real journey. But before that, I have something for Kari and for TK."

"Ooh, presents?" Patamon asked. "What is it?"

"It's not a towel, is it?" Kari asked hopefully.

"Heh heh… All right, two things," Gennai laughed. He clapped his hands and all of the gunk on Kari, Ken and Gatomon disappeared without a trace. They looked themselves over with both shock and joy.

"Daaamn!" Davis yelped.

"How'd you do that?!" Cody asked, stunned.

"He's Gennai, that's how," Patamon beamed.

"Hey Gennai, you wanna swing by Davis's place on laundry day?" Chibomon asked.

"Now for the other thing," Gennai said, the claw on the Mekanorimon extending. "May I borrow your Digivices for a moment?"

Kari and TK handed over their D3s, and Gennai disappeared inside the Mekanorimon. For several moments there came a series of whirs, clunks and sparks, and then the old man re-emerged. "There we are…" he said as he placed them in the Mekanorimon's claw, and it offered them back to the kids. "Your Digivices can now track the energy source for the control spires. The Dark World is as large as the Digital World; you don't want to wander around aimlessly."

"Great!" TK said. "Thanks, Gennai!"

"Hey! How come the rest of us can't have that?" Davis huffed, angered that once again people favored TK.

Gennai hesitated for a moment. "Well, it was only good for two uploads," he replied. "Ah, and I have all your luggage, too." The Mekanorimon's front slid open and all of the kids' bags tumbled out.

"Gennai, I have a question," Cody said as the others scrambled for their things. "We can't seem to Armor Digivolve in this cave. Why is that?"

"Yes, I'd like to know that, too," Hawkmon said. "It was quite frustrating!"

"Is that so…?" Gennai rumbled, stroking his moustache. "Well, different worlds may have different rules, my boy."

Armadillomon frowned. "So you're sayin' we can't Armor Digivolve no more?" he asked. "Or is it just in this cave?"

"Now, then… it's time to open the Wall of Fire," Gennai said, having seemingly not heard the question. "There are all sorts of evils waiting on the other side, and once you've passed through, I'll have to close it up again. Are you all ready?"

"Wait a sec! You're just gonna throw us in and lock the door?!" Davis huffed. "What the hell, man?!"

"Yeah, don't we get a life-line or something?" Veemon asked.

"How DO we get home, Gennai?" TK asked. "That seems kind of harsh."

"It's a harsh mission, TK," Gennai replied, but he still smiled. "Don't worry. Once you've destroyed the source of the spires, I'll open a gate through the path those spires were using and send you back to your world."

Davis folded his arms; he really didn't like the old man. "So it's 'don't come home until you're done,' huh?" he grumbled. "You know how to piss me off, you old coot."

"Davis!" Kari scolded. "Be nice!"

"Besides, it's not like we were going to leave without destroying that source, right?" Gatomon pointed out.

Davis fumed quietly, Kari's scolding having stamped his anger out.

"Don't worry, Gennai," TK assured him, "we'll do it… Right, everyone?"

"Yeah!" Kari, Patamon and Gatomon all said in unison.

"We'll get 'er done!" Armadillomon pledged. Cody nodded silently.

Ken reloaded his minigun and clicked it back into place. "Yes," he agreed.

"Davis?" Chibomon asked his pouting partner.

"…Yeah, fine, whatever," Davis grumbled back.

Yolei said nothing. Hawkmon looked at her with worry; would she be like this even when it got more dangerous? He didn't know if he could fight properly if she stayed unresponsive.

Gennai disappeared inside the Mekanorimon again, and suddenly the Wall of Fire's flames dulled to thin brown, and the center of the blaze went out completely. "Now go," Gennai urged, "and good luck!"

The kids and the Digimon looked at each other with quiet resolution, and then the group walked through the burning gate. Yolei crossed through last, and then the flames shot back up at their full strength. In spite of the heat, Kari felt a cold shiver in her innards. "No turning back now…" she murmured, clasping her hands. Gatomon brushed her tail against her in support.

"…It'll be OK," TK tried to reassure her, but at the moment he didn't feel very brave himself.

"Yeah…" Davis agreed, for the moment. "It'll be just fine!"

The group kept walking further down the tunnel. When they had only gone a few meters, it turned completely dark; they couldn't even see the burning wall. "How long's this going to go?" Armadillomon asked, glancing around.

"Maybe a short while, maybe a long time," Hawkmon sighed. "How does one know when he's walked between two worlds?"

"Hey, quit sounding so creepy!" Chibomon objected. "I bet we'll hit exit any—"

His words changed to a yell as the ground dropped out beneath the Digidestined. Screaming and flailing, they all tumbled and spun around in the void, no longer knowing which way was up.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Davis bellowed.

"Armadillomon!" Cody yelled. "Where are you?!"

Yolei's screams sounded like elongated sobs.

TK felt a piercing cold wind whoosh through his body and its scream mixed with his. This was a terrible idea, he realized. This was a truly terrible idea.

And then he blacked out.


	46. Sinking Spirits

**CHAPTER 46**

**SINKING SPIRITS**

"TK… TK! Wake up!"

TK's black dream faded into light gray as the voice drifted into his ears. He opened his eyes to the same color and felt the cold ground beneath his body. He clenched his fingers and toes a few times, then made himself roll onto his side, where he saw a blurry Patamon watching him. "Oh, good!" the little winged pig panted with relief.

He groaned and pushed himself up onto his knees. "How long was I out?..." he muttered, rubbing at his eyes.

"I don't know; I only just got up too," Patamon said, "and I'm the first one."

The rest of the Digidestined and their partners were strewn unconscious about them. TK immediately rushed to Kari, grabbed her shoulder and shook her. "Kari! Hey! Get up!" he urged.

Kari muttered, then slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, then up at the sky. Her face immediately became pale and tense. "We're… here…" she murmured.

TK heard groans and movement behind him; everyone else was starting to come to. "Yeah… we all made it," he said to her. "Can you get up?"

Kari picked herself up and watched her friends take in the bleak surroundings. They stood in a flat prairie strewn with gray grass that crunched beneath their feet. A cold wind thickened and sharpened the air in their lungs, like a perpetual November day. Aside from that wind, there were no sounds: no birds chirping, no insects buzzing, nothing. The only landmark in sight was an old, weathered signpost of gray wood, its writing gone but a large wooden arrow pointing rigidly upward, as if mocking their wish to return to their own world.

Davis shivered and pulled his bomber jacket up over his neck. "Damn…" he grumbled, "it's colder than a witch's taters!"

"Boy, now's the time I wish I had more fur," Armadillomon muttered as he tried to hug himself with his claws. As he looked at them, though, he realized something was wrong. "Hey, Cody!" he exclaimed, "I ain't yella no more!"

Cody was about to say that was a good attitude to have in such a dangerous place, but then he realized what his partner meant; his usually bright yellow shell had dulled like a painted chair left outside. As a matter of fact, he found as he looked at the others, and then at his own grayed hands, Armadillomon wasn't the only one affected. As he silently looked over the empty plains again, a sensation crept over him that he could only vaguely recall from a forgotten nightmare.

Gatomon saw Kari shiver in the wind. "You OK, Kari?" she asked.

Kari hugged herself, but no warmth came. "It feels just like… the beach," she murmured.

"…And the factory," Patamon piped up. TK nodded.

Ken was quiet, but he, too, recognized the feeling of the Dark World: it was the same as what had emanated from Devimon at the bottom of the whirlpool, and also from Kimeramon when it turned on him. Yolei shuddered; this world did a very good job of showing how she felt inside.

TK looked at Davis, hoping he would have some snarky remark that would snap everyone out of the shock, but to his dismay the goggle-less boy looked as muddled as the rest of the Digidestined did; even Chibomon didn't look able to crack a joke. "You think…" Davis managed, speaking to nobody in particular, "you think they wanna make _our_ world look like this, too?"

Chibomon hesitated, then looked up at his partner. "Well… we won't let 'em, then," he chirped. "Will we, Davis?"

Davis blinked a few times, then the old determined gleam rushed back into his eyes. "Yeah," he agreed, "we sure won't. Let's kick some ass!"

That seemed to shake the others from their melancholy. "So, where are we, and where do we go?" Cody asked.

"We could get a better idea from the air," Gatomon said, looking at Kari. "Come on, let's go!"

"Wait a moment," Hawkmon started to object. "What if—"

Kari raised her D3 and said "DigiArmor Energize" before he could finish. Gatomon became Nefertimon, but as she started to fly up, she froze and fizzled in and out like an old television screen. "AGH!" she howled, her voice as fuzzy as the rest of her. "K-k-k—"

"Oh, no!" Kari cried as she rushed beneath her partner, her arms out to catch her.

Gatomon fell back to earth, looking sick and confused. "Whoah…" she hissed. "Déjà vu all over again!"

"I was afraid of that…" Hawkmon sighed.

"Whatever was going on in the caves, it's the same here," Ken observed. "It's safe to assume that Armor Digivolving in this world won't be possible."

"Seriously?!" Davis huffed. "What the hell are we supposed to do, then?!"

"But, Davis, when we Digivolved normally, it was OK," Chibomon points out. "We can still fight!"

"Yeah, but good luck traveling fast," Armadillomon muttered. "Can't fly with Halsemon, can't run with Raidramon… and if you want me diggin' tunnels or swimmin' lakes, yer plumb outta luck."

"We can still use Exveemon and Aquilamon to fly," Patamon pointed out.

Hawkmon's feathers ruffled. "I can't hold more than one or two of you," he objected. "And that's without all the baggage!"

TK sighed. "Then… I guess we'd better start walking," he admitted.

"Shit," Davis grunted. "These jerks aren't makin' it easy…"

TK thoughtfully stared at the gray grass, wondering whether it was the unknown enemy that put the limitation on them, or the Dark World itself.

"There's a good side to that," Cody pointed out. "Without Armor Digivolving, we won't get as tired as we usually do."

Davis rolled his eyes. "Great," he muttered, "so we can spend more time _walking_."

Yolei looked to her left, and then to her right, and then behind her. The dreary plains all looked the same to her. "…Where?" she asked.

TK and Kari thought for a moment, then remembered the new program Gennai had put on their Digivices. "Well, let's see…" TK said, pressing a few buttons and bringing up the screen that showed him where the other Digidestined were. Now he saw the familiar six colored spots that marked his friends, but also a seventh dot squatting in the bottom right corner, twice as large as the other dots and blacker than Ken's signal. He waved the gizmo around and the dot moved with him, like a compass… so he turned until the ebony mark was due north on his screen and then pointed across the plains. "That way," he announced.

"Right," Cody said. "Let's get our things and go."

The kids grabbed their bags and started walking, with TK and Patamon leading the pack and Yolei dragging herself along at the rear. For a long few moments, they plodded on in silence, each considering the monumental journey they had set out on. Finally, Armadillomon coughed and broke the silence. "So, uh, how long d'ya reckon this's gonna take?" he asked.

"Have somewhere to be?" Cody asked crossly.

"Err, no, but…" Armadillomon stammered.

"Oh!" Kari exclaimed, and pulled out her D-Terminal. "Thanks, Armadillomon; I should e-mail Tai and tell him we made it." She tapped out a quick message as she walked:

_Hi, Tai,_

_We all made it and we're OK. Going to find the source now._

_-Kari_

She pushed the send button and started to put her D-Terminal away, but suddenly it buzzed. When she looked again, the screen flashed with the angry words: CANNOT SEND. "What…?" she whimpered, her spine growing hot.

Davis, Ken and TK all looked at her display, too. "'Smatter, Kari?" Davis asked. "Is it busted?"

"I… I don't know!" she admitted, and tried to send the message again. It was again rejected. "Why won't it work?!" she demanded, panic taking over her voice as she mashed the button and got the same answer.

"Take it easy, Kari!" Gatomon urged. "You'll break it!"

"Maybe this place is out of range of our D-Terminals," TK thought out loud. "So… we can't…"

"We can't _go_ home," Yolei murmured, "and we can't even _write_ home?!"

Ken looked dark. "So we're alone," he muttered, "completely."

Icy hands gripped the hearts of every child and Digimon, including Ken; he was sorry he had made the grim declaration.

Chibomon shook himself back and forth. "No we're not!" he exclaimed, forcing a smile. "We've got each other! Right, Davis?"

Yolei scowled at the blue sock ball. She wasn't in the mood for some feel-good line from an after-school special.

Davis didn't look convinced either. "Uh… yeah, I guess…" he grumbled. "C'mon, guys."

Silent and now somber, they set off in the direction TK led them. Kari's wave of fear didn't subside as quickly as she liked. She felt an unwelcome sensation in the air, a phantom presence just behind her... but when she turned and looked, she saw only her friends. She bit her lip and stared ahead at the grayness. Ken was wrong. They were not alone in this world.

* * *

They wandered the wilderness for what could have been an eternity or an instant. There were no landmarks on the plains, leaving them at the mercy of TK's and Kari's D3s. "So where's the welcome?" Patamon asked, looking around.

"I don't know…" TK admitted. "The way they attacked the city, I thought they'd have a whole army waiting for us."

"Maybe they do," Cody growled, looking around at the gray fields, "or maybe they didn't need one. Maybe they expected us to wander this place until…"

"Well, _that's_ not happening," Hawkmon objected quickly. "We have a compass, after all."

They walked on in silence for several more hours, though they could have been minutes. After the thought that they were somehow walking in place and time wasn't passing at all had passed through the mind of the last member of the party, the wind picked up and brought a hollowing chill.

"Brr!" Gatomon yelped, pulling her tail around her. "Even I felt that!"

Cody set his bag down, opened it and pulled out a midnight-blue coat. "Hey, no fair!" Davis objected. "How'd you keep your coat?!"

"I didn't," Cody replied. "I knew the one I was wearing would disappear when we entered the Digital World. This is a spare."

"Boy, Cody, good thing ya thought of that," Armadillomon said.

"Well, whoop-dee-doo," Davis grunted, jamming his hands, numb despite the gloves, into his pockets. "Well, the rest of us ain't so—"

His jaw froze as he saw TK, Yolei, Ken and Kari unload warm clothes from their own bags, too. "Seriously?!" he yelled. "Am I the only one who ain't got one?!"

"You at least brought something for _me_, right, Davis?" Chibomon asked, hopefully.

Davis's face burned. "…The food counts, right?" he muttered.

Ken looked down at the artillery he was wearing, then handed his warm-looking purple sweater to Davis. "I can't get it on over this stuff," he explained. "You can use it."

Davis grinned and accepted it. "Sweet! Thanks, Ken," he said. "I knew you'd have my back!"

"I call a sleeve!" Chibomon barked, and dove into the neck hole before Davis could cram it on.

Yolei shivered bitterly, her thin brown coat suddenly ineffective. If she had forgotten it, Ken wouldn't be offering a sweater to _her_.

They walked on quietly for another unknown stretch of time. The scenery remained stagnantly bleak, and the mad idea that this world somehow was holding them in one place felt more and more believable. Finally, Cody pulled out his D-Terminal and looked at its clock; he had to know if anything was moving besides the party. "…It's… 8 o'clock. PM." he announced.

"What?!" Gatomon asked, looking up at the gray sky, which had remained the same color at all times. "But… isn't the sun supposed to go down?"

"Maybe there isn't a sun in this world," Ken thought. "But that means we've been hiking for at least ten hours."

"It certainly feels like it," Hawkmon winced, scratching his talons in the dirt. "Perhaps we should make camp for the night."

Yolei's response was letting her bag slide off her shoulder and flatten the grass with a dull thud.

Kari looked at the open field with more than a little nervousness. "I, um, I don't think this is a good spot…" she warned. "Anybody could see a tent here."

"What's a tent, Davis?" Chibomon asked.

"Something you put up to sleep in when you're outside," Davis recalled. "Hope it's a big one."

"Oh, yeah!" Armadillomon agreed. "I aim to stretch my tootsies out tonight! Let's get it goin', Cody!"

Cody scratched at his ear. "Sorry, Armadillomon; that's something too big for me to carry," he admitted.

TK blinked at the comments, and he noticed Kari watching him worriedly. He knew he hadn't packed a tent, and it sounded like Kari, Davis and Cody hadn't either… "Did… _anybody_ bring a tent?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the response.

Ken looked uncharacteristically awkward. "Uh… no," he muttered. "Sorry."

Yolei just stared at her feet. "…Oh, dear," Hawkmon mumbled.

Everyone stared at each other for several moments, not knowing how to respond. "…Suddenly I miss Joe," Gatomon groaned, her ears drooping. "He would have brought a tent…"

"He would have brought _six_ tents," Patamon tried to be funny.

"Well, we have to find some kind of shelter," TK said with a frown. "Come on, let's keep walking."

Several groans came from behind him as he started walking again, and Davis growled quiet obscenities. He suddenly felt like a slave driver, but he told himself it had to be this way. Kari was right; they couldn't sleep out in this unprotected field.

They plodded on for (according to Cody's clock) another two hours, with Davis grumbling and Yolei whimpering from time to time. Finally, though, a small gray building appeared on the horizon, shattering the fear that they were walking in circles. "H-hey!" Patamon exclaimed. "Look!"

Despite their aching feet, the party broke into a gallop and reached the place in record time. It was not a large house, nor an attractive one; it was an old two-room shanty of a farmhouse with warping wooden planks and no door. "…Eww," Gatomon grimaced. "That doesn't look safe."

"But it's the only thing 'round here with a roof," Armadillomon pointed out. "I vote we take a gander."

"I don't know…" Cody said, wondering if the place would collapse as soon as their feet touched the floorboards. "Maybe we should keep walking…"

TK turned in the direction his D3 pointed, but what he saw stopped him from telling the others to press on. Just beyond the farmhouse the plains dissolved into a hazy marshland… no, worse than that, a full-blown swamp; he could smell its faint but pungent wet odor on the wind. "I don't think we want to start into that today," he thought out loud. "Let's check this place out."

"But what if someone lives there?" Chibomon asked. "He'll prolly be mad if we just walk in…"

"It's more likely it'll be an enemy," Hawkmon pointed out.

"Then get your D3s ready, just in case," Kari remarked, pulling hers out.

Ken checked his weapons and clicked them into place. "I'll go first," he stated, starting in.

He led the Digidestined into the gray shack. The one-windowed inside was had a floor strewn with broken gray chairs and tables and a rusting antique stove, most of it coated with dust. However, it was dry, and despite its appearance no wind blew through it. Ken checked the first room, and then the second, and lowered his guns. "It's empty," he announced.

"Thank goodness," Hawkmon remarked. "I was afraid my feet were about to snap off."

Cody opened the latch on the stove and looked inside. "We can build a fire in here," he remarked. "I brought matches."

Davis and Ken smashed up some of the neglected furniture and jammed it into the stove, and Cody started it alight. Soon they had a strong fire going in the old metal box, which gave much-needed warmth though it burned eerily black instead of orange. "Ohh, that's better," Gatomon sighed, curling up near the opening.

"All right, everyone lay out their sleeping bags," TK instructed. "Let's get some rest."

"Aww, but what about supper?" Armadillomon asked. "I can't nod off without some food in my belly."

Davis's stomach gurgled at the mention of eating. "Yeah, let's chow down first," he agreed.

TK scratched at his head. "Uh… all right," he said. "So what does everyone have?"

He took out several bags of dried fruit and a thermos full of the soup his mother had made. Kari had cans of vegetables, beans and rice. As the other kids emptied their bags, though, TK suddenly felt sick. Davis and Yolei had only brought salty snacks, candy bars and other sugars; nothing fit for a long journey. Cody and Ken had slightly better supplies, but not many; it didn't look like the pile would last two days. "Seriously?!" he exclaimed as he looked at the pile of treats.

"What?" Davis asked. "It's good stuff!"

"That's not the point!" TK huffed, his exasperated fists shaking. Hadn't any of the new kids been on a trip before? Or was this his fault? He was the leader; why hadn't he made sure they were prepared before they left?! Now in addition to enemy Digimon, he had to worry about them starving to death!

"TK, take it easy!" Patamon urged, sitting on his partner's shoulder.

Cody and Ken looked over the supplies and realized why TK was so upset. "We should have brought more," Cody sighed. Ken looked grim.

Kari tried to look cheerful. "Maybe we'll find food, like we do in the Digital World…" she said, though she didn't sound too convinced.

Davis didn't know why TK was getting so mad. "What's the problem?" he asked, reaching to pull open a bag of beef sticks.

"Wait," Ken urged, putting his hand over the bag. "We can't just inhale this stuff like we could at home."

Cody nodded in agreement, though he made sure Ken didn't see it. "Give me those," he said, snatching the bag from Davis. "We'll start rationing immediately," he said, withdrawing five sticks and handing them out.

"Rationing?!" Yolei wailed. Cody placed one stick in her hand and she looked at it miserably. Those beef sticks were _hers_! _She_ had bought them!

Cody placed one more stick in front of Armadillomon, who sucked the whole thing into his mouth. "Mmf… wha's rashunnin' mean, Cody?" he asked between chews.

Cody gave him a black look. "…It means half of that was MY dinner," he grumbled.

The other kids split their beef sticks with their partners and chewed them, listening to the wind moan against the walls. Even when Chibomon Digivolved to Demiveemon after he ate, nobody felt like talking; they were all lost in their own thoughts and worries about the journey. Davis still fumed over TK being chosen as leader. Ken wondered if his parents had called the police again. Kari worried about the danger her friends were putting themselves in for her. Cody wondered how many more Digimon they would have to kill before this ended. Yolei wished she didn't have to be on this trip with them. TK watched the fire lick at the charred furniture and felt Patamon stir in his lap, too many worries in his mind to focus on any one of them. Was this how Tai had felt at night during their first adventure?

When they finished eating, Cody folded up the bag and put the rest away. "Let's put our bags over that window and get some rest," he suggested.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready," Demiveemon breathed. "I wasn't even walking and I'm tired…"

Davis, TK and Ken stacked their bags on the windowsill, blocking most of the pale light coming in. Yolei took out her sleeping bag and started for the other room; she wanted to be left alone while she slept.

"Yolei, where are you going?" Hawkmon objected. "We should stay by the fire."

"I, uh…" Yolei murmured as she turned around, like a kid caught in the act of stealing something.

"Come on, Yolei," Kari urged. "It'll be better."

The others watched her. Yolei hesitated, then sighed; they wouldn't let her get away. She grudgingly tramped back to the party, dropped her bag on the ground and crawled inside without another word.

The others bedded down, too. TK looked them all over, feeling like he should say something. "Well, uh…" he tried, "good work today, everyone."

"Good night," Davis grumbled.

The others mumbled goodnights too, and everyone drifted off into uneasy sleep. They had gotten through their first day in the Dark World. How many more remained was anyone's guess.

* * *

Hiroaki Ishida opened his knocking door and managed a tired smile. "Oh, hey, Taichi," he greeted the boy and the orange dinosaur behind him.

"Hi, Mr. Ishida," Tai replied. "Is Matt in?"

Hiroaki stopped and listened to the slow, smooth saxophone music coming from inside the apartment; playing behind the TV news, it made the report about a mass funeral for the fallen police officers of Christmas Day sound a little less stinging. "Yeah, in his room," he said, stepping aside.

Tai took his shoes off and Agumon and he headed for the music. They found Matt sitting on his bed, not following any sheet music as he blew a jazzy lullaby. Gabumon sat nearby, his eyes closed and his ears raised. He perked up when he saw the newcomers. "Hello, Tai. Hello, Agumon," he greeted them.

"Hi," Agumon said. "Is Matt putting you to bed?"

"Err, no…" Gabumon muttered, looking embarrassed. "I was just listening deep. Matt says you have to do that to really feel the music."

"Well, he would know; he's that good," Tai remarked as he leaned against the door and looked at Matt. "You write that yourself?"

"Guess so," Matt replied, putting the instrument down. "It's easy to write the blues when you've got 'em."

Tai nodded. He knew what Matt was getting at. "Yeah, I got the e-mail too… first night, huh…" he said, glancing out the window. "I had to get away for a while…"

"Tai's mom's still pretty upset," Agumon explained, "and his dad doesn't know what to do."

Matt nodded. "Dad looked bothered when I told him, but he's keeping himself busy now," he offered. "I should see how Mom's doing…"

They sat there in silence for a few moments. "…I'm sure they're just fine," Gabumon tried after a bit longer.

Matt grunted, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Are you worried about TK?" Tai asked him. "He wasn't very eager to be the leader…"

Matt turned his cross gaze on the chocolate-haired boy. "He'll be fine. You're probably more worried about Kari," he returned. "She's the one the Dark World wants."

"I am," Tai answered, "but I know she'll be OK, too."

"Yeah, she's got lots of friends to protect her," Agumon added.

Matt shook his head. "She's got TK, Patamon and Gatomon," he corrected them.

"Sheesh, Matt," Tai said, frowning himself; this was how most of his conversations about the new Digidestined went with Matt. "How come you don't have any faith in the new kids?"

Matt huffed. "The better question is why you _do_," he retorted.

"Matt…" Gabumon sighed; he had heard what was coming before.

"No. This Digital World is _our_ mess, _our_ responsibility," Matt snapped at his partner, losing any cool he had captured in his music. "WE should have been the ones to go! Not …"

"But without our Crests, and then with all those spires, and Blackwargreymon—" Agumon started to object.

Tai put a hand on Agumon's head to quiet him, then he looked at Matt grimly. "Look, I don't like sitting at home, either," he agreed, "but right now we have to put our trust in Davis, Cody, Yolei and Ken… and I know they'll do us proud. After all, they got those DigiEggs with our Crests on them. That's like they've inherited something from us."

Matt's blue eyes glowed with the fury of a blizzard. "They're NOT us, Tai," he snarled, getting right in his friend's face and stabbing his finger into Tai's chest on each word. "They're NOT us."

Tai's mind raced for words that might quell the seething blonde… but he couldn't come up with any. "…You're right," he admitted, "they're not."

Matt pulled away and stared at his desk and its clutter of CDs, books, sheet music and a lamp. "…They're not us," he repeated more coldly.

Tai, Agumon and Gabumon watched him in tense silence. "But… but they're all we've got, Matt!" Agumon finally blurted. "We can't do anything until we get our Crests back, and those bad guys are Ultimates and Megas and—"

Matt's arm flew across the desk, sending all of his junk to the floor and his lamp shattering. "Matt!" Gabumon exclaimed.

Matt clutched his hand as he shook with quaking gasps, and his venomous gaze fell on Tai and Agumon again. "…Right," Tai said quickly, grabbing Agumon and heading for the door, "goodnight, Matt. Maybe you should play your music some more."

Tai left the Ishida apartment as fast as he could, that crash still ringing in his ears. Agumon looked up at him, confused and upset. "What did I say, Tai?" he asked.

Tai shook his head. "I think I know, Agumon," he sighed.

* * *

Davis had just begun to pull a dream out of the blackness when a blaring siren shot him back into his sleeping bag in the ramshackle house. His first response was a shout of "what the hell?!" but with his mouth thick with the foul-smelling honey of morning, what came out sounded more like "wad-a-dell!"

The others stirred in their bags like giant groaning worms. The world looked just the same as when they had gone to bed: the light from the cracks hadn't moved, and the fire still crackled in the stove, casting eerie shadows on the floor. "Wha… what time is it?" Gatomon gurgled.

Cody sat up without hesitation and switched off the alarm. "Six o'clock," he said, sounding completely rested.

"Six?!" Veemon, who had Digivolved again in the night, bleated. "Are you kidding me?"

TK yawned, and Patamon spilled between his legs. "It is a _little_ early, Cody…" he mumbled.

Cody blinked a few times. "It is?" he asked. "I'm always the last to get up at home…"

Armadillomon flopped onto his belly and shook himself awake. "Welcome to my world," he grumbled, "and he doesn't let me sleep in, neither."

"Your family's nuts, man," Davis grumbled. "When do you get up on weekends?"

"Seven-thirty," Cody replied. "You know the saying: early to bed, early to rise…"

"Makes a 'mon healthy, wealthy and _bored_," Armadillomon finished.

The others groaned. "OK, fine, everybody up," TK sighed. "Time for breakfast."

Davis, Ken and TK pulled their bags off the window for light, and then the kids split more beef sticks with their partners. "Ugh, these don't taste as good as last night, TK," Patamon complained.

"Yeah, morning mouth does that," TK replied.

"Maybe this place is making the food spoil faster," Ken wondered.

"So, what do we do today?" Davis asked. "More walking?"

"I would assume so," Hawkmon replied, flapping up to the window and looking outside, "but it looks like we have a change of scenery."

Kari got up and looked out the window at the dull gray, misty swamp. She looked left and she looked right, and it was all she could see. "It looks endless, just like the fields," she said.

TK came up behind her and looked at his D3. The black spot's signal lay in the same direction. "It has to have an end," he said, showing her. "We haven't reached the ocean yet."

"Or maybe the source is in the swamp," Davis said. "We might even find it and trash it today!"

"Could it really be that easy, Davith?" Veemon asked. "I dunno…"

Cody rolled up his sleeping bag and stuffed it into his duffel. "Only one way to find out," he said, heading for the door.

"H-hey, Cody, let the rest of us clean up first!" Gatomon objected.

The party broke camp, snuffed the fire and headed outside to look at the next day's hike. Kari had been right about the swamp not seeming to have an end; there was nothing but dingy water, black mud and pallid reeds and grasses in all directions but behind them. Jutting out from the cattails were broken, soggy wooden beams and planks, with an occasional roof or a floating wooden chair or bed frame. "It looks like there was a town here," Hawkmon remarked.

"_Was_ a town," Davis said, "but it's like the swamp ate it."

"Aww, that's silly!" Armadillomon huffed. "Swamps don't eat nothin'… do they?"

TK glanced at the goopy water a few feet from their shoes. Was the conversation making his imagination acting up, or had that threshold been a little further away the night before? "…Let's be careful," he warned them.

"…How do we cross it?" Yolei asked, looking sickly at the reeds. "I don't want to walk in it."

"It's prolly just as scared of _you_ touchin' _it_," Davis grunted.

Yolei started to scowl at Davis, but Veemon jumped ahead. "It'll be fun!" he announced, hopping into the half-liquid dirt. "Just like the park after—WOAH!"

He sank in like the mud was thin pudding. Davis swore and grabbed his claws just before he sank out of sight, yanking him back to shore.

"Criminy!" Armadillomon exclaimed. "You OK, Veemon?!"

Veemon's usual blue color was now a dingy grayish-brown. He spluttered and shook his arms off, then looked sheepish. "Maybe you were right, Davith," he exclaimed. "It just pulled me down, like it was hungry!"

Kari bit at her fingernails. Without enough flying Digimon, how could they expect to cross this surprisingly deep wetland?

Ken peered into the reeds for a few moments. "There," he announced, pointing. A trail of aged, cracked stone blocks sat halfway submerged in the slime among the plants, beckoning the kids forward.

"…You think they're safe?" Gatomon asked.

Patamon flew onto the nearest stone and froze, waiting for it to start sinking… but it stayed graciously in its place. "We can use these," he said to the others, hopping to show its solidity. "Come on!"

"Awesome," Davis cackled, starting to head for the stones.

TK hesitated, then stepped in front of the boy. "Wait, Davis," he said, "I'll go first."

Davis scowled at him. "Why?" he asked. "They're safe!"

"That one is, but maybe not all of them are," TK said, hoping he sounded assertive enough to make Davis back off. "Patamon can check to see which ones are safe, and I should be up there with him."

Davis's jaw set in mid-growl; he hated it when TK had a valid point. "Fine… _boss_," he grumbled, stepping back.

TK started to say something, but decided against it and looked back. "Yolei? Can Hawkmon and you help us out?" he asked.

"Of course, TK," Hawkmon agreed, looking at his partner. "Come along, Yolei; it's time to do out part."

Yolei hung back for a moment, then slowly made her way beside TK. Hawkmon landed on the same rock as Patamon. "Shall we?" he asked.

"OK," Patamon agreed, motioning towards the next one. They flew to the next rock and landed, and TK and Yolei hopped onto the one they had been on. Then Patamon and Hawkmon flew to a third, but it started to sink under their weight, so they tried a different one and got better results. Their partners hopped to the second.

"C'mon, let's go before we forget what's safe," Kari urged her friends, and hopped onto the first stone.

"You're pretty chipper today…" Gatomon remarked as she landed next to Kari.

Kari and Gatomon hopped along behind TK and Yolei. Davis immediately went after, hauling Veemon along for the ride; he wouldn't let Kari out of his sight in a place like this.

Ken looked at Cody, then nodded to the rocks. "You next," he said.

Cody scowled at the Digimon Emperor; he wasn't about to turn his back on him. "After _you_," he replied curtly.

"If anything comes from behind, I can shoot it," Ken returned. "What can Armadillomon do on these rocks?"

"…He's right, Cody," Armadillomon spoke up. "C'mon, let's mosey."

Cody kept his eyes on Ken for a moment more, then turned and hopped along the stones with his partner. Ken glanced around the swamp grasses, then followed.

They made their way along the stones for an hour or two, not knowing how far the fen stretched or how long they would be there. As they went, they noticed that the fetid marshlands had two distinct looks to them: sometimes the swamp looked like a normal one they had seen in their schoolbooks, with lots of gray exotic-looking plants and thick mist, but at other times they clearly saw more remains of settlements, where collapsed huts, fences and furniture wallowed in the scummy water. "Boy, what a mess," Patamon remarked.

" That wood doesn't look very rotten," TK remarked as he looked at a bobbing rocking chair. "Do you suppose this town was swallowed up recently?"

Yolei bit her lip. "Hey, I was kiddin' about it bein' alive!" Veemon exclaimed, not looking too pleased himself. "Don't talk like that!"

"There's no point in wondering," Ken said. "All we have to do is get through it."

Hawkmon looked skeptical, but he said nothing and flew on to the next rock.

Though she kept pace with the others, Kari got more and more anxious as they went; the ruins felt like the abandoned town at the seashore. "It's just like the beach…" she voiced her worry.

"Let's hope it stays as quiet as the beach was, then," Gatomon replied. "Well, I mean, before the Airdramon showed up."

Davis grinned. "Don't worry, Kari," he assured her. "Veemon and I'll get the drop on 'em!"

"Don't be brash," Cody warned him. "This isn't a good place to fight… and who knows what could be hiding here."

Davis saw Kari's mouth twist. "Chill out, Cody," he maintained. "It's not like Deadmon are tough to pick off!"

Cody just shook his head. How could Davis forget Skullsatamon and Marinedevimon so quickly?

After another hour of navigating the stones, the muddy ground rose above the water, solid enough to walk on. "Whoo, finally!" Armadillomon exclaimed, hopping onto the mud. "I ain't built fer bouncin'…"

With every step Yolei took, water oozed up from beneath and filled her footprint. "Euuugh," was all she could manage.

TK peered ahead. They were coming to what might have been the main street of a town like Spaghetti Junction, with half a dozen half-sunken wooden buildings on the sides of an earthy road peppered with deep puddles. And in those puddles were dark floating shapes. As he moved closer, he saw to his horror that they were Digimon bodies—Geckomon, Gazimon and Otamamon—floating face-down in the muck. He sucked in his breath. "Guys!" he shouted. "Over here!"

The kids dumped their luggage on the last stone and raced over to TK. Yolei groaned when she saw the bodies. "Oh, geez…" she gurgled.

The others made similar noises of sorrow and disgust. "What happened here?" Cody asked. "Were they attacked?"

"Maybe they need help!" Veemon piped up. "C'mon, let's go, Davith!"

"Err…" Davis stuttered. He wasn't scared of live enemies, but dead bodies… well, not many thirteen-year-olds were keen on those. He jabbed TK in the back. "Well? _You're_ the leader!" he urged.

TK hung back a moment. The scene didn't feel right; Digimon bodies usually dissolved as soon as they died… so what were these? With Patamon flapping close by, he slowly approached the nearest puddle, where a Geckomon bobbed like a gothic bath toy. "H-hey…" he stammered, putting his hand on its slimy head. "Are you…?"

The moment his fingers connected, the body sprang up with a rasping snarl and transformed into a Deadmon, a trident raised to pierce him. "TK, look out!" Patamon shouted as he flew down and collided with the monster, knocking it off balance.

The other floaters melted into Deadmon as well, some with guns and more with tridents, and they slurched towards the group. Ken's laser whirred and targeted the nearest one. "Get ready!" he warned.

"Big deal!" Davis huffed, yanking out his D3. "It's just a few! We can—"

The fronts of the buildings exploded into splinters, and out of them clattered six Ebidramon, the crawfish-looking Digimon they had encountered on the Queue Tundra. Davis lost the attitude immediately. "Veemon!" he shouted, raising his Digivice.

"Gangway!" Veemon shouted, rushing past the others and changing into Exveemon, taking to the air and lobbing lasers at every Deadmon with a gun he could see.

"TK!" Patamon huffed. "Time to go to work!"

"OK!" TK agreed.

"Yolei, if you would," Hawkmon urged.

"R-right," she stammered.

TK and Yolei raised their D3s. Patamon and Hawkmon became Angemon and Aquilamon, and they both went after the crustaceans as Ken blasted the approaching Deadmon that Exveemon had missed. However, half a dozen Ebidramon with tough exoskeletons would not be put down so easily, and they ignored the Digimon in favor of attacking the kids; one of them knocked a tree into the ground just feet from Cody and Kari. They both leaped away and almost ran into three approaching Deadmon.

"Dagnabbit!" Armadillomon huffed. "Cody, lemme Digivolve!"

Cody fingered his D3, but then he looked down at the wet mud. The muck might have been stable enough for kids, but maybe not for a heavyweight like Ankylomon. "No, try something else," he urged.

"Don't let them get Kari!" Gatomon urged as she leaped onto the tree and then down onto a Deadmon, slashing it to smoke.

Kari scrambled to climb the fallen tree as the other Deadmon closed in on her. Armadillomon curled into a ball and bounced into them, knocking the tridents into a puddle. They hissed angrily as the weapons sank out of sight. "Good luck findin' those again!" Armadillomon cackled. "Now let's dance!"

Armadillomon knocked down three more Deadmon and Gatomon administered the finishing blows as the Digivolved partners took down four of the six Ebidramon, and Ken's laser picked off several more. One of the last Deadmon stopped, turned to its fellows and uttered a raspy whisper of "_waaake herrrr._"

The Deadmon raised their tridents and, to the Digidestined's confusion, started stabbing and firing into the puddles. The Ebidramon shrieked and kicked down more trees. "What are they doing?" Kari asked. The monsters' actions made no sense.

"Hey, dumbasses!" Davis shouted. "We're over HERE!"

The Deadmon ignored them and kept stabbing the water. Suddenly the whole swamp shook like there was an earthquake, making the puddles overflow and surprising the kids so badly that they lost their balance and fell. The water bubbled like it was boiling, filling the air with noxious-smelling gas. "What the hell?!" Davis shouted as he scrambled back up.

"That can't be good…" Angemon growled.

Out of the glop shot legions of long brownish-green arms. They wrapped themselves around the remaining Deadmon and Ebidramon and pulled them beneath the surface with disgusting, slurping sighs. TK turned a panicked eye to his friends. "Everybody get to solid—" he began when a slimy hand latched onto his leg. He yelled and pulled as hard as he could, but a second hand clamped onto his shoulder.

"TK!" Angemon yelled, and dove down to pull him free. A third hand appeared and wrapped itself around TK's neck, pulling him down faster than Angemon could pull him away.

"No!" Kari screamed. She leaped into the water, grabbed TK's arm and helped Angemon pull.

"Kari, wait!" Gatomon shouted, clinging to her leg.

Ken saw another hand coming up behind Kari and blasted it. "Hurry!" he urged, grabbing her waist and yanking.

Davis swore and ran to help; he wasn't going to let the arms get Kari, too. He grabbed Ken's middle and pulled as hard as he could. Whatever the arms were attached to was strong; despite three kids and two Digimon pulling back, TK was down to his chest and still sinking fast. Davis started to think he might also get sucked in with TK and the rest, but suddenly he saw Cody, Armadillomon and Yolei grab onto Angemon, and then two strong arms closed around his own midsection. "Don't give up, Davis!" Exveemon breathed.

They all grunted and strained, and slowly TK rose back out of the swamp, the three arms still latched to him and quivering like taut rubber bands. "My turn!" Aquilamon growled as he dove at the arms. He belched his Blast Rings and the spindly limbs snapped, sending everyone flying. The mud gurgled angrily, and bubbles' stench turned even fouler.

Everybody scrambled onto a fallen tree and looked down at the burbling bog. "Exveemon… you were right," Cody said, still panting. "The swamp… _is_ alive."

Exveemon groaned. "Why can't I be right about GOOD stuff?" he asked.

Though it didn't need saying, Ken said it anyway: "nobody walk in the water anymore."

"R-right…" TK said, his throat sore. His near-death encounter left him shaking with terror, but he remembered he was the leader and he had to urge his friends onward, no matter how he felt. He crawled along the trunk and hopped over to another fallen tree, thankful it didn't roll. "Come on, let's go," he called.

Kari looked at him with surprise. "Already, TK?" she asked.

"Are you OK?..." Yolei asked.

"Don't push yourself," Angemon warned. "That was vicious."

"I'm fine," he replied, waving his hand. "We have to keep moving!"

"Well… if you insist," Angemon said. "Aquilamon, Exveemon, let's find a safe path."

"Right!" Aquilamon rumbled. "Don't move too quickly, guys; we need time to look around."

"Be back in a flash!" Exveemon exclaimed, and the three of them flew off.

"Boy, this just jumped up some points on the suck meter," Davis grumbled, crawling alongside Kari.

Kari looked at the bubbling swamp water and almost wretched at the smell. How could they escape a seemingly endless swamp that actively tried to eat them?

* * *

Izzy hit a few more keys on his search, then switched over to his e-mail program. The only new message was an ad for ten percent off toilet paper in bulk. He scratched his head and sighed. Tentomon looked up from the bed. "Still nothing?" he asked.

"I hoped they would have sent something by now," he replied. "It's been almost a day." He leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. "Maybe they e-mailed someone else, like Tai or Matt," he reasoned. "They're family, after all."

"Or maybe they can't communicate at all," Tentomon suggested. "You guys couldn't either, remember?"

"But we didn't have D-Terminals," Izzy argued. "If we can get messages while they're in the Digital World, shouldn't they be able to send them from elsewhere?"

Tentomon shrugged. "You're the computer genius here, Izzy," he said. "Why don't we get something to eat?"

"No, not yet," Izzy replied, and went back to his search. As the computer scanned the Digital World for the twenty-third time, though, his mind wandered back to what had happened at the I-Mart, and that shadowy figure he glimpsed outside the door. Had he just imagined that man? In ordinary circumstances, he would have said it was impossible for a person to be there one moment and gone the next, but the past few days had made the laws of reality incredibly suspect. He wondered if it might have been one of those evil Digimon that Davis and the others had encountered… but it couldn't have been Arukenimon, and a gaunt, tall man without a cane didn't fit Mummymon's description. Who could it have been? And why did he appear right then and there? Was he expecting Izzy to see him, or…?

The door rattled, shaking him from his thoughts. Tentomon ducked under the pillow as Mrs. Izumi came in with a troubled look. "Koushiro, there's… a police officer here to see you," she told him.

Izzy blinked a few times. "Me?" he asked.

"He wants to ask you about your friend," Yoshie went on. "Koushiro, what's going on?..."

Izzy's jaw set. Yolei's dad really had called the police; that could throw a wrench into all their Digimon-related movements around town. This was not an ideal happening. Still, now that they had been brought in, it would be even more unpleasant for them if he tried to keep quiet. "…I'll tell you later, Mom," he said as he got up. "Excuse me."

He headed for the apartment door, thinking about what he could tell the officer that wouldn't involve monsters; he knew he was good with computers and logic, but he had never tried to keep a story straight.

"Koushiro, I'm Officer Fujieda," the man in blue said, his cold and impersonal tone immediately making Izzy sweat… but he supposed that was the point. "I was told you may have information on the whereabouts of Miyako Inoue."

"Err… g-good morning," Izzy managed. "I, uh, I'll try to help in any way I can…"

As the officer started asking about Yolei's usual behavior and hideouts, Masami and Yoshie exchanged worried looks. What sort of trouble was their son getting into?...

* * *

The Ebidramon had already done a fair job of making a path; there were lots of fallen trees to climb on, and when they ran out of those, there was usually another tree nearby that Exveemon, Aquilamon or Angemon could knock down. Armadillomon had the worst time of the bunch; almost everyone had a turn catching him when he slipped off. "I'll just hold onto you," Cody finally surrendered, picking him up and continuing on.

"Man-eatin' swamp…" Armadillomon grumbled at the water. "Who's idea was that?!"

"If I were trying to keep people away, I'd want one," Gatomon remarked. "I'm surprised Myotismon never thought of this."

"I think we're looking at a whole new level of evil, here…" TK muttered as he steadied himself, then leaped to another tree trunk.

They made their way past more sunken homes and reached a clearing with lots of puddles and few trees. The rising swamp waters hadn't reached the reedy ground there. "Careful…" Angemon warned, then landed on the dirt. He waited for a few moments, then stamped his foot. "It's solid enough," he reported, "albeit very muddy."

The kids filed off the trunk and walked into the meadow, looking around for some sort of path. The air was soaked with a pungent wet odor stronger than what they had smelled so far. "Eugh," Davis grunted, clamping his hand over his nose, "let's not stick around here, OK?!"

"Is this what you mean when you say 'swamp ass,' Davis?" Exveemon asked.

"…Which way now?" Yolei asked. "It all looks…"

TK and Kari began to check their D3s when wild shrieks assaulted their ears. Out of the gray of the sky dropped a half dozen Devidramon, their fangs somehow glistening. "Ambush!" Aquilamon growled.

"We'll get 'em, Davis!" Exveemon urged, shooting upwards with Aquilamon and Angemon and going after two at once.

No sooner had the flying Digimon left than the puddles erupted with more muddy hands, throwing themselves at the unprotected kids. The Digidestined yelled and struggled to break free as the hands started dragging them towards the water. "Not an ambush; a trap!" Ken growled as he fired his laser at the one around his middle.

"Everyone protect Kari!" TK ordered. "Form a circle!"

For lack of a better idea, they did. "But who's going to protect you?!" Kari asked.

A hand wrapped around Yolei's ankle and pulled her away. "No! NOOO!" she screamed as it dragged her through the mud.

"Yolei!" Aquilamon shouted, forgetting his two opponents and blasting away the hand. Yolei scrambled back to her friends and tried to hide in the center of the pack with Kari.

Cody struggled against his would-be captor until Armadillomon leaped up and bit the arm in two. "Whew… Thanks," Cody panted.

"Bleccch!" Armadillomon choked, spitting mud everywhere. "The things I eat fer you, Cody!"

"Get offa me!" Davis yelled, grabbing the spindly wrist and yanking. He broke its grip and threw the hand off, but it quickly recovered and went after him again.

Exveemon's mind rushed for a solution, but then a Devidramon came at him. Instinctively he flew above its teeth and punted the monster downward. "Davis, look out!" he warned.

Davis saw it coming and jumped away. The Devidramon smashed into the mud and the hand grabbed it instead of him, dragging the screaming creature down into the bog. Davis's eyes lit up. "Hey, that's it!" he exclaimed, looking up at the fliers. "You guys! Feed 'em the bad guys!"

"Davis!" Cody exclaimed. "That's awful!"

"You wanna go instead?!" Davis challenged.

Angemon bit his lip. He agreed that was a sickening idea, but with more swamp hands coming for his friends, he had no other choices. As a Devidramon charged, he caught it with an uppercut, then threw it toward a hand that was going for Cody. Aquilamon stunned both of his Devidramon with Blast Rings, then stabbed them with his horns and knocked them down to earth, where gooey hands clutched their wings and dragged them away. The remaining two Devidramon shrieked and charged wildly, and Angemon vaporized them with his Hand of Fate. "…There," he muttered.

"Is that all of them?" Gatomon asked, looking around warily.

"This world is unforgiving, even to ones who live here," Ken said, lowering his arms.

"Let's get out of here," Yolei whimpered. "I hate it!"

Davis wasn't about to say he agreed with Yolei, but he did; they had to bail as soon as they could. "Quick, TK," he urged, "which way?"

A low, rumbling gurgle filled the air, arresting everyone's attention. The largest puddle near the center of the clearing ran over with brown froth, and the stench worsened. They all reeled as a flowing mound of brown sludge and water rose up and sprouted two glowing, yellow Digimon eyes, and then a gaping black mouth tore open between them. "Those whose hearts would hope to gloat," the mound boomed in a deep, liquid-coated baritone. "None who cross escape mine throat!"

The kids all felt their spines curl. "The swamp… TALKS?!" Yolei shrieked.

"The swamp rhymes, too," Gatomon growled.

"Who the hell're you?!" Davis demanded.

"I am Miremon, whose body ye now tread," the mound went on, more hands slowly creeping out of the other puddles, "who from all passing life takes her bread!"

"So, YOU ate that town!" Cody snapped. "And all those Digimon!"

"Wait, how did she eat a town?" Armadillomon asked. "She said she eats what passes, an' towns don't move."

"Life consumes and grows, then consumes more… be it man, stone or flower," Miremon boomed as she sank low in the water, the hands getting longer and starting to creep towards the Digidestined. "Mine hunger knows no peace until _all_ is devoured!"

The hands threw themselves at the kids. Exveemon, Angemon and Aquilamon dropped down and blasted as many as they could, and Ken managed to pick off a few more. "Get back!" Exveemon warned.

The Digidestined started to back away, but over his shoulder Davis saw more hands emerging from the water around the fallen trees. "Get back where?!" he gulped.

"TK, what do we do?!" Gatomon asked, her ears pulled back.

"Let's fly outta here!" Yolei yelped, looking at Aquilamon hopefully.

TK's eyes narrowed. He had realized something about this monster. "No," he said. "We have to stop this thing."

Kari looked at him. "TK…" she murmured.

The others looked at him like he was crazy. "What?!" Yolei demanded. "Look at it!"

"It eats Digimon like they were popcorn!" Armadillomon exclaimed.

"And whole towns," TK finished. "If it isn't stopped, it might eat the whole Dark World… and then…"

Davis blinked. "Wouldn't that be a good thing?" he asked.

Ken saw what TK was saying. "What if it came to the Digital World next?" he asked. "Or _our_ world?"

The new Digidestined all had the awful vision of their city and everyone they loved pulled down into bubbling slime like those Digimon, gone from life in Miremon's glurpy sigh. Davis bared his teeth. "Yeah," he agreed, "let's get 'er! Exveemon!"

Cody and Yolei both nodded and gripped their D3s; not even they objected to this one. "Aquilamon!" Yolei shouted to her bird.

Armadillomon looked up at his partner and pawed at the dirt. "Feels solid enough to me," he reported. "Can I?"

Cody nodded and held up his D3. "Go!" he shouted.

As the flying Digimon descended on Miremon, Armadillomon became the bulky Ankylomon and scampered at her. Mud splattered and flew with every bound he made, but he didn't sink. "Awright, ya big pile! Let's get this done!" he bellowed, swinging his spiked tail.

Ken charged after the dinosaur, his laser flashing. "Ken, wait! Come back!" Davis yelled. "She could swallow you like nothin'!"

"The Digimon might need backup," he replied, pointing his spitting mini-guns at any creeping hands.

Miremon didn't seem upset that four Digimon and a human were about to attack her. "Adam's soul meets pixel's bone," she chortled, rumbling all over and flecking gunk, "is but a delay of what must come!"

"What you want, we cannot allow," Angemon retorted, and let fly with a golden blast of his fist.

"Yeah, eat _this_ instead!" Exveemon added, firing off a V-Laser.

The two attacks flew down Miremon's mouth and she exploded, spattering the mud with brown and green refuse. "YEAH!" Exveemon laughed, pumping his fist. "What a bigmouth! That wasn't anything!"

Aquilamon looked down and noticed what looked like a battalion of worms creeping back towards the largest puddle. "Don't be too sure…" he warned.

The fragmented bits dribbled back into the puddle and Miremon reared up again with a roar. "What the…?!" Exveemon gulped.

"My turn!" Ankylomon huffed, rushing at the mound and flinging his tail into her, sending the top half with her eyes flying backwards.

"Allow me," Aquilamon added, flying over the remaining stump and blowing it to smithereens with his Blast Rings. Again the ooze seeped back into the puddle and Miremon reappeared, unhurt. "Crud!" Ankylomon growled.

"No fair!" Davis yelled. "You ain't s'posed to come back!"

"Miremon's made of mud and water; this is useless," Cody growled. "We need a new plan!"

Ken decided attack one of Miremon's solid parts; he trained his laser on her eye, but both yellow globules dove into the muck and the shot whizzed helplessly past. "So, is that your weak point?..." he muttered.

Miremon snarled and sank down, and from out of the puddles near the Digidestined leaped a gaggle of mucky mitts, throwing themselves around their arms, legs and middles and pulling. "Not again! Shit!" Davis yelled, straining.

Gatomon leaped onto the hand that was oozing around Kari's sock. "Not while I'm here!" she snarled, plunging her claws into it as deeply as she could.

A hand closed around TK's windpipe, starting to cut off his air. "Angemon!" he managed as his vision darkened. "H-help!"

The Digimon whirled around, forgot about Miremon and rushed back to snap the hands. "Hold on, TK!" Angemon shouted, and sent his glowing fist through the goopy fingers.

"I gotcha, pardner!" Ankylomon rumbled, splattering the arms around Cody with his tail. Aquilamon grabbed Yolei by the shoulders and hoisted her up as she kicked herself loose. Gatomon's claws weren't cutting through her partner's bonds quickly enough, so Exveemon grabbed both Davis and Kari and yanked them into the air, snapping the murky hands like old rubber bands. Ken burned up the remaining hands with his laser.

"What do we do?!" Davis huffed, dropping back to the ground. "It's like tryin' to fight a bowl of nasty jelly!"

"She has a weak spot," Ken reported. "She hid her eyes when I tried to attack them. Try to get her there!"

Miremon reared up from her puddle again, her eyes gleaming triumphantly. "Thy struggle is in vain; I shall not be beaten!" she growled. "Now accept thy fate; with dignity be _EEEEEEEATENNNN_!"

The last word slurred into a roar as a long, black tongue of slime shot from her mouth and snared Angemon like a frog catching a fly. "NO!" TK yelled as his partner disappeared into the gaping maw.

"You leggo right now!" Ankylomon growled, charging at Miremon. Her tongue shot out again, wrapped around the dinosaur's middle and dragged him in, too. Her mouth pursed into a huge bulge, swishing up and down with a horrid chewing motion.

"Ankylomon!" Cody howled.

"The eyes! NOW!" Ken ordered, running at the mess with his guns blazing.

"Give them back!" Aquilamon screamed his rings right at her glowing pupils.

The eyes dove into the sludge before the attacks reached them. For a moment, it looked like Miremon was sinking away to digest her prey, but then her bulging cheeks jerked around wildly; her would-be morsels were fighting back, keeping her in place. "Oh, no you don't!" Exveemon shouted, dropping down and kicking Miremon squarely in the back. Her eyes shot up and her mouth expelled Angemon, who shook himself off and immediately flew back into the air, and Ankylomon, who crashed into the mud, skidded a ways and shrank back to Armadillomon.

"Angemon!" TK cried. "Are you OK?!"

"That's an experience I never want to relive," the angel grumbled.

"I think I've been tenderized…" Armadillomon groaned.

Ken fired his laser into Miremon's eye, and the muddy menace bellowed in pain. "You're done, Miremon!" he declared. "We've got you cornered!"

Miremon's open eye fixed a hateful gaze on him. "Were I thee, boy, I would shed my prideful glow," she gurgled. "Mine weakness found out? Yes… but am I cornered?... _NO_!"

Suddenly all the puddles erupted, filling the meadow with knee-deep sludge. Miremon's mucky hands shot up from all of the previously safe spots. Davis couldn't count how many times he said "shit!" as he jumped away from one hand and almost got nabbed by two more.

A hand grabbed Armadillomon by the tail and started to drag him down, but Cody grabbed his front paws and pulled back. "Once is enough!" he snarled, yanking his partner free and holding him over his head.

Aquilamon shot Blast Rings at three hands going for Yolei as she sloshed for safety, but for every one he shot, two more rose up. "Too many!" he huffed, flying for his partner. "Grab on!"

TK's heart pounded and he broke into a cold sweat as hands advanced on him from five directions. They had to destroy Miremon… but they couldn't survive this onslaught. His mind left him with only wild panic. "Everybody run!" he shrieked. "RUN!"

The others answered all too willingly; they tore off in different directions, scramblig for solid ground as the hands gave easy chase, sprouting up in front of the kids and making them change direction like pinballs hit by flippers. Miremon hacked up a despicable laugh as she watched. "Man descends to panicked beast," she gurgled. "Fear takes hold, and so I feast!"

"Get us outta here!" Yolei shouted to her partner. "I don't care how far you fly!"

Aquilamon started to turn and fly when he noticed Kari and Gatomon below them, ten advancing hands closing in. "Get away!" Gatomon hissed, her claws ready but her eyes wild.

Kari looked up and waved at them frantically. "Yolei! Aquilamon!" she cried.

Aquilamon knew Yolei's safety was his top priority, but he also knew the girls would be goners if he didn't act… and Yolei had precious few friends left as it was. "Not yet," he growled, and dove for Kari. "Get ready, Yolei!"

Yolei was about to scream at him, but when she saw Kari's outstretched hand coming right for her face, she reacted instinctively, throwing her arm out and catching the girl's middle as Gatomon clung to her back for dear life. The hands pulled until their tethers snapped and they fell away. "Th-thanks!" Kari managed.

"Don't worry; I'll get us somewhere safe," Aquilamon rumbled, looking down at his passengers.

Yolei looked ahead and her eyes throbbed. "Pull up!" she shrieked. "PULL—"

TK saw Aquilamon smash into the treetops on the edge of the meadow and spin out of control, his passengers and himself vanishing from sight just as two more mucky hands lurched out and grabbed his arms, pulling him to his sinking knees. He fought to stay above the surface, but the five hands were too strong. The back of his coat and his hair just began to dampen when Angemon flew down and yanked him up. "Sorry!" he apologized. "I lost you for a moment!"

TK started to say something when he heard Armadillomon yelling for Angemon. They looked down to see three hands coiled around the half of Cody that remained on the surface, with Armadillomon flailing all six of his ends from his perch. "Angemon!" he shouted. "Little help, pardner?!"

Angemon wasted no time vaporizing the hands, then he took Cody and Armadillomon in his other arm and got back in the air, letting them drip in the cold wind. "Where is everyone?!" Cody demanded, scowling around.

TK saw nothing below but swampy hands stretching to grab them like hungry crocodiles. Somewhere in the murk he could hear crashing, screaming and Ken's gunfire. "I… I don't know…" he whispered, suddenly realizing how bad things were. "We were… we were totally… unprepared! Angemon, we were totally unprepared! Why did I…?! I was totally—"

Angemon shook his head. "Calm down, TK; it's not your fault," he said. "No one anticipated a monster like this."

Cody scowled at the hyperventilating leader. "Well, maybe we _should_ have," he grumbled.

TK's stomach churned and his back burned. Why hadn't he planned for something like this? Why hadn't he asked Tai for leadership lessons? But more importantly, and what he dreaded to ponder most, where was everyone? Were they safe, or had Miremon already feasted?

Armadillomon looked around the swamp and poked Angemon. "Hey, why we just sittin' here?" he asked. "We gotta find 'em!"

TK bit his lip and pushed away his self-loathing. Armadillomon was right. "Yeah," he snapped. "Angemon! There might still be time!"

Angemon didn't look too optimistic, but he nodded and took off across the fen.

* * *

Davis and Exveemon were able to throw the gloopy hands off of each other, but Exveemon could see his partner was tiring fast. "C'mon, Davis!" he urged, grabbing him and flying upwards, the clinging fingers snapping loose.

"Where'd Ken go?!" Davis huffed. The raven-haired boy had been right behind him when TK had said to flee, but now he couldn't see him anywhere… or anyone else, for that matter. "We gotta find him!" he urged Exveemon.

The spitting chirps of frantic gunfire caught their ears, and Exveemon took off northeast. They spotted Ken a few yards back, blasting away at Miremon's hungry hands. His heavy weaponry wasn't doing him any favors in trying to escape; he moved slowly and his hair wilted. He tried to shoot down each of his assailants as they appeared, but there was always another wave waiting. One latched onto his arm, and as he yanked away wildly five more of them snagged his other arm, middle and neck. "Ken!" Davis yelled as Ken started to sink.

"That's enough!" Exveemon snarled, letting loose a V-Laser that disintegrated enough of hands that he could grab Ken. One arm held on longer as the others sank back into the guck, and then Ken kicked it loose. "Whew!" Exveemon panted. "You didn't make this stuff lightweight, did ya?"

"Sorry," Ken apologized, shaking the slime off his leg.

Davis scowled at the remaining hands, which circled around like hungry sharks. "How the hell do we fight this thing?!" he demanded.

"Its eyes are its weakness," Ken repeated, looking back where they had all run from. "We just need to expose them."

"How d'ya do that with a big pile of yuck?" Exveemon asked, watching the hands bob up and down, stretching up to grab them but then falling limp and sinking. "Especially when it moves like chewed-up taffy?"

Ken set his jaw and thought hard. Exveemon was right; those hands could stretch horrendously long... but why had only one stayed on him and the others fell away?

Davis heard his friends' yelling on the wind and pointed. "Think later!" he urged. "We gotta save the others!"

"Right!" Exveemon growled, speeding off in the direction of the screams.

* * *

The stars fell out of Kari's eyes and she realized she sat in the dangerous water, with Gatomon, Yolei and Hawkmon unconscious nearby. "G-get up!" she squeaked, forcing herself back on her feet. She sloshed over and scooped up Gatomon, then splashed to Yolei. "Yolei, get up!" she urged, shaking the girl.

Gatomon shook herself out, spraying the girls with water. "Sorry; I couldn't stand it any more," she huffed.

Yolei groaned and looked up at them with bleary eyes and speckled glasses. Then she remembered where she was and scrambled to her feet. "Hawkmon!" she managed.

Hawkmon pulled his face out of the murk, spitting water and a broken stick. "Blecch!" he spat. "It serves me right for—"

Miremon's hand sprang up and grabbing the back of his head, killing his sentence. "Lay off!" Gatomon snarled, leaping and tearing it to yucky pieces.

"We have to get to solid ground!" Kari urged, looking around for something safe in the unknown part of the fen. She spied a few fallen trees floating some yards away and pointed. "There!" she said, grabbing Gatomon and starting to wade towards them. Not wanting to be left behind, Yolei and Hawkmon followed.

Three more of the hands appeared and the girls put all their strength into their legs. They threw themselves onto the trunk and the hands lurched up to grab their feet, but Gatomon and Hawkmon splattered them into nothing. "And stay down!" Hawkmon huffed.

"Not as many here," Gatomon remarked. "I wonder why not?"

"Maybe… she already… ate," Yolei whimpered.

Kari's heart clenched, as if that dark god of the Deadmon already had her in its grip. "No!" she cried, shaking her head. "Th-they're all OK! They have to be!" She spied another fallen tree near the end of the trunk and started crawling. "Come on, we have to get back!"

Gatomon and Hawkmon followed her, but Yolei hung back. Kari turned and looked at her empty face. "What's wrong, Yolei?" she asked.

Yolei shook her head. "We can't beat Miremon," she said weakly. "We should just fly away…"

"Yolei…" Hawkmon said.

"She's the whole swamp! Everywhere at once!" Yolei huffed, sweeping her arm around at the landscape. "Let's just get out of here! M-maybe the others did that already! Come on, Kari, let's go!"

Kari hesitated, imagining getting away from the dangerous place. But then she frowned. "…No," she said, nodding to herself. "It's like Ken said: it's too dangerous to ignore Miremon. We have to deal with her to keep our worlds safe."

Yolei flinched at the mention of Ken. "B-but…" she tried feebly.

Kari thought Yolei was as scared of Miremon as she was. She forced a brave smile. "It's all right, Yolei; we're right here with you," she said.

"That's not…" Yolei tried.

"We can do this," Gatomon urged. "It can't be any worse than Blackwargreymon."

"Now let's go find the others, OK?" Kari asked.

Yolei groaned quietly, defeated. Her limbs reacting like concrete, she pulled herself along the trunk.

"That's the spirit!" Kari said, also feeling a ton more confident. "We'll all get through this!"

"I'll scout ahead and find some firmer ground," Hawkmon said, flapping over to the next trunk. "Gatomon, watch for hands!"

Kari led the crawling train to the next trunk. The only time they got back on their feet was when they had to jump to another floating tree. Kari and Gatomon landed on it just fine, but Yolei hesitated, thinking of what waited in the slime beneath. "Come on, Yolei!" Gatomon urged. "It's firm enough!"

Kari turned and waved her on. "You can do it!" she called.

Her legs shaking as badly as her arms, Yolei moved into a crouch, then feebly hopped at the trunk. Her top half landed all right, but her feet sloshed in the water, and immediately a murky hand shot up and grabbed her leg. She screamed and tried to shake it off, but it pulled her with ease.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Kari shouted, scrambling back around and grabbing Yolei's hands. "Gatomon!"

Gatomon scampered over Kari and Yolei and racked her claws across the arm. The sticky fingers sprang away and melted back into the water. "Not today!" Gatomon huffed, flicking the guck from her gloves.

"Are you OK?" Kari asked Yolei.

Yolei panted hard for a few moments, then quietly nodded.

Kari managed another smile. "Good," she said. "Let's keep going. Hopefully the next jump won't be so big."

As they picked their way over the blackened wood, Yolei watched Kari's keister with a new unpleasantness. The girl was such a goody-two-shoes that it made her sick sometimes. Why did she have to drag Hawkmon and her along?!

"How come the hands aren't coming up?" Gatomon suddenly asked. "I mean, except for back there…"

"Maybe they react to things in the water," Kari thought. "That one only came up when Yolei's shoes got wet…"

Yolei's jaw clenched. So getting grabbed was her own fault?! Had she forgotten that Yolei and Hawkmon… _all_ of them were stuck in that man-eating swamp because of _her?_ Did she even care about anyone else?! As she kept watching Kari, her whole body shook with a cold, mournful rage.

Hawkmon reappeared and landed on the edge of the tree. "Good news!" he reported. "These trees lead to one we can climb. It'll be safer up there!"

"I guess that'll work until we find another path," Gatomon reasoned.

"Thanks, Hawkmon," Kari said, and turned to smile at Yolei. "See? We're getting somewhere already…"

She trailed off as Yolei's icy glare stabbed into her. "…Yolei?" she asked. "What's the matter?"

Yolei looked away quickly. "Nothin'," she grumbled.

Kari watched her for a moment, then started crawling again. She had never seen Yolei look that vicious. The lavender-haired girl had been changing a lot since she first met her, but now she was so unhappy and distant it was almost like she was a different person. What brought that on? She decided to ask her about it when they got out of this mess.

They hopped across two more fallen trees before they came to one still in the ground, but tilted at a climbable angle. "That's it," Hawkmon said, pointing. "We should be safe up there."

Gatomon rushed up the tree, looked around and came back down. "You can see Miremon from here," she whispered, "but I don't think she saw me. Come on!"

Kari hopped onto the tree and started climbing. She looked back at Yolei, who was again watching the murky water. "Yolei?" she asked, holding out her hand. "Want some help?"

Yolei frowned at the hand, but she took hold of it and let herself be pulled across. The girls and their partners made their way into the empty branches and looked around. Miremon floated in the distance, her glowing eyes angrily probing the haze. "Shh," Gatomon warned the others in a whisper, "let's watch for the others."

"Then what?" Kari whispered back.

"We'll try to get their attention without getting Miremon's," Gatomon strategized. "Maybe wave or something."

Hawkmon noticed how agitated Miremon looked. "Maybe the others were able to escape as well…" he supposed.

Yolei bit her lip and stayed quiet. That seemed like a big "maybe."

Just then, Miremon snarled, and dozens of hands lurched up around her. To the girls' delight, Angemon flew over the treetops with his passengers, dodging each grabber as it sprang up. "Hold ye still!" Miremon shouted.

"Why? Wanna take a picture?!" Armadillomon retorted.

Miremon wound up to throw her tongue, but then a big blue foot landed on her head. Exveemon sailed around her and Ken peppered her body with bullets. Her eyes ducked inside again, but her snarls showed it was an effective distraction.

"Hey!" Gatomon exclaimed, her tail whirring around. "Lucky us!"

Kari's heart swelled. Just as she told herself, her friends were all just fine! "Let's help them out!" she declared.

"I'll get Angemon's attention," Hawkmon said, scrambling to a higher branch.

"Be quiet about—" Yolei began, but the moment Hawkmon put his wing on a higher branch, the dead wood tumbled into the water with a snap and a splash. Immediately Miremon's eyes were on them. "So, the last of thee reveal thy selves!" she gurgled triumphantly.

Thirty gooey hands sprang up around the tree, and to the girls' horror, started pulling it down into the muck. "They can do that?!" Gatomon yelled. "No fair!"

"She must _really_ like humans," Hawkmon gulped.

The tree was halfway down already, and some of the hands stretched up and grabbed at them. "Yolei!" Kari cried.

Hoping she didn't drop it, Yolei raised her trembling D3. Hawkmon flew off the tree and became Aquilamon again. "Get on!" he urged, flexing his talons.

Yolei, Kari and Gatomon leaped onto his feet just as the tree sank under the water in a stinking froth. The hands immediately reappeared and leaped at the big bird. "Don't hit anything this time," Gatomon warned.

Aquilamon howled Blast Rings down on the gropers, but more popped up to take their places. "This is ridiculous!" he thundered.

"Aquilamon!" Angemon called as he flew over. "Is everyone all right?"

"We're fine!" Kari answered.

TK's heart calmed now that he saw everybody was still alive, despite the danger; he would never panic and order them to run again. "Right… Let's beat this thing!" he urged.

"How?" Cody asked. "These hands keep us from landing, and if her weakness is her eyes, she keeps hiding them…"

Gatomon looked at Exveemon, who veered out of the way as Miremon sank down and sent a dozen fists flying his way. "He might have an idea, though," she said. "Let's cover him!"

"I've got my hands full," Angemon said, motioning to TK, Armadillomon and Cody. "Can you handle it, Aquilamon?"

Aquilamon nodded and took off for Miremon.

* * *

Exveemon could dodge ten or twelve hands easily enough, but when Miremon started throwing twenty or thirty at him at once, he started to sweat. "Don't you ever get tired?!" he huffed.

"Once I have dined," Miremon snarled, drooping and sending up more hands.

Exveemon weaved away from one batch, but a second wave wrapped itself around his leg. "HEY!" he yelled as he started to descend.

"Get off, you shit!" Davis yelled. "Ken, shoot it!"

Ken sprayed bullets, but he had a bad angle and missed every shot. Just before they hit the fen, though, a stream of red rings tore through the hands and launched them back into the air. "Looks like you need help!" Aquilamon rumbled as he flew past.

"Davis! Ken!" Kari shouted. "We'll keep the hands off you!"

Davis grinned like a hyena to see Kari had come to his rescue. Yes, Yolei was there too and Aquilamon had done the actual saving, but those were dismissible facts. "Thanks, Kari!" he waved back. "OK, guys, let's flush this pile!"

Ken again tried his laser on Miremon's eye, but the big muddy heap was still too fast for him. "This is infuriating," he growled. "Exveemon, let's fire together."

"I'd take off your toes if I tried my V-Laser now," Exveemon grunted as he dodged another salvo of fists. "Got any other ideas?"

Miremon's cheeks inflated, like she was about to vomit. "Yeah! DUCK!" Davis shouted.

Miremon spewed a powerful barrage of gray water right into Exveemon's face, almost sending him into the waiting hands. Davis spat and shook his head wildly, trying to get his eyes back. Now was a time he wished he still had his goggles. "OK, I can put up with a lot of shit," he snarled, "but NOBODY barfs on me!"

The blobby menace chortled and gurgled as she sagged a little, then rose back to her original mass. Ken suddenly had a frantic idea. "Davis!" he snapped. "I've got a plan, but it may sound absurd."

"Lay it on me," Davis replied.

"First, we need Paildramon; he's got more firepower," Ken said. "Second… we have to get back in the water, and we need the others there, too."

Davis's mouth hung open. He was about to tell Ken that was the stupidest move they could make, but then he heard Aquilamon blasting nearby, and Angemon struggling in the distance, and he realized that Ken wouldn't have said it if it didn't think it might work. "…This'd better work; it ain't just us on the menu," he grumbled, raising his D3. "Exveemon, get ready to toss us!"

"What?!" Exveemon asked. "Are you crazy?!"

"Probably," Davis smirked, "but do it anyway!"

Exveemon hesitated, then nodded. "Go long, boys!" he shouted, and tossed Davis and Ken toward the ground. Davis's D3 sparked and fizzled, and Exveemon transformed into the gun-toting Paildramon.

Miremon snarled at the newcomer, then her mouth twisted into a hungry grin. "Fool! For thy power, thou gave me mine meat!" she cackled.

"Well, here's an entrée first!" Paildramon huffed, whipping out his Desperado Blasters and spraying Miremon with bullets. Out of the corner of his eye he saw at least twenty hands spring up and go after the fleeing boys. "Aquilamon!" he yelled. "Keep those off 'em!"

"What the—what're they doing?!" Gatomon snapped as Aquilamon tore after the running boys, shrieking away the grasping fingers.

Davis looked back and motioned for the bird to follow with his passengers, then pointed at Angemon.

Aquilamon wasn't sure what was going on, but with Davis and Ken headed right for another legion of hands, he wasn't going to stop and ask. He sped ahead of them and destroyed the grabbers. "Whew… Thanks, Aquilamon!" TK panted.

"What're you guys doin' down there?" Armadillomon asked Davis. "Ain't no place fer a bath!"

"Listen!" Ken urged. "I have an idea to beat Miremon, but all of us kids have to be down here to do it!"

Cody scowled; he knew the Emperor would pull something like this! "Never!" he snapped.

"How is that going to beat Miremon?" Gatomon huffed. "You think you'll make her sick?"

Ken locked eyes with TK. "I've been watching Miremon; I know how she operates," he said. "I know this will work!"

"C'mon, guys!" Davis huffed, looking between TK, Cody and Kari. "Hell, I'M down here!"

Cody just sneered; Davis's opinion of Ken didn't count for much. Yolei whimpered and shook her head fervently, her spinning mind unable to make a rational decision. It was Ken suggesting they put themselves in danger. She didn't want to see him get eaten. But Ken had rejected her. But…

TK stared at Ken's urging face, then at Davis's. He may have panicked, but those two managed to stay tough and come up with a plan. He frowned and nodded. "Let's do it," he urged the rest. "Ken's got a plan."

"Right!" Kari agreed. "Let us down, Aquilamon!"

"If you say so…" Aquilamon rumbled, and lowered himself. Kari and Gatomon leaped into the water, and Yolei feebly came down with a splash.

"I'll be right here, TK," Angemon assured his partner, then let him fall into the swamp. He looked at Cody, whose mouth clenched into a thin line of disapproval. "Are you going, too?" he asked.

"C'mon, Cody," Armadillomon pressed. "Ken said we all had to do it."

Cody's eyes flared at the mention of Ken, but with everybody watching him and Miremon still a threat, he wasn't going to start an argument. "If that's what the leader says to do…" he growled. "Let me go."

Angemon released his grip, and Cody and Armadillomon dropped down. Almost immediately the swamp hands lurched towards the Digidestined. "All right, you two go help Paildramon," Ken said to the flying Digimon. "We'll take care of this."

"This had better work," Aquilamon huffed.

"We're counting on you," Angemon said, and they flew towards Paildramon. The kids could hear them landing attacks on the growling Miremon.

The dripping hands were almost upon the group from all directions. "So now what?!" Davis asked.

Ken looked where Miremon was, then pushed past Davis and TK and sent his laser through the hands in the opposite direction. "This way!" he barked, charging through the opening and running straight ahead.

For want of any other options, the kids rushed after Ken. The remaining hands gave chase, but they didn't move as quickly as before. No new hands sprang up to obstruct them, either. "Is she losin' interest?" Davis asked, looking back; Miremon was much lower than before, but still hiding her eyes from the attacking Digimon with ease.

"No one that hungry loses interest that fast," Armadillomon remarked. "I oughta know."

"Keep running!" Ken barked. "We're almost there!"

Kari turned to look back and suddenly stumbled and fell into the water, sending Gatomon flying. The others splashed to a halt and whirled around to see the swampy hands catch up to the waterlogged girl. "Kari!" Davis huffed.

Kari spluttered and sat up in the water, bracing for another muddy hug around her middle... but when none came, she looked back to see only six pencil-thin arms dangling over her, their tiny fingers pinching her shoulders like ineffectual crabs. She scrambled back and jumped up. "What…?" she murmured.

The others came back and took in the sight. "What's going on…?" Yolei asked.

Ken smirked proudly. "I thought so," he concluded. "Miremon may be the swamp, but her central form only has so much mass… and she can only stretch so far." He grabbed one of the arms, which jiggled and squirmed like a sickly eel. "With Paildramon and the others distracting her, this is all she can muster for us," he said.

"Seriously?!" Davis asked. "Damn!"

TK heard Miremon snarl in the distance, then noticed that the arm Ken gripped was thickening, as were the others. He looked up to see Miremon's eyes blazing right at them. "Ken, she's onto you," he warned.

Ken looked down just in time for the hand to wrench free of his grip, then coil around his middle. "Quick! Smash 'em!" Gatomon huffed, her claws out.

The hand pulled at him, but it wasn't strong enough to move him yet. Ken thought fast. "No! Get caught!" he urged.

"What?!" Cody snapped, outraged. "You can't possibly—"

TK realized what Ken's new plan was. "Do it!" he ordered the others, and let one snare his shoulder.

Davis, Yolei and Kari weren't sure how it would help, but if both TK and Ken were willing to do it… They ran up and let the goopy hands catch them. Cody bitterly abided by TK's order and let the last hand close down on his forehead. He made a point to blame Ken if any gunk got up his nose.

"Cody! Can ya see?!" Armadillomon asked.

Gatomon looked worriedly at her six captured friends. Whatever Ken had up his sleeve, it had better work; she couldn't cut down all of those mitts at once.

"Now grab them back," Ken urged, clamping his hands onto the brown fingers, "and RUN!" He launched himself forward and pumped his feet as hard as he could, going ten meters as the gooey arm thinned out into a taut rope of sludge.

"Here goes nothin'!" Davis huffed, plunging his hands around his captor and charging like Tai had taught him.

Kari, TK and Cody grabbed on and ran as hard as they could. Yolei puffed and gasped, again highlighting her lack of exercise, but even her captor thinned and stiffened. "Yeah!" Armadillomon cheered. "That's doin'… whatever you're doin'!"

Still running in place, Ken looked over his shoulder at the glowing eyes. "Paildramon!" he shouted. "Now's your chance!"

Had the kids been where the Digimon were, they would have seen their handiwork: Miremon's heap of a body was almost completely submerged and pulled out, leaving only her gaping maw in the water and her furious golden eyes bobbing around without any shelter. "Arrrgh! Wretches! Fiends! Thy bodies were mine!" she yowled, froth welling up around her maw.

Paildramon smirked. "Try vegetarian next time!" he mused, and pointed his guns at her eyes. "C'mon, guys!"

Aquilamon belched Blast Rings, Angemon flung a Hand of Fate and Paildramon let fly with the Desperado Blasters. Miremon's eyes burst like pus-packed zits and her roaring mouth dissolved into pixels. The swamp's malicious air descended into silence and calm, leaving only the natural odors of decomposition.

Paildramon, Angemon and Aquilamon flew over to where the kids all lay face-down in the water. "Davis!" Paildramon yelled, suddenly frightened. "Are you OK?!"

"The hands snapped and they all just fell over!" Gatomon said.

Davis's hand shot up, and then his face reappeared, spewing its load of water and leaves like an angry fountain statue. "Bleah!" he hacked.

Angemon, Aquilamon and Paildramon shimmered, then shrank back to Patamon, Hawkmon and Chibomon. "Banzaiii!" Chibomon yelled as he dropped down into Davis's dry hand. "We did it, Davis! We got her!"

Davis grinned, then picked a black leaf out of his teeth. "Nice," he said. "Now let's get the hell outta this swamp."

The others got back on their feet and shook themselves off. "I'm soaked all the way through…" Kari groaned, flapping her coat's arms around.

"At least you can take it off…" Gatomon grumbled, pointing to her dripping whiskers. "If you thought _Gabumon_ smelled bad…"

Yolei hugged herself for warmth. "I'm gonna catch a cold…" she stuttered.

"The fastest way to dry off is to start walking," Cody observed. "Let's find the bags and go."

"Oh! I hope they didn't get wet!" Patamon yelped. "All the food!..."

"All right, let's find the bags, then get out of here," TK said. "Stay on your guard… though I don't think the swamp's going to eat us anymore."

They found their luggage back on the stones, collected it and started moving. "Great, now we're wet AND hauling shit," Davis grumbled. "Adventures are so FUN."

"I don't think you'd find starving fun," Cody muttered, trying to hoist his bag above the water, which thanks to Miremon's upchucking was chest-deep for him. Armadillomon practically swam in place beside him.

Davis looked at him for a minute, then shifted his duffel and offered a hand.  
"C'mon, Cody, swamps don't agree with you," he said.

Cody scowled at the comment, but remembering the Arumbaya Marshland, he decided Davis had a point. He allowed the older boy to pull him onto his back. "Aww, that's sweet, Davis," Kari remarked.

"You look just like a dad and his son," Patamon chuckled.

"Sh-shuddap!" Davis huffed, his cheeks flaring. "I just don't wanna spend any more time in here than we got to!"

"TK, would you hold Armadillomon for me, please?" Cody asked, ignoring the remark altogether.

"Yeah, I promise I won't scuff up yer shirt," Armadillomon panted, the dog-paddling starting to wear on him.

"And also, which way do we proceed?" Hawkmon asked.

As TK scooped up Armadillomon, Kari took out her D3 and checked it. The dark signal still flickered on the right edge of the screen. "…That way," she said, lining herself up with it and pointing across the marshland. With that, the group started sloshing again.

"Which way is that in the human world?" Patamon asked. "You know, like north, south, west or east?"

"Is that important?" Chibomon asked from his perch on Davis's bag.

"Well, we might want to make a map," Patamon reasoned.

"Why? You gonna open a bidness?" Armadillomon asked. "That'll be a great tourist trap: 'see the mon-eatin' swamp.'"

"He's got a point, though," TK said. "Did anyone bring a compass?"

Ken raised an arm. "I have one built into this," he said, motioning to the mini-gun. "We're going…" He looked at the device and frowned. The compass's silver edges were starting to turn brown. "What's this?..." he asked, scratching at it with his free fingers.

Davis leaned over and looked. "Looks like rust," he remarked. "It's not a big deal; my dad's car is full of it!"

Ken kept staring at the discoloration, confusion welling in his chest. He knew what rust was; he just didn't know how it got there. His digital weaponry had never rusted before, and it wasn't supposed to. Why had it started now?

* * *

"Honestly, Izzy, you're going to make yourself sick," Tentomon buzzed as Izzy carried him down the street. "Why didn't you eat something first?"

"I wasn't hungry, Tentomon," Izzy grumbled. He really did need to get away from his apartment; the morning visit from the police officer and the prodding questions about Yolei's disappearance had made him incredibly anxious… not to mention the looks his parents were giving him. "So, where should we walk today?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Wherever the police haven't blocked off," Tentomon suggested, "and that's getting to be less and less spots…"

His mind still on the grilling, Izzy crossed the street and started down the next block. Suddenly, he almost jumped as a familiar voiced sounded: "Izzy! Hey! Wait up!"

He turned as Sora came down the apartment stairs with a cardboard box, which Biyomon perched inside. "Hello," he greeted her as she caught up. "What have you got there?"

"You're not mailing Biyomon to Abu Dhabi, are you?" Tentomon asked.

Sora chuckled lightly. "No, I'm taking some gardening tools to the shop," she explained. "I figured she'd be less conspicuous in there."

"Just don't rattle me too much," Biyomon grumbled. "There's a trowel jammed in my thigh."

"Delightful," Izzy mused. "I wasn't headed anywhere in particular; mind if I follow along?"

They started down the sidewalk together, the box twitching back and forth as Biyomon tried to make herself more comfortable. Both of them thought hard about some easy conversation, but with the events of the past few days, it was hard to come up with any other topics. Sora noticed the bags under Izzy's eyes, and also the stiffness in his gait. "You don't look very good, Izzy," she finally remarked, "are you still trying to find those temples?"

His mouth flattened out and his dull eyes lowered to the concrete. "Yes," he muttered, "and I've been typing for so long, the letters on my keyboard have almost completely rubbed off… but the prime reason I look like this is the police interrogation I went through this morning."

"Interro… what?" Biyomon asked. "Someone watered you?"

Sora's smile faded. "The police?" she asked. "Why'd they want you?"

"To condense it, because Yolei didn't tell her parents she was leaving," Izzy sighed.

"What?!" Sora huffed, crunching the box with her arms.

Biyomon wince. "Ow! Sora!" she huffed.

"They think she ran away, and they know I know her, so…" Izzy went on, shaking his head. "This could make our jobs more difficult, especially if the police pry too deeply. If they learn about our Digimon, after the recent attacks…"

Izzy went on, but Sora only half heard him under her own mental storm. Yolei's poor parents! It was bad enough that Yolei had been mistreating her friends and neglecting her duties, but now that she had done this to her mother and father, Sora didn't think she could be more furious at her former friend. These were the kinds of kids they entrusted to protect Kari?

"…So I managed to feign ignorance, but everyone has to be ready," Izzy finished. "Her father knew I was her friend, so he may know about the rest of us. Keeping an eye out for control spires will be more difficult if the police are actively watching us; I'll send an e-mail to the others later." He looked at her. "I know you two are… erm… between friendly exchanges, but they may think you know her whereabouts, Sora."

Sora exhaled sharply and shook her head. "That girl…" she growled.

"Couldn't she e-mail and tell them she's OK?" Biyomon asked.

"No…" Izzy muttered. "Gennai told me they passed into the Dark World, but he also said they were beyond our communications… We won't be hearing from them until they've completed the mission."

"That's—" Tentomon began, then went quiet. The next phrase could only stand to be thought: "that's _if_ they complete the mission."

For a moment, the only sound was the box's clattering as they came to the street corner. "…All right," Sora said to Izzy, "so what did you say, and what should I say?"

As they turned onto the flower shop's street, though, all four of them froze like they had walked into an electric fence. Standing at the store's entrance and looking through the windows was the silver-haired woman in red.

They dove back around the corner. "What's she doing here?!" Biyomon asked.

Sora bit her lip, hot electric panic seizing her chest. Did Arukenimon know that her mother ran that store? And if she did, what else could she know? Where she lived? Where _everybody_ lived?! And what was she about to do? "Is she going inside?" she whispered sharply.

Being the closest one to the corner, Izzy poked his head around. Arukenimon regarded the petunias in the window for a moment more, then turned and strutted away, melting into the crowd. "…It's OK. She left," he reported.

Sora and the Digimon cautiously came back around the corner. "I wasn't expecting _that!_" Tentomon panted.

"Izzy," Sora ventured, "I think we're being watched!"

Izzy nodded darkly. He wouldn't put anything past those strange Digimon, especially with all the other crazy things that had happened that week. Did this have anything to do with that other shadowy figure?… "The predicament keeps growing," he muttered, scratching at his chin.

"What can we do?" Biyomon asked. "What if she comes to our apartment?"

"Or ours," Tentomon remarked. "I don't think Gennai's barrier will work on these guys…"

"Probably not, no," Izzy agreed, suddenly worrying about his own parents.

Biyomon looked at her friends' worried faces and ruffled her feathers. "Rrgh, I bet they wouldn't like it if _we_ were tailing _them_," she huffed.

Izzy blinked, the cogs in his head starting to spin. "Sora, could you come to my place for a little while?" he asked as he pulled his phone out. "Suddenly I have an idea."

Sora was puzzled for a moment, but then she understood. "Thinking we should turn the tables?" she asked.

"We ought to do more than watch for spires," he replied as he put the cell to his ear. "Hello, Tai?"

* * *

Kari pushed another batch of cattails aside, and suddenly she was on gray grass again, under a treeless gray sky. "Hey!" she announced, looking back at her friends, "we're through!"

The others emerged and dropped their bags on the solid ground. "Finally!" Hawkmon panted, turning around and waving at the reeds. "Cheers, you wretched bog!" he called.

"We made it…" Yolei murmured. "We really did…"

"OK, ride's over!" Davis panted as he let Cody down. "Jeez, were you eatin' rocks back there? Ya kept gettin' heavier!"

Gatomon scampered a few feet away and shook herself off, fluffing up like a dingy pom-pom. "This'll be fun to lick down…" she grumbled.

TK looked back at the misty swamplands, then turned and looked around the vacuous plain with a mix of relief and anxiety. Was this what most of the Dark World looked and felt like? It wasn't exactly a view to look forward to.

Chibomon yawned and sagged in Davis's hands. "I'm tired…" he complained. "Can we rest now?"

"All that flying certainly hasn't done me any favors," Hawkmon agreed.

"How 'bout it, guys?" Armadillomon asked. "Call it a day?"

Yolei and Davis looked ready to drop, too, but Cody firmly shook his head. "We can't rest now," he objected, taking out his D-Terminal and checking the time. "It's only a little past noon!"

"Noon?!" Patamon yelped, his ears sagging. "We went through all that and it's only noon?!"

"We just got slimed by evil Digimon!" Davis erupted. "We need a damn break!"

"And we got up at six!" Yolei complained. "Six hours of this!"

"That means we have more time to travel," Ken replied. "The more we do now, the less time we'll spend in this world."

"We should get as far from this swamp as we can, in case there are reinforcements…" Cody agreed without saying he agreed.

"But we're _tired!_" Yolei whined. "And cold! And wet!"

"We won't find any firewood here," Cody said, waving his arm at the grassland. "The best way to dry off is to keep moving."

"The Digimon are worn out, too," Davis objected, holding up Chibomon for proof. "What if we run into more uglies and they're still bushed?!"

Kari bit her lip. She didn't want to stay in the Dark World too long, either, but Davis made a good point; what if something else like Miremon was waiting close by? She looked to TK. "…What do we do?" she asked. "They're both right."

Everyone else watched TK as well. He folded his arms and scowled, the pressure of leadership suddenly feeling like an anvil on his heart. After a tense few minutes, he came up with a compromise. "We'll keep going until we find shelter," he ruled. "The Digimon can rest while we walk. Let's go. Patamon, find somewhere to sit."

"Sounds good to me!" Patamon agreed, landing on TK's shoulder.

Cody, Ken and Kari looked satisfied and picked up their bags. Davis, however, yanked his duffel like he was pulling up a weed, muttering under his breath. Yolei looked ready to scream. TK hoped he had made a good decision. He wanted to keep everybody's needs and views in mind, but…

"Naww, I got carried this far; I'm good to walk now," he heard Armadillomon assuring Cody. "Which way we headed?"

Grateful for the distraction, he took out his D3 and checked it, then pointed across the plains. "That way," he said.

Ken checked his compass. "East, then," he reported, scowling at the rust.

"Well, then…" Hawkmon said, trying not to look at Yolei's haggard face, "wagons roll, as they say."

The Digidestined began their tramp across the plain, the air around them thick with odors of mud, water and body. The only sound besides the wind was shoes squelching on each step, discordant at first but then falling in line like a chorus of squeegees. If that was their first obstacle in this dreary world, what was still to come?


	47. Worthless Endeavors

**CHAPTER 47**

**WORTHLESS ENDEAVORS**

Gatomon's body shivered as another stray breeze went through her ears. "Jeez!" she muttered, pulling them down over her head, "that's getting colder!"

"Where's that shelter we were talkin' about?" Armadillomon asked, looking around.

"Can't we just stop here?..." Yolei whispered.

TK looked back at his friends, then around at the empty gray field. "No, we can't," he repeated. "We have to find some kind of cover."

Davis snarled and kicked at the grass. "Come on, TK!" he huffed. "We started lookin' hours ago, and there's nothin' here but grass!"

"We're sleepy! And hungry!" Yolei complained.

"Not to mention we still reek of swamp water," Hawkmon muttered, trying to fan off Yolei's pant legs, long dry but still funky.

"But if we just camp here, we could be seen!" TK argued, "and our Digimon aren't in any condition to fight!"

Demiveemon, who had Digivolved after a nap on his partner's shoulder, puffed his cheeks. "I could pop something…" he protested.

"I'm sure you could, Demiveemon," Kari said, managing a fatigued smile, "but what about everyone else?"

Cody opened his D-Terminal. "It's almost 8," he said, looking at TK with tired eyes. "We may have to compromise tonight."

"We could dig a hole," Patamon suggested. "We couldn't be seen then!"

"Yeah, but you can't build a fire in a hole," Gatomon pointed out.

"Sure you can!" Demiveemon said. "You just throw it all in there and light a match!"

"All what?" Hawkmon asked.

"Um… fire stuff?" Demiveemon ventured. "What makes fire?"

As the kids listened impatiently to the Digimon's discussion of what made fire and whether it could indeed be made in a hole, Ken scanned the horizon for any kind of change in the landscape. He was as tired as the rest, but he agreed with TK's desire for some kind of concealment: maybe there was another abandoned cabin nearby, or an outcropping they could sit under, or…

His eyes locked onto a few black lines in the far distance. "TK," he said, "there are some trees."

The others looked up and, like a group of spooked buffalo, stampeded in the direction Ken pointed. Ten running minutes later, a grove of trees rose out of the plains. "Jackpot!" Davis exclaimed. "We can chill in there tonight!"

Kari bit her lip. "I don't know…" she admitted. "It could have enemy Digimon…"

"What?!" Yolei whined at her. "It's the only thing we've seen all day!"

"It could be a trap," Cody pointed out.

"The cabin wasn't a trap!" Davis huffed. "Let's go check it out instead of freezin' our nuts off!"

"But we're not ready for a fight," Gatomon said. "If there's something in there…"

"Then we'll excuse ourselves and run," Hawkmon pointed out calmly, though his voice reflected some irritation.

"But if it's something like Miremon…" TK tried, but trailed off as he noticed all the glares.

"This is the _one_ thing we've seen all day, and you want us to just keep walking?!" Davis snapped at TK. "Well, I say we go look!"

"I never said we were going to keep walking!" TK huffed.

Between Yolei's whining, Davis's and the Digimon's hot protesting and TK's attempts to defend himself, things suddenly became very loud. Ken was almost sorry he had seen the forest. He sighed and adjusted his weapons, then set out; he would investigate it himself and report back.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Cody huffed.

"See? Ken's got the right idea!" Davis said, pulling his bag strap. "Wait up!"

Almost everybody started after Ken with his or her luggage. TK, Kari and Cody, unable to stop the surge, helplessly brought up the rear.

It took another twenty minutes to reach the trees. It was more like a wooded park than a forest, as lifeless as the gray plains around it: though there were dozens of dead leaves scattered around on the ground, not one hung in the gnarled gray branches. Davis wondered whether the trees were barren just because it was winter, or if, like the plains, they always looked like that.

They crunched around in the leaves, peeking around every tree and under each bush. "…All clear," Ken announced, leaning on a tree.

"See?" Davis said, grinning at Kari. "Not a problem!"

TK sighed. "All right, fine," he admitted. "We'll rest here tonight."

"Yay!" Demiveemon cheered, hopping off Davis's shoulder and burying himself in the leaves. "Where's the fire stuff?"

Cody dug through his bag and found the matches. "We'll need kindling," he pointed out.

"All right… Davis, Ken, you guys find some wood," TK said. "Cody and I'll make a pit for the fire." He glanced at Kari and Yolei. "You two can go change your clothes if you want," he offered.

"No peeping, now!" Gatomon warned as Kari picked up her bag and started off.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Davis said, flashing a grin. As Yolei passed with her bag, it inverted itself. "REALLY wouldn't dream of it," he grunted.

The girls hiked behind three trees that were fairly close together. Satisfied, Kari opened her bag and started searching for her spare clothes. As she saw Yolei sluggishly pawing through her own bag, she decided to ask her question. "Hey, Yolei is something wrong?" she ventured as she pulled out spare clothes. "You've been really down lately…"

Yolei looked Kari's way for a moment, then shook her head and said nothing.

"C'mon, Yolei," Gatomon pushed, "you're all doom and gloom, and it's getting us down too."

Yolei just kept sifting through her duffel. Hawkmon coughed. "Well, I don't really understand it myself," he admitted, "but she was trying very hard to make an impression on Ken at the Christmas party, but instead of whatever was supposed to happen, he—"

"Shut up, Hawkmon," Yolei snapped, rigidly pulling a dumpy white t-shirt from her bag… but she knew he had already said too much.

"Impression?" Gatomon asked, her tail swishing. "Whaddya mean?"

Kari gave a pained sigh. Suddenly Yolei's changing behavior over the last few months made sense… and now that things hadn't gone her way… "I'm sorry, Yolei," she said, for lack of anything else springing to mind. "That must've been really hard."

Yolei's eyes narrowed at the half-undressed girl. She couldn't expect someone like Kari to understand to her tragedy… and how could she understand it? Kari had _two_ boys drooling over her, when people like her couldn't get _any_! And Kari didn't even realize it! And she didn't even have to _do_ anything!

Kari coughed and tried another angle. "Well, Yolei, um, I know you're not feeling your best," she tried, "but I'm glad you still came with us. Aquilamon's a strong fighter, and I bet we'll need your computer smarts somewhere in here, and maybe when you're feeling better…"

Yolei couldn't even hear the pep talk any more. Computer smarts? Is that all Kari thought she was good for? "That must have been really hard?" What did Little Miss Perfect know about what she had done?! The money she had poured into cosmetics and clothes! The degrading lessons she had endured at Mimi's hands! Sora's iron-fisted revoking of their friendship! Davis's mountains of hateful remarks and the drop into the cold pond! And all through it, the continuing admonishments from friends and family! Her throat glistened with angry acid. Why did everyone keep rubbing her failure in her face? Why did they keep insisting that she was better off acting like a reject?! She could feel the fibers of the t-shirt starting to give way to her boring fingers. "…I don't wanna talk about it," she snapped, hastily pulling off her smelly clothes and jamming the fresh ones on.

Kari's hopeful smile faded. "But Yolei," she tried, "I just want to—"

"Just leave me alone!" Yolei huffed, cramming herself into a pair of puke-green pants and stomping back through the dead trees.

Hawkmon looked at Kari and Gatomon and bowed awkwardly. "Um… excuse us," he apologized, and scampered after Yolei.

Kari watched them go, unable to understand what had just happened. "…What did I say?..." she asked.

"I don't know…" Gatomon said, her ears drooping. "It's like the nicer you got, the angrier she got…"

Kari finished changing and walked back. The boys had a crackling black fire going on a cleared patch of dirt. Yolei was sitting on her bag, gazing darkly into the flames. "Welcome back," Ken said. "It's our turn now, TK."

"Yep," TK agreed. "We'll be back in a bit."

"Yes, we'll… Armadillomon, put that down!" Cody huffed at his partner. "It could be poisonous!"

"Aww, but I'm hungry!" Armadillomon pouted as he dropped a black mushroom. "Couldn't be no worse than eatin' gum off the floor…"

Chattering and grumping, the boys and their partners shuffled off into the woods, leaving Kari alone with Yolei once again. The purple-haired girl said nothing and didn't look up. Hawkmon just shrugged hopelessly.

They were silent for several moments before Gatomon cleared her throat. "Hey Kari, maybe we should get some food going," she suggested, "or I might be tempted by those mushrooms too."

"Oh! Y-yeah, OK," Kari agreed, and dug through her bag. "What do you guys want? Beans? Corn?"

Yolei looked up at Kari and her spare clothing, a pink sweater and black sweatpants; a cute outfit despite the grayness of everything in the world. Her teeth became a superheated vice. Her mind raced back to the morning hassle in the swamp, and she saw Kari offering her hand to pull her from the muck. Suddenly she saw herself grab that hand and throw Kari into the bog, relishing the sight of her being pulled down Miremon's gurgling throat. Just because. Just because of who Kari was.

"Yolei?" Kari's voice came. "Beans or corn? We need a tiebreaker."

She blinked and saw her friend looking at her with a hopeful smile. Instantly she stuffed that scary wish as far down inside as she could. "Uh… corn," she muttered to her coiled stomach.

* * *

"All right, so everything is planned?" Izzy asked his friends as Tentomon and he stopped in front of his apartment building.

"Yeah," Tai agreed, "Joe said he'll be ready for us at 10."

"Make sure you get enough sleep," Sora reminded everybody.

"This is gonna be fun!" Agumon chuckled.

Matt wore his usual skeptical look, but stayed quiet.

Izzy nodded. "Good," he said. "Until tomorrow, then."

"Goodnight, Izzy!" Biyomon chirped as the rest of the group kept walking.

Izzy turned and started up the steps. "Izzy, do you really think this'll work?" Tentomon asked. "It seems like looking for a needle in a short stack."

"I admit, it's a long shot; we may not even see them tomorrow," Izzy replied, "but any new information we can get will help us in the long run… especially if we can find their base of operations." He sighed and shook his head. Besides, he thought, he had hit enough dead ends in his search for the temples; he needed a diversion.

He was surprised to find both his mother and father waiting for him when he went inside. "Uh… Hi, Mom and Dad," he said, slowly stepping out of his shoes.

"Hi, Koushiro," Masami replied. "Have a good time with your friends?"

"Erm, yes," Izzy said. "We're… making some plans."

"It's nothing dangerous, is it?" Yoshie asked. "I know we asked you before, but with the monster attacks… and then the police coming this morning…"

Izzy forced a smile. "It's OK, Mom," he assured her. "We're not going to disappear this time. We're just doing some detective work in the city."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Izumi," Tentomon piped up, "I won't let him get in over his head!"

Masami's furrowed brow eased. Yoshie sighed with relief. "Good…" she managed, wringing the side of her apron. "For the last five years, I've been worried you'll suddenly be whisked halfway around the world…"

"That won't be the case, I promise," Izzy replied.

"Yeah, if we're going globetrotting, it'll be in the Digital World," Tentomon added, "not this one."

"Yes, I…" Izzy began, but suddenly his mind raced like a brakeless racecar. "Tentomon, that's it!" he exclaimed, then made for his room with a hurried "excuse me!" to his parents. He crashed into his chair and ferociously needled the keyboard, attempting to do half a dozen things at once: open a new tracking program; e-mail his American friend; accessing the global satellite networks and mapping systems.

"Izzy, what is it?" Tentomon asked, wondering if his partner had finally gone nuts. "What did I say?"

"You just gave me an idea," Izzy replied, not looking away from the computer. "It's a crazy one, but suddenly it makes perfect sense! I just need to…" He trailed off and kept typing.

Tentomon saw he wasn't going to get a detailed explanation. He sat down on the bed and sighed. "So how long will this take?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Izzy asked. "If I work round the clock, perhaps two, three days."

"What?!" Tentomon yelped. "Is it that important?!"

"It might be, yes," Izzy replied. "It could… Oh!"

With one hand still on the keyboard, his other mashed the speed dial button on his cell phone, then he clenched it between his shoulder and his ear. "Hello, Tai? Change of plans," he said hurriedly. "Something just came up; you'll have to go without me…"

Tentomon sighed and shook his head, not knowing what to make of it. "At least promise me you'll take bathroom breaks…" he muttered.

* * *

Toshiko's eyes zeroed in on the stray twig, and with the delicacy of a thirsty hummingbird she brought her little clippers to it and snipped it away. She pulled back and looked at her work with a tired smile; she had needed a little one-on-one time with her bonsai.

She put the shears on the floor and got off her knees, her tired eyes staring out at the dark city skyline. Even if her shop had been incredibly busy the past few days, she took little pleasure in the work. All the recent orders were for funerals or memorial services, and her arrangements, while still beautiful, didn't have the same amount of spirit or sympathy in them when she had to make so many in such a short time. Her store usually relaxed her, but as each day passed she closed the shop more tired and gloomy than before.

She left the sunroom and started a pot of water for tea. Glancing around the quiet kitchen, she noticed the cookbook on the edge of the counter, a few floury fingerprints still marking the cover. Sora's role in the latest chaos pulled her back to those frightening summer days five years ago, but her daughter had become much more energetic since Christmas Eve, despite the danger; that was one of Toshiko's few consolations. She wondered if it was because of the cookies Sora baked. She drifted even further back into her memories, her familiar sad smile coming to her lips…

The ringing telephone jarred her from her nostalgia. She waited for Sora to run out and grab it, but on the third ring she remembered her daughter was out with her friends and picked it up herself. "Hello? Takenouchi residence…" she answered.

The voice on the other end froze her for a few moments. "Y-Yes, I'm still here," she finally said. "Oh, we're all right, but I'm sure you've seen the news… How are you? I…" She stopped and listened, her eyes widening. "What?" she asked. "Thursday?! W-well, what time?..."

* * *

Had anyone been paying attention on Tuesday morning, they would have seen a woman in red and her hunched companion looking over the Odaiba television station and its front plaza, where remnants of the Christmas Eve monster attacks still lay scattered. Torn bits of tent hopped around in the wind. A rack of banged-up metal chairs leaned against a lamppost. Arukenimon leaned against the stump of the weathered spire, looking between Mummymon and the building. Mummymon stared intently at the metallic sphere on the top floor, his eyes flashing. "This is the workplace of the blonde one's father," Arukenimon stated, "a potentially useful tidbit."

"Yes… and there's something else…" he replied, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Can you sense it?..."

"Sense what?" she snapped, pushing off the stump. "You're talking like a madman."

"No, that's definitely it…" he replied, tapping his cane on the concrete. "This is the place. We should report back about it."

She frowned at the order, but then swatted at her hair and started walking. "Come on," she said. "We've another one to find."

He took a few slow steps, then managed a hobbling pace beside her. "Should we put up some fresh spires while we're at it?" he ventured.

"Don't bother," she replied, "there are plenty more, all out of reach of those brats."

"Ah, yes…" Mummymon replied, scratching his face with his free hand. "How did that happen, anyway? Are there more of you gallivanting across the world?"

"Don't be stupid," she snapped, baring her teeth. "That's the handiwork of our ally, not me!"

"I… all right," he stuttered, taken aback by the outburst. "I was just thinking out loud; there's no need to be so upset."

Arukenimon glared at him a moment more, then pursed her lips and ran her fingers through her hair. "Trying to replicate beauty like mine is a dangerous game," she said. "Now hurry up!"

* * *

The breakfast of canned beans and marshmallow bars gave the Digidestined the awkward energy to break camp and change back into their regular clothes, which, though given a night to dry out, still carried a twinge of swampy odor. "That'll be with us for a while, I guess," TK coughed as he zipped up his bag. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find a stream."

Yolei sluggishly rolled up her sleeping bag and jammed it away, not wanting to speak or look at the others, especially Kari.

Davis and Veemon lumbered out of the trees, with Davis lifting his shoes to see their bottoms. "OK, nobody walk over that way," he said, jerking a thumb behind him. "Veemon decided that's the can."

"Hey, I thought we decided together!" Veemon exclaimed.

"You're supposed to bury it," Cody muttered.

"What? Out here?" Davis huffed. "You think some park ranger's gonna bust us?"

"Well, what if someone steps in it?" Armadillomon asked.

"Why do you think I just said 'don't go over there?!'" Davis huffed.

As they bantered, Ken finished packing his things and started to put on his weaponry. When he slid on his Vulcan, though, he was shocked to see that the rust on his compass had not stayed put; it now spread across the gun's muzzles. He stared at the grungy brown caking with confusion and fear. How had it spread so quickly? Was that swamp's water so corrosive that the metal kept rusting even after drying?

Kari adjusted her backpack straps and stood up, ready for another day of hiking. Gatomon looked like could have done with a few more hours of sleep, but still she took her spot at Kari's side. "Which way are we going today?" she asked.

TK took out his D3. "I'd say the same way we were going yest…" he began, but he trailed off as he stared at his screen. The black dot they had been following was more southward than he remembered. "…Does this look off to you?" he asked, showing it to Kari and Patamon.

Kari took her D3 out and saw that the screens matched. "Mine says that too," she answered.

"Yeah, but… I don't think it was that far south yesterday," TK said, staring hard at it.

Patamon looked at it and scratched his head with his ear. "We went a little out of the way to camp," he pointed out.

"But I checked it last night, before I went to bed!" TK protested.

"Ahh, you're prolly imaginin' it," Davis said as he picked up his bag. "We were all bushed last night. C'mon, let's go."

TK looked at the screen once again, the black dot silently blinking back at him. He could have sworn it was more southeast than south. Still, Davis was right about everybody being exhausted; maybe he had just imagined it. Besides, the source had to stay in one place, didn't it? Who ever heard of a power station that got up and moved? "…All right," he consented, picking up his bag. "We're off, everyone!"

TK and Patamon started out of the trees, flanked by the rest of the Digidestined. "Hope we don't hit another swamp," Armadillomon muttered.

"Agreed," Cody replied. Riding on Davis's back was terribly embarrassing.

Yolei, the last in the pack as usual and wishing she could have had more time to sleep, sadly looked back at the snuffed fire pit and then back into the woods… and then she yelped and raced back to her friends.

"Yolei, what's the matter?" Hawkmon asked as she scampered up to him.

"I… I…" she stammered. For a split-second, she could have sworn there had been a tall, pale-faced figure standing in the far trees, but when she looked back, nothing was out of the ordinary. She looked at Hawkmon, then back at the woods, her shoulders slumping. What was happening to her in this world…?

* * *

Joe couldn't keep a yelp down when Matt's knee knocked his again. "Matt!" he snapped. "Come on!"

"Sorry," Matt growled, trying to readjust the dog-lizard on his lap. "You've got to clip your toenails."

"Sure, once I learn to hold the clippers," Gabumon returned.

"Hey Joe, try that street," Tai piped up from the backseat.

"What? Which one?!" Joe huffed, his eyes darting around at the different ways out of the busy intersection. "There're three—"

Two angry honks almost made him jump. He exhaled sharply and made a quick right turn. "No, I meant the _other_ way!" Tai objected.

"One way's as good as the next," Sora said from her spot next to him. "Who knows where they could be?"

Agumon stuck his face out of the car and sniffed around. "Ooh, that's yummy!" he exclaimed. "Can we stop for lunch?"

"It's only 10:30!" Biyomon protested, then squawked. "OW! Tai, your arm's on my wing!"

"Get yer foot off my paw, Sora!" Gomamon huffed from the floor. "Joe, help!"

Joe groaned. The stress of driving around Odaiba was bad enough, but his father's little yellow car was in no way an optimal ride for four kids and four Digimon. He was glad Izzy hadn't come along too, or they would have looked like a troupe of sardine clowns. "Why are we doing this again…?" he muttered.

"Arukenimon and Mummymon seem to be spying on _us_," Sora recalled, almost pressing her cheek against the window, "so Izzy thought we should do the same."

"And you're the only one with a driver's license," Matt finished.

Tai had to laugh. "Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it?" he chuckled.

"Couldn't we have just used trains?" Joe asked as he narrowly avoided scraping a double-parked taxi.

"I'm startin' to ask that myself," Gomamon grumbled. "C'mon, get OFF!"

"If they saw us on a train, it might start a fight; if we're in a car they won't know it's us," Tai reasoned, pulling Agumon back inside. "Unless there's a dino face poking out! C'mon!"

"Aww, but… food!" Agumon huffed.

"We'll eat later," Sora promised. "For now, just use your eyes. If anyone sees them, speak up!"

Joe shook his head and gripped the wheel with white knuckles. He thought this was an incredibly bad idea, not just from a logistical standpoint but also because he was a horrible driver; he had just barely passed his exam, and that was on a congestion-free course. He made a left turn and puttered down another street, several car horns blaring. He could just feel his blood pressure number ticking upward with each passing moment.

"We're still going to stick out if we keep getting honked at," Gabumon remarked.

"Pick it up, Joe," Matt warned. "You're driving like my grandma."

"It could be worse: he could be driving like Davis," Tai remarked. "Did I tell you about that?"

Mashing his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Joe put his foot further down on the gas. He hoped they would find the Digimon before he blacked out at the wheel.

* * *

It was just like their first day traveling the Dark World. How many hours the Digidestined had been hiking across the cold fields, nobody could say; even Cody refused to look at his D-Terminal clock for fear of crushing disappointment. They marched on mostly in silence, only pausing for someone to step away and relieve himself or for TK's or Kari's D3 to confirm their direction. The plains began to grow hillier, so they stopped on a plateau to look around. However, they saw no other landmarks.

Veemon sighed and finally blurted the question on everyone's mind: "when're we gonna get somewhere?"

TK looked at his D3 again and shook his head. "You'll know when we do, Veemon," he admitted.

Yolei groaned and fell on her behind. "Yolei, are you sick?" Hawkmon asked.

"Can we stop now?" she rasped. "I don't wanna walk anymore…"

There were audible angry mutterings among the others. Ken looked away. Armadillomon put his face in the grass. Cody put a hand over his face and shook his head. Hawkmon sighed.

Davis scowled at her splayed-out form. "Get yer stinkin' ass in gear!" he huffed.

She opened one angry eye. "You're not the leader," she growled.

His cheeks burned. "You're pissin' everyone off!" he shouted back, waving at their friends.

"Davis, stop," Kari tried, walking over and grabbing Yolei's hand. "Come on, Yolei; this isn't the place to take a nap."

Yolei bitterly let herself be pulled up. Davis said nothing else, though his evil eye was still on the purple-haired girl. TK watched with worry. Davis and Yolei had always fought as long as he had known them, but there was always an air of good humor around them... but now the exchanges felt downright venomous. As the leader, should he try to solve the problem?

The chilly wind subsided for the moment. "Whew, finally!" Patamon chirped, flying up and sitting on TK's hat. As he started to make himself comfortable, though, his eyes picked out something in the distance. He hopped off his partner's head and flew ahead, then looked back and waved to the others. "Guys! Look!" he called excitedly.

Everyone rushed to him—even Yolei—and took in the amazing sight. The plains sloped down ward into a fog-shrouded valley, out of which rose a gigantic gray metropolis, stretching as far as they could see into the mists on all sides. "WOW!" Veemon yelled. "That's bigger than your city, Davith!"

"It looks as big as New York City," Cody remarked, "perhaps even bigger."

Armadillomon's eyes gleamed. "Hey, ya know what this means!" he yelped. "There's prolly food n' water!"

"And beds!" Yolei panted, clasping her hands. "Finally! Let's go! Now!"

As Yolei and the Digimon gushed and daydreamed, Kari wore a look of abject horror. Only Deadmon lived in this world, and now here was a giant city, crawling with them and who knew what else… Did they have to go there? She looked at her D3 and her heart sank; the black dot was in the same direction. "Wonderful…" she muttered.

Gatomon looked up at her partner and put a paw on her leg. "Don't worry," she assured her, "we're all going."

TK nodded. "Better get moving, then," he agreed.

Davis gave a war-whoop and broke into a sprint among the scampering Digimon. Yolei galloped along behind, suddenly re-energized. For a good five minutes they raced for the city, but one by one they slowed and stopped, hunched over and gasping. The city didn't look any closer. "Wh-wha…" Veemon swallowed. "Where's it goin'?"

"It's not going anywhere," TK said as Ken, Cody, Gatomon and Kari and he came up behind them. "That city is still far away; it's just so large that it seems close."

Patamon sat on the collapsed Armadillomon's shell and pouted. "I wish we could steal Mummymon's jeep again," he grumbled.

"Don't burn yourselves out," Cody warned. "We may still run into danger."

Yolei groaned and sagged, the gray rectangles seeming to mock her. "We… we're sure to be there by… nightfall," Hawkmon tried between pants.

Davis straightened up and readjusted his bag; his soccer-tempered body had already recovered from the sprint. "Nuts," he muttered. "Well, forget the running."

"I don't know if my legs will let me, Davith…" Veemon winced.

Continuing at a much slower pace, the Digidestined plodded on towards the cityscape.

* * *

After several more hours of hiking, the towering skyscrapers took up the sky ahead of the kids, but that was all of the city they could see; the closer they got, the higher the soupy gray wall of haze became. "You think there's a lot of cars in there?" Patamon asked.

"Smog rises," Cody pointed out, looking up at the gray rectangles.

Ken remembered the legions of Deadmon emerging from the fog around the spires. "It could be a trap," he remarked, double-checking his gear. "Let me go first."

TK frowned and nodded. "Patamon… all the Digimon," he instructed, "back Ken up."

"Right!" Patamon agreed, and fluttered beside the raven-haired boy.

"Don't worry, Ken," Veemon declared as he bounded up, "we'll toast 'em before they get a chance to gurgle!"

The other Digimon scrambled to flank him, too. Cody hated the idea of Armadillomon helping the Digimon Emperor, but the wisdom of the moment was infallible. Yolei just looked away.

"All right," Gatomon growled, "is everyone ready?"

"Yeah!" Veemon huffed. "Forward, April!"

Lined up like continental soldiers, the six of them boldly marched into the fog... but no more than ten steps in, the other kids heard a series of hollow clangs and all of their partners yelped. "Gatomon!" Kari cried as they rushed ahead. "Are you OK?!"

"Yeah… 'cept for my nose…" Gatomon grumbled nasally. "Don't run, or—"

Another clang came through the mist. "AGH! Dammit!" Davis yelled.

The others approached more slowly and the mist eased, revealing a line of black metal bars that stretched both directions. Ken tugged at one of the bars, testing it. The Digimon were on the ground rubbing their sore faces. Davis hopped around clutching one knee and grimacing. "Oh, great…" Yolei sighed, looking at the obstacle.

"Well, a fence is better than Deadmon," TK pointed out.

"Not if we can't get past it," Ken grumbled as he released his grip. "This won't come down."

"Can't we climb over it?" Patamon asked.

TK looked up and cringed; the fence was lined with spear-sharp tips. "I'd rather keep my insides on the inside…" he replied. "Let's see if we can find a gate."

"What if this goes on forever?" Yolei asked.

"It can't, Yolei; we saw the city," Hawkmon pointed out. "This fence presumably would only surround that."

"So maybe… we don't have to go through it?" Kari asked hopefully. "We can go around?"

"I guess… but that would take a lot longer," Gatomon grumbled. "And we're kind of on a tight schedule."

"The spire-making thing might be in there," Armadillomon pointed out. "We can't just mosey by without lookin'."

Kari sighed. Both Digimon were right; they couldn't afford to overlook an area, and the longer they took finding the source of the spires, the more Deadmon hordes would invade their world. "…OK," she sighed, "let's find it."

Cody looked to the right and peered into the mist. "There," he said, pointing to an imposing gate of the same design as the fence.

"Ah, good; we could have been wandering along for hours," Hawkmon observed as they walked over and TK undid the latch. "How very lucky!"

As TK opened the gate, though, nobody shared his sentiment. In the misty field beyond the gate lay rows upon rows of tombstones and crosses, occasionally intermingled with statues of angels and praying monks. Columned mausoleums squatted on the hills. A thin dirt path led from the gate and went straight through the rows and vanished into the gloom.

Not one of the kids or the Digimon moved to take the first step. "I guess we have to go through this to reach the city," TK sighed.

Yolei's mouth froze open in terror, and she grabbed Hawkmon. "…No," she whimpered, squeezing him like a stress ball. "No, no, no, no! I… I'm not going in there!"

Hawkmon gurgled and flapped his wings. "Y-yolei! Stop! I can't…" he managed.

"What's wrong, Yolei?" Gatomon asked. "It's just a graveyard."

"Are you nuts?!" Yolei yelped, crushing Hawkmon around his middle as he kicked and protested. "It's gotta be full of ghosts! Or zombies, even!"

TK anxiously looked back into the cemetery. Yolei had a wild imagination, but in the Dark World her worries might have merit; Deadmon could very well be waiting for them, taking on horrible undead shapes.

Cody shook his head. "You play too many video games," he stated. "Cemeteries aren't macabre; they're places of rest and peace."

"I don't WANNA rest in peace!" Yolei cried, almost throttling her partner before holding him up to her face. "Can't we fly over it?! Please?!"

"Gooo… gahhh… gurgh…" was all Hawkmon could manage.

TK looked at his partner. "What do you think?" he asked.

Patamon shook his head. "I'm too tired…" he admitted. "I don't think I could Digivolve right now."

"Me neither," Veemon added, sagging against the fence. "I think I'm poppin' corn!"

"Sorry, Yolei," Armadillomon said, "looks like we're walkin'."

Yolei whimpered loudly and squeezed Hawkmon even more tightly and swinging him back and forth. "I'm n-not… a rag d-doll!" he choked.

Davis spat his air and pushed through the gate with a gruff "c'mon."

Kari shivered. She didn't like the idea of walking through a graveyard any more than Yolei did, but she remembered her brother and her friends back home, set her mouth and followed the others inside.

It was very quiet, the only sounds being the wind blowing and the occasional _bong_ of a distant, unseen church bell. The cemetery continued the downward slope toward the city, the headstones carved on the sides that faced the kids' destination. Davis scratched his head as he looked at one of the graves, unable to understand the lines and squiggles. "Yo Veemon, can you read this?" he asked his partner.

Veemon scampered up and looked it over, tilting his head to one side, then the other. "It musta said somethin' in Digicode," he concluded, "but it's all worn off now." He ran his fingers over the stone and jerked away. "Ooch! It's rough!" he complained.

"If Izzy were here, he could prolly tell us," Armadillomon pointed out.

"I don't think I want to know what it says…" Kari admitted.

TK looked up at one of the angelic statues. Now that he was closer, he saw that one of its arms had fallen off, and its face was eroded and featureless. In fact, all of the stone around him was incredibly weathered, kind of like the spires that had appeared in Tokyo… like stone left in salty sea air. He looked again and shuddered; the broken and faded details and rough texture made him feel sad and neglected.

Ken's eyes anxiously probed each tombstone, searching. These endless lines of graves wore heavily on his conscience, sending him drifting back through his time as the Digimon Emperor. How many of these graves had he unwittingly dug? His guilt searched for a marker that read "Wormmon," or even "Sam Ichijouji…" but each one bore the same faded digital language that he couldn't fathom. He sighed, turned away and kept walking.

They wandered among the graves for some time, but no threats ever developed; no Deadmon sprang out at them, nor were there any ghosts or zombies. Cody felt satisfied. The cemetery was always peaceful place for him… albeit a little sad. He thought about the visits to his father's grave, where his mother would place a fresh pot of flowers each time as his grandfather lost himself in silence and memory. He wondered what his father would say if he saw Cody now, exploring this dangerous gray world with Armadillomon at his side… but also what he might say to working alongside a fiend like the Digimon Emperor. He shuddered. When he got home, he decided, he would visit the grave again and ask forgiveness.

Yolei scooted along, her hands clamped around Hawkmon like she was trying to squeeze him into diamond. Her eyes zipped from tombstone to mausoleum, trying to keep tabs on every possible zombie hiding spot at once. Hawkmon squirmed, but her sweaty grip could not be broken. At least she still had some energy in her, he reasoned.

They had only walked about forty-five minutes when they came to another iron gate and the cemetery ended. "Wow, that was the fastest thing we've done around here," Patamon remarked.

"'Cept for eating," Armadillomon muttered.

"See, Yolei?" Hawkmon strained as he looked up at her. "All just silly stuff in your imagination… Can you put me down now?"

TK opened the gate and the party stepped out. Almost immediately the fog dissipated and they found themselves on the concrete sidewalk of the megalopolis. Child and Digimon alike gaped at its size; the dark skyscrapers almost formed a canopy over them, with only a few thin streams of gray sky poking through. Unlike other cities, though, there were no sounds of commerce, no bustle of pedestrians, no hum of traffic jams; once again, the only sound was the wind.

"Boy…" Gatomon whistled, "Now I get that phrase 'concrete jungle.'"

Veemon craned his neck to look up and toppled backwards against Davis's legs. "How do they build 'em so big?" he asked.

Cody took out his D-Terminal and checked the time. "4 o'clock," he announced. "I don't think we can navigate this place as quickly as the cemetery."

TK looked at the endless rows of buildings. "Yeah…" he agreed, "let's find somewhere to spend the night."

"Ooh! Let's get a hotel room!" Veemon exclaimed. "You think they'll have chocolates on the pillows, Davith?"

"I don't wanna see anything brown on my pillows in this place…" Gatomon grumbled.

The Digidestined picked a street and started walking. Though the buildings looked impressive and vast, they quickly realized that it was not a living city: sidewalk display windows were either neglected or empty; traffic lights and lampposts were off; and the sidewalks were devoid of any other living souls. This place was as empty as the plains surrounding it.

Cars parked at inactive meters, despite being recent makes and models, looked like they had been abandoned for years. Davis stopped in front of a grayish-blue beetle car, clicked his tongue, put his finger on the windshield and drew the symbols that spelled out "WASH ME." When he finished, his fingertip was as black as if he had jammed it in a bag of coal shavings; who knew dust could get that thick? He wiped it on his pants and kept moving.

They passed several more abandoned storefronts and then wandered into a block of corporate-looking skyscrapers, their glass walls dim and lined with cracks. Even though there was still no life to be seen, more sounds reached their ears: machinery softly rumbled from somewhere to their left; steam pipes hissed in the alleys between the buildings; somewhere a metal trash can fell over. Armadillomon banged into Cody's legs as he heard the clatter. "M-maybe there is somethin' runnin' around here…" he admitted.

"If there is, it doesn't want to be seen…" Cody replied, peering down the nearest side street. Suddenly he wished he had brought his kendo stick.

They kept wandering, looking for a small place they could rest in, but with each turn all they found were more business buildings. "I say, what's the point of having so much business if the people have nowhere to sleep?" Hawkmon asked.

Patamon was still gawking at the height of the buildings. "It kinda reminds me of Machinedramon's city," he remarked to TK.

"I liked that one better," Gatomon muttered.

Kari didn't have many memories of that part of her first adventure—she had spent most of it in a high fever—but in this dead city, she agreed with her partner; in Machinedramon's domain, at least they had known what was after them.

After five more blocks they reached a major disruption to the city's grid of empty order: squatting across the whole street was a hill of jagged rubble, gnarled steel beams and broken glass. "Woah!" Veemon exclaimed, getting as close as he could without fear of getting something stuck in his feet. "Maybe there's another Digmon around here!"

The others crept up and looked it over. "…Naw, this ain't from underground," Armadillomon said, poking at a chunk of stone. "It's part of a buildin'."

A few pebbles rattled on the pavement, and Kari looked up to see something plummeting. "LOOK—" she began, and then the concrete chunk smashed down, scattering glass shards and other pointy refuse through the air and making everyone leap away.

Yolei pulled Hawkmon away from her face and looked around. "Is it over?..." she whispered.

Davis looked down and saw a triangular blade of glass sticking out of the rubber on the front of his shoe. "Damn," he growled, picking it out and throwing it back into the heap. "I'll never go barefoot again!"

Fearing a Digimon was perched above, Ken's eyes trailed upward… but what he saw made him pale more than any enemy. "That's what's doing it," he growled, pointing.

Everybody looked up. Sprawled out across the building tops was a familiar metal super-craft in the shape of a hand: the wreckage of the Gigas. "That thing again!" Gatomon hissed.

"What's it even doing here?!" Patamon asked.

TK clenched his jaw in thought. The last time they had ventured inside, the Digimon Emperor's flagship had been crawling with Deadmon, and then it had started sinking… maybe it hadn't just gone beneath the desert. "They may have pulled it here…" he reasoned.

"Why?" Yolei asked. "There wasn't anything left… the computers were wiped."

"Maybe they didn't know that," Hawkmon suggested.

"They took it for _something_," Cody muttered, glaring sideways at Ken.

Usually Ken could ignore Cody's accusing tones, but this time it gave him pause. For what purpose could the Deadmon and their master want the Emperor's ship? That artillery they had brought into the real world didn't look at all like his weapon systems, but maybe… Or were they drawn to a dark aura left behind by Kimeramon? Or even by himself? Or maybe this was what had inspired them to seek out Arukenimon and get control spires? Too many possibilities swam through his mind, and he found no definite answer.

Another chunk of rock crashed onto a support beam, sending it spinning and clattering at Kari's feet. "Let's think about it somewhere else, OK?" she yelped, grabbing Gatomon and backing away.

"Yeah…" TK agreed, turning around. "Let's try a few blocks away."

The party walked quickly down a few more streets, until they could no longer see the giant fingertips hanging over the rooftops. "Whew… I don't want to be anywhere nearby when it falls down," Hawkmon muttered.

"You and me both," TK agreed. "That would be the slap to end them all."

Ken still wore a ruminating face. Was this a rarity, or had the two worlds bled into each other anywhere else?

The excitement passed, the kids continued wandering the empty streets, turning corners every so often and hoping to find some sort of shelter. After two hours, though, they walked past a store window with a toppled stack of televisions and Davis stopped and looked inside. "What's up, Davith?" Veemon asked.

Davis looked at the TVs for a minute more, then snarled. "I remember this one!" he huffed, banging on the glass. "Dude, we've been here before! Maybe even _twice_ before!"

The others stopped. "We're going in circles?" Patamon yelped. "Seriously?!"

Ken recognized the window too, and he sighed bitterly. How could streets on a grid be so confusing?

Yolei groaned and fell against the wall. "No…" she murmured.

"This ain't fair!" Armadillomon complained, racking his claws on the sidewalk. "How come we gotta be lost when I've gotta keep smellin' all the food?"

"What? You smell food?!" Veemon asked suddenly. "Where?!"

"In the bags," Armadillomon replied. "I'd about cut off my own tail fer some of them choco-balls about now…"

Cody's frustrated eyes suddenly contorted in epiphany. "Armadillomon! That's it!" he announced.

Armadillomon's eyes bugged. "What?!" he yelped. "I didn't mean it! I like my tail!"

"No, not that," Cody went on. "Take a deep breath and see if you can smell something that could help us find our way out… something natural like grass or water."

"Huh… Now why didn't I think of that…" Armadillomon grumbled, and started working his nose. The other Digimon joined in, too, sniffing and snorting in each direction. "Hmm… Sorry, Cody, I can't smell nothin' but the food," he admitted. "Well, that n' sewer gas."

Veemon had wandered a block away from the others in his nose adventure and stood at the corner. "Hey, Veemon, forget it," Davis called. "Come back."

Suddenly, the blue lizard's nose twitched and his tail shot up. He knew what that smell was! "Davith! You guys!" he yelled, waving to them excitedly. "C'mon! C'mon! PORK CHOPS!"

Veemon tore off down the street before the others could catch up. "H-hey! Wait!" Patamon yelled.

"Where does he find the energy?" Gatomon panted.

"He loves his pork chops…" Davis replied.

Just barely keeping sight of their friend, the Digidestined chased Veemon four blocks to a street lined with abandoned restaurants and fast food joints. "Jackpot!" Armadillomon exclaimed. "We're eatin' tonight!"

Veemon had stopped in front of a grayish-pink building with a statue of a smiling pig perched over the entrance, decked out with a chef's hat and apron and holding a sign with English words. TK stared at it for a minute, but he couldn't understand it. "Anyone know what that says?" he asked.

Ken looked it over for a minute, trying to call up his fallen genius mind. "Awesome… Gabe's… B… B… Q?" he tried.

"BBQ?" Davis asked, but then he remembered something of his own. "Oh, yeah! 'Barbecue!'"

"An' that means pork chops!" Veemon declared, almost yanking the door off its hinges and scrambling inside.

The others followed him into a restaurant designed like a log cabin, with hardwood floors and wooden picnic tables. "Hey, this isn't bad," Kari said, sitting down at one of the tables and running her hands across it. "It's still pretty clean, too."

"Pork chops, come on down!" Veemon exclaimed, hopping towards the back… but when he got there his ears sagged. The aroma of grilled meats hung in the air, but the kitchen was abandoned and neglected, the stovetops and fryers coated with brown grease and hairy grime. "That's not nice, leavin' the smell but takin' the food…" he groused.

"Aww, yuck!" Davis groaned, sticking his tongue out. "The cleanup crew sucks!"

TK rubbed at a greasy patch and got a big brown spot on his shirt sleeve; it was fairly recent. Did the city used to be occupied? Or was this gunk a good example of the "refuse data" that Azulongmon had mentioned?

Cody and Armadillomon checked the walk-in freezer in the very back. "No food," Cody reported, "but the freezer is running."

"It is?" Kari asked. "So, we have power?"

Ken turned a knob on the stove and a little gray fire sprang to life. "This works, too," he reported. "We can at least cook something of our own."

"Why don't we move the tables and camp in here tonight?" Patamon asked.

TK nodded. "It's as good a spot as we'll find here," he said.

Yolei pulled at the spigots on the sink and clean water spattered out. "There's clean water as well," Hawkmon announced. "Perhaps we can boil something if there's a pot—"

Another disgusted cry and a slamming door made everyone spin around and run. On the wall beside the kitchen, a horrified Davis and Veemon had their backs against a door with a picture of a stick man scrawled on it. "Do NOT go in there!" Davis gurgled.

Cody sighed. "Public toilets are always filthy," he muttered.

"This is beyond filthy!" Veemon yelped. "It's, like, fifty-five times filthy!"

"Eugh! Now THAT's filthy!" Patamon winced.

"Oh, it can't be that bad," Kari said, reaching for the door next to it, which had a picture of a stick figure in a dress. "I'm sure we can—"

"No, don't!" Veemon urged. "It's—"

Kari opened the door, then slammed it shut as loudly as Davis had. "…It's that bad," she murmured.

"I know!" Davis huffed. "I mean, how the hell did it get _up there_?!"

Ken folded his arms. "The plumbing must have backed up," he reasoned.

"Guess we'll just hafta use the alley," Armadillomon said. "I saw a guy doin' that once."

Cody blinked. "Where do you go when I'm not watching…?" he asked.

Determined to make the best of things, the kids and their Digimon turned their attention to dinner. Gatomon found a pot and they cooked a few packets of ramen, then sat at one of the tables and ate from little takeout boxes someone found on a shelf. "Sorry it ain't pork chops," Davis said to Veemon.

"Don't worry 'bout it, Davith," Veemon replied, sucking down a long noodle. "We can get some when we go home!"

Silence fell over the group at that. Veemon looked around and looked embarrassed. "…Sorry," he muttered.

Looking to clear the air for his partner, Davis coughed. "Y'know, this place isn't as scary as I thought it would be," he said. "I mean, it's actually kinda boring."

TK shook his head. "It's a different kind of scary," he responded. "It's like we're just… waiting for something to happen."

"…We talkin' about the same place, TJ?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow. "This place is deader than dead!"

Cody thought he knew what TK meant. It was the tense, upsetting waiting time before imminent bad news, a time of both unreality and fear… like the time between hearing that his father had been shot and when he learned he had passed away. "It is unsettling," he agreed.

"Feels like somethin's always creepin' up behind us," Armadillomon agreed, "but when I look, it ain't there…"

Ken watched the others intently, but said nothing. Yolei quietly kept eating, wishing the others would stop talking about it.

Kari's hands shook as she gripped her plastic fork and spoon. "Kari, are you OK?" Gatomon asked. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this…"

TK and Davis glanced her way with worry. She managed a smile. "No, it's OK," she said. "I'm still scared, but everyone's here; I know we'll get through it."

Yolei groaned in her noodles; Kari's sugary-sweet optimism was the last thing she wanted to hear. "I just wanna go home…" she murmured.

Davis turned a nasty eye on her. "We're not goin' home until we're done," he snapped, "so shut up and deal with it!"

What was left of her food dropped out of Yolei's mouth. Red-faced and wet-eyed, she grabbed her things and stomped over to a table in a dark corner. "Wait, Yolei!" TK called.

"Come back!" Patamon said.

"Davis didn't…" Armadillomon started, but trailed off after noticing Davis's sneer.

Hawkmon frowned at Davis, then flapped over to his miserable partner. Veemon watched him sadly, unable to understand how his carefree partner could be so hostile toward the girl.

Davis kept eating, but then he noticed the others watching him. "What?!" he grunted.

The others recoiled and went back to their meals. A hot silence fell over the group. Finally, TK scratched at his hair. "Well, it's getting to be bedtime," he said. "In a place like this, someone ought to stay up and keep watch."

Davis again felt the eyes of the others on him, and that made him angry; why were they taking Yolei's side? He sighed and crumpled his take-out box. "Fine, I'll do it," he said. "I want some air anyway..."

They cleaned up the rest of the meal and pushed some of the tables around to make a wide space in the middle, then bedded down for the night. Davis and Veemon laid out their sleeping bag, then went outside and leaned against the glass.

Yolei threw her own sleeping bag down in the corner she had confined herself to. The kids and their partners drifted off, but TK stayed awake, his eyes moving between Yolei and Davis. Patamon yawned loudly. "C'mon, TK, you'll be a zombie if you don't get any sleep," he complained.

TK shook his head. Watching Davis and Yolei fight bothered him a lot; what if it started interfering with upcoming battles? More importantly, he knew they hadn't always been nasty with each other; what had gone wrong? He decided that, as leader, he should try and resolve the trouble. "I'm going to go talk to Davis," he told Patamon.

"I don't know…" Patamon replied, his wings drooping. "Remember when Joe tried to stop Tai and Matt from arguing? He got pulled right into it."

TK nodded. "Yeah… but I think this is different," he told him. "You want to come?"

"No thanks," Patamon replied, rolling over. "Good luck, though."

TK quietly walked outside. Davis was staring down the street, chewing his thumbnail. Veemon tried to stand straight against the wall, but it was clear he was nodding off. "Oh… hi, TK," he managed with a yawn.

Davis turned and frowned at him. "What're you still doin' up?" he asked.

TK swallowed; this conversation wasn't going to be easy. "Davis," he began, "what's going on between Yolei and you?"

Davis's frown clenched even tighter. "None of your business," he grunted. "Go to bed."

TK shook his head. "It _is_ my business," he returned. "I have to be sure I can count on everyone, and if you guys are fighting, we could all be in trouble."

Davis said nothing and stared straight ahead, ignoring him. He sighed and figured it was time for a softer approach. "Cody said you guys have known each other for a while?" he asked.

Davis snorted. "I guess," he replied.

"Really?" Veemon asked, suddenly awake and alert. "How long? How'd you meet? C'mon, Davith, tell me!"

Davis growled and gave TK a look that said: "what the hell did you start?" But now that Veemon was curious, he had to tell. "How we met, huh?" he said, folding his arms and thinking back. "Well, it was back in preschool…

It started off like a normal preschool day: sit on the rug, sing some dumb songs, make sure nobody crapped himself and all that. I was sittin' there, tryin' to make a paper airplane."

"You've always liked planes?" TK asked.

"I'd just seen a real one at the airport, and I thought they were so cool…" Davis went on. "I folded it just like I'd seen in a book; one of those darty triangle ones. I hoped it would fly just like the real one… Yeah, right. I made about a dozen or twelve planes, but none of 'em worked. The last one I threw looped around and hit me right in the eye. Got so mad I tore it to pieces, lousy piece of…

…Anyway, it wasn't goin' well. I was about to call it quits and go back to playin' with trucks… and then _she_ showed up. 'You tryin' to make planes? I know how,' she said. 'Want me to show you?' Purple pigtails with yellow bows, thick-ass glasses… ugly little kid, but it was better than just giving up, so I said OK.

"She said her brother showed her how, and she took some paper and talked me through it. We folded 'em like I'd never seen before, and the plane was more of a rectangle than a triangle… but she said it would fly. So we both wound up and threw them."

Davis quieted and stared up at the gray sky. Veemon bit his lip. "So? Did they?" he asked.

"Yeah, they sure did," he went on. "Those things flew like little birds for at least five seconds, sailing along in the air… and then they crashed into each other and fell down. I got mad and said she did it on purpose, and she said she didn't. You know how a preschool fight goes: 'did not,' 'did too,' 'did not,' and all that shit. Well, we ended up on the rug, beating the tar out of each other until the teacher pulled us apart and gave us time-outs. I said I hated her, she said she DOUBLE hated me."

"Ooh, double?" Veemon asked. "Harsh…"

TK blinked a few times. "How did that make you guys friends?"

"I'm not finished," Davis grunted, and went back to his story. "Well, the next day, I saw her over at a table, drawing… and I decided to do something I never did before… and that says somethin', 'cuz I have a big sister. Never wanted to do it either; I've got my pride… but damn if she couldn't make awesome planes. I went up to her, she glared at me and said 'what?!' I balled my little fists, swallowed and… said I was sorry."

Veemon gasped in awe. "You?!" he exclaimed. "Wow!"

"What, you never heard me say it before?" Davis grumbled.

"…Did it help?" TK asked.

Davis sighed. "She looked me over for a few seconds, then gave me this snarky 'I win' kind of look and said something I didn't get, but she didn't look mad anymore, so I figured we were OK. Then I asked what she was drawing, and she said it was some kind of robot name from a show. I asked if that was like a fireman.

"From then on, we played a lot. I only understood half of what she said, and we got into plenty more fights, but we never really got sick of each other." A small, sad smile came to his lips. "It was a crazy-ass kind of thing."

Veemon was smiling too. "Aww… makes me wish I could go to preschool," he remarked.

TK's stern look had softened considerably. The way they interacted, he would never have guessed that Davis and Yolei had been childhood friends. But then… "so what happened?" he ventured.

Davis's smile changed back into his scowl, and he looked spitefully through the window at the sleeping figure. "Gettin' all fancy, changin' how she acts, pissin' everyone off just to get Ken into her…" he grumbled. "Didn't give a damn 'bout anyone else." He looked away and set his jaw. "She deserved all the shit she got," he snapped.

"Aww, Davith…" Veemon sighed, looking sad again.

"But she's miserable now," TK pointed out. "Didn't you hear what happened between Sora and her? I think she's had enough, Davis. Why do you keep being nasty to her?"

Davis's response was an angry loogey on the pavement. "Go to bed, TJ," he grunted. "I'm done talkin'."

TK's heart sank; his chance to soften Davis up had escaped. He started to go back inside, then turned to the goggle-less boy again. "Davis, you need to smooth things over with her," he said sternly. "I don't want this affecting the team."

Davis looked furious for a moment, then scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, 'boss,'" he grunted.

TK shook his head and closed the door. The remaining pair stood in silence for several moments before Veemon decided to speak up. "Davith, it sounds like you an' Yolei had lotsa fun times," he said. "Don'tcha wanna be friends with her again?"

Davis looked at his partner for a while, then sighed and looked away. "Not this time, Veemon," he croaked. "Not this time."

* * *

Despite Davis and Ken switching watches at some point during the night, it didn't feel like there had been any time for sleep. Wednesday morning took them back to wandering the endless city streets, searching for a way out. "TK, which way do we go?" Patamon asked.

Hawkmon cringed as he heard glass shatter somewhere behind them. "I'd rather not spend another night here," he said. "What does the Digivice say?"

TK looked at his D3's compass, which continually flashed on the right side. "East," he reported, pointing directly at an old brick building. "Err… guess we'll need to go around a few things."

"Can you smell anything else?" Cody asked Armadillomon and the other Digimon.

Armadillomon and Veemon snorted at the air for a while, but neither of them looked excited. "Nope," Armadillomon replied, "still stuck on the restaurant."

Kari clutched her bag tighter. "Then we'd better keep moving," she sighed, taking out her D3 and starting to walk.

"But what if we get lost again?" Gatomon asked. "We don't know how big this place is… we may not find another restaurant."

"Anybody wanna leave a trail of bread crumbs?" Veemon suggested. "There aren't any rats to eat 'em!"

"Certainly not," Cody huffed. "We need every piece of food we brought."

"We can leave a trail of spicy ranch blasters," Patamon suggested. "Those things give me the toots."

"No way!" Veemon objected. "That's half the fun!"

"Says you…" Davis grumbled.

Following TK's and Kari's D3s and weaving around buildings when they needed to, the Digidestined wandered the abandoned sprawl for several more hours with little to no change in scenery. Finally, though, their patience was rewarded: they passed through one more canyon of buildings and reached a giant parking lot, and the end of which sat a mammoth shopping mall. Beyond it was open gray sky. "Finally!" Armadillomon panted.

"Once we pass through it, maybe we'll be out," Hawkmon reasoned.

"Never thought I'd be happy to see a mall…" Davis chuckled.

They crossed the expansive lot of dusty cars and pushed their way through the rusty rotating door. The inside was less claustrophobic than walking on the streets, but it was just as dilapidated and empty as everything else in the town. Display windows lay smashed and toppled. Neon signs hung limp and dark. Rubble squatted on the cracked floor tiles amid dusty black wires that snaked through every opening. "Aww, Mimi would be heartbroken," Gatomon remarked as she looked around.

Hawkmon thought he heard shuffling behind him, but he spun around only to see more rubble and wires. "Did you make a noise, Yolei?" he asked his partner.

Yolei looked up from wherever her mind was. "N-no," she replied. "Was there…?"

"Erm, no, I must have imagined it," he said quickly. "Never mind."

"Let's find the exit," Cody instructed. "Watch where you step."

In a surreal farce of what teenagers often did, they strode through the giant shopping complex, picking their way over the giant cords and taking in the wrecked sights. They looked into a toy store with its floor strewn with broken plastic baubles like the fallout of the world's biggest tantrum. Then they passed a kiosk of once-trendy shoes with their high heels snapped and dangling. At one point Davis thought he heard knocking from a door, but when he pulled it open, there was nothing inside but a frayed mop and dented bucket. He propped the broom against the door to keep it open and kept moving.

They came to a store in the corner of the mall with a sign that read "Ms. Jewell's Boutique," which was strangely devoid of any displays and had a number of wires trailing inside. "Hey, don't clothes stores usually have clothes?" Gatomon asked.

"Maybe there's a fire exit in there," Ken suggested. "It's on the edge of the mall."

The kids went through the doors for a closer inspection, but Veemon caught his foot on one of the cords and stumbled, creating a pileup that only TK, Patamon and Kari escaped. "Dagnabbit!" Armadillomon huffed. "Ya got two left paws, Veemon!"

"I thought I could kick it!" Veemon grunted from the bottom of the heap. "They're heavier than they look!"

Kari thought there might be a door near the changing rooms, so she turned the corner at the back… and almost screamed. There was a fire escape door in back, but placed in front of it like a garrison stood a dozen pale mannequins, lined up four by three. She drew back and banged into TK. "Woah!" he exclaimed. "What's wrong?!"

She stared at the creepy figures for a moment, then relaxed. "N-nothing…" she said. "I just got surprised."

TK looked at the empty-eyed statues and felt his own spine quiver. "Yeah…" he agreed. "But Ken was right; there's the door. We just have to move them."

"Can we make them pick their noses, TK?" Patamon mused. "I've always wanted to do that!"

Patamon and he walked up to the mannequin formation, stepping over the wires that connected to their stands, and thought about the best way to reposition them. He reached for the rightmost one in the first line, but as soon as his hands touched its cold plastic shoulders, its white eyes snapped wide and locked with his, and its mouth tore open in a feral scream. TK and Patamon didn't tumble so much as sail backwards onto the dirty carpet, their legs stiff in the air and their eyes petrified with panic. "TK!" Kari cried, running and helping him sit up.

"What happened?!" Cody asked as the rest of the group reappeared on their feet.

"Did you trip on a cord too?" Hawkmon asked.

"N-no, it was—" TK started, pointing at the mannequin, but he was shocked to see the statue looked normal. He stood up and shakily put his hands on it, but nothing happened; he pushed it to the wall with ease. What the heck was that?! Patamon looked just as spooked as he did, so he knew he hadn't imagined it… but it seemed, amazingly, that no one else had seen or heard it. "…Never mind," he finally surrendered. "Just help me move these."

Davis, Ken, Kari and TK pushed all the mannequins aside and they tried the fire escape door, but to their dismay it opened into a gray brick wall. "Dangit!" Davis huffed. "Lousy trick door!"

"That cartoon coyote's been here," Armadillomon commented.

Ken frowned, then looked towards the door. "Let's find another one," he said, and started out of the boutique.

Following the wall the boutique was built against, they made their way along the backside of the building, where the ceiling dropped low to support the stores on the upper floors. Without working lights, the path turned dark and everyone stumbled over the debris. Kari stayed quiet, trying to be brave for the others' sake, but the cramped black space made her whole body drip with cold sweat. What if something they couldn't see was lurking there, waiting for them? They could be walking down a giant Digimon's throat right now and they would never know until the jaws closed behind them and—

A loud, harsh crash from ahead made her cry out, and she grabbed the nearest arm. "Woah! Easy!" Davis's voice came, though it sounded oddly excited.

TK's eyes narrowed; he knew the others had heard that. "Cody!" he barked. "Flashlight!"

The little key light gleamed immediately and picked out an electronics store with shattered display windows, a few displaced CDs rolling out its door. "Who goes there?!" Hawkmon shouted at the entrance.

No response came. "OK, then we'll just come in and drag you out!" Patamon huffed bravely. "C'mon, TK!"

TK winced at his partner's bravado, but started after him anyway. Davis grinned at Kari. As much as he loved the feel of her hand around his arm, it was hero time. "You just relax, Kari," he said, gingerly nudging her fingers away, "we'll take care of it. Ready, Veemon?"

"Yeah!" Veemon exclaimed, hopping over a rock with his partner. Cody, Armadillomon, Hawkmon and Ken followed them, with Yolei dragging her heels in the rear.

Gatomon frowned. "We're not gonna let them do it all, are we?" she asked, snapping her claws out. "C'mon, Kari!"

Kari hesitated, then screwed up her courage and ran into the store. She found her friends looking over a mess of toppled shelves and smashed computer screens, radios and oversized batteries, all scattered among shards of glass and the black cables. "Boy, it's like Yolei's room," Armadillomon commented, but then looked at Yolei's depressed face and added: "uh, I mean, after a tornader hit or somethin'!"

TK and Patamon stepped inside and looked around, but they couldn't see anything moving inside. "Hello?" TK tried.

"Forget that!" Davis huffed, pushing into the room and looking around. "HEY! We know you're in here! Haul your ass out so we can kick it!"

"Do you honestly think it will?…" Cody muttered.

"Yeah, c'mon out!" Veemon growled, hopping on one of the wires with his fists balled. "We'll—"

Suddenly, the wire lurched up and threw Veemon to the floor. He scrambled back up to see it shuddering and writhing like an octopus tentacle. As a matter of fact, every one of the wires in the room was moving like that. "Wha-what the heck?!" he yelped.

TK saw one of the wires insert itself into a broken keyboard, then start retracting out of the store. "Watch out!" he warned.

The kids got out of the way as the other wires slithered out, all connected to various broken electronics. They ran back into the mall and Cody's flashlight picked out a sea of wriggling cables all surging to the right, followed by a gaggle of junk from the other stores in the mall: torn teddy bears, an oven door, a bag of golf clubs… TK saw one of the mannequins scoot past on its stand and cringed. "Is it some kind of Digimon?" he thought out loud.

Kari began to speak, but then a cable reared up in front of her and then plunged into her pocket, yanking out her D3. "HEY!" she yelled.

"Beat it, snitchy fingers!" Gatomon snarled, slashing the cord. Without any notion of pain, the remainder thrust itself into a dislodged floor tile and dragged that off instead.

Kari yanked the cable off her Digivice and looked it over worriedly, but aside from some flecks of black gunk on the screen, it was intact.

Another cord tried to latch onto Yolei's bag, and no amount of screaming or yanking could get it to let go. Hawkmon pulled his feather from his bandana and flung it like a boomerang, bisecting the wire just like Gatomon had. "W-what do they want?!" Yolei squawked, pressing as far into the wall as she could.

Cody looked in the direction the cords were shuffling; he could make out a dim light. "I don't know, but let's follow them," he said, pointing.

"Do we have to…?" Armadillomon asked.

"You wanna stay here?" Davis asked, waving at the ruined mall. "C'mon!"

Everyone raced after the retreating cables. A gaping hole in the back wall brought back the gray sky, and the cables pulled through it into a smaller parking lot like a stampede of black asps. The Digidestined emerged to see the last of them pull their treasures off the blacktop and through a wide gate flanked by a wall of rusty planks. Over the barbed wire on top they saw dozens of mountain-sized trash heaps. The sky descended into a darker gray above it, accompanied by a wafting odor of rust, oil and burned rubber. A tilted sign over the gate read RESURGRAM DISPOSAL in blunt, typed text. Through the opening they could see more and more garbage, stretching out just like the swamp and the plains.

All the Digimon shrank back. "PLEASE don't tell me we're going in there!" Patamon yelped.

TK and Kari looked at their D3s. The compass pointed through the gate. "Sorry, Patamon," TK apologized.

"Ohhh…" Patamon groaned, his ears sagging.

"Well, at least he didn't tell ya," Veemon pointed out.

Davis noticed Ken glaring at the sign. "What's up?" he asked.

"'Resurgram…' that's Latin," Ken replied. "It means 'I shall rise again.'"

Yolei shuddered. Davis scratched his head. "Weird name for a junkyard…" he muttered. "Why'd they call it that?"

"I guess we're gonna find out…" Armadillomon grumbled.

"We should leave our bags here," Cody pointed out. "It could get cramped in there."

"OK, but… let's hide them," Kari agreed. "I don't want those cables trying to take anything else."

They stuffed their bags under one of the dusty cars and then started through the gate. Just who or what could have been rising in that scrapyard?...

* * *

Mummymon came to a stop next to an apartment complex, where Arukenimon waited. "Please tell me this one lives on the ground floor," he wheezed. "I'm not exactly built for looking up."

Arukenimon pointed high up on the building. "That where he lives," she stated. "The one who's been the biggest pain."

"Ohhh, is that so?" he mused, smiling wickedly. "Well, then why don't we go teach him a lesson right now?"

She frowned and pushed her sunglasses up. "Not yet," she growled. "It wouldn't do to draw the attention away from our allies."

"But the children are stuck there; they can't harass us now," he objected. "All we have to contend with are—"

"We must keep the charade going as long as we can," she huffed. "It'll be better for us this way, too."

Mummymon sighed, but didn't seem too upset. "Well, it's not like I could climb that many stairs in the first place," he reasoned. "So, who's the next watered-down whelp to put on our map?"

Arukenimon started to speak, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed a yellow car coming around the corner a block away. "Actually, they seem to be coming to us," she said with a crafty sneer. "Why don't we have a little fun?" She motioned toward a black sports utility vehicle on the curb.

Mummymon cackled eagerly, grateful for the diversion. "This will be a treat," he chortled. "I just hope I can maneuver properly; I'm used to being the only driver in the whole world."

* * *

"Come on, we've _been_ here before!" Agumon objected, his nostrils fogging up the window. "Let's try somewhere else!"

Joe let out an uncharacteristic growl; no matter what series of turns he made, or the suggestions his seven backseat drivers shouted, he always seemed to end up back in his own neighborhood. "Can't we park and walk around for a while?" he asked. "Then if we see them, we can get back to the car and—"

"And they'll have run off by that time," Matt finished. "Sorry, Joe, we have to keep driving."

"Yeah, we'll drive 'til the cows come home!" Gomamon exclaimed. "…So where do they live around here?"

"Do you guys know how much gas costs?!" Joe huffed as he turned another corner. "And Dad won't spring for that; it's all out of my own pockets! And with my college loans…"

"We'll pay you back somehow," Sora promised. "But—"

Tai's eyes lit up. "Guys!" he hissed. "There!"

Joe hit the brakes and everyone saw Arukenimon and Mummymon a block away, standing in front of a building. "What're they doing?" Biyomon asked. "Isn't that Izzy's place?"

"Yeah…" Sora growled. So it hadn't been a coincidence Arukenimon had shown up at her mom's shop; they _were_ spying on the Digidestined!

"Now what?" Gabumon asked.

"Shh," Matt shushed his partner. "Now we watch and wait."

Thankfully, there were no cars behind his, so Joe slowly puttered down the street. The dastardly duo didn't seem to notice him approaching, but they shuffled over into a black SUV and pulled away. "Oh, great! They've got one here too?!" Agumon huffed.

"They sure traded up…" Tai remarked. "Time to make like the movies, Joe!"

Joe looked at him with a clenched jaw. "Wh-what?!" he squeaked.

"You know, tail 'em!" Tai urged. "They might be going back to their hideout!"

The blood drained out of Joe's face, but he steadied his jaw, furled his brow, clamped his hands on the wheel and put his foot on the gas. The little yellow car sputtered and picked up speed.

The first few blocks were relatively painless—the SUV turned a corner and Joe did the same—but then they fell into the main glut of Odaiba traffic. Joe's teeth gnashed as he tried to keep up among all the cars piling in around him; the streets were bad enough on a normal day, but thanks to all the detours from the monster damage, there had to be three times as many cars jostling over the two lanes. He could just barely keep track of the SUV, which now drove six cars ahead of him. "C'mon, Joe, pick it up!" Tai urged. "We're gonna lose 'em!"

Joe tried to change lanes to get closer, but a green car blew its horn and tore past. He tried again and a brown truck sped up and almost took off his right-hand mirror. "Shit, Joe!" Matt yelled, recoiling. "That was too close!"

"I _know_!" Joe snapped, the blood from his knuckles flowing into his face.

"Boy, I wondered why grownups look so mad," Gomamon muttered to Biyomon. "I think it's this."

Joe tried once more and teetered into the next lane, and a red car screeched to a halt and belched a volley of angry beeps, as did three cars behind it. "Take it easy!" Sora urged Joe. "They'll know we're behind them!"

Joe wanted to tell Sora to crawl up and drive instead, but chewed his lip and stayed quiet. Over the course of several blocks, the little yellow car scooted up towards its target… but then the SUV turned and went left down a side street. "Aww, come on!" Gabumon complained.

"They didn't even use their signal!" Biyomon grunted.

"C'mon, Joe, after 'em!" Agumon pushed.

"How?" Joe growled. "I'm in the wrong lane!"

With a lot more honking, Joe nudged the car into the left lane and turned at the next intersection. When they reached the next perpendicular street, Matt felt Tai's hand almost mash his skull into the dashboard as the boy leaned ahead, shouting: "there it is! There it is!"

The SUV was turning right a few blocks ahead. Now in the throes of road rage, Joe put his foot down and sped through two yellow lights before making the skidding turn. "Yeah, that's it!" Gomamon cheered. "We'll catch 'em now!"

"We aren't trying to catch them," Gabumon corrected him, "we're trying to learn where they're hiding here."

"Wait, what if they just go back to the Digital World?" Agumon suddenly thought.

"We should know that, too," Matt said, his eyes trained icily on the vehicle. Secretly, he wanted to catch the enemy Digimon, too. He was sick of being kept in the dark by Gennai and babysat by the new kids; he wanted straight answers, and he wanted them now.

The SUV made another turn and Joe followed it along the edge of the industrial district. Several blocks ahead ran two sets of tracks and a series of flashing red lights and ringing bells. Long yellow gates with black stripes dropped down on either side. "Joe, watch it!" Sora urged. "A train's coming!"

"Good," Tai chuckled, "that'll slow _them_ down, too!"

Much to everyone's shock, the SUV actually sped _up_, and crashed through the feeble wooden barriers. Joe slammed down on the brakes and the car skidded to a halt in front of the tracks just as a passenger train rumbled across.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Gomamon yelled. "That's cheating!"

"Crap! They must've figured us out!" Tai grunted.

"We're not done yet; trains are fast," Matt urged. "Once it passes, we'll get after them."

They watched the yellow cars whiz by with baited breath. "C'mon… c'mon, stupid train!" Tai growled.

"Relax… Just relax…" Sora told herself, though her clenched fists said something different.

"Train, train, go away, come again some other day!~" Biyomon tried.

The last car rattled by and the tracks cleared. Everyone in the car sighed with relief. Joe started to take his foot off the brake… and then another long train started across the second track. The kids' mouths fell open. Then a third serpent-length train rolled across the first track.

"Aww, COME ON!" Tai shouted.

"Seriously?" Matt snarled. "Seriously?!"

"What is…?! Someone tell me this is a joke!" Sora balked.

Joe's face was as red as Tentomon's shell, and Gomamon was sure he could see puffs of smoke coming from the med student's ears. His clenched hand reached down to the gear shift and stiffly moved it to the letter P.

Gabumon looked at all the irritated faces around him and winced. "Um… how about some music?" he tried.

Nobody objected, so he poked at the radio. Immediately the little box started blasting a lively rock tune. "I turn aroooound, I can see what's behiiiind me!~" the singer crooned.

Matt jabbed another button and the music changed to a smooth piano and saxophone duet. "You really don't like the Teenage Werewolves, do you?" Sora asked.

"They get their song on the radio. We get kids demanding refunds," Matt grumbled. "What do _you_ think?"

Nobody spoke again until the trains moved away and the lights stopped flashing. "Finally," Joe grumbled and started the car moving. They drove a few more blocks, but there were far too many spindly side roads between the factories for them to investigate, and no trace of the SUV.

"Oh…" Biyomon sighed. "We lost them."

"I think this is a good time to call it a day," Sora admitted. "Sorry, Joe."

Joe looked incredibly agitated, but he said nothing. He pulled into a factory alley, then reversed and started back the way they had come. "Hope there aren't any more trains," Gabumon joked with a weak chuckle.

Agumon's stomach grumbled loudly. "Ooh… can we eat now?" he asked. "I've been waiting all day."

Tai nodded. "Yeah, we can," he said. "Anybody want to hit a drive-through on the way home?"

"Don't take that literally, Joe," Matt muttered.

The car skidded to a halt. "I _KNOW_ I'M A LOUSY DRIVER!" Joe exploded at him, making everyone recoil. "THERE! HAPPY?! GEEZ!"

Everybody was silent as Joe panted and fumed. The jazz music was no longer calming. Finally, Gomamon coughed. "So… was that a 'yes' or a 'no' on the drive-thru?" he asked.

Joe just groaned and put his head on the steering wheel, letting the horn blare.

* * *

The junkyard was packed with garbage of all sorts, piled up without much rhyme or reason. Narrow paths led the Digidestined between heaps, the space almost as tight as the alleys back home and sometimes even roofed by an especially long sheet of metal or wood, or even the husk of a vehicle. TK noticed that the pile beside him had particular layers of trash: it started in the bed of a rusted-out truck with broken windows and only one tire, then rose into a tragic tangle of broken toys and dolls, and finished with a castle of crushed soda cans. The Dark World must not have figured out recycling yet, he reasoned.

They came out of the tunnel and the junk mountains shrank down into hills, opening the space considerably. The kids now saw how the junkyard operated: a series of wide conveyor belts snaked their way around the mounds, collecting garbage as it slid onto them and converging at a plateau on the horizon, rolling beneath an imposing giant compressor. It pounded away at the refuse, its hollow metallic bangs like a drummer's at an execution. A stream of black drifted from its pipes into the gray air, covering everything in the foul yet addictive odor of diesel.

"Yuck," Davis grunted, kicking at an old toaster. "Big cities make big messes!"

"How far do you think it goes?" Kari asked.

"If we get higher up, we'll see," Ken observed. "Come on."

They continued along the path between heaps of worn-out shoes and shattered glass bottles. TK noticed that Patamon had stopped flying beside him and now perched on his hat, shuddering. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking up.

"I don't like this place," Patamon whimpered.

"Yeah…" Gatomon agreed, her ears jerking back and forth and her tail twitching. "It's full of sadness… and anger."

"What?" Cody asked, looking at a cluttered mound of bicycles and cans. "It's just garbage."

"Maybe to you, it is, Cody," Armadillomon replied, pointing, "but it ain't that easy fer us…"

Sticking out of a pile of broken lamps and empty hairspray bottles was the stiff, unmoving arm of a Guardromon. Davis ran up and tried to clear away the trash, but the arm suddenly rolled away onto a conveyor belt, unattached to anything. "What the?!" he exclaimed.

The others suddenly realized how many pieces of mechanical Digimon lay in the heaps around them: other arms, legs, and even a few heads with dark, lifeless eyes. As he contemplated the head of an Andromon with a missing eye and a hanging mouth, TK suddenly realized why their partners were so nervous: since Digimon came from data in computers, then a junkyard was their equivalent of a cemetery. "…Let's hurry through here," he remarked, looking at his D3.

The party continued on the path, now walking a little more closely together. Though most of them tried not to look at the junk piles, Davis's eyes kept darting around the terrain. "Whatcha lookin' for, Davith?" Veemon asked.

"Those wires," Davis replied, stopping to pull open an old refrigerator door. "Where'd they get to? There were tons of 'em!"

"Let's just keep walking," Cody muttered. "We shouldn't look for trouble."

"Considering Miremon, I don't think it'll ignore us," Ken said, looking at a mound of metal tins on the right. "We should get ready for a fight."

"How do we fight those things?" Gatomon asked. "There were so many, and they didn't hurt when we slashed them!"

"I'm more worried about what they're attached to," Kari admitted.

"What do you mean?" Patamon asked. "They were just grabbing random junk."

Kari shook her head. "I mean the other end," she said. "Something has to be controlling all those…"

"Maybe it's some kinda junk octopus?" Veemon proposed. "Uh… 'junktopus?'"

"That doesn't sound very pleasant. I hope you're wrong," Hawkmon muttered, then looked back at his partner. "How are you doing, Yolei? You've been so quiet."

Yolei had been slowly looking over all the garbage, the wriggling cables having brought a frightening distraction from her depression. But then, almost on cue, her eyes found a splintered wooden picture frame on top of some smashed videotapes, and the memory of Christmas Eve constricted her legs and sent her whole body shaking. This world just would not let her forget. "I… I…" she stuttered.

The others turned around. "Yolei, don't fall behind," Gatomon warned. "This place could be dangerous."

Davis saw her suck in air and chew on her lip, and his eyes narrowed. "What is it _now_?!" he snarled.

Yolei whimpered and fidgeted, staring at her shoes. Trying to find something to cheer his partner up and keep her going, Hawkmon spotted a kid's robot helmet perched on the hood of a car. "I say, Yolei!" he exclaimed, flying over and landing next to it. "Don't you have a toy just like this? Look!"

Hawkmon grabbed the helmet and started pulling, but suddenly the helmet swiveled and locked eyes with him. "Hawkmon!" Kari yelled. "Get away!"

The car hood roared to life, shaking and flashing its headlights. Two black cables shot out of rust holes and swatted Hawkmon to the ground, then plunged into the junk and reemerged plugged into a jagged steel rain gutter and another Guardromon arm. The hood shuddered again, then rose out of the pile on thick pipe legs and tire feet. It awkwardly stomped towards the Digidestined like a zombie on stilts, the helmet and then the hood's lights and grill looking like two malicious heads stacked on each other, both mouths dribbling a heinous black substance as it growled like a dial-up modem.

"Holy shit!" Davis yelled, scrambling in front of Kari.

Normally the Digimon would leap ahead to protect their partners, but this time they clung to the kids, just as terrified of the monster as they were. "What ARE you?!" Patamon shrieked from TK's hat.

"S-stay back!" Gatomon warned, but her eyes throbbed with terror.

"Is it a Deadmon?!" Cody asked.

"It looks worse than that…" Hawkmon muttered.

Ken ran in front of everyone, aimed his Vulcan at the helmet and fired. All he got, though, was a thin wheeze. He was shocked to notice that the rust on the compass had spread all the way down the weapon and coated the nozzles, rendering it useless. "What?!..." he hissed. The junk monster thrust the gutter at him like a spear, knocking him back against Davis and TK.

"Hey, get off!" Davis huffed at Veemon, pulling him off his leg. "Ken needs help!"

Veemon looked scared out of his mind, but he clenched his fists and raced to Ken's side. "OK, Davith! Let 'er rip!" he shouted.

Davis raised his D3 and Veemon became Exveemon. The Champion-level Digimon looked way more confident than Veemon as he leaped at the staggering creature and kicked its helmet head off, spraying black gunk into the air. "Euugh! Ever heard of napkins?!" he asked.

Though its head was gone, the shambling junk body didn't fall. Instead, another cable shot out from the helmet's spot, snared a broken boombox out of the rubble and pulled it into place as a new head, its tape deck starting to ooze with gunk. "Hey, that's cheatin'!" Exveemon yelled. "You wanna play that way?! Fine!"

The junk creature stabbed at him with the gutter, but Exveemon leaped up and landed on the tool, pinning it to the ground. It swung at him with its Guardromon arm, but he leaped away and vaporized it with a V-Laser. As it stabbed at him with the gutter again, the flailing other cable launched itself into the garbage pile and returned with a futuristic-looking water gun, and the kids had to run back as it sprayed black gunk in their direction. Exveemon tried to knock the gun away, but the creature's gutter smashed him down.

"It's… invincible!" Yolei yelped.

"It can't be!" Kari snapped, though she sounded more panicked than certain. "It… it's gotta have a weak point!"

"Maybe if we got it away from the junk, it couldn't rebuild itself," Ken suggested.

Exveemon scrambled off the ground as the monster stabbed at him again, the momentum turning its halfway around. Cody saw another black cable jutting out of its back and snaking into the pile. Maybe they didn't have to lure it away. "There!" he announced, pointing. "Cut the cord!"

"On it!" Gatomon called, racing up with her claws out. "Garbage day, Junkmon!"

The junk zombie fired its spray gun, but she scampered under its legs and slashed the cable in half. Immediately the creature's headlights shut off and it crumpled to the ground in a puddle of black, some of its parts rolling away. The severed cable slithered into the pile and vanished. Exveemon landed and wiped his brow. "Whoo! Thanks, Gatomon," he panted.

The others crept up and gathered around the mess. "'Junkmon,' huh?..." TK asked, nudging at the car hood with his foot. "It certainly fits."

Armadillomon sniffed at the black ooze and almost wretched. "Yuck! Worse than Marinedevimon's ink," he wheezed.

"Was it really a Digimon?" Hawkmon asked. "It seemed as if those cables were controlling it like a puppet."

"Yeah…" Davis agreed, looking at the garbage pile the wire had gone into, "so where'd they go?" He picked up one of the pipes that had made the Junkmon's legs and tapped it against his free hand. "HEY! Where are ya, jackasses?!" he shouted at the heap.

"You think they'll actually respond?" Cody muttered. "Let's just keep—"

Before Cody could finish, the mound of refuse swelled and then burst apart, and a giant ball of metallic junk rose into the air, suspended by at least a dozen wriggling black cables. At its center was something that looked like a cybernetic light bulb with fangs, part of its metal face split to reveal a living red eye. More cables jutted out of the spots where its limbs might have been.

The kids leaped backwards, some of them even falling over. "WHAT the heck is THAT?!" Yolei managed to shriek.

Patamon's eyes narrowed as he looked it over. "It kinda looks like a Datamon," he remarked, "but something's happened to it…"

"Datamon…" TK growled. With its terrifying new body, it must have been gathering trash from the city to strengthen itself. Had it known they were coming? Was it a servant like Daemon, or just a troublemaker like Miremon?

"Hey!" Davis shouted at it, waving the pipe, "keep yer cables to yourself, you floating trash turd! Now get outta the way!"

He hurled the pipe and it bounced off of the Datatmon's broken bulb with a glassy clink. Its living eye locked onto the offender, and its cybernetic eye's glow changed from blank white to hateful red. Its cables burrowed into the junk beneath it and strained, and out of the garbage rose six more Junkmon comprised of dangerous and eerie-looking pieces; TK recoiled as he saw one wore the screaming mannqeuin's head, its mouth now running black and shiny. Clicking like disconnected modems, the junk zombies advanced on them with whirring weapons. "Uh-oh…" Exveemon gulped. "Davis, you might wanna say you're sorry!"

Cody pulled out his D3. "It's our turn now," he growled. "Armadillomon!"

"You too, Patamon," TK said, pulling his partner off his hat and yanking out his Digivice. "You're brave enough for this!"

"Yolei!" Hawkmon urged. "It's time!"

Yolei quietly produced her D3 and raised it with TK and Cody. In a flash of brightness, Ankylomon crashed down on a pile of junk, flanked by Angemon and Aquilamon in the air. "You boys're pretty cool," Ankylomon huffed, "but watch how _I_ do recyclin'!"

The Digimon threw their best attacks at the Junkmon zombies and sent their bits and pieces flying, but the creatures rebuilt themselves a lot faster than they walked; their cables shot into the garbage and returned with more dangerous parts than they had lost: one acquired a jagged Mekanorimon's claw; another returned with a rusty, whirring chainsaw; a third mounted a VCR on its head and spewed slushy tapes; and a fourth came up with an old video game console and swung its controllers around like whips. Seemingly ignoring the Digimon, they shuffled on towards the kids. "Urgh! Why'd they have to put the cables on their backs?!" Aquilamon snarled.

"Just keep trying!" Ken urged, raising his grenade launcher and firing into the mannequin's open mouth. The explosion destroyed the Junkmon, but instead of retreating like before, the cord angrily threw itself at him, plugging itself into the weapon. Ken struggled to yank it loose, but it ripped the artillery right off of his arm and dragged it into the trash pile. It re-emerged a few moments later as the left arm of a Junkmon with a lawnmower for a head. "No!..." he growled as it lifted the stolen weapon and fired. "Look OUT!"

The others saw the goop-coated grenade come down and scrambled away, but the explosion still sent them rolling across the ground. "Dammit!" Davis yelled. "They're not shittin' around!"

"Stop them before we get blown to pieces!" TK shouted.

"I'll get him!" Gatomon hissed, starting at the Junkmon, but it fired three grenades at once, blowing her backwards into Kari's arms. "H-hey! No fair!" she yelped. "Ken never did that!"

Ken's eyes narrowed. "It's not supposed to," he said gravely. "They modded it… that quickly…"

Exveemon turned angry eyes on Datamon. If the Junkmon were adamant on attacking the kids, there was only one way to stop them quickly. "Forget the zombies," he yelled, "get _that_ guy!"

He fired a V-Laser at Datamon, blowing it back and scattering chunks of its armor, but more cables burst out of the garbage and attached new parts. Aquilamon's blast rings tore into its other side, but it did the same thing. "We need a new plan," the big bird growled.

"Take them cables out!" Ankylomon thundered, flattening two Junkmon and sending his tail crashing through the wires floating beneath Datamon. Two more Junkmon collapsed. Datamon's eye flashed and the cords grew back and plunged into the trash, creating replacements even closer to the kids. "Doggone it!" Ankylomon huffed. "Thing's got its bases covered!"

Angemon knocked the new Junkmon back, then pocketed his rod and flew up to confront Datamon. "Go back to sleep!" he declared, lobbing a grayish-golden Hand of Fate. Datamon took the blow, but recovered a lot faster than the Deadmon had. Angemon swerved away as another cable shot up and almost creamed him with a microwave. "TK! This isn't working!" he reported.

"Yeah…" TK growled, thinking hard. "Datamon's an Ultimate already, and with all this junk and bodyguards, he's even stronger…"

Davis got the message and clenched his D3. "Exveemon! We're steppin' it up!" he yelled, raising the device and letting it spark.

Exveemon shuddered, then turned into Paildramon and immediately lay into Datamon with round after round of bullets. "Call off yer dogs, bulb brain!" he shouted.

The shots tore through Datamon's mechanical half, shattering its dome and the glowing red eye and sending black sludge flying in every direction; even its live eye dribbled black tears as it fixed itself on him with icy hatred. Its mouth ejected a grating mechanical screech and its cables throbbed and surged, and suddenly garbage shot at Paildramon from all around like a series of geysers. As airborne refrigerators, pipes and glass shards pelted Paildramon, Datamon's cables snared choice parts and attached them to its damaged body, becoming even more disjointed.

"That thing's really pissed off…" Yolei gulped.

"We need a strategy," Cody growled, "or this will be Miremon all over again."

TK's eyes hardened. No, it wouldn't be like the fight with Miremon; he wasn't going to run this time. Still, Cody was right about needing a plan. "Angemon!" he shouted. "Help Paildramon!"

Angemon and Aquilamon flew up and helped Paildramon plaster Datamon with shots while Ankylomon kept smashing at the wires under it… but whatever they knocked off, Datamon replaced. "It ain't workin'!" Davis yelled, angrily climbing onto a nearby pile and waving at his partner. "Do something else to—"

An Andromon's claw clamped around his arm and he whirled around in shock; a Junkmon with an air conditioner body had come out of the heap right behind him! He saw its other arm reaching for his face, a whirring blender whistling on its edge. "Back off!" he yelled, struggling and kicking. "I don't want a smoothie!"

The blender kept coming. Davis gnashed his teeth, grabbed the claw with his free arm and slammed into its body as hard as he could. The zombie teetered, and then they both rolled down onto the conveyor belt. The Junkmon crashed down on Davis's back, unplugged and lifeless. Davis struggled to free himself, but the thing was way too heavy… and then he heard the dull rhythmic thuds and remembered the compressor. He looked ahead to see it mashing away, hardly a minute away from him. He squirmed and writhed again, but he didn't have enough energy to get away from his downed opponent. "S-shit!" he yelped. "Help! HELP!"

TK, Kari, Ken and Cody were yelling encouragement at their partners and trying to push the Junkmon away themselves, but it wasn't going well; the Junkmon seemed to know to avoid exposing their back cables, and the one with the grenade launcher constantly forced the kids to scatter. Only Yolei heard Davis yelling. She ran to the edge and saw him fighting to get loose, with maybe only fifteen seconds before he reached the giant masher. For seven long seconds, she froze up and just watched… but then she realized what would happen if the compressor actually got him. "PAILDRAMON!" she yelled, pointing to his partner. "Davis!"

Paildramon whirled around, shouted and dove at the conveyor belt. Just as Davis's hand went beneath the compactor, his partner wrenched him free and flew away. The dead Junkmon disappeared beneath the masher with a sickening crunch. "You OK?!" Paildramon asked Davis.

Davis's hands were visibly shaking. "D-damn…" he managed. "That thing a-almost made me a sandwich!"

"How'd you get there, anyway? That thing's just for…" Paildramon started, but then trailed off. Suddenly he had a great idea. "Angemon! Aquilamon! Ankylomon! Protect the kids!" he yelled as he put Davis near Yolei and flew at Datamon again.

"What're you doing?!" Gatomon shouted. "You can't beat him alone!"

Paildramon flew around Datamon, taking potshots at its head. "Yeah, come on, ya big tin can!" he taunted. "What're ya held together with? Old gum?"

Datamon's remaining eye glared at Paildramon and he rushed at him, but Paildramon sailed over and kept pinging shots off its junky shields. "That's right, dumb drum, come and get me!" Paildramon snarked, flying closer to the trash compactor. Datamon looked between the masher and his opponent, then sneered.

Suddenly, the Junkmon Ankylomon was fighting collapsed in a heap and the cable slithered away. "Hey, what the…?" Ankylomon asked, kicking at the mess.

Ken saw the cord peek out in the trash beneath Paildramon. "Look out!" he yelled. "It's—"

The cord shot up and plugged itself into surprised Paildramon's gun. Datamon erupted in wheezing cackles as he writhed and twitched, then plummeted back to earth as Veemon, his energy siphoned. "Shit!" Davis yelled. "Veemon!"

"It was a good plan…" Kari tried.

"Well, now what?!" Cody growled as Datamon turned back to them.

TK frowned. Kari was right; Paildramon's plan had been a great one, and he wasn't ready to shelf it yet. "Angemon!" he shouted. "Get Datamon into that compactor!"

Angemon smashed a Junkmon backwards with his angelic rod, then looked up at Datamon with bared teeth. "How?" he asked. "He'll just use his cords and—"

A Junkmon grabbed onto his shoulder from behind, its chainsaw whirring with grunge. Instinct kicked in and Angemon grabbed the zombie and threw it. It collided with Datamon in midair and immediately plunged its chainsaw into its side. Datamon twitched and flailed, trying to shake its own creation off as it sprayed black gunk. "What the…?!" Aquilamon asked.

Ken's eyes widened. The Junkmon must have run on a simple program to attack anything in front of them! "That's it!" he announced. "Everyone! Throw the Junkmon at Datamon!"

"I guess he doesn't like hugs," Aquilamon quipped, seizing two Junkmon in his talons and dropping them on the hovering monster.

"Heyyy, batter batter batter batter!" Ankylomon growled, pulling his tail back and swatting the remaining two Junkmon into the air. They also latched onto Datamon and attacked with their attached weapons. Datamon flailed around in the air like a paralyzed jellyfish, hollow shrieks escaping its throat as it drifted towards the compactor.

Angemon flew up and pulled out his rod. "Rest in peace," he huffed, and smashed the giant junk ball as hard as he could. Datamon and its five zombies splattered onto the conveyor belt and rolled beneath the giant compressor. The Digidestined saw a look of blind terror on Datamon's remaining eye as the masher came down, then up, then down again. The conveyor belt and the compressor slowed, then stopped altogether.

Davis ran and picked Veemon up. "You OK, pal?!" he asked. "Say something!"

Veemon coughed a few times, then smiled at his partner. "Dumpster diving hurts a lot, Davith…" he managed.

The other Digimon shrank back down to their Rookie levels, all looking exhausted. "Is… is it over?" Patamon asked, looking at the compressor.

"Gotta be!" Armadillomon chuckled. "That thing's flatter n' Cody singin' in the shower!"

TK wasn't so sure. He picked his way onto the conveyor belt and started for the compactor. "H-hey, wait!" Patamon yelped, flying after him.

Not knowing what else to do, the others jumped over the trash and followed TK. Beneath the compressor was a horrific mess of smashed junk and black gunk, with more dripping from the block above. It may have just been machinery, but Yolei almost wretched at the sight. "Oh, God…" she uttered.

"Yeah, that thing's done, all right," Davis said.

Ken's eyes narrowed. "Then why hasn't it—" he began.

Suddenly, they heard something scrape on the ground. Datamon, or what was left of it, jerked up and lurched towards them, its cables flailing like an octopus having a seizure.

Kari screamed. Cody fell backwards. Hawkmon reacted immediately, hurling his feather into its eye. Datamon shuddered and twitched, then let out a metallic wail as it collapsed again, black fluids spraying from all its orifices before it dissolved into black pixels and disappeared. "NOW it's over," he growled.

"Wow…" Veemon gulped. "Bein' Shurimon sure pays off!"

Hawkmon walked over and retrieved his feather, which was caked with black slime. "…It has its disadvantages, too," he muttered.

The group climbed back over the junk heaps and got back on the path. TK suddenly realized how quiet the junkyard had become. "I think we can get our stuff and keep moving now," he said.

"Yeah…" Gatomon agreed. "Oh, Ken! Your weapon!"

Ken pulled his stolen grenade launcher out of the pile that had been a Junkmon. It was bashed in so deeply he couldn't even get his hand inside, and black sludge dripped from every hole. He shook his head and dropped it back on the ground. "No good," he muttered. "It's just like everything here now." He thought about it for a second, then pulled off his rusted Vulcan and dropped it beside the launcher. The rusted parts shattered like clay when it hit the ground.

"Wait, Ken, don't you need those?" Veemon asked.

"They're broken, and dead weight will only slow us down," Ken replied bluntly.

"Can't you fix them?" Kari asked, looking at all the metallic trash. "We've got all kinds of parts here…"

"They were a prototype; I never anticipated repairing them," Ken admitted. "No, none of this would work…" He adjusted his shoulder laser with extra care. "I'll just have to take care of what I still have."

TK couldn't help but feel a little worried. Losing firepower was bad enough, but if Ken lost his weapons, would the others have to spend more of their energy protecting him?

Without another word, Ken started walking back towards the parking lot. The others followed along at a more relaxed pace. Now that the junkyard was peaceful, there was no need to rush. "Well, Yolei, I guess you got your zombies," Kari remarked with a smile.

"I didn't WANT zombies!" Yolei protested hotly, making Kari shrink back.

"Hey, take it easy!" Gatomon huffed. "It was a joke!"

"Yeah… sorry…" Kari apologized. Yolei didn't look appeased, but she looked away and kept walking.

Hawkmon hated to see Yolei fall into a bad mood so soon after a victory; he had to do something. He glanced at Davis and gave him a hopeful smile. "Erm, Davis," he said, "perhaps a 'thank you' is in order?"

Davis frowned at him, puzzled. "What?" he asked.

"Well, if Yolei hadn't warned Paildramon that you were on the conveyor belt…" Hawkmon pointed out.

Davis blinked, then looked at Yolei, who only gave him a sideways glance. Then he looked down at Veemon, who nodded and motioned toward her. He then looked at the others and their expectant faces, and suddenly he got angry; why couldn't they mind their own business?! He looked away and scowled. "Paildramon woulda spotted me on his own," he grunted.

Yolei's single eye contorted in anger. The others groaned. "Come on, Davis!" Patamon huffed. "Can't you two make up?!"

"This is getting old fast," Cody growled.

"Davith, Hawkmon's right!" Veemon argued. "Really, I didn't see ya 'til Yolei—"

"Geez, take the frickin' compliment!" Davis snapped at him. "Ain't you happy I said I trusted you?!"

"You're being a real jackass, Davis," Gatomon snarled. "Can't you just—"

"All right, _all right_!" TK shouted, and everyone looked at him in surprise. The straw-haired boy looked incredibly annoyed, but he struggled and kept his cool. "Listen, I'm sure Davis is grateful in his own way; leave him alone. Let's just keep moving," he suggested. "If we're lucky, we can clear this junkyard and find a place to camp by nightfall."

TK kept walking, and after a few moments the rest followed after him. "Puttin' words in my mouth…" Davis muttered audibly, but TK ignored him.

As he walked at the rear with his partner, Hawkmon shook his head. "I'm sorry, Yolei," he said, looking at her. "I thought it might help…"

Yolei fumed in silence. What if she had decided to stay quiet? Where would that soccer-brained asshole be then? Her mind's eye orchestrated the image of Davis being smashed into a mushy red pancake in the garbage compactor, and unlike her scenario about Kari in the bog, she didn't dismiss the new one so quickly.

* * *

The crisp, cold night sky crept over Odaiba. Jun shivered and clutched the grocery bag more tightly. Her mother was still upset over Daisuke leaving, so she figured a fresh fish dinner from the shops at the wharf would cheer her up… or, technically, that's what her dad told her to think as he slipped her some money and sent her out.

She looked out at the bay and sighed. Waiting for something to happen sucked. It was bad enough having to listen to all the bad news on TV, but she couldn't hassle Daisuke, she couldn't cuddle Demiveemon, and despite her eager declaration of help, Matt hadn't visited or even called. If she had his number, things would be different… but then again, she would probably call him too often and he'd get so mad he'd change the number and… well, was there nothing she could do besides run errands for her parents? As she began to cross the street, she sighed again, feeling uncharacteristically powerless.

Jun suddenly heard screeching breaks, and then there was a black SUV not three inches from her. She screamed and toppled backwards onto the sidewalk as the vehicle nosed in and parked. Then there were two bizarre-looking figures looming over her. "Watch where you're going, you little rat!" a woman's steely voice came.

"Come now, Arukenimon, we almost flattened her," an old, raspy voice came from the other one, and then he offered his shaky hand to Jun. "I'm so sorry, my dear; I didn't see you until just then," he said with sympathy.

Jun took his hand and tried to let him help her up, but with all his straining and pained grunting, she was afraid she might pull him down on top of her. "U-um, it's OK…" she said, managing to get up while making it look like he helped. "I'm… I'm fine!"

"Ah, good… Oh, and you dropped your bag, too!" he moaned, starting to hobble towards the dropped groceries. "I really am a buffoon on these roads…"

"It's OK, really!" Jun said, scampering over and gathering things up; she didn't want the old man to throw his back out. "I'm fine now! Thanks!"

"Oh?... All right, then," the man said, withdrawing his hand. "Have a good night…"

The old man and his red-clothed companion turned and started down the street. "You're far too nice," Jun heard the woman snap.

"Now, now," he replied, "we can afford to be chivalrous for the time being…"

She watched them turn and start down some stairs towards the piers. That struck her as odd on several levels: they certainly didn't look like fishermen, and there wasn't anything down there at this hour… there were only docked boats and the equipment warehouses. She thought for a moment more and her spine tingled. What had the old man called his friend? Arukeni… _mon_?

She watched them disappear down the steps, then turned and raced across the street, headed for home. She had to get Daisuke's coach on the phone pronto; he knew the girls' coach, and the girls' coach knew Matt, so maybe he knew Matt too, and… well, she knew he said he would call her, but somehow she knew he would want to know about this!


	48. Dark Corners Of The Earth

**CHAPTER 48**

**DARK CORNERS OF THE EARTH**

"It's 9 o'clock on Thursday, December 30th, and here is the world news," the voice on the radio crackled through the Ishida apartment. Matt sighed as he turned off the sink and let the pan soak, then sat down with Gabumon and his father to eat; he wasn't expecting any good stories today.

"The appearance of the dark towers and the global invasion of the mysterious shadow creatures continues," the low voice went on. "While it's still unknown how or why Tokyo was spared the prolonged attacks, the army has wasted no time in surrounding the city with barriers and checkpoints to make sure nobody enters or leaves. However the rest of Japan, and indeed the world as a whole, has not been as lucky. At this hour, hundreds of smaller towns have been abandoned as citizens flee the mysterious enemy, and even several major cities have been emptied: Beijing, Seoul, Paris, Chicago, Cape Town and Mexico City all stand empty of humanity.

"While the prospects look grim, some important discoveries on fighting the creatures has been made. Though they are immune to bullets, it has been discovered they can be stunned with electricity and so all around the world cables and cords are being slashed and allowed to spark in the roads. Several militaries have discovered they can even be destroyed with fire and explosives. For the everyday citizen, however, there is little that can be done but to flee."

Gabumon shook his head and looked sad. "I wish we could go help them all," he remarked. "It's awful just waiting for the others to come back, not able to do anything…"

"I know," Hiroaki muttered, sipping at his coffee.

Matt said nothing; he just rubbed at the hand that had broken his lamp a few days earlier.

The radio started to go on about world governments banding together to come up with a solution, but suddenly the phone's sharp buzzing cut in. Matt pushed himself out of his chair and picked it up; the news had put him in an even worse mood than morning usually did. "Hello?" he grouched.

"Erm, yes, hello," an older-sounding man's voice came. "Is this Hiroaki Ishida's number?"

Matt offered the phone to his dad, who took it. "Hello?" he asked. As the voice on the other end started talking, he got up and went into his room, muttering to the caller. Matt watched him curiously; usually his dad would take calls and eat at the same time. What was that about?

"Who was it, Matt?" Gabumon asked. "Your mom?"

"No," Matt replied, "must be important, though."

The radio kept talking, but they strained their ears to listen in on the conversation. Matt's dad, however, could talk a lot more quietly than they imagined. Finally, though, his voice picked up and they heard: "you can't get in?!" He came out of his room and the boys quickly turned back to their breakfasts. "I'm going out," he said, putting the phone back and reaching for his shoes. "I'll be gone all day." In a flash, he was out the door.

"Wow, you were right," Gabumon remarked. "…May I have his leftovers?"

Matt pushed his father's plate over to Gabumon, then looked at the phone. Just who had called, and why had his father torn off so quickly? It didn't sound like the usual guy who called from the TV station…

"While the creatures have overrun much of the land around the towers, studies have shown nothing appearing around the towers out in the ocean," the radio announcer went on. "Some coastal people have taken advantage of this and have created 'refugee islands,' large caravans of boats strung together and put to sea. Some navies have even opened their aircraft carriers to civilians in an attempt to save as many as they can…"

The phone rang again. "Hope that's not the same guy," Gabumon remarked.

Matt got up and started to say hello. "MATT!" Jun's frenzied voice drilled through the receiver, forcing him to pull the phone away to save his eardrums. "Matt! Listen! Last night!"

"Jun? What the…?" Matt tried, but she was speaking too loudly and incoherently for him to interrupt. He gnashed his teeth; how did she get his phone number?! If Tai had given it to her, so help him…

"It could be big!" Jun spluttered on, her zeal at having him on her phone mixed with her urge to share what she had seen. "Last night! By the docks! An SUV! Two weird guys! No, a guy and a girl! Err, an old guy and a woman! He called her Aru-something-MON!"

Matt's eyes suddenly lost all irritation. "OK, calm down," he urged her. "Where exactly was this?"

"The docks!" Jun managed. "Kinda by the fish market! I can show you!"

"Right…" he muttered. He partly regretted what he was about to say, but he didn't know the harbor area very well and there were a lot of fish markets; they needed help. "I'll call the others, and you can meet us there in an hour."

"OK!" she chirped, sounding elated. "S-see you then!"

Matt hung up and then started dialing Joe's number. "Finish up, Gabumon," he said, "we're going to be gone all day, too."

Gabumon shoveled the rest of breakfast down his throat. "Weadyf!" he responded.

* * *

None of the Digidestined thought they would be glad to see dead, gray grass again. The junkyard had been much bigger than they had thought, and they had been forced to spend the night inside it. "Thank goodness!" Hawkmon said, running his talons through the blades. "Hurry, everyone, we're free again!"

The others shuffled out of the junkyard gates, the girls looking drained and the boys looking even worse. Despite being surrounded by trash, they had only managed to find one ratty mattress. Naturally that went to Kari and Yolei, so the boys and their partners were all stiff and achy from sleeping on the trashy ground; even Ken looked worn out. "I shoulda grabbed one of those oil cans," Davis grumbled, cracking his arms for the sixth time. "Didn't know I'd need 'em today…"

"Why wouldn't you guys share the bed?" Veemon complained to Gatomon. "That was mean!"

"It's called chivalry," Cody said, but he didn't look happy either. In fact, he looked the worst of the lot; his face was a perpetual scowl, with dark bags beneath his eyes. When he walked, his motions were jerky and mechanical.

"It wasn't that good; it smelled like mildew and throw-up," Gatomon remarked, looking at the boys' resentful glares. "I'm not looking forward to bathing again…"

"At least it was _soft_," Patamon grumped.

"OK, that's enough, everybody; we're out of it now," TK said, motioning to the grassy hill before them and smiling, though he also looked like he hadn't slept well. "Come on, let's keep moving."

Yolei looked up the hill. It was a lot steeper on this side of the valley; it looked like a grass-covered mountain. "We have to go up there?..." she groaned.

"'We have to go up there?'" Davis mimicked her unpleasantly. "Shut your mouth, bed-getter!"

Yolei just sagged. Kari and TK both looked at their D3s. Surely enough, the compasses pointed in the same direction as the hill. "I hope everyone's good at climbing," TK said.

"I'm good at climbin' up Cody," Armadillomon said, starting to scale his partner's leg.

Cody pulled him off and set him back on the ground. "Nice try," he grumbled.

The kids and their Digimon started plodding up the gray mound. Kari sighed and adjusted her bag. Having to climb the hill didn't bother her; after Miremon and Datamon, it was what might be over that hill that made her stomach throb.

They hiked in silence for a while, no one in the mood for conversation. Despite being able to see the path up, the kids thought the hill seemed to get steeper as they went. "Boy, I bet if Izzy were here, he could tell us exactly what angle we're at," Patamon remarked.

"I'm no good with any angle past 'flat,'" Armadillomon puffed.

"But you're on all fours," Hawkmon said.

"I also got a shell," Armadillomon reminded him. "A big, heavy shell."

"What if we walked in a zigzag, like on hiking trails?" TK suggested, pointing right. "You know, go up a little bit that way, then turn and go up a little bit the other way…"

"That works on trails because the paths are flat; it'll only slow us down here," Ken said, shaking his head.

TK scratched his chin. "I guess…" he said, "but going straight up could tire us out, and if we get attacked…"

"C'mon, we're not going to get attacked out here," Davis grunted. "That's always when we hit a big place."

"That doesn't mean we _couldn't_," Cody grumbled. "We've just been lucky so far."

Davis rolled his eyes. "Lucky?..." he muttered. "What do you call unlucky?"

"C'mon, guys, quit fightin' already," Veemon tried, looking for some sort of distraction. "I mean, it's a nice day!... I guess, an' the scenery's neat… I guess, and… uh…" Just then, his eyes snapped to the top of the hill. "Ooh! Look, Davith! That's a cool airplane!" he tried.

"Wha…?" TK asked as he turned and looked, as did everybody. A glider-like object had sailed over the top of the valley. It sailed over them, then suddenly somersaulted and descended on them, ejaculating a horrible screech that made their blood stop. It was no airplane: it was a vile black and gray mixture of a vampire bat and a manta ray, its red eyes burning deep in a head the cross of a manta's gill-riddled mouth and a human skull. Its spindly jagged tail streamed behind it, leaving a trail of black vapor. "HOLY!..." was all Yolei could manage.

"What IS that?!" Patamon yelled.

Davis didn't know, and with the mood he was in, he didn't care. "You want a fight?! You're gettin' one!" he yelled, shoving his D3 into the air. "Veemon!"

"You're gonna get it, plane impersonator!" Veemon huffed.

In the face of this crazy-looking monster, nobody was going to argue with Davis. Exveemon, Angemon and Aquilamon took to the air and fired their best projectile attacks, and Ankylomon swatted gobs of earth with his tail. The newcomer, however, was not deterred; it weathered Exveemon's, Aquilamon's and Ankylomon's shots without even flinching, then tilted and veered away from Angemon's Hand of Fate like a fighter plane. Angemon didn't have time to move before it rammed him, sending him spinning back to the ground.

"Angemon!" TK yelled, running to his partner. "Are you OK?!"

"T-too strong!..." Angemon coughed, struggling to sit up. "It's…"

"It's stronger than Champions," Ken growled at Davis. "We need Paildramon!"

Davis nodded and raised his sparking D3. Exveemon shuddered and became Paildramon, a rush of wind signaling his arrival. "Hey, ugly, you're grounded!" he shouted, whipping out his guns and charging the flying fiend. He sprayed the manta monster with his Desperado Blasters… but they didn't even leave a mark. "Seriously?!" Paildramon huffed.

"It's Blackwargreymon all over again!" Aquilamon growled.

The monster's eyes flashed and its wide mouth erupted in another ear-breaking shriek, making all the kids scream and cover their ears in pain. The Digimon weren't downed so much as blown into the ground from the hammer-strength noise, reverting them all to Rookie levels. "Yarrrgh! Make it stop!" Armadillomon yelped.

TK began to panic again. If even Paildramon couldn't scratch that monster, then it had to be a Mega-level Digimon, just like Blackwargreymon! And just like Blackwargreymon, they had no way to fight something like that! "Grab your Digimon and run!" he shouted.

The monster sailed around and flew at them from the direction they came, cutting off any chance of returning to the city. "Run where?!" Yolei asked, grabbing Hawkmon.

Ken's spine got spinier as the monster's mouth pulsed with another scream. "Up the hill!" he ordered. "Now!"

The kids grabbed their partners and tore up the hill as the monster's shriek sent grass and earth skyward. If the noise wasn't deadly enough, Cody scampered out of the way just as its eyes shot burning red beams into his path, setting the ground aflame. Davis looked back to see half a dozen fish shoot out from beneath its wings, their heads shaped like open-mouthed skulls as they closed in. and exploded, leaving six gaping craters in the hillside "CONSTANTIIINE!" he yelled, starting to veer back and forth as he fled.

"Where can we go?!" Gatomon yelled as she raced alongside Kari. "There's no shelter!"

Patamon's panicked eyes fell on an upcoming patch of long gray weeds; there seemed to be something dark behind them. "A hole! A hole!" he yelped. "TK! Go there!"

TK saw it, too, and raced for it like an Olympic athlete being chased by a high-speed lawnmower. He reached it and tossed Patamon inside, then turned back. "EVERYONE!" he shouted, using what stamina he had left to flail his arms. "HERE!"

TK's words were lost to the monster's shrieking, but the others saw him and made beelines. Davis intercepted Kari as she ran, pulled her along with him and leaped in together with their partners. Then came Cody and Armadillomon, and then Ken. Wheezing and gasping, Yolei scrambled inside clutching a squawking Hawkmon around the neck. TK heard the monster scream one more time and saw the missiles coming as he ducked inside, and then the whole hill seemed to explode, knocking them all to the cold ground. When Cody's flashlight came on, dust hung over everything along with the smell of burned-out fireworks. TK coughed and spluttered, then managed to stand up. "Is… is everyone OK?..." he asked.

Patamon got up and shook himself off. "I'm fine," he said, "but try to remember I'm not a bowling ball, TK!"

"Ugh… I… think so…" Kari stammered, picking herself off the floor and rubbing at her arm. "…Ow!…"

Davis saw her wince and looked ashamed. "Sorry, Kari," he muttered.

"It's OK," she replied, moving her elbow around like a piston and seeming satisfied. "We were all panicking."

Yolei looked back and almost wailed. The hole was sealed with earth and rocks; they were trapped. "Now what do we do?..." she moaned.

"Easy! We gotta dig our way out!" Veemon exclaimed, rushing over and clawing at the mess… but he didn't do much besides get his fingers dirty. "Ooh… Hope nobody's getting' closet-ro-phobic; we're gonna be here a while." he apologized.

"C'mon, Cody, get Digmon out here!" Davis urged. "That's who we need!"

Cody shook his head. "Our DigiEggs don't work here, remember?" he asked, annoyed.

"So… we're stuck in here?" Yolei asked, her face starting to tremble.

TK sighed. "…Seems that way," he muttered.

The other kids sagged in despair. Ken turned a dark eye on the wreckage. "We didn't come all this way to get buried alive," he growled, training his laser on one of the stones. "Stand back."

"But what if that thing's still out there?" Kari asked.

Patamon's ears suddenly twitched, and he turned the other way. "TK! I feel wind!" he exclaimed, flapping excitedly.

"Yeah, me too!" Armadillomon agreed, turning around and sniffing. "It's real faint, but I can smell outside…"

TK turned and peered into the darkness. "Cody, shine it that way," he instructed the youngest boy. Cody obeyed and his flashlight revealed that the hole was a tunnel, much like the path they had taken into the Dark World.

"If you can feel wind, then there must be an exit," Ken remarked.

TK's D3 seemed to agree with Ken; the compass pointed down the tunnel. "Well, no point in staying here," he said, hitching up his bag. "Let's go."

The others perked up immediately. "Hot damn!" Davis laughed, punching his fist. "We're back in business!"

"Yeah!" Veemon cheered. "Business!... Wait, what business? We don't have a business, do we, Davith?"

"Someone needs to write a 'figure of speech' glossary and give to Veemon…" Hawkmon sighed.

Cheerfully joking for the moment, the Digidestined started down the tunnel. How long was it? Where would it take them?...

* * *

Joe's yellow car slowed and pulled onto the curb. "This is where she said to meet?" Agumon asked, jumping on Tai's lap to look out the window. "I don't see her anywhere!"

"Do you even know what Jun looks like?" Tai huffed, trying to push the dinosaur off his knees.

Matt looked at the rear-view mirror and saw the swath of dark-raspberry hair charging up the sidewalk. "This is the place…" he groaned.

"Hey, Matt!" Jun half shrieked as she almost jammed her head through the open window and made Matt jerk into Joe. "I got here as fast as I could!"

"Err, hi, Jun," Tai said with a nervous wave.

Jun noticed the others and their Digimon. "Wow! Daisuke's coach… and another guy?!" she asked. "How many of you are there?!"

"Well, there's Mimi and Izzy too, but—" Biyomon began.

"Hi, lady!" Gomamon exclaimed, scrambling up Matt's knee and giving Jun a big grin. "Hey, is it true Matt says you're—"

With a grossed-out gasp, Jun jerked back so fast she banged her head on the ceiling. Gomamon blinked in confusion as she waved at the air in front of her. "What? What'd I do?" he asked.

"Remember what I said about brushing your teeth?" Joe asked. "This is why."

"Um, anyway," Sora finally spoke up, getting out of the car, "Jun, do you know where they parked?"

Jun shook herself out of the funk cloud and perked back up immediately. "Yeah! It's still here, too!" she said. "C'mon, I'll show you!"

The kids got out of the car, but as Agumon started to follow, Tai turned and shook his head. "There are too many people around," he explained. "Sorry, but you guys wait here."

"We can't help at all?" Agumon asked, looking upset.

Tai felt bad. Aside from the Deadmon invasion, all he had really been able to do with his partner was hide him in his apartment; the little guy was getting antsy. "…If we're not back in an hour, then you can come out and look for us," he said. "OK?"

"Well, OK," Gomamon agreed, "but can you crack a window? Agumon's got killer gas."

Tai smirked at him. "You think I don't know that by now?" he asked.

Agumon folded his arms and looked pouty. Tai rolled a window down and shut the doors, then ran over and joined the others beside the black SUV he recognized from the day before. "They almost ran me over with this!" Jun was saying.

"Could this be it?" Sora asked. "Joe, what was the license plate?"

"I wasn't paying attention; following was hard enough," Joe admitted sadly, then looked at the vehicle's front bumper. "I wouldn't be able to check anyway; there aren't any plates on this one!"

Matt noticed a bright yellow ticket wedged under the window wipers. "It'll be towed soon," he remarked. "Guess they ditched it."

"So what happened, Jun?" Sora asked.

"OK, they almost ran me over, then they went that way," Jun said, pointing down the street towards the docks. "I mean, that's not weird now, but at night…"

"Yeah…" Tai agreed. "All right, guys, let's go."

Sora, Matt and Joe followed him in that direction. "H-hey, wait!" Jun objected, running to catch up. "Don't just leave me behind!"

The kids walked towards the warehouses Jun had seen the strangers go, down some stairs to the busy Odaiba docks. Though is wasn't the shipping center of Tokyo, it certainly had its share of business today; the warehouses were packed with helmeted workers and shipping trailers were stacked beside them in half-dozen high walls, and several giant forklifts whizzed around moving them from place to place while semi trucks brought even more in. At least five cargo ships were being loaded with the containers. "Wow, this is the busiest I've ever seen it," Joe remarked.

"Maybe they're taking supplies to those refugee islands," Matt thought out loud, remembering the radio broadcast.

Sora turned to Jun. "Did you see them go into any buildings?" she asked.

Jun shook her head. "They went this way; that's all I saw," she repeated.

"You don't think they're posing as dock workers?" Joe asked.

"I doubt it," Matt said. "They're not made for heavy lifting."

Tai looked at the shippers and pulled at his goggles. "Maybe they've got a hideout in those," he said. "They're sure big enough. Let's go check it out."

"Let's come back at night," Matt said. "That's when Jun said they came back…"

"You want to run into them?!" Joe gulped. "N-no, Tai's right; we should just learn where they're hiding."

Matt glared at Joe, hating how weak they had all become in the face of the new threats.

"But look at all of them!" Sora said, motioning to the ten workers they could see. "It's so busy, they'll throw us out for sure!"

"If you lend Joe your helmet, maybe he can blend in," Tai joked.

"Ha ha," she muttered, instinctively putting a hand on her headgear. She was about to say something else when Jun scooted ahead of her. "Wait, Jun, where're you going?" she asked.

"C'mon, we can sneak a look!" Jun replied, watching the workers closely and waving them on.

The kids were surprised, but Jun's confidence, made them decide to take the risk. Following her lead they scampered past the workers and reached the first wall of shippers. "You're awfully bold, Jun," Tai remarked. "Is that a Motomiya trait?"

Jun beamed. "If I wanna do something, I do it," she replied, shooting a strange look Matt's way. He looked away and rolled his eyes.

Taking care to hide every time they saw a workman nearby, the kids checked every shipper on the ground, but all of them were bolted and padlocked. Tai yanked at the chains in hopes they were flimsy or fake, but every one was solid steel. "Nobody's cut into these," he muttered, looking up. "Maybe one of the higher ones?"

"I don't think so, Tai," Sora said. "Can you see Mummymon climbing? I sure can't."

"Who'd want to hide in these anyway?" Joe asked, rapping on one and grimacing. "There're no windows, no lights, no toilet… You'd be filthy and claustrophobic."

"How 'bout the warehouses?" Jun asked, motioning towards the shabby gray buildings.

The others groaned—there had to be at least a dozen of those on this dock alone—but they knew they had to investigate them. "Oh, OK… but be extra careful," Tai warned. "There're probably more guys inside."

The five of them crept around to the first warehouse and listened for a moment, then peered in through the door-less hole. There was nothing inside but stacks of wooden crates. They moved on to the next one, which was also empty of both workers and clues. The third warehouse contained only hard plastic coolers labeled with various weights and types of fish. One crate was perched on a big orange forklift in the middle of the chamber. "That's a weird way to leave it," Joe remarked.

"Maybe they went on lunch break," Sora suggested.

Jun, Matt and Tai walked around the room and opened a few of the coolers, but it was all fish packed in ice, just as the labels said. "This is a waste of time," Matt grumbled, slamming a lid shut. "We should wait until nightfall, then come back and watch for them."

Jun bit her lip at the comment. "B-but what if they're dangerous?" she asked.

"No buts about it; they ARE," Tai agreed, starting to walk over to Matt. "Look, Matt, I know you're frustrated, but—"

Suddenly he stopped and looked down. Then he took another step. The concrete floor in the center sounded hollow. "Hey…" he said, tapping it a third time, "that's weird."

The others looked down and stomped on the floor where they were, but it sounded thick like concrete ought to sound. "You don't think…?" Joe asked.

"Maybe there's a trap door," Sora suggested.

"Everybody start looking!" Matt ordered.

The kids wandered around tapping their feet, staring at the floor for any kind of small cracks or lines indicating a secret entrance. Finally, Jun walked around to the side of the forklift and noticed a dark line behind one wheel. "Here!" she yelled excitedly, waving to the others.

Her hand banged against the vehicle's frame and she yelped. The forklift's controls must have been incredibly sensitive, because it shuddered and upset its load. As the others passed under it to reach her, the cooler tipped and buried them in a heap of ice and big fresh-caught tuna. "Oh, no!" Jun yelled as she raced over and started digging. "I'm sorry, guys! I'm sorry! Are you OK?!"

She spotted one hand thrashing around and yanked on it, and Joe lurched halfway out of the mess, a small fish wedged in his glasses. "What'd you do that for?!" he complained, pulling them off and letting it drop into his lap.

The others were digging themselves free and didn't look any happier. "I didn't mean to! Honest!" she protested. "I saw the entrance and my hand hit the forklift and…"

"You saw something?" Tai asked, getting up and shaking himself off, then yanking Sora and Matt up by their arms. "Quick, show us!"

Jun led them around and pointed, but to her dismay the line had vanished. "Wha… wha?!" she panted, running over and looking… but though the hollow floor persisted, the groove was nowhere to be found. "I… but it was here!" she defended herself frantically. "Honest, Matt! It was here!"

Matt started to say something, but then more footsteps filled the warehouse. "Hey, what're you kids doin'?!" a gruff voice shouted as five dock workers came in.

"What the hell?!" another one shouted, pointing at the mess. "Think that's funny?!"

The kids froze up. "Err, n-no, sir!" Joe half-shrieked.

"It was an accident!" Jun tried again. "I swear!"

"Kanji, get 'em outta here," one of them growled. "We gotta clean this up."

A worker that resembled a scowling dump truck towered over the Digidestined. "Awright, you little shits," he barked, pointing for the door. "Don't make me pick you up!"

Nobody had to be told twice. Within five minutes the kids were back at the car, discouraged and reeking of fish. "Hey, guys!" Agumon started to greet them, then he beamed brightly. "Ooh, something smells really good!"

"Did you get souvenirs?" Gabumon asked.

"Err, no, we…" Joe started, but then the fish that had been stuck in his glasses tumbled out of his shirt. "…Well, I guess you can split that," he muttered.

The Digimon delightedly pounced on the offering. Sora sighed, then looked crossly at Jun. "'Check the warehouses,' huh?" she grumped.

Jun stared sadly at her feet for a moment, then regained her gusto. "Well, then let's do like Matt said and come back at night! At least the workers'll be gone, right?" she ventured.

Nobody answered her; they were too busy sniffing their clothes and grumbling. She turned a pleading eye on Matt. "C'mon, Matt, I really did see something!" she appealed.

Matt shot air through his teeth. "Jun… thank you for trying," he said slowly through a flat mouth. "But from now on, leave this to us."

Jun's mouth hung open. "Matt!..." she tried.

Tai started to get in the car, but Joe stopped him. "Oh, no, we're not getting in my parents' car smelling like this," he said. "Let's air out first."

The four Digidestined and their Digimon started walking the other direction, leaving behind a despondent Jun and a pile of fish bones.

* * *

Another faint breeze promised an exit, but three hours into wandering the tunnel, the Digidestined had yet to see it. The cave walls somehow produced their own gray light as the kids walked (Cody had long since put his flashlight away), but the path up ahead continued to shroud itself in blackness. "How much farther does it go?" TK asked.

"Dunno," Armadillomon replied, sniffing. "I know it's got an endin', but I can't tell ya no more than that."

"I bet WE can make an exit faster," Davis said, looking back at the way they had come, which was also now hidden in darkness. "How 'bout we dig our way out now?"

"We can't Armor Digivolve," Cody repeated, annoyed that Davis would even bring it up again.

"We've got other guys to use," Davis replied.

"Yeah, but none of us're really good for digging," Patamon piped up. "At least, I know I'm not."

"I don't think I'd even fit in here if I Digivolved," Hawkmon remarked.

"Let's just keep walking," Ken muttered. "We're bound to get out eventually."

Davis grumbled to himself, but the group kept walking without argument. When the wind wasn't blowing, the atmosphere inside the tunnel was thick and apprehensive. Gatomon noticed that Kari was fidgeting and looking around every few moments. "What's wrong?" she asked her partner.

Kari flinched at Gatomon's voice, apparently lost in her own worries. "Sorry..." she apologized. "I guess I feel a little… boxed in."

Gatomon sighed and nodded; she was starting to wish she could see that glum gray sky herself. "Yeah… but I know we'll get out soon," she tried to reassure her.

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Are you claustrophobic?" he asked.

"N-not usually," Kari said, watching the ceiling anxiously, "but it's more than that…" She swallowed hard. "It feels like… it's not just us in here."

"You think we're being watched again?" Veemon asked. "Like outside?"

"I don't know…" Kari whimpered, "but I don't—"

Before she could finish, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She whipped around and looked, but all she could see was TK's shadow on the rocky floor. She sighed sharply and shook her head; she couldn't let her imagination trick her like this.

They continued on with only the echoes of their footsteps for company. Suddenly, Patamon spun around with wide eyes. "What's up?" Gatomon asked.

"You didn't…?" Patamon started to say. He looked around again, then flew back to TK's side. "TK, did you hear a voice?"

"Many sink down," TK said gravely, "and few return to the sunlit lands."

"Wha-what?!" Patamon gulped.

"What's that mean, TJ?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't get it."

TK regarded him as if he were a kindergartener and shook his head. Of course Davis didn't get it; he couldn't understand anything besides soccer, so how could he fathom the underworld? His face burned as he thought about the new kids. None of those idiots could possibly understand the darkness like Kari and he could; look how they prepared for the trip, and how they were acting even now! Their ignorance and closed-mindedness would cost them everything! Davis wouldn't cooperate just because TK had been made leader. Ken was useless without a Digimon partner. Yolei preferred nursing her own grudges to helping the others. Cody was too busy finding reasons to hate Ken to pay attention to anything else. His brother had been right about all of them.

He looked back at them and their dirty, exhausted faces, and also Patamon's concerned look, and suddenly felt ashamed of himself. That was no way to think about his friends, especially when he knew they were doing their best. "I'm OK," he said, feeling the anger drop away as quickly as it had come upon him. "Sorry to scare you."

"Dude, at least say something we'll all get," Davis said. "Books and me don't get along."

"Me neither," Veemon agreed. "Just last week Davith's math book attacked me!"

"It fell off my desk," Davis grumped, "and you didn't hafta break the spine…"

After another hour, the tunnel's floor rose ever so slightly and the kids started to walk uphill. "Ah, now we're getting somewhere," Hawkmon remarked. "Perhaps the exit is—"

Yolei cut him off with a yelp as she stumbled and almost fell on him, the weight of her bag swinging her into the wall. "Stupid hill…" she winced, sagging. "Can we stop?"

The others stopped and turned back. Davis's eyes blazed with scorn. "I'd rather get out of here as quickly as we can, Yolei," Gatomon said.

"But… I'm really tired…" she whined.

"We're all tired, Yolei, but—" Armadillomon began.

"You know what?! No!" Davis exploded, cutting him off. "You've been dead weight this whole damn trip! You're still tired, you can just stay there and rot!"

Yolei froze up and stared at him, her face contorted into a troubled mix of shock and hatred.

The others didn't react well either. "Davis!" Kari gasped.

"Here now, that's over the line!" Hawkmon objected.

"Yeah, take it back!" Gatomon huffed.

Even Ken looked him over with surprise.

"Uh, no, no, he's kidding!" Veemon said, scrambling to defend his partner, though even he was stunned. "Cmon, Davith, you didn't mean it, did ya?"

"I don't care if it was a joke or not," TK said sternly, frowning at Davis. "You apologize to her right now!"

The crabby boy just spat out the side of his mouth. "Davis!" TK warned.

"Can't mind your own damn business, can you?" Davis snarled. "You think we're gonna be all happy-sappy just 'cuz you want us to?! C'mon, Veemon!" He grabbed his partner's arm and pushed past TK.

"Hey, wait!" Armadillomon called.

"Get back here, Davis!" Cody snapped.

Davis was too far ahead to keep arguing with. The others could do little but keep walking. "…Come on, Yolei," TK tried. "It'll feel better if we rest after we get up the hill."

Yolei groaned, but hiked up her bag and shuffled up the hilly path with the rest, oppressive silence again filling the tunnel. As the group caught up to him, Davis ground his teeth, still fuming about Yolei. This world was evil, and if you couldn't focus, you were screwed! And here she was, still moaning and groaning over Ken in this place?! She should have just stayed behind; they didn't need her! She was just a useless sack of—

He stopped his brain before it could finish that line; even he thought that sounded cruel. He turned and looked back at her miserable dirty face, and for a moment he felt rotten all over… but then he blew it off with a snort and a scowl. He wouldn't waste his anger on her, he decided; he would save it for the creep who was after Kari and the rest of his world. The fireball of hatred in the pit of his stomach cooled into his usual determination.

Veemon noticed his partner's scowl had eased and tried to break the ice with the others. "Uh… boy, I wonder how home's doin'," he spoke up. "Ya think Jun's OK, Davith?"

Davis shrugged. "Meh, bet she's OK," he said.

"I'm sure everyone's fine," Kari said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than the others.

"It's the rest of the world I'm worried about…" Gatomon grumbled.

"You think they found some way to fight off the Deadmon?" Patamon asked.

"I don't know," Cody said. "I can't stand this 'radio silence' we're under here… Who knows what's going on with all those control spires." He cast a nasty look in Ken's direction.

Ken's expression darkened considerably as the words jabbed his eardrums. The entire Dark World invasion could be traced to him. It was true that Arukenimon was the one who gave the spires to Devimon, and he had not designed them initially… but if he hadn't built so many of them, and dark rings and spirals, and the Gigas… if he hadn't gone to the Digital World in the first place… if he hadn't killed Sam… The "if onlies" hissed and sizzled in his tired mind, and he fell hard against the wall.

"Ken? Are you all right?" Hawkmon asked.

Hawkmon sounded far away and under water, and the question only made him hotter. Of course he wasn't all right. He would never be all right. His eyes fell on the shaft of his shoulder laser. He would never be able to atone for what he did as the Digimon Emperor, and despite their insisting otherwise, nobody really believed he was trying to. The best thing he could do is point that laser at his head and be done with it.

He realized the others were crowding around him. "Hey, Ken, snap out of it!" Davis's voice came, not really synching with his lips.

"You look like you're gonna pass out," Patamon's chirps pierced his mind, the words "pass out" echoing long after.

"Let me rest…" Ken wished with a hollow voice, darkness closing in on his eyes and blotting out the tormentors. "Let me rest…"

"We can't stop now," Davis protested. "We've gotta see where this tunnel goes!"

"Then leave me," Ken muttered, again feeling the cold metal laser resting on his temple.

Davis glanced at Yolei, wondering if Ken was mocking how he treated her. Then he frowned. "Forget that," he huffed, pulling Ken off the wall, "we're not leavin' nobody!"

He slung Ken's arm over his shoulder and hauled the boy along the path, stumbling every so often but staying upright. "Maybe he's hungry," Veemon suggested. "Anybody got a fudgie bar?"

"Are you thirsty, Ken?" Kari asked, reaching for her canteen. "There's a little left…"

Ken listened as he hobbled with muddied confusion, but slowly his mind crept back. Somebody _did_ want him there, and he was dragging him along to prove it; someone he had promised he would fight alongside to protect the Digital World. And it was more than just Davis; he was part of the team now… That's right, part of the Digidestined… wanted. The doubt and self-loathing gently eased their grip on his heart, and his vision returned. "Thanks, Davis, I'm fine now…" he said, his voice strengthening as he let go of his friend.

"You sure?" Davis asked.

Ken took a few steps to prove it. "Yeah," he replied. "Let's go."

"OK, but don't go overboard," TK said.

Ken nodded and kept pace, renewed. He would never give into that.

* * *

Hiroaki finally nosed his gray van out of downtown congestion and turned onto the highway leading out of town, ignoring the orange and yellow "road closed" signs propped up by sandbags. He blew smoke out his open window and pressed down on the accelerator, the empty road giving him a chance to make up for lost time.

Flashing lights up ahead told him the road was coming to an end. He stopped the van, got out and took in the thick concrete barricades and the gray-green trucks of the Japan Self Defense Force, which the news had said was surrounding the city. He smiled wryly as he noticed a tank off to the side. Tokyo was one of the few places safe from the invasion and they aimed to make sure it stayed that way, but hadn't they realized where the monsters came from? If more spires appeared in the middle of town, how could they get there and help?

"Please! I must get into the city!" a familiar voice urged from past the blockade.

Hiroaki put his cynical ruminations on the back burner and rushed to the vehicles. At least six young soldiers surrounded a haggard-looking man with grayish brown hair and pitch-black eyes. "Listen, we've told you already," one of the gruffer ones snapped, adjusting the impressive rifle on his shoulder, "we can't let anybody in or out."

"You can see I'm not a monster," the man said, tugging at his vest. "Listen, is there an officer I can speak to?"

"He's been called away," another said sternly.

The man hesitated, then dug into his pocket. "All right, I've got 5,000 yen here…" he said.

"I'm sorry, sir; we're just following orders," another soldier said, shaking his head. "Please turn around."

The man turned and looked at the empty road behind him. "And just where am I supposed to go?" he asked.

Hiroaki had seen enough. "Hey!" he barked at the soldiers, running up.

They turned around in surprise. "You can't leave town, sir," another one stated. "Please go back."

"Not until you let him through," Hiroaki replied. "I'll vouch for him."

"Wha… who're you?" one asked angrily.

"Hiroaki Ishida. I'm in charge of Odaiba's broadcast system," he said, producing his staff ID and shoving it at the nearest soldier. "He has urgent business here. I'll leave my name and number with you, so please let him come through."

The young man looked the ID over and his eyes widened. "Hey, wait! My cousin Charlie works here!" he exclaimed. "You're his… boss?"

"Yes," Hiroaki said. "You can call him and ask."

"Err, no, that's OK," the soldier said with a frightened grin. "Go ahead, take him."

He motioned to the other soldiers, who pushed one of the concrete blockades aside and let the tired man through. Hiroaki wondered just what Charlie had told his family about him, but at the moment, it didn't really matter. The two of them got in the van and started driving back. "How do you like that for a welcome, Harry?" Hiroaki chuckled.

In spite of his fatigue, the man smiled and clapped Hiroaki on the shoulder. "It's always nice to be welcomed home, Hiro," he said.

* * *

The tunnel stopped climbing and made several twists and turns, but there was still no sign of an exit as the Digidestined and their partners plodded on. "What time is it?..." Gatomon asked Cody.

"I'd rather not look," Cody muttered.

"Well, it's not like—huh?!" TK started, then whipped around in shock, listening hard.

"What's wrong?" Kari asked, looking around nervously.

TK hesitated, taking his hat off and pulling the hair from his ears. "I… I thought I heard Matt," he said. "I could've sworn it."

"Matt?!" Davis asked. "No way! He's back at home!"

Patamon's ears sprang up. "You heard him too?!" he asked. "See?! I told you I wasn't crazy!"

"Don't think anybody called ya crazy…" Armadillomon remembered.

"And you didn't tell anyone you weren't," Veemon pointed out.

"W-well, I'm not!" Patamon huffed. "And that proves it!"

Ken's eyes narrowed, remembering his own episode, but also Davis's. "This place is playing with our minds," he growled. "We should get out of it as quickly as we can."

"Easier said than done," Hawkmon remarked. "After all, we have no idea how long it is."

"All the more reason to keep moving," Gatomon said. "C'mon, guys!"

They continued on as they had for hours. Yolei dragged herself along at the rear, the dreary events of Christmas Eve clouding her mind like smoke. No matter what happened around her, the scenes always returned, replaying like skipping records and becoming more and more discordant each time: Sora's punch, Mimi's bawling out, Ken's rejection. Mimi's bawling out, Sora's punch, Ken's rejection. Ken's rejection, Mimi's bawling out, Sora's punch… Sora's punch… Sora's punch.

Suddenly her groove-burned mind sensed someone behind her, and she knew it was Sora. "No!" she yelped, whirling around with her arms over her face. "I'm sorry! Don't!"

"Yolei? What's the matter?" Hawkmon asked.

Yolei hesitated, then lowered her arms. Nobody was behind her.

The others stopped and looked at her; even Davis looked more puzzled than angry. "Did you hear something too?" TK asked.

She shrank away from the others' curious eyes and sank against the wall, overcome with sorrow. "Wh… why…?" she whimpered, her breath coming in little sobs. "Why'd it go… w-w-wrong?"

Ken watched her for a moment and felt a twinge of guilt; she may have been misguided, but maybe he had gone too far in his tirade on Christmas Eve. He had to rectify this, too. He walked over to the sniffling girl and held out his hand. "Come on, Yolei," he said, helping her back to her feet. "We'll get through this."

Yolei looked at him, her mouth half-open in shock. Ken had used her name. Well, nickname, but still… he knew who she was now. The hot despair hissed away from her body as she managed a nod. "O-OK," she said quietly.

"Ah, good," Hawkmon said. "Thank you, Ken."

Davis sets his jaw and rolled his eyes, disgusted that Ken had encouraged her again. Cody also watched them, a new malice in his eyes.

"Come on, guys, knock the drama off already," Patamon huffed. "We've gotta get outta here!"

"Right behind you," Gatomon agreed.

They continued on and the tunnel began to slope downward, and the wind grew stronger. Finally, they turned a corner and were assaulted by a small circle of gray light. "Woo-wee!" Armadillomon exclaimed. "There's our exit!"

"Finally!" Davis exclaimed, and broke into a dash toward the light.

"Hey, wait!" TK warned. "There could be—"

Almost everyone else followed Davis's lead and scrambled out of the tunnel. Kari, TK and Ken gave up trying to argue and ran out too. They found themselves on a rocky slope garnished with a few gray pine trees. A sandy path led from the tunnel down the hill to a dreary gray seashore and an endless dark-gray ocean. "We must have gone under the rest of the valley," Hawkmon remarked.

"Wow…" Veemon gasped, looking around, "is this the touristy part?"

Kari's whole body immediately started to tremble. "It's… here again…" she whispered. "I'm here… again…"

"Is this where you were brought that one time, Kari?" Yolei asked.

Armadillomon wrinkled his nose. "Smells evil," he growled. "Or at least like dead fish."

"That's pretty evil," Veemon muttered. The scene made even him feel uneasy.

TK peered through the pines and took in the coastline. He recognized the peninsula strewn with the ruins of a lighthouse; they were near the place where Kari and he had fought the Airdramon and, thinking about it now, got their first look at Deadmon. "Yeah…" was all he could say, moving closer to her.

"What now?" Ken asked. "We've been walking a long time. Should we continue?"

TK pulled out his D-Terminal and checked the time. It was almost 8 PM. "No, let's make camp for the night," he decided. "We can sleep in the tunnel."

"What? Forget it, let's camp outside," Davis argued.

"Yeah, we've had enough tunnel for one day," Yolei complained.

TK clenched his teeth for a moment, then calmed down. "But that thing that chased us might still be around," he crossly pointed out, "and we're exhausted. We don't want it to find us now."

"He's right, Davith," Veemon admitted quietly. "I'm almost too pooped to poop."

"Yeah, if I walk anymore, my legs're gonna fall off," Armadillomon said, "an' I'd look right silly hoppin' on my tail."

Yolei groaned and Davis grumbled, but neither of them disagreed anymore. The party moved back inside the cave and spread out their sleeping gear. Ken built a fire further back in the tunnel so the smoke didn't bother anyone, though they had to take trips back and forth to fetch what they were cooking, a chore with very little appeal after walking all day. Trying to ignore the fact that they were down to three cans of vegetables and a handful of candies, they ate their meal of pineapple and chips in silence.

Kari stared at the cave's opening with hollow eyes, remembering the time she was pulled to the Dark World. Suddenly, a burning fear shot down her spine, and she leaped up with a shriek, dropping her food. Her eyes darted back and forth in her head like a clock as she turned left and right. "Kari! What's wrong?!" Gatomon asked.

"You didn't hear Matt too, did you?" Patamon asked.

"…Or Sora?" Yolei tried.

Kari stared around the tunnel for another few seconds, then sagged in exhaustion. "N-no…" she said. "It was more like a feeling… but it's gone now."

"Man, first it's voices, now it's creepy feelings," Davis huffed. "Do we really hafta stay in here tonight?"

"Yeah, everyone's actin' real weird," Veemon agreed.

"I know it's scary, but I'd rather take my chances in here than out there," TK said, motioning for the exit. _Especially since we're so close to the ocean_, he wanted to add, but decided for Kari's sake not to. "We'll leave as soon as we get up tomorrow."

Kari got some more pineapple and everyone resumed eating. "So… do we cross the ocean now?" Yolei asked. "Or is that what's making the spires?"

At the mention of the ocean, Kari began to tremble again. She could still smell the burning flesh of the Airdramon's attacks, and feel the cold, clammy grip of the Deadmon on her arms. She could still hear their raspy gurgles about their "god," and how he wanted her. She looked at all of the friends surrounding her, yet somehow felt completely alone.

TK groaned; Yolei had brought up exactly what he hadn't wanted to talk about. "I don't know, Yolei," he huffed, though that didn't seem to be the right answer; Kari bit her lip and kept shaking, her eyes squeezed shut.

Suddenly, a warm hand clamped around her arm, and she looked over to see Davis's determined face. "Hey, relax," he said, grinning. "They ain't getting' their hands on you while we're here. Paildramon's gonna kick everyone's ass!"

Kari managed to free her lip from her teeth, and her shaking eased a little. Yolei folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "Just can't pass up a chance, huh?" she mused.

Davis shot her a dirty look. "Aww, shut up," he grunted.

"Your behavior is disgusting," Cody stated icily.

The good-natured ribbing atmosphere immediately died. The others looked at him. "Cody?" Hawkmon asked.

"Our world is in danger, and the only reason you came along is to impress a girl," Cody went on, his eyes boring furiously into Davis. "Don't you have any shame?!"

Davis's mouth fell open. "What the hell?!" he snapped.

The others were equally shocked. "Cody!" TK exclaimed.

"Davith didn't just come fer… whatever you said!" Veemon defended Davis.

Armadillomon looked alarmed, but also worried. "You feelin' OK, pardner?" he asked.

"Of course not," Cody replied bitterly, his left arm starting to twitch, "but I should never feel good when the Digimon Emperor is so close. None of you should."

Gatomon groaned. "Not THIS again…" she muttered.

Ken folded his arms and looked dark. "It seems I can do nothing to convince you," he sighs.

"That's right, you can't," Cody returned, standing up and clenching his twitching fists. "If it weren't for the fact that you've turned everyone against me, I would finish you right here and now!"

Though the wind still blew, everybody felt the tunnel getting hotter. "Here now, Cody," Hawkmon tried, "nobody's turned against you. We just—"

"Enough lies!" Cody spat, making the bird jerk back. "You all KNOW… you SAW what Ken did, and you still chose to befriend him!" He glared venomously at the raven-haired boy. "You enslaved Digimon! Killed others! Created Kimeramon! And I haven't forgotten the beatings and the humiliation you inflicted on us," he snarled, his arm clenching so hard his knuckles were white.

"Cody, knock it off!" Yolei huffed. "Ken's changed!"

"I won't accept that coming from _you_; you're so far under his thumb, I can see the print on your forehead," he said, giving her an equally nasty look. "You're unable to keep your hormones from making your decisions for you."

Yolei's cheeks burned and her eyes bulged behind her glasses. "You little…!" she hissed.

"That's enough, Cody," TK spoke sternly, standing up. "Now listen, you have to accept that Ken is a friend now, and put this behind you."

Cody shook his head, his mouth bending into an irate straight line. "You have no judge of character, Takeru," he growled, foregoing the nickname. "And that's understandable with your already impressive line of awful leadership skills, like interfering in others' business and panicking in a crisis."

"Hey, Miremon got the jump on us!" Patamon snapped. "TK's new at this!"

TK's face burned and he felt his teeth come out. "Cody…" he warned through clenched teeth, "stop it. Now."

"Are you going to stop me? I doubt it," Cody went on. "I only followed you out of respect for Izzy and the older Digidestined… though in hindsight that was a mistake on my part; the Emperor has gotten to _them_, too."

"Cody, they were able to reconcile with Ken," Kari pointed out, frowning at this assault on her brother and his friends. "They know he's trying... and now he's even come here with us. Can't you give him the benefit of the doubt?"

"He wouldn't have to come if you would actually protect yourself," he growled, turning on her with the same scornful eyes as his arm twitched. "You have the strongest Digimon and the most power of any of us, but you choose to hang back and leave the hard work to these idiots, that traitor and me. Acting sweet and vulnerable might make people want to protect you, but it proves you're just a worthless lump."

Kari flinched. "I…" she stammered, shocked into submission by the burning assault. "I… I don't…"

"Shut the hell up!" Davis yelled. "Kari's got major shit going on!"

"Don't act like you're some sort of divine entity," Cody continued at Kari bitterly. "You're as much of the problem as the rest of them."

Kari started to tremble again. "Over the line, Cody!" Gatomon snarled, her tail slashing the air. "Take it all back!"

"No," Cody replied bluntly. "It's the truth."

"Cody!…" Armadillomon whispered, unable to believe any of the venom his partner had spat at all of his friends.

Davis's nostrils flared, and suddenly he flew at Cody. "You little shit!" he roared, grabbing the kid and slamming him against the wall. "I'll fix you!"

Cody's glare continued to burn as he grabbed Davis's arms and jabbed his surprisingly sharp fingernails into them. Davis snarled in pain, but he again pulled Cody back and slammed him into the rocks.

"No, wait!" Veemon yelled. "Davith, stop!"

"Davis!" Kari cried.

"It's a mutiny!" Hawkmon yelped.

Cody's fingers seemed to bore right through Davis's arm flesh, but he didn't loosen his grip on the hateful little boy. He pulled him back for another slam, but then two more pairs of arms closed on his. "Davis!" Ken's voice came. "Calm down!"

"That's enough!" TK's voice boomed. "Let go! Now!"

Davis's vision returned, and he dropped the boy and rubbed at his arms; he could swear he was bleeding under his shirt. Cody got back on his feet, his eyes still glaring and his arm still twitching a little. TK breathed hard for a few minutes, then turned his own frown on the boys. "Davis, you might really hurt him," he warned. "And Cody…" he paused for a long while, jerking his teeth around as he thought of what to say, "this isn't the time or the place for this arguing," he finally huffed.

"That's it?!" Yolei exclaimed. "That's all you can say, TK?!"

Cody's eyes narrowed. "This time, we agree," he said, turning his red vision on Ken. "We should have settled it ages ago." He ignored the frown Ken returned and looked at the rest of them. "Well, you'll be sorry," he declared, his rasping voice sounding like a hissing serpent. "You'll _all_ be sorry!"

He grabbed his sleeping bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Armadillomon!" he barked, starting down the tunnel.

"Wha-hey!" Armadillomon panicked, scrambling after him. "Where we goin', Cody?"

"Further back," he replied, sneering back at the others. "I won't be knifed in my sleep like the rest of you!" he shouted.

The others watched him drop his bag near the fire and lie down, glaring up at the ceiling. The oppressive silence didn't leave with his departure, however; nobody felt like talking after that hateful salvo. The only sounds were the Digimon finishing off the dropped food, and even they seemed to be trying to be quiet about it. The kids just sat in their circle, staring at their gray shoes.

TK felt ashamed of himself. As the leader, he should have kept things from getting so out of hand. As angry as he was at Cody, he couldn't deny the smears on his record… he had not been a very good leader so far. His eyes probed the faces of the other kids, and he wondered if they were mulling over Cody's words too… especially Ken. He reached over and nudged Ken, ready to break the silence. "Hey… sorry," he apologized. "I've never seen him fly off the handle like that."

"Me neither," Yolei piped up, "and I've been his neighbor for years! What's his problem?"

Ken just nodded silently, still looking downcast. As hard as one tried, it was impossible to please everyone...

* * *

"Ugh, finally," Sora sighed as she stumbled back inside the Takenouchi apartment and kicked her shoes against the wall. A botched investigation in the morning and the rest of the day without any other leads had made her both exhausted and grumpy.

Biyomon came quickly after and shut the door. "Do you think Izzy just told us to do this stuff so we'd leave him alone?" she asked. "He must be working on something big…"

"Don't know, don't care," Sora grumbled; all she wanted was dinner and a hot shower. The fishy odor had faded a little with all the walking she had done, but what still lingered mingled with her natural body odor and she could tell she was stinging people's noses.

A hot shower would put her right to sleep, so she decided to eat first. Her mother hadn't returned from the flower shop, so she opened the fridge and looked for something she could cook. "You see any chicken, Biyomon?" she asked, moving things around.

Biyomon gave a disgusted squawk. "You wanna eat CHICKEN?!" she asked.

"What? I like chicken. Why can't… oh," Sora muttered, looking at her partner. That was the one drawback to having Biyomon around; she wondered if Yolei had the same problem with Hawkmon. "Well, we don't have it anyway," she muttered, closing the door. "Ugh, I'm too tired to go to the store… why don't we order a—"

Just then, she heard the key turn in the latch. Mom was home! Maybe she had picked something up. She walked back to the hall to greet her, but when she saw who it was, she lost her words.

"Hey there, Sora," Haruhiko Takenouchi said, smiling warmly at his daughter. "How's it going?"

Sora froze for a few moments, then rushed at him. "Dad!" she cried, catching him in a bear hug.

"Ho, you've gotten a lot stronger!" he cackled as she squeezed. "Have you started weight lifting alongside soccer?"

Sora pulled away beaming, but then gave him a puzzled look. "Dad, why're you here?" she asked. "I thought you said you couldn't come this New Year's."

"Well, err, I thought your mother and you might want me around right now," he said, giving her a sad smile. "It's such a difficult time."

"Yeah…" she agreed, then remembered the news reports and looked at him. "Wait, how'd you get into town? They said the roads were blocked off."

"It was difficult, believe me," he said, "but I did some smooth talking, a little bribery… a few things I'm not proud of…"

She looked down and noticed his legs. "…Where're your socks?" she asked.

Professor Takenouchi blushed and chuckled. "Err, so, where's your mother?" he sidestepped.

Sora wanted to pursue the sock issue, but thought better of it. "Probably still at the store," she said. "She's had a lot of business lately…"

"All right, then let's go and surprise her with a nice dinner," he said, taking his shoes off. "Just let me get some fresh socks."

He took his suitcase into his wife's room and closed the door. Sora wasn't sure what to make of it, and her insides churned with a troubled mix of joy and worry. She didn't know why he had shown up now, when she was knee-deep in tracking down Arukenimon and the Deadmon might come back at any moment… but she didn't get to see her dad very often and was really happy he came… and at least he was somewhere she could protect him.

Biyomon poked her head out of the kitchen. "Uh… do those plans include me?" she asked hopefully.

Sora smiled awkwardly at her partner. "He doesn't know about you yet," she reminded her. "Don't worry, I'll bring back a doggie bag… and it won't be chicken."

* * *

When the alarm went off, the Digidestined quietly broke camp, left the cave and headed down the hill towards the sea. Though it was usually Yolei and Hawkmon bringing up the rear, that day it was Cody and Armadillomon. Cody looked like an absolute wreck; dark circles hung under his red eyes, and his teeth were permanently clenched. "Land sakes, Cody, did you sleep at all?" Armadillomon asked.

"No," Cody replied, his voice rattling like a backed-up diesel engine as he stared at the back of Ken's head. "He'll make his move soon. I won't be caught off guard."

"Err…" Armadillomon muttered, glancing towards the others. "W-well, shouldn't we catch up a little?"

"This is fine," Cody replied.

Armadillomon bit his lip, then decided to say it. "Cody ya really put yer foot in yer mouth last night," he said. "I think ya should say you're sorry to everybody."

"I will not," Cody snapped. "It all had to be said. They'll all see I'm right."

Armadillomon's tail sagged, and he shook his head. "Hearin' you say all that made me real sad…" he admitted. "I thought you were nicer than that."

Cody's burning eyes turned on him. "Has he gotten to you, too?!" he snarled, his arm twitching again.

Armadillomon grimaced, then frowned. "…No," he said. "And I don't like—"

"Good," Cody cut him off. With that, his eyes locked back onto Ken and he fell silent. Armadillomon fell silent and shuffled alongside him, at a loss for words.

The pine trees fell away, and then the kids and their partners felt wet sand beneath their feet. The black ocean looked even more imposing now, its steady drum of breaking waves chilling their hearts with a sudden overwhelming loneliness. Davis shivered as a cold wind blew through him. "D-damn!" he managed.

"Does our wind ever get this cold?!" Veemon winced.

Gatomon looked for a distraction from the mood. "So what now?" she asked TK. "I don't see an obvious path…"

TK and Kari took out their Digivices and looked. The compasses swiveled around for a few moments, then finally slowed and pointed westward. "At least we don't have to swim," TK reasoned, pointing along the beach. "We go that way."

"I guess that's better than the other way," Patamon said, glancing eastward at the peninsula and the ruined lighthouse. "Nothing over that way anymore…"

They adjusted their gear and began hiking across the sand, with Cody still bitterly lingering behind the rest. Though the waves continued to crash and foam across the shore, they neither advanced nor receded, as if the world had no tides. There were also no fragments of typical beach refuse: no driftwood, no seashells, and even though they knew they wouldn't see any, the absence of any brightly-colored beach balls or pails and shovels made the kids feel even more bleak. Despite being the seashore, it was a wasteland just like the rest of the world.

Ken grew tired of the dismal sound of the waves and cleared his throat. "TK," he said, "I'm concerned about the battles we've had to fight here."

TK looked back at him. "Yeah, they've been really tough," he agreed.

"Yeah, if it weren't for your idea, Miremon woulda sucked us all down like a slushy!" Veemon remembered.

"That's what I'm concerned about," Ken went on. "Dealing with both Miremon and Datamon, we had to come up with strategies; we couldn't defeat them purely by power alone… but…"

TK blinked. "But what?" he asked. "We knew there were going to be tough enemies here."

"But that thing that chased us yesterday… that's different," Ken continued, looking up at the sky. "We didn't have time to make a plan, and there was nothing nearby we could have used to our advantage. If you hadn't seen that cave…"

TK's gaze lowered as he thought about that terrible flying creature. Ken was right; that thing was too fast and too strong to give them time to think up a strategy. "Yeah…" he murmured.

"Err, not to dampen spirits further," Hawkmon piped up, "but there's a good chance Blackwargreymon is still alive, and somewhere in this world… and now that he has no Crest Fragments to find…"

"Yeah, and Daemon's here too," Gatomon added. "I got a really bad vibe from that guy; he's gotta be Mega-level, too."

"And we don't even know what's with that 'god' the Deadmon talked about," Yolei finished. "Ugh… I think Miremon and Datamon were just Wave 1."

Everyone looked around worriedly. Kari looked sullen. "Shit…" Davis grunted, rubbing at his goggle-less forehead. "So was there a reason for that, Ken, or are you just tryin' to get us all depressed?"

"Err, no, I didn't mean it like that," Ken tried. "What I'm trying to say is… let's remember what Gennai said: we're here to find the source of those spires and destroy it. We shouldn't think we have to fight every Digimon we come across."

TK nodded. "Yeah… you're right," he agreed, looking at his friends. "If we see one of those Mega-level enemies, it'd be better if we just ran. OK?"

The others nodded. "Got it," Davis said; even he couldn't argue against that one.

They hiked along the coast for several hours, the wind seemingly getting colder as they went, and a gray mist gathering over the water. The land on their right got more and more hilly, until the dead grass gave way to sheer cliffs with jagged, sea-worn surfaces, like something Kari had seen in a book about Ireland. "Whaddya think's up there?" Veemon asked, pointing.

"Don't know…" Hawkmon replied. "There's a lot more to this place than just what we've seen."

"I think we've seen enough," Gatomon muttered.

Armadillomon peered ahead and gasped. "Looks like we're gonna see one more thing…" he said, pointing.

The others also stopped and looked at the dark shape in the fog. It was an impressive-looking palace built over the water, with hundreds of tall, spindly turrets reaching into the empty sky. As they got closer, they saw that it was made of rough, gray coral adorned with decorations of mud, seaweed and slime, taking on the semblance of either a drowned castle or a frightening reef monster, its door-mouth wide and ready to ingest them. The bridge connecting it to the beach looked just as foreboding. Davis gave a low whistle. "Yikes! Drakulla's beach house!" he remarked.

TK noticed Kari was hugging herself to keep from trembling… and it wasn't working very well. "Please tell me we don't have to go in there…" she whimpered.

TK took out his D3 and looked… and the compass arrow pointed right across the bridge. "…The source is right inside there," he reported. "Sorry, Kari… we have to."

"Oh, boy," Patamon gulped, his ear wings sagging. "They don't make it too inviting."

"I bet it's booby-trapped," Yolei muttered, "or it's got a ton of those Deadmon guarding it."

"Then should we Digivolve now?" Armadillomon asked. "Just crash right in?"

"Oh, hey! We could fly up over it and break the roof!" Veemon exclaimed. "I bet that'll surprise—"

Before he could finish came a familiar scream. The winged horror from the day before sailed over the cliff tops and dove right for them, its shrieks even more terrifying than before because they knew they hadn't just imagined it. "Shit! RUN!" Davis roared, grabbing Veemon and making for the bridge.

Running for their lives, the kids and their partners tore across as the monster's projectiles shattered the coral bridge just inches behind them. They leaped into the castle entryway and almost broke their necks on a flight of stairs leading down into a high-ceilinged chamber. The monster veered away with another screech and disappeared. "Whew…" Patamon panted. "That was—"

A thick coral door dropped and slammed shut, its thud echoing in their bones. "…They got us," Cody growled.

They scrambled back onto their feet and prepared themselves for an ambush… but none came. They stood in a grand hallway styled with gothic arches, the walls flanked by sea-weathered statues of strange figures with curious outfits and wide, unwelcoming gazes. "Wh… what's this place?!" Yolei gulped.

"If this were our world, I would say this is a king's castle," Ken said, looking around darkly.

Patamon gulped. "Or maybe…?" he began, but looked at Kari and said no more.

Davis walked over to a statue and looked it over, then turned to the others, who hadn't moved. "Hey, we're not gettin' out the way we came," he pointed out. "We might as well check this place out."

TK nodded; the soccer player had a point. "OK," he agreed, "but nobody go too far."

They slowly walked down the hall, and the atmosphere got more and more bothersome as they went. Despite being indoors, they could still clearly hear the ocean's waves. Their footsteps stopped echoing, as if their sound was choked to death halfway through. The stench of low-tide flotsam hung over everything. "OK, this place is really freaking me out," Gatomon said, her tail flat on the floor.

Ken observed one of the statues more closely. It was a man with wide eyes and a curly beard, dressed in a toga and extending one arm and one leg. "It's a mash-up of a lot of ancient cultures," he concluded, running his hand over the eroded stone. "Egyptian, Greek, Sumerian…"

"Maybe it's supposed to be like Atlantis," TK thought out loud, "or Mu."

Armadillomon scratched at his chin. "What're those, TK?" he asked.

"Lost continents," TK said.

"Aww, man! I'd hate to be the guy who lost a whole continent!" Veemon yelped, slapping his forehead. "Nobody's ever talk to ya again!"

"Forget about that," Yolei broke in, "how do we get out of here? That thing destroyed the bridge!"

"We could just swim back," Patamon said.

TK shook his head. "If that thing's in the sky, who knows what's in the water," he muttered.

"Perhaps there's a boat we can use," Hawkmon suggested. "Let's explore a little more."

TK nodded. "OK, good idea," he said.

"Don't even THINK of splitting up," Cody snapped, leering in Ken's direction.

"Dammit, Cody," Davis growled, "you just—"

Ken shook his head. "He's right," he admitted. "We would be safer in one large group."

Davis sighed. "Fine…" he grumbled, "but Kari goes in the middle."

Nobody raised objections to that. Surrounding the apprehensive Kari on all sides, the Digidestined continued down the vast hall, past more seaweed, grime and eroded statues. The next set bothered TK more than the last. Though they were done in the same ancient style, some of them looked very familiar: a screeching monkey with its eyes covered; a fanged man in a mask and a cloak; and a sneering jester, to name a few.

The statues weirded the others out, too. "I say, did the ancients have the story of Pinocchio?" Hawkmon asked, pointing out a shorter one with a jagged mouth and a long nose.

Gatomon's ears swiveled back as she looked over the fanged, caped one. "These are all Digimon we defeated before," she growled.

"Damn, you beat all these guys?" Davis asked, cocking his head at what looked like an ancient machine with claws and fangs. "No wonder this world's pissed."

"Didn't Gennai say they all came from the Dark World?" Patamon asked. "Maybe this is a memorial…"

Those remarks bothered TK even more, because he realized that something was missing: there was no statue depicting Devimon. He knew the fiend was still alive, but to see it laid out like this drew more attention to it. Devimon was the weakest of the foes they had faced. Why revive him and leave the rest to rot?

"Well… at least we know the others are gone, right?" Kari ventured, seemingly picking up on his worry. He said nothing else, and the group continued walking.

Past the final statue depicting what could only have been Apocalymon, the Digidestined reached the end of the hall, which was blocked by a stone door reaching to the high ceiling. It was carved with hundreds of frightening scenes of waves, storms, sinking ships and horrific sea monsters. "Geez…" Yolei shuddered, "it's like looking at one of those 'end of the world' paintings."

Ken peered closely at the door. Woven between the images was a phrase in large Digicode letters. "Gatomon," he ventured, "what does that say?"

Gatomon looked it over and her tail twitched apprehensively. "It says: 'in His sea, He waits dreaming,'" she spoke gravely.

The others silently watched the door, cold fear gripping their innards; even Cody forgot about Ken's treachery to contemplate what lay beyond. Finally, Davis shook it off and walked closer. "Anybody see a handle?" he asked, running his hand over the carvings. "Oh, wait, here." His fingers closed over a long tentacle jutting out from an evil-eyed octopus.

"Y-you're not gonna _open_ that, are ya, Davith?!" Veemon yelped.

"Ain't like we can do anything else here," he replied, yanking on it. "Man, this's heavy… gimme a hand, you guys!"

Nobody wanted to touch that door, but with the entrance sealed, Davis was right. The kids all grabbed the tentacle and pulled, and with a hollow, scraping groan, the door slowly gave way.

They walked through the door into complete, stifling darkness, much like the inside of a coffin. "I don't like this one bit," Armadillomon gulped.

"Yeah… let's go—" TK began, but the door slammed shut behind them, making the kids yelp.

"Someone's got other plans," Hawkmon swallowed.

"Dammit, Davis, why'd you bring us in here?!" Yolei yelled, wishing she could see him so she could slug him.

"How'd I know?!" Davis snapped back. "Like you would've—"

Kari gave a whimpering gasp, and the others quieted and looked. Slowly, black flames sprang up from torches hanging on the walls, revealing a large, windowless church-like sanctuary bathed in gray mist. Standing at the altar was Daemon, his hooded eyes burning wickedly. Blackwargreymon stood nearby, still as damaged as he had been when he fled, or perhaps worse; TK noticed only one eye glowing under his helmet. Hovering on either side of the chamber were ranks and ranks of Deadmon, who slowly turned their golden eyes on the intruders. "Welcome, chosen children," Daemon greeted them in his malicious rasp, "we're been waiting for you."

TK and the others fell back; they had to run from these powerhouse enemies, but where could they run? Davis, on the other hand, balled his fists and sneered. "We're here to shut down yer spire shit," he yelled. "Get outta the way!"

Daemon chortled in his robes. "And just why do you believe the source is here?" he mused.

Davis hesitated. "…What?" he grunted.

"Don't you understand this world yet, boy?" Daemon went on. "You've been led to the palace for an entirely different purpose."

"'The palace?...'" Ken asked, looking around in alarm. "…Damn you!"

Kari shook and shuddered so violently, TK thought she was about to pass out. "Kari!" he shouted, grabbing her shoulders.

"What's wrong?!" Davis asked, also grabbing one of her arms.

"He's here…" she squeaked, her voice suddenly sounding 80 years old. "He's here!..."

Daemon floated to the side. "It's time you finally met," he said, raising an arm and making a strange motion. The kids watched a dark shadow of… something… form in the fog at the altar, and as it grew and took shape they found that Kari was not the only one to have the jitters. Daemon cackled at their fear and waved his arm grandly at the mass. "I introduce the Lord of this world… the master of the Deadmon… the Great Old One: Dagomon!"

Slowly, like a nightmare, out of the fog lurched a horrifying gray creature with the head of an octopus, glistening red eyes, and a gaping maw of razor-sharp teeth. At first glance it seemed to have a humanoid body, but as it lumbered closer they saw its limbs were really dozens of tentacles bound into a human shape by chains, bands, and a long rosary of black pearls around what could have been its neck. Long, leathery wings jutted out of its back to complete the unearthly effect. Though its head was bowed, as if in mourning, it still stood twice the height of Paildramon. The most curious thing about it, though, was that it was also ghostly; the kids could see right through it. The tentacles on its face writhed and around its unclosing mouth. "Welcome, spawn of man," it spoke in low, haunting tones, "to this, the darkest of your creation."

Both the Digidestined and their partners shrank back in shock. Its mouth had hung open and motionless, but they had heard it speak clearly; it must have spoken directly into their minds. Kari's pale face made her look ready to faint. The others surrounded her and stared the creature down. "So you're the one who sent Blackwargreymon," Ken growled, "for a hundred of my control spires?"

"An' you're in charge of those Deadmon wreckin' the real world?" Veemon huffed.

Dagomon ignored their questions and kept his bloody gaze on Kari. "I have taken great pains to find you," he rumbled. "Enlisting the aid of lesser beings, granting them power to bestow life upon lifelessness, and obtaining the results… Those obelisks were my path to the world of men, and my desire…" Its jaws twisted into what may have been a cruel smile. "Ah, but how strangely events can turn, and now you stand before me, the wretched emblems preserved and my finest warrior brought to his knees."

Behind him, Blackwargreymon bowed low, seemingly ashamed. The kids recoiled at what the being said. "The spider and the mummy… ain't yours?" Davis asked.

"That explains why Blackwargreymon didn't follow orders very well," Hawkmon muttered.

"But you taught them how to turn spires into Digimon?" Patamon asked.

TK glared up at Dagomon; at the moment, he didn't care what Arukenimon and Mummymon had to do with this. "Why did you lure us here?!" he demanded. "We're only here to stop the invasion!"

Dagomon's gaze fell on him and TK suddenly felt like a speck of bacteria. "Does one not seek to protect his home from intruders?" he replied unpleasantly. "But it was not without advantage. So eager were you to protect, that you were blind to all else, and so you saw only what I willed you see."

Yolei bit her lip. "Then the spire source… was fake?!" she gulped.

Ignoring her, Dagomon looked back at Kari, whose body shivered even more. "I wish to treat," he said.

"Don't think we want any candy you've got," Armadillomon said.

"Not that kind of treat," Cody growled. "He means he wants to make a deal."

"An' that sounds even worse," Armadillomon replied, wincing.

Ken looked back at the sealed door, then at the Deadmon surrounding them. "I guess we have to listen," he admitted.

"A wise fool," Dagomon chortled, his tentacles throbbing. "Then I shall be straightforward. You desire peace, and I desire power. I have the means to peace, and you have the means to power. Give me the Child of Light, and my attack on mankind will cease."

An audible gasp went through the Digidestined. Give Kari to him? Just like that? Davis bristled and gnashed his teeth. "Like Hell we're doin' that!" he shouted.

"Do not be so quick of mind," Dagomon warned darkly, looking up at the ceiling profoundly. "As we speak, my mournful subjects march over your lands, sowing nothing but ruin, leaving nothing but death." He looked back down at them. "You witnessed the number of lives consumed in your settlement alone; imagine it in all settlements on your blue world… and those have no Digimon to fight back." His eyes fell on Kari again. "Surely it terrifies you to contemplate how many humans are disappearing each hour… each minute… each second."

Kari certainly was terrified as she imagined it. So many lives were being snuffed out back on Earth, so much destruction at the hands of the shadow creatures nobody could defeat… and it was because of her. For all she knew, the Deadmon could invade Tokyo again and take her brother and older friends, too. Her arms went limp and her throat ran dry. She could stop it. With just a simple "all right" she could stop the madness. "It… it would stop?" she asked the giant creature. "You promise?"

The others froze as they heard her speak. Dagomon's mouth curled. "The moment acceptance leaves your lips," he said, raising his tentacles. "Come to me. Together we shall unite Light and Darkness, the two world opposites, and a new era can begin."

Kari looked at the twitching hand, then back at her friends. They looked horrified. "No way!" Davis huffed. "No frickin' way!"

"But…" she tried.

"Kari!" Gatomon yelped, grabbing her leg. "I know you like to put other people ahead, but I'm begging you, be selfish this time!"

"You can't be serious!" TK said, shaking his head wildly. "I… we… since when have evil Digimon ever kept their word?!"

"Think, Kari," Ken stated, looking grave. "Does someone who sends a near-invincible army to cut down the innocent sound like he would want peace?"

That was definitely an opening for Cody to snap at Ken again, but this time he didn't take it; he kept his furious eyes on her. "You can't trust this… _thing_," he snarled.

Kari's eyes fell, and she started trembling again. Her friends all brought up good points, but all they did was make her feel more conflicted. If she didn't agree to Dagomon's terms, how could she stop the invasion?

"She ain't interested," Davis said to Dagomon. "Now open that door and let us go."

Dagomon glared at his critics. "You seem to believe there's another path you can tread," he growled.

"Darn tootin'," Armadillomon huffed. "C'mon, guys, let's get outta here!"

"You really think he'll let us go that easily?" Patamon muttered.

Yolei turned to try and yank the door open, but she suddenly realized the Deadmon had closed in and surrounded them. "Where would you run?" Dagomon's voice came, now starting to emanate from the Deadmon as well. "All life in this world is controlled by me. All that transpires is known by me. There is no escape from me. I am this world… I am this world… _I am this world_!"

The choir boomed in their heads like thundering kettledrums. The kids cried out and grabbed at their ears, and Kari collapsed to her knees. "N-no!" she shouted. "Stop!"

Dagomon took another lurching step forward. "Come, Child of Light," all the voices rumbled. "Embrace your fate."

The hand came out again. The millions of wasted lives. The anguish and despair. The thundering voices banging in her brain. She just wanted it to stop. Slowly, shakily, her hand started to reach for Dagomon's.

Someone yelled her name, and then she felt two pairs of hands yank her back wards. Patamon zipped in front of her and belched a Boom Bubble right through Dagomon's spectral figure, making it ripple like a stone thrown in a pond. The chorus of voices became a searing hiss, and the Deadmon's golden eyes burned murderous red.

Kari looked up and saw TK clutching her on the left, and Davis on the right. Both of them squeezed her arms like vices. "Nobody but nobody's takin' Kari!" Davis snarled.

"Enough of these fools!" Daemon shouted, waving his arm at the group. "Kill all but the Child of Light!"

The Deadmon suddenly had the same guns and tridents the kids had seen during the invasion, and they closed in. "That's our cue!" Veemon shouted to the other Digimon.

"'Bout time!" Armadillomon huffed. "C'mon, Cody!"

The kids raised their Digivices and their partners leaped into action. Exveemon and Angemon punched and kicked away enough Deadmon to let Aquilamon gore several more on his horns before taking to the air and firing his rings. Ankylomon leaped over a gathering of them and smashed them into smoke. Ken saw one Deadmon come up behind Yolei and he raised his arms to fire, but then he remembered he had lost most of his artillery and quickly employed his laser instead, vaporizing the fiend. Daemon simply watched the whole spectacle, his mocking laughter ringing in the kids' ears.

The kids momentarily safe, Angemon flew towards Dagomon with his hand glowing, but a pair of claws snared his wings and dropped him onto a heap of Deadmon. Blackwargreymon glared at him with his remaining eye. "I will not let you harm my master," he snarled.

Angemon swung at him, but Blackwargreymon flew up, then grabbed him and hurled him against the back wall. "Angemon!" TK yelled.

Angemon coughed and pulled himself up. "I'll be fine! Protect Kari!" he shouted just as Blackwargreymon charged him again. They crashed around the back of the room, their fisticuffs clanging above the rest of the chaos. Angemon lobbed several Hands of Fate and swing his rod as fast as he could, but he couldn't land a blow; despite his ravaged appearance, Blackwargreymon was just as savage a fighter as he always was.

Kari watched the panorama of violence, still paralyzed in all limbs. "C'mon, Kari! We've gotta move!" Gatomon urged, but no matter how much Kari wanted to, her legs wouldn't obey.

Unfazed by anything going on around him, Dagomon lurched towards her, his arm of writhing tentacles seeming to stretch. "Join with me, child," his voice rocked in her spine. "It is your destiny!"

Kari tried to run, but all she could manage was to fall onto her back. Gatomon leaped in front of her and hissed angrily. "Stay away from my partner!" she screeched, leaping at Dagomon's face.

One would have assumed she would pass right through the ghostly figure like Patamon's attack had, but this had a wholly different result. The moment her claws touched the demon god's face, her tail ring gleamed like a lighthouse. Dagomon screamed a low, horrendous sound, and then he vanished like a popped balloon.

Gatomon landed and looked herself over in shock; what had just happened? Equally frightening was the horrible silence that filled the chamber. All the Deadmon had turned on her, their eyes gleaming murder. Even Blackwargreymon had stopped fighting with Angemon and had turned to glare. Daemon cackled darkly and folded his arms. "You shouldn't have done that," he mused.

With a grinding groan, the far walls slowly opened like a sideways oyster, revealing the dark gray sea, which now churned and swelled like a storm was brewing. Waves smashed higher and higher against the palace until they spilled across the floor, and the study coral walls rose and fell to the water's tempo. Exveemon looked out at the water and jerked back. "Ohh, man, what's that?!" he yelled.

It wasn't long before the others felt sick, too. Out of the sea rose the awful shape, as tall as a skyscraper and proportionately wide. The waves coming their way made the palace lurch upwards, and the rest tore across the water to wreak havoc on distant shores. It gave a haunting, bellowing roar like a steam liner in a thunderstorm, the echo lasting for a full ten seconds even indoors. The Deadmon slumped to their knees and raised their rasping voices in a spine-chilling, incoherent dirge of adulation. TK's mouth hung open as he gazed upwards, having to step back just to see above its torso. Venommyotismon, he suddenly realized, had been a pleasant daydream.

"They've released the Kraken!" Aquilamon growled.

"_I_ just released the Kraken…" Yolei whimpered.

Dagomon looked down on them, his eyes orbs of gleaming red hatred. "Will you still oppose me now, as you look upon my true shape?!" his roar boomed in their brains.

The kids and their Digimon instinctively shrank away. Kari's eyes dilated with terror as her mind pulled her through every nightmare she ever had about this world.

Gatomon didn't recoil in fear; she started towards the mammoth beast, her claws ready. "I promised I'd never let evil Digimon get Kari," she snarled.

Kari's Digivice's screen shone, and in her pocket she felt the piece of her Crest of Light gleaming. "Ga… Gatomon?!" she gasped.

Gatomon felt herself swell with power, and she turned to Dagomon and leaped at him. In a brilliant flash she transformed into the mighty Angewomon and shot into the air. "I shall keep that promise!" she shouted, crossing her arms and unleashing a shining pink energy cross right at the beast.

Daemon intercepted the beam at the last moment, sucking it into one of his sleeves. "Her power is wasted on you!" he snarled, his whole limb smoking.

"Ah, so you can fight," she returned. "I thought you were just the cheerleader."

"That tongue could stand to be pulled out!" he growled, producing a slew of black fireballs and hurling them all at her, driving her back to the door wall.

Daemon's attack was the cue for the Deadmon to attack again, and the other Digimon were caught by surprise. Aquilamon didn't have time to turn before several shots sent him to the wet floor, and Exveemon crashed down on top of him. Deadmon grabbed Ankylomon's legs, pulled him down and restrained him, then grabbed his swinging tail too. Blackwargreymon got the upper hand and pinned Angemon, putting his claw to the angel's throat.

"Aww, geez!..." Yolei yelped, banging against Cody and Ken as the Deadmon closed in.

"Dammit!" Ken snarled. He turned and blasted another Deadmon, but two more grabbed him and pushed him to his knees, and then he felt their cold metal tridents against his cheeks.

Davis snarled as the Deadmon closed in on him; if that giant thing was their god, then there was one thing to do. "Exveemon!" he roared, raising his sparking D3, "get squid man!"

With a burst of energy that knocked the Deadmon away, Exveemon became Paildramon and shot back up. "The bigger they are…" he shouted in his distorted voice as his wrist needles extended, "the harder—"

A familiar shriek blew him back onto Aquilamon's back, making the bird roar in agony. The demonic manta ray thing that had harassed them all day had swooped into the chamber and now flew in circles around Dagomon. "Jerk! You didn't even let me finish!" Paildramon snapped.

"That thing again!..." TK growled. Just when they didn't need it showing up!

Dagomon's dark chuckle made the walls shudder. "Kokytomon… my most loyal of soldiers," the voice mused. "His calling was to speed your journey to my domain."

"Speed?! That thing's crazy!" Yolei yelled.

"If you really wanted Kari, why would you send a Digimon that bombards anything that moves?!" Angewomon demanded.

"Kokytomon is an ideal hunter," Dagomon's voice went on. "All but pure Light and pure Darkness falls to him."

Ken's teeth gnashed together. "So he'll destroy everything except Kari and yourself?!" he growled. "You're sick!"

"Only Light and Darkness are needed," Dagomon's voice came. "And that truth is all Kokytomon lives by."

The monster known as Kokytomon shrieked again, and its missile launchers roared to life. Angewomon screamed and tried to fly to Kari, but Daemon grabbed her by the hair and hurled her against the door wall.

The Digimon threw off their Deadmon attackers and scrambled back to their partners. "Kari!" TK shouted as Angemon grabbed him.

"Run for it!" Davis yelled as Paildramon landed over him.

Kari yelped and tried to run, but her legs gave out and she crashed to the soggy floor just as Kokytomon painted the chamber with thundering, hot explosions. When the smoke cleared, the Digimon were flat on their backs with their kids scraped up beneath them. Paildramon and Angemon were burned and bashed on almost every inch of their bodies, and Ankylomon and Aquilamon had been blown back to Armadillomon and Hawkmon. Angewomon lay crumpled in the rubble. The Deadmon looked unhurt, as did Daemon and Blackwargreymon… and also Kari. She slowly got up from where she had fallen, without so much as a bruise.

"What the fuck…?!" Davis managed.

"He's right…" Ken coughed; Paildramon had managed to shield him too, but only barely. "Those weapons won't hurt her… Us, on the other hand…"

"Ken…" Yolei whispered painfully, "are we gonna die…?"

"Can't move…" Armadillomon gurgled. "Cody… are you…?"

"K…Kari…" Angewomon gurgled, trying to get up. "I c-can't…"

Kari looked around at the destruction and sagged back to her knees, unable to move. Her friends lay battered and helpless behind her, just like before with Skullsatamon… but back then, she had thought they at least had a chance. Now, between Kokytomon and the rest… she looked up at Dagomon with shocked, empty eyes.

What looked like a smile spread on Dagomon's gaping jaw. "Your heart understands what theirs cannot," he rumbled with satisfaction. "Unite with me, and birth a power no world has ever known."

His massive appendage of bound tentacles slowly reached into the chamber, headed right for her. Kari watched their wriggling approach without reaction; her eyes went blank as she simply waited for her fate.

"Dammit!" Davis yelled. "Kari!"

"Get away!" TK shouted.

Angewomon pulled herself up and mustered enough energy to scream: "KARI! RUN!"

As the gray tentacles closed in around her, Angewomon's call filled her ears and brought her vision back. She screamed and thrust her hands out in pointless defense, and they grazed one of the tentacles. Suddenly her body gleamed and the chamber ignited with light, much like the events when she faced Skullsatamon. In an instant, all of her Digimon friends' wounds closed up and they sprang back to life. The tentacle she touched, and indeed all of Dagomon's arm burst into black flames. He reeled backwards, his howl rocking the palace's foundations as he tumbled backwards into the gray waters and fell to his knees, causing another round of tidal waves.

Kari wobbled in place, staring at the fallen colossus with her mouth hanging open. She teetered, then fell forward as Angewomon swooped in and caught her. "That was amazing…" she whispered to the worn-out girl.

The Deadmon hissed and started to advance on the kids again; Ken felt the tridents push further into his cheeks, ready to break skin. Suddenly, Dagomon bellowed and raised his smoking arm into the air. "Deadmon!" he roared, "tend to me!"

The creatures looked up, then slowly lost their shapes, oozing into a cloud of tar-colored smoke and drifting towards Dagomon. Davis didn't know what that cloud would do, but he knew an opening when he saw one. "Let's blow!" he yelled, grabbing Ken. "Paildramon!"

"Won't hear me argue!" Paildramon replied, scooping them. Angemon grabbed TK, Cody and Armadillomon, and since Hawkmon had de-Digivolved, Yolei took him and raced for Angewomon's waiting hand. All three of them shot for the open sky behind the altar.

"Nobody said you could leave!" Daemon snarled, whipping out another torrent of black fireballs at Paildramon and Angewomon. Blackwargreymon silently spun into a tornado and threw himself at Angemon. With their hands full, the Digimon went on the defensive and weaved through the assault, and the flames hit Blackwargreymon instead, sending him back to the ground with a furious growl. They escaped into the salty gray air, and Kokytomon sped after them into the distance with frenzied screeches.

Blackwargreymon leaped back to his feet and started to fly after them; his honor would not be tarnished twice. Suddenly, Dagomon held up his other hand. "Enough," he rumbled to his servant.

"But master!..." Blackwargreymon tried to object.

Dagomon's damaged limb was oozing with blackness and twisting back to its original shape; the Deadmon were sacrificing their bodies to rejuvenate it. "Her strength of will surpasses our own," he growled. "We shall aspire to greater strength for our next attempt. Kokytomon's pursuit shall suffice."

"Master!" Daemon snapped, furiously swishing his sleeve. "If we let them escape, they may destroy the source!"

"Your shortsightedness has not faded," Dagomon replied, making Daemon's eyes flash beneath his robe. "Destroying the source matters not."

Blackwargreymon hesitated, then lowered his gaze. "…Yes, master," he said, bowing.

"Stop being such a doormat!" Daemon snapped at his cohort, then looked back at Dagomon. "Master, how can we take their world if we have no gate?" he demanded.

Dagomon looked at his minion with a smile that made even the demon creature feel cold dread. "For should they destroy the source," he said craftily, "they shall soon learn that of the hundred, they have broken only ninety-nine."

* * *

Arukenimon raised her chopsticks and distastefully regarded the noodles hanging between them. Somehow Mummymon had talked her into trying one of the nearby restaurants, but she soon realized she didn't care for human cuisine; they didn't share her taste for their food to be alive and squirming. Where was the pleasure in sinking your teeth into something that didn't scream? Savoring that energizing flavor that only fear could put in the blood? On top of that, why were they eating in the outdoor part of the restaurant? Even if the weather was nice, it was still the end of December!

Mummymon was wolfing his bowl down with amazing gusto for one in his shape, the noodles hardly touching his chopsticks before getting sucked down his gray gullet. He looked at Arukenimon's full bowl and raised an eyebrow. "It's very good, Arukenimon," he urged, his cheeks full and dripping. "Better eat it before the wind makes it cold."

"How can you eat that?" she huffed. "There's no _soul_ in it."

"At least take a bite before you start pooh-poohing it," he said. "Come now, just one bite!"

Arukenimon sneered; her partner coaxing her like a parent urging a bratty child was worse than eating nonliving stuff. She raised the chopsticks and stuck the noodles in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Though she would never openly say so, it wasn't all that bad.

Mummymon seemed satisfied and kept eating. "This world has its good points, don't you agree?" he asked, then sighed. "It's a shame we had to abandon that vehicle; I enjoyed giving those kids the slip."

"Quit complaining; it's not like we can't secure another…" Arukenimon grumbled. She loaded her chopsticks and again put them in her mouth, but then she noticed a group of people across the street that made her stop in mid-swallow. It was the tough girl with the helmet, walking with an older woman and also…

Mummymon looked over and did a double take. "Is he supposed to be here?" he asked, looking back at her with alarm.

Arukenimon bit down so hard, her chopsticks snapped. "No," she growled, throwing what was left of them into her bowl.

"What do we do?!" Mummymon yelped. "That's not part of the plan! What if—"

"Shut up! They'll hear you!" she snarled, watching the Takenouchi family turn, then walk into a different restaurant. She folded her arms and chewed her lip angrily. "How annoying," she muttered. "Just when we're about to be free of one problem, another one shows up…"

"Oh, dear…" Mummymon groaned, pulling his hat down. "This could be very bad news…"

Arukenimon fumed a moment more, but then she thought of something else, and slowly the victorious sneer returned to her lips. Perhaps the newcomer's return could actually be a worthwhile development for her.

* * *

Paildramon, Angemon and Angewomon sped over the shoreline and its cliffs and flew inland. Nobody said a word until the sea vanished completely from sight. "…Are we safe now?" Yolei finally asked.

Angewomon opened her mouth to reply, but a shriek like the Reaper's scythe cut her off. Kokytomon burst from the gray clouds behind them, its eyes burning with primal hatred.

"Of course not!" Davis yelled, wildly swatting his partner's side. "Floor it, Paildramon!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Paildramon returned, though Kokytomon was almost on top of them already, filling their nostrils with the imagined stink of their own rotting corpses.

TK could taste the void on his teeth, and he knew he had to make a leader's decision. "Angewomon!" he shouted. "Get Kari out of here! Angemon, turn around!"

Kari spun around with a horrified gaze. "What?!" she yelped. "TK!"

"Did you go nuts?!" Yolei barked.

"Hey, don't we get a say?!" Armadillomon groused.

"No," Cody snapped, "he's the _leader_."

Davis looked back and snarled. "Like hell you're doin' that alone!" he yelled at TK. "Ken! Paildramon! Whaddya say?!"

Ken simply nodded. Paildramon spun around and flew at Kokytomon, his Desperado Blasters blazing over his cry of "bring it, fish face!"

Angewomon thought it all sounded crazy too, but the look TK had worn kept her from objecting. "Good luck…" she muttered, and sped off.

The boys held on tight as their Digimon fired their best projectiles and tried to make Kokytomon veer away, but the undead manta refused to yield. As it bore down on them they switched to their weapons and swung, but it dove under them, then flipped above them and launched a barrage of missiles. Angemon and Paildramon clutched their passengers and braced themselves, but the missiles sailed over them completely… and hit the fleeing Angewomon dead-on. TK's and Davis's mouths hung in silent screams as the angel plummeted from the black explosions and into a dark pine forest below.

"No!…" Ken growled.

"You snake-eyed—" Armadillomon started, but Kokytomon's second salvo cut him off. Paildramon, Angemon and their charges smashed down into the trees, hit the hard ground and skidded to a de-Digivolved halt.

Davis was the first to scramble to his feet. "Shit!" he panted. "Veemon?! TK! Kari!"

Veemon, who lay nearby, groaned and pulled himself off the ground. "Dirt naps suck, Davith," he grumbled.

Davis scooped him up and looked around for his friends. Cody had clung to Armadillomon's shell and slid several feet, but both of them seemed unhurt. TK's right side was coated with a long dirt skidmark and his shirt and pants had several tears, and Patamon coughed in his arms. Ken was upright and walking, though his face had several prominent scratches; he must have hit some branches on the way down. Satisfied that they would be all right, Davis ran in the direction Angewomon had fallen. "Kari!" he yelled. "KARI!"

"Over here!" her voice came from his right. He found her with Gatomon slumped in one arm and Yolei draped over her other shoulder, with Hawkmon supporting her at the legs. While Yolei and the Digimon looked as wrecked as the boys had, Kari was again undamaged. "Is everyone all right?" Kari asked him.

Davis looked back and saw TK and the others making their way over. "Yeah… think so," he muttered.

"'That which doesn't kill you,' I suppose," Hawkmon muttered, "though they said nothing about how much it hurts."

"Kari!" TK exclaimed, running to her and looking her over. He shook his head and mashed his hat in his hand. "I'm sorry… I should've known he'd do that," he grumbled.

"Kokytomon knows it can't hurt Kari," Ken growled, "so it doesn't care what it hits."

Yolei opened her mouth to reply, but then her eyes bulged as she looked past Ken. "No shit!" she yelped, pointing. "LOOK!"

The others whipped around and beheld an approaching wall of flames; Kokytomon flew overhead with a screaming laugh, his red eye beams setting the dead trees ablaze. "You jackass!" Davis yelled at it.

"We gotta get outta here!" Armadillomon gulped.

"Cover your mouths!" Cody barked, pulling his shirt up over his mouth and nose.

The others did the same; the Digimon sucked in air and held their breaths. They charged through the hellish woods as the black fires feasted and the world became an oven. Kokytomon had to be totally insane, TK thought; this fire would burn Kari just like everything else! Or maybe it wouldn't… and Kokytomon was doing this just to watch the rest of them burn up! Clutching Patamon tightly, his eyes darted between the skeletal burning trees, looking for any way of escaping.

The others frantically searched too. Finally, Veemon's eyes hit upon something. "Davith!" he wheezed, pointing. "There!"

Davis looked, and surely enough, in a dirt hill beneath three burning trees was a wide, black hole. He waved to the others and ran for it, hoping that it was big enough to hold them, but also not another tunnel to God-knew-where. He plunged inside and was glad to see both his prayers had been answered.

Hawkmon and Yolei tumbled in after him, and then came Cody and Armadillomon, then Kari and Gatomon, then Ken, and lastly TK and Patamon. They pushed themselves as far against the back of the hole as they could, gasping through their shirts; the air was hot and almost too thick to breathe. Just as their minds began to get woozy and their vision blurred, explosions rocked the earth and dirt to sprinkled all over them. "Dammit… he's tryin' to bury us?!" Davis growled.

"Kokytomon's incredibly thorough," Hawkmon muttered.

They could do nothing but sit, wait and pray as their little shelter shuddered and crumbled. After a tense five minutes, though, the explosions stopped as quickly as they had begun. Kokytomon's screaming grew fainter, as if it were flying away, and then silence fell. "Is… is it over?..." Patamon asked, crawling out of TK's shirt.

TK motioned for quiet and slowly crawled towards the entrance. The burning heat of the fires was gone. "I think it's safe," he called to his friends.

The Digidestined crawled out into a landscape far changed from the burning nightmare they had escaped from. The fire was gone. In fact, the whole forest was gone; they stood in a ragged field of smoldering splinters and black stumps. "Good grief…" Gatomon gasped, her tail and ears dropping in shock.

"Is this what they mean by 'scorched earth policy?'" Yolei asked.

Ken scratched at his chin. "This may have been good for us," he remarked.

"Good?!" Cody hissed. "We were almost roasted alive! Unless you mean—"

"Hear me out," Ken interrupted him. "You started to get dizzy in the hole, right? I think we were close to suffocating from the fire… and then Kokytomon got impatient and tried to blow us up instead, putting the fire out."

The others looked at each other, amazed if Ken's theory was true. "I… I guess so…" Gatomon said.

"Heh, what a dumbass!" Davis clucked. "Dagomon's gonna be so pissed we're still kickin'!"

"Unless he _meant_ to let us escape," Hawkmon wondered. "Perhaps it was just a display of power."

"Ain't we had enough of those?!" Armadillomon grunted. "We gotta get outta here 'fore he comes back!"

"Not yet, Armadillomon!" Veemon argued. "We've gotta find that source of the spires!"

Yolei bit her lip and looked gloomy. "After what Dagomon said, I don't know if there ever was one…" she sighed.

The others coughed and looked melancholy. TK frowned and dug out his D3; if Gennai said there was a way to destroy all the spires in the real world, he wasn't going to give up just yet. He looked down at the compass and his heart sprang back; the arrow pointed to the northeast. "Look!" he urged them, pointing to the compass.

"So?" Davis asked. "Dagomon said he made that up."

"But we didn't come from _that_ way," TK replied, pointing northeast towards through the desolation towards a fog-steeped set of hills. "This could be the real thing!"

"Or he might have teleported there…" Yolei pointed out nervously.

"Yes, but after what Kari did to him, I wonder if he's in any condition," Hawkmon replied. "It's worth investigating."

Nobody looked enthusiastic about it, but there were few excuses to stay in the desolated once-forest. They picked up their bags and trudged towards the hills, most of them continually looking over their shoulders or up into the sky, ready to hit the deck if the doom-crying wail of Kokytomon brushed their ears. Yolei, however, had let her attentions drift back to Ken. In spite of the madness that had gone down that day, she had not forgotten his words to her in the cave. He knew her name now. He helped her up. Her heart fluttered hopefully but cautiously, like a butterfly in March. Maybe she still had a chance.

Davis's face soured as he watched her watch Ken. He made himself turn away and looked for some distraction, and as usual his eyes went to Kari. The girl looked more pale than usual and incredibly run down. "Hey, Kari," he spoke up, "you OK? Did the fire make you sick?"

Kari looked up at hi, then lowered her gaze and shook her head. "No…" she said greyly, "but… maybe Cody was right about me... When Dagomon came, I couldn't even move, and you all had to…" she trailed off and squeezed her eyes shut.

Gatomon glanced at Cody, whose face was hardened into a perpetual scowl and whose hand still twitched every few moments. "Uh… don't take that too seriously," she tried to assure her partner. "He doesn't look too good himself. Must be this world…"

"Besides, you scared Dagomon off!" Veemon pointed out cheerfully. "You saved every one of us, Kari, just like before!"

Kari shook her head; Veemon's smile just made her more nervous. "But I don't know HOW I did it," she objected, her fists balling. What if that mysterious power of hers failed her next time, and everyone paid the price? She looked at Gatomon first, then at TK for some kind of consolation.

TK looked back at her and stopped walking, and then everyone stopped and watched him. TK sighed and shook his head, at a loss for comforting words. "We got away," he finally said. "That's the important part."

Davis turned angry eyes on him. "What the hell, TJ?!" he huffed. "Is that all you've gotta say?!"

"Uh, it _is_ kind of an important part…" Patamon pointed out.

"Yeah, I liked getting away," Armadillomon added.

"Doesn't make her feel any better, does it?!" Davis returned, motioning to Kari. "Look! She's scared out of her mind!"

"I'm not…" Kari began to object, but her shaky voice betrayed her and she again fell silent.

TK shook his head, trying not to get dragged into another argument. "We have to focus on what we came here to do," he said, showing his D3 again, "and that's deal with this."

"But they might come after us again…" Yolei tried, her fingers clasping each other nervously.

"That's why we need to keep moving," TK went on. "Keeping Kari safe is important, but we've got a whole world to protect, too… and when we destroy the source, we'll put this place behind us…" he looked at Kari with a softer gaze. "All of us," he finished. With that, he motioned with his hand and kept walking.

The others picked up and kept walking. Davis gnashed his teeth at the rear of the pack, but kept quiet. They had to find a way to fight Dagomon and his goons, and he hated to just run when Kari—hell, his whole world—was in trouble, but TK's plan of just breaking the source made sense, even to him… and he hated it when he found himself agreeing with that straw-haired kid.

Veemon noticed his partner fuming and slapped him on the leg. "Cheer up, Davith!" he chirped. "Hey, remember what Azulongmon said? If Izzy can find those temple things, then Tai an' the others can supercharge their Digimon too! That'll take care of Captain Nero!"

Davis sighed and kept walking. He hoped they had the time to do that.

* * *

Matt heard footsteps on the concrete walkway and looked up to see Tai, Joe and their Digimon approaching. "About time," he muttered, pushing himself off the railing.

"Hey, it's 7," Agumon objected. "That's what we all said!"

"We couldn't find anything on our end, so we came a bit early," Gabumon tried to explain. "How about you guys?"

The boys sighed and shook their heads. Gomamon shrugged as well as a sea creature could. "Same thing; a whole lotta nada," he summarized.

"We tried to check in with Izzy, but he wouldn't even come to the door," Joe said. "Tentomon said he was really busy and couldn't talk."

"Well, that's good… right?" Gabumon asked, looking hopefully at Matt. The blonde musician's flat mouth didn't waver.

"This's gonna be a short meeting," Tai said, glancing at the Takenouchi apartment door.

"Why couldn't she come today, Tai?" Agumon asked. "Was she sick?"

"Beats me," Tai replied, pressing the doorbell. "She just called and said to search without her today."

"Maybe she had to wash her coat a couple times," Joe reasoned. "It took me three washes and half a jug of bleach to get rid of the fish."

Gomamon sniffed at his partner's pant leg. "Naww, I still smell it, Joe," he chirped.

"That's from hanging around you," Joe returned.

"What?! No way! I'm a really clean—" Gomamon started to fuss, but the door opened and the person who stepped out was not Sora. Nor was it Biyomon, or even Toshiko. It was a gray-haired man in a smoking jacket.

The Digimon collapsed as quickly as they could, leaving the boys to stare and stammer in surprise. "Uh… hello," the man spoke, glancing at the fallen critters and then at the teens. "Can I help you?"

His intellectual-yet-easygoing voice jolted Tai's memory; he had seen this man before. "Sora's dad!" he blurted out.

Professor Takenouchi smiled warmly. "Is that you, Taichi Yagami?" he asked. "Ah, you must be here to see her. Please, come in, all of you."

He stepped inside. The boys grabbed their "dolls" and shuffled in after him, gingerly taking their shoes off. The professor looked Tai over again and nodded. "You've certainly grown up," he remarked, "but then, that _was_ four years ago when we met, and you kids spring up like weeds…"

"Uh, thanks," Tai tried, grinning nervously; he had only met Sora's father once, after a soccer game, and in all honesty the professor hadn't made much of an impression on him. "You're… looking good, too?"

Professor Takenouchi chuckled. "Well, Sora's over there," he said, motioning to the living room section of the apartment. Sora and Toshiko sat on their knees around a table adorned only with a pot of tea and three cups. Sora wore a yellow sweater and looked uncharacteristically homey, and her mother looked equally awkward.

"Uh, hi, Sora," Joe greeted her as they walked in. "Hi, Mrs. Takenouchi."

"Hello, boys," Toshiko said with a smile that looked a little brighter than usual, but at the same time tinged with a different kind of sadness. "Won't you sit down for a bit?"

"Hey, guys," Sora returned with a small wave.

The boys set their Digimon down and took places around the table. "I see why you couldn't come today," Matt said to Sora with a glance toward the professor, who was re-seating himself beside his wife.

"Yeah… sorry," she apologized. "It was kind of a surprise."

"Not a problem," Tai replied.

"So, Taichi," Haruhiko spoke with a wry grin, "Sora tells me you coach the junior high boys' soccer team?"

"Um, yes, sir," Tai replied, "but, uh, she coaches the girls, and she's just as good… some days better."

"Oh, I'm sure she is," he said, nodding to Sora, who suddenly looked embarrassed. "I just hope _you're_ a bit more coordinated now than before."

Tai's forehead glistened. "Huh?" he asked quickly.

Joe and Matt gave him puzzled looks. "Uh… could you elaborate on that, sir?" Joe asked.

"Well, I remember there was a little accident in the game I was able to come to," the professor said with a sly grin. "As I recall, you fell right on top of my daughter, and she didn't seem to like that very much."

"Ah, yes," Toshiko added, smiling impishly at her daughter, "they had to pull you off him, and you were penalized for unnecessary roughness."

"Mom!..." Sora muttered, her face burning.

"Oh, really?" Joe asked, playfully smiling at Tai. "No, I haven't heard this story!"

"Me neither," Matt said, a crafty smile spreading. "What finally got her to beat him up?"

"She didn't beat…! I-I mean, it had just rained that morning!" Tai huffed, his own face reddening. "The grass was wet! I slipped!"

"You went pretty far for slipping," Sora returned, forgetting her parents and focusing her ire on the boy. "That was a full body slam! I had to throw you off; you were crushing me like a pop can!"

"Throw me off, fine," Tai returned, his smile fading, "but you didn't have to stomp on my feet; you were wearing cleats! And I was trying to get off you anyway!"

"You put your hand in my mouth! And you know what was in there?!" Sora snapped, slamming both hands on the table. "A big clump of grass! Grass tastes awful!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Tai huffed.

"OK, OK, that's enough," Joe urged them. "Let's not knock a hole in our friendships, here…"

"I sure wish I could've seen it," Agumon whispered to Gabumon beneath the table.

"Davis knows how to pick his role models," Matt quipped.

"OK, OK, that's enough," Sora huffed, trying to regain her temper. "Guys, this is my dad, Professor Takenouchi. He works in Kyoto. Dad, these are my friends—"

"Ah, wait, Sora, I think I'd like to guess," Haruhiko interrupted her. "Taichi, I remember you, obviously, and you…" he looked Joe over, "you must be one of Shin's brothers... Jyou?"

"Err, yes, sir," Joe replied. "Shin's told me about his work with you. It sounds… uh… neat."

"And he's great at it, too," Haruhiko chuckled. Then he looked at Matt. "Now you… you have to be one of the Ishida boys," he decided. "Hmm… Takeru, is it?"

Matt's face wilted. "…Yamato, sir," he corrected the professor.

"Oh, of course, sorry," Haruhiko apologized. "It was so long ago."

Matt cast an irked look in Sora's direction; she must not have told her dad who the older kid was in his family. Sora shrugged like she didn't know why he was glaring at her.

"Err, so how long were you going to be in town, Professor?" Tai asked.

"Well, it's not like anyone can leave right now, and I had a devil of a time getting in," Haruhiko replied, "so I think I'll be here until this all blows over."

"Oh…" Joe said, glancing at Sora. "So I guess you won't be, um, helping us now."

Sora's eyes flashed with disappointment. "Don't write me off THAT fast!" she huffed.

Both Haruhiko and Toshiko looked at her. She coughed awkwardly. "Um, what I mean is, well, Dad, I'm glad you're back and all," she said, her cheeks burning again, "but the next few days are kind of busy for me, and…"

"Sora—" her mother began to object.

"Oh, it's all right," Professor Takenouchi replied with a smile. "Don't worry about it, Sora; I have a few places to go and people to see myself. Don't let my visiting keep you from your friends."

Sora looked back at him, seemingly disappointed by that ruling, too.

"Well, uh… good," Tai said. "Then, uh, I guess we'll be going home for the night."

"Oh, but won't you stay for some tea?" Toshiko asked. "You came all this way."

The guys hesitated, but it wasn't much of a decision to make; it wasn't like they had school the next morning. "All right," Joe agreed. "Just a little, though."

Toshiko got some more cups and filled them, and the boys drank. "So, Yamato," Haruhiko spoke again, "how is your father doing these days?"

Matt scratched his head. "Well, he runs the Odaiba broadcast station…" he tried, holding his cup under the table so Gabumon could get a few laps in.

"Oh, he runs it now? That's great!" the professor said. "That has to be stressful work, though, isn't it?"

"I guess, but he seems to like it," Matt said. "He has to rein in the guys who work for him, though…"

As Matt talked on about the rants he heard from his dad, Tai glanced cheerfully at Sora; he knew she didn't get to see her dad much, so he figured she had to be happy to have him safe in town. Her expression, however, was strangely unreadable.

* * *

The crackle of the gray campfire was the only noise in the world as the Digidestined and their friends chewed silently beneath their stone outcropping shelter. They had finally stopped hiking at about 9 PM, when they reached a more mountainous region where they could hide from Kokytomon more easily. Everybody was exhausted by then, and the fact that they were down to their last cans of food did not help the mood… not to mention that those cans were food that even the Digimon would refuse to eat in ordinary circumstances. Veemon tasted the purple mush on his plate and visibly gagged. "Euugh! They must call 'em 'beets' 'cuz almost anything else beats 'em, Davith," he remarked, sticking out his tongue.

The frowns on most of the other faces immediately made him quiet. Kari looked almost completely burned out, her usually upturned mouth almost sagging off her face. Cody's arm still twitched and shook as he stabbed the beets with a chopstick and shoved them in his mouth, his scowl nowhere near easing. TK's brow was exceptionally furrowed as he chewed on the slimy purplish-gray wads, their awful taste unable to keep his mind from replaying the excruciating day. The others also drooped with fatigue.

Hawkmon finished his mushy vegetable matter first and looked around at his friends. "I say, there can't be much farther to go," he remarked, trying to stimulate a conversation.

"There'd better not be," Gatomon muttered, looking at her plate, "or we'll starve to death."

"Oogh… what a way to go," Armadillomon winced.

"I doubt it…" Yolei muttered, "Dagomon will probably get us first."

That was too much for Kari. Her spork dropped into the dirt, and her plate fell quickly after as her shivering hands caught her tumbling upper body and she lost herself in mournful sobs, sounds that turned all of their hearts cold. Yolei cringed, immediately sorry she had spoken.

"Oh, Kari…" Gatomon sighed, gripping her partner's knee.

"Shut up, Yolei!" Davis shouted at Yolei, then quickly turned to Kari. "C'mon, Kari, that's not happening!" he tried, though she continued to bawl and shudder like a hypothermia patient. "I… remember what I said?" he tried again, sounding more desperate. "I'm—WE'RE not gonna let anyone get you! Right, Veemon?"

"Uh… right, Davith! I can take that big octopus!" Veemon said, though Kari's hopeless crying started to make him feel like doing the same. "I, uh… just need more bullets."

Kari's wailing only seemed to get louder. Davis tried putting a hand on her shoulder, but it did nothing. He sighed sadly.

"Disgusting," Cody repeated, his arm clenching. "At least _try_ to hide it."

"Looks like the charm's worn off," Yolei quipped with a smirk.

Davis glared at them. "You're the one who set her off!" he shot back at Yolei. "Damn, you were better off droopy."

Yolei's cheeks puffed. "Oh, when you wanted to leave me behind?!" she retorted.

"And you're just as bad," Cody huffed at Yolei. "Desiring the Emperor when—"

"That's IT!" TK erupted, throwing his plate on the ground and springing to his feet; his frail tether of patience had finally snapped. "I am SICK of this stupid infighting! Do any of you even remember why we're here?!"

Everybody stared at him, their mouths hung open like a silent choir. Kari had stopped sobbing and watched him with tear-streaked cheeks. "TK!..." Patamon gasped.

"We're here to destroy those spires! And if we don't, everybody is _dead_! Our friends, our families, the whole damn world!" he shouted. "Is that what you people want?!"

"What the hell is your problem, TK?!" Davis demanded, getting up and balling his fists.

"_You're_ my problem, Davis!" TK snapped, marching up to Davis so suddenly that the soccer boy staggered back a few steps. "And so are _you_, and _you!_" he went on, stabbing his finger at Yolei and then at Cody. "You'd all rather piss and moan and take shots at each other! How can you, after what we've seen?! _This is not a game!_"

"I… I…" Yolei stammered, her eyes wide and terrified.

Cody scowled at him. "Don't just blame us," he growled. "You're a dishonorable leader; panicking in front of Miremon, walking into Datamon's traps and fleeing Dagomon with your tail between your legs… you've _let_ it happen. And allowing the Emperor to come with us was your first—"

Cody found a demon in a white hat staring back at him, and he suddenly lost his tongue. "Stick your honor up your ass, Cody!" TK huffed. "I'm trying to keep us _alive_! And your stupid paranoia is like you're TRYING to break the group up! Just what are you gonna _do_ if you're right about Ken?!"

The angry little boy hesitated for a few moments, then had to look away.

"Now I'm not putting up with this anymore," TK ranted on. "We still have to destroy that source, and we're going to… but if I hear any more shit out of ANY of you, so help me, I am _leaving you behind!_ DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

The group sat entombed in silence, nobody able to respond; none of them, not even Patamon or Kari, had ever seen him get so angry, and it was almost too scary to process. TK stormed over to the edge of the outcropping and stayed there, facing the darkness outside. Patamon, not knowing what else to do, scampered over and stood next to him with drooping ears.

Ken swallowed the last of his beets and put the plate on the ground; TK hadn't gone after him in his rant, but his face showed more than a little glumness from partly being its subject. "I'm going to bed," he muttered.

"Yeah… yeah, good idea…" Armadillomon agreed quietly. "C'mon, Cody, let's, uh…"

The kids and their partners slowly finished their food and crept into their sleeping bags, nobody saying a word. Kari was the last to get up, but instead of following Gatomon to her cot, she cautiously went over to TK. "U-um…" she started, "are you OK?..."

TK sighed hotly, and clenched fist loosened into fingers on the rock wall. Kari hung her head. "I'm sorry…" she murmured. "This is all my fault."

TK shook his head, but didn't turn to look at her. "No, it's not," he rasped. "It's not."

Kari swallowed hard; she could tell he was the one who felt the worst about his yelling and screaming. She started to reach for his shoulder, but then he shifted his weight and she lost her nerve. She went to her sleeping bag and pulled up the cover.

Nobody fell asleep right away, each Digidestined consumed with personal ruminations. TK's fury still burned in Yolei's ears, and she felt awful; she had pegged TK as perpetually mellow, and his eruption made her realize how much her moaning had been upsetting him. Maybe it was really putting them all in danger... or more importantly it was putting Ken in danger. She had to shape up and focus, for his sake.

On the opposite side of the outcropping, Cody scowled at nothing in particular, TK's angry challenge sticking in his mind: could he actually do anything if Ken turned on them? The straw-haired boy would be sorry when it happened—and it _would_ happen—but for now, Cody bitterly decided, he would follow TK's lead; he would call Ken out in a safer place.

Kari watched TK from her place on the ground. She had no idea he could ever become so furious, but instead of being scared, she felt a new sense of respect for her old friend… she might have even called it admiration.

Veemon collapsed almost immediately, but Davis could not summon sleep. He just stared at the rocks above him.


End file.
